Shaun Palmer

Shaun Palmer, that multi-talented athlete who can hold his own in at least five different sports (motorized and human-powered), gathered his fifth career X Games medal – and his first medal in skiing – when he won the Skier X event here in Mount Snow on Thursday. He picked up a cool $10,000 for his efforts.

The games began Thursday with two events — Skier X and Snowboarding Slopestyle, as gray cloudy weather kept temperatures down and first-day crowds light. Actually, Vermont has the dubious honor of being the coldest spot in the US this week – the lows are below zero and the highs under 20 degrees.

"Palmer ruled the Skier X....It must be in his genes, because he ruled the event on two skis with as much authority as on the single board...."

Mount Snow is pretty well overrun with the ESPN crew this week, cables and towers dotting all corners of the small resort. We exhausted ourselves just trying to walk from one point of the venue to another, as the slopes are nearly a quarter mile apart and we press scum are sequestered in a small, stuffy pressroom on the far edge of the venue.

So, as we were saying, Palmer ruled the Skier X event, which is the same as snowboard boardercross, only on skis. It must be in his genes, because he ruled the event on two skis with as much authority as on the single board. Bill Hudson took 2nd in the overall, followed by Zack Crist.

Women's Skier X was ruled by Anik Demers of Quebec, beating out Chiara Lawrence of Squaw Valley. Skier X was one of the two events going off on Thursday, as everyone settled in for a long weekend of caffeinated announcers and loud music pumped through the miles of wire and cables.

The other event on Thursday was snowboarding slopestyle, an event where competitors work jumps and hits on a scored run down a snowboard park-style arena. Kevin Jones of Truckee, CA, improved on his two previous silver medals when he took home the gold Thursday, beating Todd Richards by .17 of a point. "I stuck all my 900s," he explained after his gold medal run.

Tara Dakides of Laguna Niguel, CA, repeated as the women's champion, winning her second gold medal with a dominant run over Jaime MacLeod of New Hampshire. "So much has happened this year that I'm doing what I can to keep my head on straight," Dakides said.

	Girls Rule

Mount Snow and its town of West Dover are virtually overrun this weekend, with nary a vacancy in sight of the 2,000-foot ski area. The snow is unusually good for this part of the country, a light snow each evening keeping things white and purdy. It's actually funny to see so many fans of three different types of sports – motorized (snowmobiles), pedal-powered (mountain bikes) and ski-laden (skis and snowboards) all milling around the venue.

For those looking to enter a raffle or just score a free sticker, all the sponsors are gathered in the "Interactive Village." Thousands of spectators were trolling the area for swag or just samples of bagel bites, or autographs of their favorite athletes. Speaking of athletes, they have their own lounge just outside the village where they can relax without being bothered by pesky reporters.

Competition continues throughout the weekend, with action heating up as the days progress. Check back here for new stories and photos, and all the inside dirt.

— Ari Cheren, sliding down the snow, camera first for MountainZone.com