Photo: Mark Kohlman/ESPN

Urban snowboarding has officially hit the masses people. The Winter X Games Real Snow rail jam went down today at Buttermilk Mountain and the guys competing were on fire.

The set-up didn't seem as intimidating as it's inaugural year in 2011 and the riders were appreciating the opportunity to throw down their best bag of tricks.

We're not kidding when we say that urban riding has become more accessible to broad audiences. More resorts are replicating street set-ups so that shredders have the option to hit street-like jibs at their local mountain. This small community is growing by the minute and the Real Snow event at the Winter X Games in Aspen, CO is only further proof of that.

Forest Bailey (mostly known for video parts) claimed the number one spot - followed close by Ryan Paul (front flip phenom) with Nick Visconti (jibbing master) rounding out third place. Needless to say, the group of competitors was stacked with talent, providing excellent entertainment and impressive riding for all to witness. Full recap of this progressive event below.


Words: ESPN

The oohs and aahs echoing from the course at Buttermilk Mountain provided the perfect backdrop as Winter X Games rookie Forest Bailey wowed the crowd with a variation of tricks to grab the gold in Snowboard Street.

"I can't believe this," said an overwhelmed Bailey. "I never thought I would come to X Games let alone win a medal. X Games 2012 was sick; the setup was awesome and the crowd was awesome."

Bailey's total score of 88 was five points better than Minnesota's Ryan Paul, who finished with 83 points and the silver.

"Everyone stood out and rode really well today," said Paul, who wowed the crowd with a backflip on his final run. "It was a cool day."

Truckee, California's Nick Visconti's score of 76 earned him the bronze.

Returning for a second year, the Snowboard Street contest features 10 of the world's best street athletes putting their skills to the test on urban-inspired terrain features. Athletes are judged on aggressive execution of maneuvers, degree of difficulty of maneuvers, variety of maneuvers, originality and style.

For Winter X Games media information, including press releases, logos and additional images from past events, log on to www.espneventmedia.com. To view medalist runs, visit the Winter X Games You Tube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/xgames and follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/xgames