Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

BY BRIAN GOMEZ, THE GAZETTE

ASPEN – Only one trick was thought to be gnarly enough to top Shaun White, and Iouri Podladtchikov didn’t have the guts to throw it. Turns out, it wouldn’t have mattered at all.

The “Flying Tomato” overcame an injured left ankle Sunday for the first perfect score in Winter X Games snowboard superpipe history, displaying his usual blend of style, height and technicality to win his 17th medal on Buttermilk Mountain, including his 12th gold.

See photo highlights from Sunday at the Winter X Games!

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, White, 25, of Carlsbad, Calif., prevailed for a record-tying fifth straight year in the superpipe, his heavily iced ankle giving him no issues after he hurt it Thursday, pulled out of Friday’s slopestyle and skipped Saturday’s practice. His total of 100 – out of 100 – surpassed his own best of 97.67, in 2003, made possible by a victory lap after Podladtchikov, of Switzerland, was a point back, at 93, on his third ride.

White marked a 94 on his opening run; crashed on a second run that left him with a black eye and a bloodied chin; then soared above 22-foot walls with two double cork 1,080s, a double McTwist 1,260 and a first-of-its-kind frontside double cork 1,260. He reached 18 feet in amplitude on his winning trip – far higher than Podladtchikov, who brought three straight double corks but didn’t attempt the switch backside 1,260 he had done only once.

Before his final run, White said his coach, Bud Keene, told him, “They’re going to give you a 100 if you make it.” In a black bandana, a black leather jacket and skin-tight pants that resembled a “mixture of cheetah and zebra,” White noted, “Everything felt perfect. I was landing the double (1,080s) at the top, and the Cab double came through perfect. And I don’t know if I’ve ever landed my double (McTwist 1,260) as clean as I have.”

A runner-up to White for the second time, Podladtchikov countered White with his own double McTwist 1,260, however, he decided against the switch backside 1,260 because of a “really bad morning” in a qualifying session in which White triumphed with an 88.66 and 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Scotty Lago didn’t make the eight-person cutoff, in 15th place. “That hit wasn’t nice to me,” Podladtchikov said. “It kept landing flat, and the switch airs didn’t work out the way they should have. I just didn’t have enough juice.”

White said his night “wasn’t complete until I landed that run. I put (the frontside double cork 1,260) out there on the second run, and it put my face into that icy wall, and I was so upset from that. … It was one of those things where if I didn’t do it now, I would forever kind of have this weird mindset that this trick was dangerous and scary. I didn’t want it to like manifest in my mind. I had already won … and I knew I had some more to do still.”

SKI CROSS RACER DISQUALIFIED

Langely McNeal was disqualified in skier X after French officials filed a complaint about the tightness of her racing suit in a semifinal heat that would have put her into the finals. Winter X officials said McNeal was scratched because of elastic bands she was wearing on both of her pant cuffs, while McNeal contends she was kicked out over a hair tie and a ribbon for Sarah Burke, the Canadian skier who was killed this month in a practice crash.

“To say I’m heartbroken is an understatement,” McNeal posted on her Facebook page. “Trying to be graceful about the whole thing, but it is a hard one to swallow.” She later wrote on Facebook, “What happened was totally unjust, but I have a feeling some much-needed regulations will come out of this. Hopefully, this never happens to anyone else.”

SNOWMOBILER INJURED IN STUNT

Three-time Winter X medalist Justin Hoyer broke his left ankle and right forearm when he spilled on a double backflip in a snowmobile trick contest. The skis on his sled stuck into the ground, then his 450-pound snowmobile toppled on his back. Medical personnel stabilized his neck during a 20-minute delay, and he was hauled away on a stretcher.

SWAN SONG FOR PUCKETT

Aspen resident Casey Puckett has called it quits, retiring after a fifth-place finish in skier X. The five-time Olympian competed for the past 22 years, first as an Alpine skier and most recently in ski cross. He leaves with four Winter X medals, including two golds.

“I felt him on the back of my skis across those flats. He still has it,” said Canadian Dave Duncan, a bronze medalist behind Chris Del Bosco of Vail and Filip Flisar of Slovenia. Del Bosco said, “He has had a good run. He has always been one of the guys I’ve battled with for a lot of years.” Flisar added, “It’s just amazing to see that old guy running over and over again, being so good. The way he pursued it, that was just amazing.”

MEN’S SKIER X

1. Chris Del Bosco, Vail

2. Filip Flisar, Maribor, Slovenia

3. Dave Duncan, Golden, British Columbia

What to know: Del Bosco took the lead from Jouni Pellinen of Finland midway through, winning by 0.141 of a second for his fourth Winter X medal, including his second gold

Quoting Del Bosco: “Last year, I was close, and this was a big one on my list this year. I’ve kind of had an up-and-down season. To come here and get the gold is pretty special.”

WOMEN’S SKIER X

1. Marte Gjefsen, Lillehammer, Norway

2. Hedda Berntsen, Oslo

3. Jenny Owens, Freshwater, Australia

What to know: Gjefsen avoided a crash that took out Sanna Luedi of Switzerland with a dislocated right shoulder, then grinded to her first Winter X gold with casts on both hands

Quoting Gjefsen: “I had to trust my gliding skills and pass down the course, and in the final, that was what happened. I was just like really happy and trying to stay focused.”

MONO SKIER X

1. Samson Danniels, Whistler, British Columbia

2. Gregory Peck, Wasilla, Alaska

3. Josh Dueck, Vernon, British Columbia

What to know: Danniels lost his early lead, then passed Peck going into the final series of turns and survived a mid-air collision after Peck clipped his backside on the last jump

Quoting Danniels: “I came out and gave it everything I got and skied hard. I blew up a ski this week in practice, and I am using a ski that is not even mine. I cannot believe it.”

SNOWMOBILE BEST TRICK

1. Heath Frisby, Middleton, Idaho

2. Colten Moore, Krum, Texas

3. Joe Parsons, Yakima, Wash.

What to know: Frisby performed the first front flip in a competition for his seventh Winter X medal, only his second gold, on the heels of a horrific wipeout by Justin Hoyer

Quoting Frisby: “This has been everything. … I set a goal for myself, and I always told myself I can’t do two things at once, but if I focus on one thing, I can do it. It feels great.“

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