Some Quick Thoughts on Winter X Games 13

So did you watch any of the Winter X Games this last weekend? I did, in part so I can “revisit” a portion of Buttermilk, where I have spent a fair number of days skiing and riding.

Here are a few thoughts on what I saw. They’ve not necessarily connected to each other, so I’m putting them in bullet points.

* Would I like to see the games in person? No way. There were 18 to 20,000 people attending each event, from what I remember, and it looks like I would have to try to catch a peek at from behind 30 rows of people. Or I could look up at the big screens on site–which would be a little like watching the games at home. But being on site would have several disadvantages: I would be cold, since I’d be standing and not moving around); I’d have a headache from the 90 db music and public address system; and I’d have to make my way through throngs of people to get to the restroom.

* Though I haven’t ridden on a snowmobile since I was in junior high, I might enjoy taking a spin on one someday. But sled races and jumps seem out of place. Skiing and snowboarding are largely silent sports, and the roar of the snowmobile events is a bit jarring. Still, I have to admit that there were some interesting parts in a few of the races. But the aerial tricks make me wonder “Why would anyone put themselves at risk like that?”

* I hope my VCR recorded the men’s slopestyle event on Saturday. I enjoy watching that more than the halfpipe since there’s more variety. A rider or skier can choose between a box and a rail, for starters.

* I watch the halfpipe action and sit amazed. It’s hard enough to see what each competitor is doing, let alone imagine doing anything like it.

* Kelly Clark flies out of the pipe more than the other women. I wonder why. And why do skiers get more “big air” than snowboarders?

* The men’s big air contest on skis made me long for the days of the mysterious judging panel. That event, unlike the others, was decided by a popular “vote” of people sending in text messages. The gold medalist, Simon Dumont, performed one trick (two different times) that was certainly fun to look at. But it wasn’t gold-medal worthy. Whatever happened to “progression,” as in rewarding athletes for innovative and more difficult tricks? Dumont’s tricks were so old school that they were doubtless performed on straight skis.

* Congratulations to Shaun White for becoming the first snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals in the history of the Winter X games. But did he deserve it? I’m inclined to agree with commentator Todd Richards, who said something like “If Shaun wins with this run, it will because of his reputation.” Arguably, he should have won silver.

* I’ll admit to a bias: I enjoy seeing Anti Autti do well, since he wears Flow bindings, which I enthusiastically endorse. Who says that you can’t do well wearing an unconventional binding? Unfortunately, this former gold medalist managed only a fourth or fifth.

* Cheering for an athlete because of his sponsor. Isn’t that a NASCAR sort of thing?

* Speaking of NASCAR, I enjoyed watching the skier cross and snowboard cross, which are roughly speaking NASCAR on the snow, but without engines. (The obvious comparison is the snowmobile race.) These events are something like roller derby, in that some bumping goes on, leading to some competitors falling down. (Unlike roller derby, the contact is supposed to be incidental, not intentional.)

* A race without much competition is boring. Exhibit A: The monoski race. Sure, I have to admire the competitors for responding to their paralysis or other injuries by finding a new way to engage the snow. But the winner of the men’s event–was there one for women?–was so far ahead, it was like watching a downhiller from some third world nation take on the Austrians in an alpine race. No contest.

* I know that Buttermilk is a great place to host the Winter X games, and Aspen is a fine mountain town. But I also feel a bit for my ski companions (now in their 70s and 80s) who have lost a part of their favorite mountain. They should be arriving in Aspen next week, but the halfpipe and the berms of snow used for the snowmobile events will still be constricting the base of Buttermilk. It used to be a joy to cruise down the main face of Buttermilk, from the summit to the base. But I’ve found in recent years that the final approach is so constricted (prone to icy buildup) that it’s best to spend all day on the Buttermilk West or Tiehack flanks and avoid the base of the mountain until the end of the day. Sigh. The price of a wildly successful event.