Today In Stoke: Denver Big Air tickets on sale -- for a hefty price

​The good news? Tickets are on sale this week for the Denver Big Air ski and snowboard competition in Civic Center Park, January 25-26, a two-day event sanctioned by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) and the International Ski Federation (FIS). The Denver Big Air contests will include the Nature Valley Challenge Big Air Freestyle Ski Event and the LG FIS World Cup Snowboard Big Air, and serve as the kickoff for the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show returning to Denver that week. The bad news? Tickets for the snowboard contest start at $75 for general admission and cap out at $250 for the VIP package. As our friends at Boardistan point out: "Apparently, the altitude isn't the only thing that's high in Denver."

To put that $250 VIP ticket in context: For less than $200 you could buy a round-trip ticket to Aspen on Frontier to go watch the Winter X Games at Buttermilk for free. Go cougar hunting at the après-X parties in town and you could have your lodging taken care of, too! The U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix events at Copper Mountain (December 8-11) are also free for spectators, as are the Winter Dew Tour events at Breckenridge (December 16-19). We've gotten more than a little bit spoiled here on the Front Range.

Still, a big air contest in Civic Center Park sounds pretty rad, with A-list athletes in town from all over the world and some pretty sweet photo opportunities to be had, and there will probably be ways to see at least some of the action for free: Start pestering your friends with offices on Capitol Hill. How much would you pay to see it?

Tickets for the ski contest start at $55; two-day passes start at $100.