Winter X is to Recreational Snowboarding as ...

NASCAR is to driving. One reason why some people hesitate to take up snowboarding is that they think of it as 18-year olds flying 15 feet above the lip of a halfpipe. "I can't (or don't want) to do that!"

But not all riding is in the pipe (and some adults can hack it, in any case). Top-level competitors, such as those in the recently finished X-Games, are highly skilled. But it's unrealistic for most of us to think of them as representing what the average person can or should do.