'It's the most wonderful time of the year.' Yes, that lyric holds true for this week, not only because of holiday season, but because the Winter Dew Tour kicks off the Nike Open in Breckenridge, Colorado. For the fourth year in a row, world-class athletes will descend upon Colorado's picturesque mountain town for a week of action-packed shredding and shenanigans that has come to be known as the Dew Tour.

Snowboarders and freeskiers will be competing in halfpipe and slopestyle for piece of the Tour's hefty prize purse, and for the chance to win points towards the coveted Dew Cup. Also cued up for the week is the Nike Chosen Rail Jam and a concert by the one and only Yelawolf.

It's gonna go off in Breck, so keep it locked to GrindTV and Snowboarder Mag for all the breaking action.

Burr Ridge, Ill. - Dec. 2011 - The Winter Dew Tour will kick off its fourth season this week in Breckenridge, Colorado, December 15-18. The weekend's events will bring the top names in snowboard and freeski superpipe and slopestyle to the mountain, while helping to celebrate Breckenridge's 50th anniversary.

Included in the list of names returning to the mountain is Kevin Pearce, who will ride his snowboard for the first time since his December 2009 injury. Hitting the slopes at the Winter Dew Tour on Tuesday, Pearce will be joined by Frends, family and well-wishers for some leisurely riding. An interview with Pearce will be broadcast on NBC Saturday, December 17 at 2:00pm EST, during snowboard superpipe finals.

Louie Vito enters the 2011-12 season eager to repeat his championship performance in the superpipe. He will find stiff competition in Shaun White and Danny Davis, who both return to the Dew Tour this year after a competitive hiatus. Sage Kotsenburg will take to the slopestyle course intent on reclaiming the Dew Cup he won in 2010 from 2011 winner Torstein Horgmo, redeeming his 13th place finish at the end of last season.

Freeskiing game-changer Simon Dumont has come up short in his goal of winning the superpipe Dew Cup, landing in 2nd place since the Winter Dew Tour's inception. He comes to Breckenridge with visions of the elusive title in his future, competing against Justin Dorey, Kevin Rolland and young phenom Torin Yater-Wallace, who dominated in the Gatorade Free Flow Tour before moving up to the pro ranks in 2010. The freeski slopestyle course will heat up with the technical expertise of Bobby Brown, Alex Schlopy and Sammy Carlson.

The ladies will be showing off their snow skills as well. Kelly Clark dominated the women's superpipe contest circuit last season and expects this year to be no different. Elena Hight and Ellery Hollingsworth will be among the young competition, along with veterans Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter aiming to bump her off the top of the podium in Breckenridge. The slopestyle course will also be lighting up with young female talent, as Spencer O'Brien and Enni Rukajarvi face a wide field of up-and-coming qualifiers to begin an exciting competitive season.

Taking the action off the mountain, Nike will host the first stop of their Winter Chosen Tour with a rail jam competition down at the Riverwalk Center Saturday night. Free for all to attend, it will be a showdown of the top local amateurs, with a DJ spinning to the contest and Nike pros commentating. The action leads right into the Winter Dew Tour concert series, treating snowboarders, skiers and hip-hop fans alike to a performance by one of rap's most buzzed about and unique up and comers as Yelawolf and opening act The Knux take the stage. These Shady Records acts will be the perfect complement to Friday's 50th Anniversary celebration in the town, with 100 percent of the ticket proceeds going to SOS Outreach.

Schedule:

Pre-Qualified Athlete List: