The most anticipated snow event of the year will return to Aspen, Colorado for another action-packed and intense weekend filled with extreme skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling.

Words: ESPN

Winter X Games Aspen 2012 will return to Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., January 26-29, 2012, with live coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. This year will mark the 11th consecutive year the event will be held in Aspen and will feature more than 200 of the world's best athletes in the sports of Skiing, Snowboarding and Snowmobile.

For the first time at Winter X Games, the Slopestyle competitions will be held under the bright lights and in prime time - a first for any large-scale Slopestyle competition in history. In addition to 16 hours of live programing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, more than nine hours of Winter X Games Aspen content will be offered on ESPN3.

Making its debut at the inaugural Winter X Games in 1997 at Big Bear Lake, Slopestyle disciplines were recently approved in July by the International Olympic Committee to be added to the Winter Olympics roster of events, effective in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Slopestyle tests a rider's ability to handle a variety of terrain by executing freestyle maneuvers down a course filled with a variety of features. The Winter X Games course will contain rails, hips, tabletops and a variety of jumps, allowing riders to combine big air and technical tricks into one run. Riders are judged on amplitude, execution, difficulty of line, landings and use of the course.

"For my peers and I, competing under the lights in prime time represents a huge opportunity for even more people to see what we do and get excited about it," said Sebastien Toutant, last year's Snowboard Slopestyle gold medalist and male Jeep Athlete of the Games. "I'm really excited that ESPN made the decision to air Slopestyle at night this year. I've been a big fan of X Games since I was young, and am stoked to learn about this new development - its huge!"

Among the first wave of invited athletes:

Shaun White (USA): The most decorated athlete in Winter X Games history and defending four-time Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Kelly Clark (USA): Three-time Winter X Games gold medalist and defending Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist who also became the first female snowboarder to land a 1080 in the SuperPipe. Clark also has Olympic gold from 2002 and bronze from 2010.

Kevin Rolland (FRA): The two-time defending Skiing SuperPipe gold medalist at Winter X Games and Winter X Games Europe, Rolland made history in 2011 becoming the first skier to land three doubles in the same run.

Sebastien Toutant (CAN): The male Jeep Athlete of the Games at last year's event, Toutant was the surprise star of the Winter X Games, winning both Snowboard Slopestyle gold and Big Air silver in his rookie appearance.

Sarah Burke (CAN): The first female rider to land a 720, 900 and 1080 in competition, Burke returned to the top of the Winter X Games Skiing SuperPipe podium in 2011, adding another gold medal to her collection.

Lindsey Jacobellis (USA): With the most Snowboarder X gold of any athlete, Jacobellis will attempt the first-ever Snowboarder X Women's five-peat at Winter X Games Aspen 2012.

Daniel Bodin (SWE): After finishing fourth in every Winter X Games Snowmobile Freestyle contest until 2011, Bodin enjoyed a breakout event last year, winning gold in both Freestyle and Best Trick.*Subject to Change

Check out X Games Hangout featuring the invited athletes.

Jenny Jones has been around the block a time or too. She's been in the game since 2000 and has held a steady presence in the industry since 2005 but has yet to really break into the mainstream. Our favorite English rider is coming off back to back golds from X Games USA and a gold from the inaugural Euro X event last March. Despite these heavy accolades, Jones rarely sees the media attention she deserves.

Could this be Jenny Jones' full-on break out year?

Relentless Energy gives us an inside look at Jones' shredding career, where she's come from, and where she could go. Check out this artistic portrayal of the pro life that's led by English shred, Jenny Jones.

X Games fans witnessed another impressive crusade from Metal Mulisha at the Staples Center and LA Coliseum this past weekend, as the team took home three gold medals and ten overall in six different events, including Mulisha's first-ever medals in Rally racing.

Josh Grant kicked off the weekend by earning gold in Super X at the LA Coliseum, redeeming himself after an accident during last year's X Games Super X competition that broke both his feet. The medal was Grant's first X Games gold and second overall for the 24-year-old from Riverside, Calif.

Moto X Best Trick went to Cam Sinclair, which capped off an amazing comeback for the Australian rider, who suffered a horrific crash only one year ago. Sinclair won gold with a double backflip, garnering an overall score of 94.33 and a huge roar from the Staples Center crowd. Sinclair shared the medal podium with his Mulisha Family teammate Robbie Madison, who landed the first-ever body viral-to-side-saddle lander, which earned him a silver medal, and Taka Higashino, who took the bronze with a backflip double grand Indian air.

The next night at Staples Center, Todd Potter took gold in the Moto X Best Whip event, which was decided by fans through text messaging. Potter wowed the crowd with his various whip maneuvers, earning 52% of the vote. Mulisha teammate, Jeremy 'Twitch' Stenberg, took 11% of fans' votes, which earned him the bronze.

Over at the LA Coliseum on Saturday night, Mulisha founder and X Games legend Brian Deegan showed that he can do it all on the dirt, bringing home silver in both Rally and SuperRally in his first time racing the events at X Games. Deegan, who was competing in his 12th X Games, was a two-sport star for Mulisha in Rally and Freestyle Moto events.

"This year's X Games was extra exciting because I was able to compete in something completely new, and then have fun with my Mulisha crew in freestyle," said Deegan. "FMX will always be my #1, but it was great to be successful in my first try at Rally. I'm already looking forward to competing for the gold again next year."

X Games 16 concluded with a dramatic Moto X Speed and Style event at the Staples Center, with four Mulisha riders competing. Deegan and Stenberg faced off in the quarterfinals, joining Ronnie Faisst in the round of eight. However, the biggest cheers of the night, and perhaps all X Games weekend, came when Stenberg returned from an earlier injury to challenge teammate Faisst in a bronze medal match. Stenberg fell early in the race and was seemingly defeated, until Faisst's bike stalled shortly afterwards and paved the way for a recovered Stenberg to take third. Afterwards, judges realized the checkered flag had been waved too early and awarded Faisst with a bronze medal as well, sharing third with his teammate.

Along with gracing multiple medal podiums, the Metal Mulisha team was out with fans all weekend, signing autographs and taking photos in the Mulisha pits at the LA Coliseum and outside Staples Center. The brand also partnered with Ford this year to give one lucky fan a chance to win a brand new Ford Fiesta.

Metal Mulisha also unveiled the 'Mulisha Nation' t-shirt at X Games, which featured an LA Raiders-inspired skull and crossbones design to commemorate X Games' return to the Coliseum. Team riders and support crew were wearing the Mulisha Nation t-shirt as a sign of solidarity, encouraging fans to join the Nation. A similar shirt can be purchased while supplies last through the Mulisha Facebook store, which launched this past week, becoming the first action sports brand to offer a store directly on the world's biggest social networking site.

"Another X Games is complete and Mulisha added more to the record books," said Metal Mulisha rider and Marketing Director, Ryan Hagy. "Thanks to our fans for their great support as always - we look forward to seeing Mulisha Nation at our competitions and demos in the coming months."

Metal Mulisha will continue to perform through August 14th on the Rock Star Mayhem Tour, which also features music from bands including Korn and Rob Zombie. Mayhem Tour details, dates and locations can be found at www.metalmulisha.com/mayhem.

For more information on all Mulisha news, visit the Metal Mulisha Facebook page or www.metalmulisha.com.

Metal Mulisha Results - 2010 X Games 16

Best Trick
Cameron Sinclair - GOLD
Robbie Madison -- SILVER
Taka Higashino -- BRONZE

Best Whip
Todd Potter - GOLD
Jeremy Stenberg -- BRONZE

SuperRally
Brian Deegan -- SILVER

Speed & Style
Jeremy Stenberg -- BRONZE
Ronnie Faisst -- BRONZE

Super X - Men
Josh Grant -- GOLD

Racing
Brian Deegan -- SILVER

The X Games wouldn't be the contest we all know and love without the party factor. Simple as it, people in action sports world like to party. What better place to do it than with all of your friends at the extreme games?

This year the parties went off and now that the dust has settled and our hangovers cured, it's time for a recap. On Friday night, everyone was geared up and raring to go. The place to be was the Monster Energy and DC party at Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.


Robbie D at this Fanstasy Factory. Photo: Tawnya Schultz- Snowboard-mag.com

The place was packed and everyone was going off thanks to the free drinks from Monster Energyand free food from Wahoo's Fish Tacos.

Once the social lubricant of booze and Monster Energy drinks kicked in, the party got started. Rob Dyrdek took to the stage and formally introduced the members of the 10/11 Street League Crew. One by one, pro skaters were giving their goods and official handshake declaring their membership within the league.


Official Members of the Street League. Photo: Monster/Dc

Once the awards were given, rappers Bun B and Paul Wall took to the stage and blew everyones minds. The hard hitting beats had everyone dancing and the crowd was going off.


"It's Paul Wall Baby" Photo: Monster/DC

The crowd was filled with everyone from pro skaters, moto x dudes and even a couple tiny dancers.

Louie Vito and Tawnya Schultz repping the Snowboard World. Photo: Snowboard-mag.com

The party was pure bananas- everything one would expect from the first night of X.

The following night, after attending the Games, (which are a party in themselves) it was time to gear up for the next night of mayhem. ESPN took the reins as party planners and held a rager-rama at the Congo Room near LA Live. Camp Freddy was set to appear and the crowd was electric with anticipation for the rockstars to appear on the stage.

Shortly after the tic of 11, rock legends took to the stage for a mind-blowing rockshow that had everyone rallying. The likes of Dave Navarro and Billy Corgan ripped rifts on their guitars and belted out classics that had everyone creaming for more.

Dave Navarro is as hot as you think. Photo: Tawnya Schultz

Once the concert ended and everyone retrieved the bits of their mind that were blown, some made the trek to Hollywood for a little late night party with the Target crew. The specifics from this portion of the night are a bit hazy, but lets just say it was epic.

The next day with pounding heads and vague memories from the nights before, we soldiered on to the last day of X. To cap off an incredible weekend, we hung out in a suite to watch Moto Speed and Style. It was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend.

Thank you Monster, DC, Oakley, and ESPN for making this weekend such a radical rager. We look forward to the next round of X Games. Thankfully they aren't until January.

GrindTV Newswire, Via Metal Mulisha: Irvine, Calif. (August 2, 2010) - X Games fans witnessed another impressive crusade from Metal Mulisha at the Staples Center and LA Coliseum this past weekend, as the team took home three gold medals and ten overall in six different events, including Mulisha's first-ever medals in Rally racing.

Josh Grant kicked off the weekend by earning gold in Super X at the LA Coliseum, redeeming himself after an accident during last year's X Games Super X competition that broke both his feet. The medal was Grant's first X Games gold and second overall for the 24-year-old from Riverside, Calif.



Moto X Best Trick went to Cam Sinclair, which capped off an amazing comeback for the Australian rider, who suffered a horrific crash only one year ago. Sinclair won gold with a double backflip, garnering an overall score of 94.33 and a huge roar from the Staples Center crowd. Sinclair shared the medal podium with his Mulisha Family teammate Robbie Madison, who landed the first-ever body viral-to-side-saddle lander, which earned him a silver medal, and Taka Higashino, who took the bronze with a backflip double grand Indian air.