Vail Pass snowstorm in a Chrysler Sebring, 11:30 pm Friday night. About 1.5 hours after this I would be arriving at the speed freak/meth capitol motel of Glenwood Springs to share 1 room with Johnny Centi and Andrew Miller, luck those guys are way cool, ah
If you are an athlete in Aspen these are the faces you want to see "Prize Money"
The scene at the bottom
Why do you think they call it Big Air, holy smokes, the step up was pretty gnar
The lovely, nice and talented Alexis Waite
Jamie Anderson always is ripping and always has a smile on her face. Of course it does not hurt that she is always on the podium or in this case on THE top of the podium 2008 Women's slopestyle winner
Heikki Sorsa and Erin Comstock. You have got to give Heikki big props for that crazy freaking one footed 360 in the men's slope finals
The Shaun waiting for his slopestyle score holding his broken board
Shaun getting his bindings switched from his broken board to his new board in the few minutes between runs 
The scoreboard behind Kevin Pearce says it all - Silver Medal 
Shaun after getting 3rd place in slope; looks like he is already thinking about his strategy for the pipe 
big crowds
Lonnie Kauk 
Andreas Wiig in the press room after winning Men's slope
Who do you think rips the hardest? Probably the guy with the athlete pass, although Johnny and Andrew rip too, they just are not in the X Games. The difference is - Lonnie get's top of the line treatment and stays in the DC Mansion while Andrew and Johnny (and me) eat fast food and maybe get crabs at the hotel. Not too mention Andrew and Johnny and to share a bed - bummer.
What you may miss about Aspen when you watch the X Games is how beautiful it is. Here is a view up the valley from the top of Buttermilk Mountain 
You remember the crowds in my photo from the base of the mountain at the X Games? Well, here is what the runs look like on the same mountain. The X Games are actually a great time to snowboard any of the 4 Aspen Mountains because the town is full of X Games spectators most of which don't ride. Perfect Corduroy rippers all day 
Right across the valley from Buttermilk is Aspen Highlands. This photo does not do it justice. Try 4,400 vertical drop and a lot of STEEP terrain on the other side of the mountain
The final jump of the slopestyle course
The second to last jump on the slopestyle course, heard they were "easy" to clear
Heading back to Denver you pass a shit ton of world class resorts; Beaver Creek, Vail, Copper, Breck, Keystone, A Basin and Loveland. Here is the Vail valley
Vail Pass, where are J2 and Adam Merriman? 
Looking east from Vail Pass towards Copper and the backside of Breckenridge 
Took a detour to a friend’s house over Hoosier Pass, when you live in San Diego a drive through the mountains is always nice 
That's Keystone in the distance, or a small part of it