The Buzz

All the Winter X news before it happens, Jan. 25-28 In Aspen. Yep, we're that clued in

DROP-INS

-Alyssa Roenigk

Fitness fanatic Gretchen Bleiler, the new face of Dunkin' Donuts, is appearing in a TV spot for the chain's iced coffee. At the two-day ad shoot in Keystone, Colo., in early December, Bleiler had to bail after day one for training. In her place, pro snowboarder and stuntwoman Rachel Nelson (above right) acted as a body double for the Olympic silver medalist. (Nelson also doubled for Bleiler in an NBC Olympics spot.) For the record, that's Nelson pushing the snowblower but Bleiler blowing out of the halfpipe … Six do-gooder X Games athletes designed snowboards to raise money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The boards were donated by O-Matic—a new board company run by Tara Dakides, Todd Richards and Andreas Wiig—and tricked out by Bleiler, Tricia Byrnes (right), Mat Hoffman and the Crist brothers (Reggie and Zach). They'll be on display at Polar Revolution in downtown Aspen and sold at a silent auction Jan. 25-27 … Speaking of the Crists, the Winter X Games will be minus one ski racing sib for the first time since 2001. Reggie recently had arthroscopic surgery on his left hip and won't be in racing shape by X … Snowboarder Barrett Christy, who owns both summer and winter X Games gold medals, has a new gig. She was hired by Nike's action sports brand, Nike 6.0, to help it make a smooth entrance into the
snowboard market.

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PARTY, PEOPLE
Aspen heats up when the sun goes down.

IF YOU WANT TO …

… GET ALL ARTSY 1/24
Don't miss Red Bull Illume at the base of Aspen Mountain's Little Nell run. Peep the top 50 action and adventure photos selected from 2,000 international entries.

… ROCK WITH RIDERS 1/25
Hit the Unofficial Athlete Kickoff Party at Wheeler Opera House.
Hosts: Skiers Tanner Hall and Simon Dumont. Music: Ozomatli. Last year: Redskins owner Dan Snyder brought players to the bash, and actresses Rosario Dawson and Shannon Elizabeth stopped by.

… RAP UP THE DAY 1/26
Stop by the Belly Up, where Zion I and Talib Kweli headline a Mountain Dew and AMP Energy hip-hop soiree.

… GO HOLLYWOOD 1/27
Party at the Powder Awards at Hotel Jerome. Think: Academy Awards for the twin-tip set.

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FRESH FACES

-By Carrie Sheinberg

FOUR RIDERS ON THE RISE:
SAMMY CARLSON 18 Ski slopestyle and superpipe
BASE Tigard, Ore.
BREAKOUT Won the 2006 Peak Performance King of Style big air event in Stockholm.
NICKNAME The Stunt Double. He wears the same gear as Simon Dumont, head to toe.
GET THIS Nike 6.0 has promised Carlson his own shoe if he wins in Aspen.
CALLAN CHYTHLOOK-SIFSOF 17 Snowboarder X
BASE Girdwood, Alaska
BREAKOUT A member of the 2006-07 U.S. national team, Callan was the 2006 Junior National PGS champion.
FAST TRACK A self-professed smarty-pants, Callan finished high school a year early, wants to be an astronaut and plans to attend Dartmouth next year.
JACK MITRANI 18
Snowboard superpipe
BASE Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
THE SURREAL LIFE Born in NYC and raised in Vermont, Mitrani now lives with snowboarder Scotty Lago, skateboarder Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins and little bro Luke.
SIZE MATTERS The 5'1" J-Town is known for boosting mega airs out of the pipe.
SPENCER O'BRIEN 18 Snowboard slopestyle
BASE Courtenay, B.C.
BREAKOUT "Sko" followed up her first big podium—third in the rail jam at the 2005 U.S. Open—with a slopestyle silver in 2006.
STRONG MINDED To prep for her first trip to Winter X, O'Brien hired a personal trainer.

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BOARDER CROSSING OVER

2002 Olympic halfpipe gold medalist Ross Powers has been a Winter X Games staple since 1997. This year he's looking for a fresh start—in his original discipline.

"I went to Torino and watched boardercross. It got me excited about racing again. I like racing because you don't have to worry about judges; you have to be the fastest guy down to win. I've done a lot in the halfpipe, but I never fulfilled what I wanted to accomplish in racing. Look at Shaun Palmer: He's done it all, in halfpipe and boardercross and mountain biking and skiing. There's always a new challenge out there. This is mine."

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COLD RECEPTION

Moto X best trick is out. Snowmobile freestyle is in. But what the heck is it?

THE SPORT Sled shredders have 75 seconds to toss tricks off the track's six jumps (three snow, three wooden or steel ramps). Runs are scored by a panel of judges.
THE X COURSE Jump gaps range from 60 to 120 feet. The sled ramps are 6'6'' wide and 10 feet tall.
THE RIDES To modify a racing sled, freestyle riders may cut holes into the seats (for better grip on tricks like Superman seat grabs), switch out their handlebars and add expensive ultralightweight titanium parts. Racing sleds use a modified two-stroke 600cc engine, while freestyle sleds run the gamut from stock 440cc engines to modified 800cc mills.
THE TRICKS Only the FMX double backflip and body varial elude the sled set. Flip side: A few SNX tricks are absent from the moto scene, including a Frisby air, where the rider spins a 180 and lands facing the takeoff (above).
THE FRONT-RUNNER Justin Hoyer, 24, is the only rider to flip both a sled and a bike in competition. "People say the sports are apples to apples, but they're not," he says. "Tricks on sleds are new, and there aren't a lot of guys who are good." -V.C.

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THE BIG NUMBER

1%
Chance three-time U.S. Olympian Daron Rahlves gives himself of competing in 2010, when skicross debuts at the Vancouver Olympics. Rahlves is racing at Winter X for the first time.

100%
Chance 2004 WX champ Casey Puckett gives himself of racing in 2010. Puckett skied on four U.S. Olympic teams but retired from World Cup racing in 2002. "Skicross gives me another, more likely shot at Olympic gold."

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