Another Winter X Games has come and gone, but not without high drama, record breaking performances, familiar domination, and even a double back flip on a snowmobile.

The town of Aspen was rocking out once again as massive crowds braved the dumping snow throughout the weekend to enjoy the winter sports version of the Super bowl.

Once again the King of X Games, Shaun White, did not disappoint, winning Gold in SlopeStyle and SuperPipe. White scored the highest point total in X Games SlopeStyle history with a 96.00 . It wasn't as easy in Superpipe after falling on his first 2 runs, in typical legend fashion, White threw down a 91.66 to edge out Kevin Pearce's 90.66. With his 2 gold medals he became the all time leader in gold medals with 9.

The most hyped moment of the event was Levi LaVallee's attempt at a double back flip on a snowmobile. The crowd held their breath as Lavallee flew high into the night sky. Lavallee rotated perfectly only to be bucked off on the landing. Didn't matter to him nor the crowd though, as Lavallee was stoked to be alive after nearly pulling the impossible.

A major upset went down on opening night of Winter X in the men's Ski SuperPipe Final. We expected to see a Tanner Hall, Simon Dumont showdown, but an unknown skier from France, Xavier Bertoni, shocked everyone by overtaking both Hall and Dumont, to win his first ever gold medal.

Australians own Torah Bright surprised no one by winning gold in Women's SuperPipe. She owned the pipe all weekend, in the elimination round she scored the highest point total in Women's pipe with a 97.66.

In the 2 fan voted events, mens big air in snowboard and ski, Travis Rice and Simon Dumont took home the gold. The fans were wowed by Travis Rice's backside-double-cork 1080 in Snowboard, and Simon Dumont 's famous double flip superman pose.

The weekend was full of highlights, check out the results below from each competition courtesy of our friends at ESPN.
ESPN X GAMES




Mens Skiing Super Pipe Results
1. Xavier Bertoni / 93.66 / Bib 333 / La Clusaz, France
2. Tanner Hall / 92.00 / Bib 305 / Kalispell, Mont.
3. Simon Dumont / 91.00/ Bib 303/ Bethel, Main

Womens Sking Super Pipe Results
1.Sarah Burke Whistler, BC, Canada 93.33
2.Jen Hudak Aspen, Colo.92.66
3.Jess Cumming Wilton, Conn. 84.00

Women's Snowboard Slopestlye Final Results
1. Jenny Jones / 84.33 / Bristol, Great Britain / Bib 526
2. Spencer O' (TM)Brien / 80.33 / Whistler, BC, Canada / Bib 530
3. Megan Ginter / 76.66 / Seattle, Wash / Bib 525

Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Results
1. Shaun White 514 Carlsbad, Calif. 96.00
2. Scotty Lago 507 Seabrook, N.H.94.66
3. Mikkel Bang 501 Oslo, Norway 91.33

Women's Snowboarder X
1. Lindsey Jacobellis 634 Stratton, Vt. 110.619
2. Helene Olafsen 638 Oppegard, Norway 113.266
3. Sandra Frei 645 Flims-Dorf, Switzerland 113.505

Men's Snowboarder X
1. Nate Holland 608 Truckee, Calif. 100.523
2. Graham Watanabe 620 Hailey, Idaho 101.153
3. Stian Sivertzen 615 Kongsberg, Norway 105.193

Snowcross Final Results
1. Tucker Hibbert 68 Arctic Cat 1128.255
2. Robbie Malinowski 4 Ski-Doo 1164.864
3. Dan Ebert 602 Arctic Cat 1169.036

Men's Sking Slopestyle
1. Tj Schiller 316 Vernon, BC, Canada 93.00
2. Sammy Carlson 301 Hood River, Ore. 91.00
3. Colby West 315 Breckenridge, Colo. 90.00

Snowmobile Freestyle Final
Final:
1. Joe Parsons 700 Yakima, Wash. 93.66
2. Justin Hoyer 904 Ellsworth, Wis. 82.00

Bronze Match:
3. Heath Frisby 270 Bellevue, Idaho 90.66
4. Daniel Bodin 900 Malung, Sweden 88.00

Men's SuperPipe Finals:
1. Shaun White 514 Carlsbad, Calif. 91.66
2. Kevin Pearce 550 Norwich, Vt. 90.66
3. Antti Autti 542 Rovaniemi, Finland 87.33

When you break snowboarding down to its core, there' (TM)s no doubt it' (TM)s an individual sport. You don' (TM)t pass your board to anyone else or share the same uniform or jersey, you don' (TM)t make line changes or substitutions and in the final rounds of a competition you either throw down, or get out of the way. Progression is developed on an individual basis and in the end snowboarders launch into the air or onto a rail one rider at a time.

However, this isn' (TM)t to say a snowboarder is completely abandoned and stranded. When it comes to travelling around the world and competing in contests, it would be most difficult to accomplish what many riders do every season without a team, a crew and a few friends to back you up, call you out and ultimately push you towards your best. "Every contest, every night, we are always talking about it telling each other what to do" says FRENDS member Jack Mitrani. "We are always mean to each other as well. If he's not doing good enough we're going to tell him straight up, just so they do their best."

Mitrani knows what' (TM)s up when it comes to pushing his buddies, but he's not the only one helping out his bros. Here we take a look at some of the crews, friends and teams currently rocking the Swatch TTR World Tour, who always seem to flock together towards the sickest competitions around the world.

First up, a closer look at the ' ~FRENDS' (TM) crew. These guys have established themselves as both party animals and contest destroyers. "It just keeps the fun in snowboarding," continues Mitrani. "Anything we go and do, we know it's going to be fun and it just keeps the vibe good."

But don' (TM)t let their spontaneous and friendly demeanour fool you, because once these guys drop in it' (TM)s all business. The FRENDS crew is comprised of US riders Danny Davis, Jack Mitrani, Keir Dillon, Kevin Pearce, Luke Mitrani, Mason Aguirre and Scotty Lago.

"Just being with those guys at events when I travel, it's good to have a solid crew of friends" says Mason Aguirre. "Its not just like we ride for the same company, we actually all really get along and have each others backs in snowboarding and in life in general. And it's all good when we get in the finals, but you know if Kevin doesn't make it, or Danny or myself don't make it, you just got to step up and support the person that is doing well."

With a line up so diverse in riding style, it' (TM)s no wonder why the FRENDS crew has produced some of the finest TTR competitors and Title-holders and even the 07/08 TTR World Champion, all injected with fresh personality to keep things interesting. Over the past couple of seasons, Davis, Aguirre, Lago and Pearce have developed into the definitive slope and pipe riders on the TTR Tour, with half the crew already in the TTR Top 20.

Next up, the Finnish. These guys are less of a team or crew and more of a few Finnish dudes who always seem to make stand out appearances and mix things up, for the better of course. Antti Autti, Risto Matilla, Peetu Piiroinen, Marku Koski and Janne Korpi are the most notable competitive Finnish riders who consistently give the US riders a run for their money and are among the best and favourites on the Tour. They all belong to the elusive Finnish national A-team, together with Markus Malin, Ville Uotila, Meri Peltonen and Ilona Ruotsalainen. Autti' (TM)s signature spins in the Halfpipe, Mattila' (TM)s tight inverts on the Quarterpipe, Korpi' (TM)s relentless drive, Koski's focused ninja style and Piiroinen' (TM)s recent climb to the top of the TTR World Rankings, garnering international recognition, has proven the Finn's dedication and hard work resulting in countless TTR podiums and Titles. In 08/09 already five Finnish riders have set up camp in the Swatch TTR Top 15.

If you spend any decent amount of time in the Austrian Alps you' (TM)re bound to run into one of the Aesthetiker, a crew of board riders ' united by their specific vision of snowboarding and their love for nature and the mountains.' While the crew' (TM)s focus is more on the movement and style of snowboarding rather than competitive ambitions, the Aesthetiker still produce a healthy crop of contest riders. The crew itself is quite robust, but some of the stand out contest riders that shred the euro scene, with the utmost style and flavour include: Steve Gruber, Rudi and Chris Kroell, and Andy "Mone" Monsberger - five guys who know how to get it done. Rudi Kroell has also made himself known as the best Austrian on the Swatch TTR Tour, finishing last season as TTR World No. 32 and consistent Top 100 finishes over the past few season.

When it comes to simply going huge the DC team seems to have all the angles covered. Riders like Travis Rice, Chas Guldemond, and Torstein Horgmo have pushed the boundaries of competitive trick progression. Double Corked 10s, BS 12s and straight up beefy style results in a team of snowboarders that are always ready to work hard and play beyond the boundaries of the conventional snowboarder' (TM)s sandbox. Rice, Guldemond and Horgmo are always at the Top of the TTR rankings, with Guldemond leading the Tour as World No. 1 since the Southern hemisphere and somehow they always have something new in every contest they enter. It' (TM)s a testament to their natural abilities to go beyond expectations.

In terms of dishing out fresh, supreme female talent, the Roxy team takes the cake. At nearly every TTR contest, Roxy has churned out an epic line up of women riders such as Kjersti Oestgaard-Buaas, Lisa Wiik, Aimee Fuller and most notably Torah Bright, the 06/07 TTR Tour Champion. In 2009, the Roxy team has continued their success with three riders in the Women' (TM)s TTR Top 15 with plenty of more opportunities for progress still on the way.

After a brief look and some of crews and teams currently at the top of their game, it' (TM)s clear to see that snowboarding contests are more than just a turn-based-be-the-best jamboree. These contests are also about the characters and people you meet on the way and the friends and team mates that push each other to progress and develop. With the current TTR season at full throttle, be sure to keep your eyes glued to www.ttrworldtour.com for highlights from yet another epic 6Star Burton European Open and get ready for some high class Quarterpipe action at the 6Star Billabong Air & Style in Innsbruck, Austria. This season features a truckload of contests on the horizon where you can witness these crews, teams and friends doing what they do best.

Shaun White threw it down today at the X Games, not only did he win the Gold in Snowboard Slopestyle, his run was the highest scoring run in the X Slopestyle history. The reason for this all boils down to one thing, the channel jump. White was the only rider to gap the channel jump, and that's that, another Gold for Shaun White.
Here's a list of what he stuck in his run: Backside lipslide on the down rail, front 270 over the kink, back 180 up the butter box, cab 5 off, backside rodeo off the boner box kicker, cab 1080, backside 720 over the channel gap, to finish it off with a frontside 1080.
Next up for White is the Superpipe, which he has been known destroy.

The 13th Winter X Games will kick off today in Aspen, Colorado, you know the town Mary Swanson is from. I dunno, my friend Loyd drove there for some chick, Mary, a few years back. Well anyway, it's going to go off. Names like: Travis Rice, Shaun White, Hanna Beaman, Jussi Oksansen and Mason Aguirre, to name a few, are amping to get going.

The first day of the Games will be aired tonight night on ESPN, you know that channel that usually covers all those sports where they play with balls. Coverage is set to start at 9 pm and go to 11 pm ET. That ET stands for Eastern Time, so if you don't live on the Right Coast check your local listings.

Click here to see all of the invited Xers and what events they'll be competing in.

Laax, Switzerland - January 15th, 2009: Another spectacular battle ensued today in the Halfpipe at the 6Star Burton European Open. Again, 1000 Swatch TTR ranking points were on offer as well a big part of the total prize purse of $125,000 USD, motivating riders to up the ante. As in 2008, Kevin Pearce (USA) narrowly snatched victory from Shaun White (USA) moving him up to World No.4 on the Swatch TTR Ranking. White finished the competition in second, the Swiss local and fan' (TM)s favourite Iouri Podladtchikov in third. Also Kelly Clark (USA) repeated her victory from 2008 and claimed first place in the women' (TM)s Halfpipe battle. She now sits in World No. 9. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (NOR) and Paulina Ligocka (POL) took second and third place.

A monster Halfpipe and blue bird conditions proved to be the perfect combination for the riders to lay down mind boggling tricks that pushed Halfpipe progression to unseen levels. 07/08 Swatch TTR World Tour Champion Kevin Pearce was looking to repeat his 2008 BEO Halfpipe victory, boosting large and spinning big with a Stalefish to McTwist, followed by back to back 10s and a Frontside 9. ' It' (TM)s amazing to win this title a second year in a row and after not performing that well yesterday its good to get some TTR points today' , he said. White' (TM)s second place finish has put him into TTR World No.12, setting him up well for the rest of the season. Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) came in third, jumping 26 positions into World No. 21 in the ranking.

Kelly Clark was doing what she does best - impressing the judges with her smooth style and solid tricks. Her winning run consisted of back to back 7s followed by back to back 5s, with a monster double overhead Frontside Air to finish it off. She has now moved up to World No.9 and was super stoked on the results ' It' (TM)s great to do so well at a 6Star event here in Laax. I' (TM)ll be at all the big events and if I do well and jump up a few spots in the TTR that would be a great bonus for me' , stated Clark.

As predicted the Swatch TTR rankings now look very different with a number of key movers and shakers. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) has moved into World No.2, continuing to narrow Chas Guldemond' (TM)s lead. Aguirre (USA) stormed into the TTR Top 10 and now sits in World No. 8 while Finnish rider Markus Malin takes the final spot in the TTR Top 5 and now sits in World No. 5. Danny Davis (USA) and Antti Autti (FIN) performed well over both contests and are now both in the TTR Top 20 (World No. 13 and 14), eager to further improve their rankings.

Jamie Anderson still has some breathing room in Swatch TTR World No.1, however the other girls are in hot pursuit. Sina Candrian (SUI) is behind her in World No. 2, followed closely by Kara Rennie (CAN) in three and Cheryl Maas (NED) in four. Sarka Pancochova (CZE) continued to climb the ranking today, moving into World No.7. Tailing her are today' (TM)s top finishers Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas in World No.8 and Kelly Clark in World No.9.

Season 08/09 is shaping up to the most tightly contested yet, with all the previous Tour Champions and new comers hungry for victory. Log on to www.go211.com to watch the replay from both days of competition and stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com for fresh videos, news, blogs, and rankings. The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour is building momentum and the race continues January 17th 2009 at the 3Star Protest World Rookie Fest in Livigno, Italy, where the young guns will be looking to impress.

Burton European Open Halfpipe Top Ten Results - Men

1 Pearce Kevin (USA) Norwich 95.50
2 White Shaun (USA) Carlsbad 92.3
3 Podladtchikov Iouri (SUI) Z rich 89.33
4 Crepel Mathieu (FRA) Anglet 86.83
5 Piiroinen Peetu (FIN) Hyvink 86.50
6 Aguirre Mason (USA) Bishop 77.67
7 Koski Markku (FIN) Helsinki 74.83
8 Malin Markus (FIN) Lahti 73.33
9 Simmen Gian (SUI) Krattigen 72.00
10 Kleivdal Roger (NOR) Geilo 66.83

Burton European Open Halfpipe Top Ten Results - Women

1 Clark Kelly (USA) West Dover94.17
2 Oestgaard Buaas Kjersti (NOR) Trondheim 85.33
3 Ligocka Paulina (POL) Cieszyn 81.17
4 Haug Linn (NOR) Trondheim 78.33
5 Thost Nicola (GER) M nchen 68.17
6 Pancochova Sarka (CZE) Uh 65.50
7 Wiik Lisa (NOR) Trondheim 63.50
8 Sadar Cilka (SLO) Ljubljana 56.33
9 Miwa Akiko (JPN) Saitama 66.00
10 McKenna Lesley (GBR) Aviemore 65.33