A look at the events of Winter X Games 14, to be held at Buttermilk in Aspen from Thursday through Sunday:
SNOWBOARDING
Superpipe: Buttermilk’s world-class superpipe allows for maximum amplitude and speed, giving the riders space to perfect progressive tricks such as the double cork. Competition is divided into two rounds, with the top eight men and top six women advancing to the finals based on scores for amplitude, execution, difficulty, landings and use of the superpipe. Best of three runs in the finals wins.
Slopestyle: Snowboard slopestyle tests a rider’s ability to handle a variety of terrain by executing freeride tricks down a course filled with a variety of rails, hips, tabletops and jumps. The contest consists of two rounds, with the top eight men and six women advancing to finals, where they are judged on amplitude, execution, difficulty of line, landings and use of the course in a best-of-three run format.
Big air: Competition features five finalists launching off an 85-foot step-up gap jump in a 20-minute jam session format. Snowboarders take as many runs as possible and are judged on aggressive execution of maneuvers, degree of difficulty, variety of maneuvers, originality and style.
Snowboarder X: Snowboarder X consists of a downhill course more than 3,500 feet long, filled with tabletop jumps, banked turns, rollers and gaps that showcase the versatility of the athletes. Seeds are determined via timed trial runs, followed by bracket rounds of 24 men and eight women. Top three racers (two for women) advance until the medal rounds.
SKIING
Superpipe: The 540-foot long, 22-foot deep superpipe is 75 feet from lip-to-lip with a pitch of 18 degrees, creating an ideal venue to perform tricks. Competition is divided into two rounds, with the top eight men and six women advancing to finals based on scores for amplitude, execution, difficulty, landings and use of the superpipe. Best of three runs in the finals wins.
Slopestyle: Using the same course as snowboarders, 16 skiers will showcase their freestyle skills on a variety of obstacles including rails, kickers, jumps and gaps. The contest consists of two rounds, with eight skiers advancing to finals, where they are judged on creativity, trick completion and style in a best-of-three run format.
Big air: Competition features five finalists launching off an 85-foot step-up gap jump in a 20-minute jam session format. Skiers will be judged on aggressive execution of maneuvers, degree of difficulty, variety of maneuvers, originality and style.
Superpipe high air: A portion of the superpipe measuring 100 feet will be marked off as the scoring area, and six skiers will have a 30-minute jam session, in start order, to determine who can boost the highest on a single hit.
Skier X: Skier X is a fast and furious course race that features heats of six skiers racing over tabletop jumps, banked turns, rollers and gaps. A fusion of motocross and downhill skiing, skier X represents one of the most demanding competitions in ski racing. Seeds are determined via timed trial runs, followed by bracket rounds of 24 men and eight women. Top three racers (two for women) advance until medal rounds.
Monoskier X: Monoskier X is identical to skier X but features nine disabled monoskiers with men and women combined in a single discipline and qualifying to compete in heats of four.
SNOWMOBILE
Best trick: Snowmobile best trick will feature eight of the top athletes in the world attempting to showcase never-seen-before tricks in this finals-only format.
Freestyle: Snowmobile freestyle features 12 riders on 500-pound snowmobiles taking individual runs and testing their skills on a variety of jumps ranging from 65 feet to 100-plus feet long. Judging is based on overall impression, trick execution, volume of tricks, use of course, landings and style.
Knock out: This new discipline will feature six riders competing in a single-elimination format. Scores are based on the actual distance traveled from a steel takeoff ramp over a 75-foot gap to a snow landing. Each round, the rider who travels the least distance gets knocked out of competition.
Snocross — 24 racers: With its combination of high-flying aerial displays and technical racing, this popular format pits 24 riders in an explosive head-to-head bracket race on a track lined with rollers, jumps and bermed corners. This year’s supercross-style track has been designed with bigger hits and more room for passing. Each heat consists of multiple laps around the course with the top five from each heat advancing to the final.
Adaptive snocross: New to Winter X Games 14, this event features six racers who will battle in one heat on the same course used in snowmobile snocross, with a few slight adjustments to accommodate the adaptive athletes.
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
