Terje '99

ESPN, the sports network which, in 1994, came up with the idea for what was then called the "Extreme Games," is at it again with a whole new set of events for this millennial fourth edition of the X Games.

With five disciplines and 16 events slated for the televised show, this year's games move from the beauty of Colorado to the very cold, yet media-accessible venue of Mount Snow, Vermont... and we can hardly wait!

"We can't guarantee you hype-free competition, but by God we can promise a good escape and a can of maple syrup for your time..."

So what do you get when forward-thinking promoters come together to combine several of the hottest new fringe sports with young, struggling athletes who compete just for the love? We're not sure, because we haven't seen an event like that in years. But if you want to see professional athletes compete in the biggest money-making sports show ever to be labeled "extreme" (and broadcast by the planet's largest media conglomerate) you've come to the right place.

This weekend, February 3-6, will have athletes toting skis, snowboards, mountain bikes and snowmobiles (talk about excess baggage) to snowy Vermont, the backdrop of big bucks and that inspiring theme music always on the ready.

Never one to be left out of the fun — especially where drunken pro snowboarders are involved — the Zone will be in full force, filing daily dispatches that have been lovingly illustrated with mega-pixel digital photos and pithy event insight. We can't guarantee you hype-free competition, but by God we can promise a good escape and a can of maple syrup for your time.

Since events like ice climbing apparently didn't pull in the advertisers and viewers like snowboarding does, we're down to just two modes of transport on these frozen slopes; skids and tires. What bike tires are doing on the snow we have no idea, but the organizers seem to like the spectacle of it all so who are we to question?

The Events:
Snowboarding – The winners of last year alone bodes well for this year's roster of knuckle-draggers, with names like Taggart, Burnside, Michalchuk and Palmer taking home hardware in '99. This year will feature halfpipe, big air, boarder X and slopestyle.

Skiing – Jonny Moseley says that the games have given skiing a chance to be "rad" again. That's nice, but what would the Herminator say? Two events highlight this year's two-plank wank lineup; Skier X and big air.

Snow Mountain Biking – Steve Peat and Tara Llanes won last year's slideshow, and the circus is back for '00. Downhill mountain bikes with spike tires and the potential for big air makes this a spectator fave. Expect a strong contingent of DH pros, all here to serve their sponsors and grab some easy money.

	Plake hawkin'

Snowcross – At first we thought this was the street luge of the winter set, but we actually like all the roaring snowmobiles. Purists (whomever they are) poo-poo motorized sports like this and moto-cross big air, but screw 'em, the sleds rule for the third year running. Ever heard of Chris Vincent? He's from Vermont, won last year and is back in '00.

Skiboarding – Short skis and big air characterize this new discipline. We think it's like in-line skating on snow, but what do we know? This year's edition of the event will feature a slopestyle course instead of the triple air of last year – making for more variety of tricks.

The Players:
Since we haven't been given a complete roster of competitors yet, you'll have to guess who will be here in search of those cool crystal X medal-thingies. But we did receive a list of corporate sponsors, so let's look at that and see what TV commercials we can look forward to. First is 1-800-CALL-ATT, that great service pitched by Courtney Cox's hubbie, asking you to call someone, anyone...please.

Then there's Motorola, still smarting from the failure of Iridium but nonetheless stoked to have the killer Star-Tac cell phone in their product line. Mountain Dew is back, and with those extreme commercials like the Super Bowl's take-off of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody spot, who can blame them? Taco Bell's chihuahua will be cracking us all up with his quips and finally Volkswagen rounds out the "Gold Level" sponsor list. We won't bother listing the "Associate Level" sponsors, but it does include Bagel Bites and Milk.

— Ari Cheren, going post-modern retro by wearing a "bikini inspection team" t-shirt, for MountainZone.com

Zone's Coverage Schedule:
Thursday evening– Snowboard Slopestyle, Skier X
Friday evening– Snowboarder Cross Finals
Saturday evening – Snowboard halfpipe, Mountain biker X, Skiboarding Slopestyle
Sunday evening – Big Air finals, Skiing/Snowboarding Ultra-cross