Gold Rush / Winter X Games 13 / Day 1.

Day 1 at Winter X Games 13 in Aspen was siiiiiiiiiiiiiiick, as new blood topped the podium. Recently legal, Joe Parsons, 21 from Yakima Washington got the best of favorite Levi LaValle in Snowmobile Speed & Style. In the Snowboard Big Air, Travis Rice went Gold via text message, and the last 5 Golds in Skiing SuperPipe were nullified by stylie Frenchman Xaiver Bertoni. CLICK to ENLARGE.

That's It, That's All: Free boarding legend Travis Rice stomped to Gold in Snowboard Big Air. photo: Eric Lars Bakke/ Shazamm / ESPN ImagesJoe Parsons turned 21 on Wed. He took Gold in Speed & Style on Thur. at Winter X 13. photo: Brian Balsaitis/ Shazamm/ESPN images.Xavier Bertoni of France had to Go HUGE to top dominators Tanner Hall and Simon Dumont in SuperPipe. photo: Eric Lars Bakke/ Shazamm/ ESPN Images 

X Games Aspen / Two More Years

Golden Rules: Torah Bright (boarder) and Levi LaValle (sled head) want more hardware.ESPN hosted a press conference at ButterMilk to kick off X Games 13 in Aspen.   Jack Weinert from ESPN and Mike Kaplan announced a two year extension of the existing relationship between ESPN and Aspen for Winter X.  Aspen will be hosing Winter X for at least 3 more years through 2012 and X Games 16. 

Click the pix to ENLARGE.Board Meeting: Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark both want to go HUGE at X Games. 

 Golden Girl, skier Sarah Burke back in Aspen to 3-peat

TWO MORE YEARS: Mike Kaplan and ESPN's Jack Weinert hug it out to extend Winter X Games in Aspen. Speed: Daron Rahlves (Skier X) and K-J van der Klooster (Mono-Skier X).   The Voice and spirit of X Games for the past 10 years: Sal Masekela ESPN PR pros, Danny Chi and Crystal Yang

SuperStars of Winter X Games 13 in Aspen.

Haber Vision

Foggy Goggles?  Not Us.  We like to see what we ski.

AspenSpin.com just stepped up to Haber Vision, and the Eliminator Goggles and its "no fog" fan technology.  Steve Haber of Denver is the genius behind Haber Vision's exceptional polarized brand of goggles and sunglasses.  Haber himself was instrumental in the development of the Bolle brand in the 80's and is now making his own line of highly technical, polarized, performance eye wear.

The Eliminator is really cool, it's a self contained module that you can slip easily into almost any pair of goggles.  No wires, no external battery pack, just a small, lightweight housing that easily clicks in.  We especially like the "auto mode" that engages the fan only when the humidity rises inside your goggles.  The automatic-fan regulates and eliminates the fog---so you can see what you're shredding.  The Eliminator can be purchased in Aspen, at Optical Optionsright across from the Gondy at 520 E. Durant (above Big Wrap)., or click HABER VISION. The Haber Eliminator;  it'll clear your head for sure.

The Cougar Show

Reality TV has hit Aspen. Yup, its true,a VH1 / MTV production team is in town filming a pilot, tentatively called "Tough Love". We've heard it called, The Cougar Show. Several local ladies were chosen by VH1 to get "mic-ed up" and "followed" around Aspen. Each of the women are nice, attractive, social, sexy and stylish. Whether their lives make for compelling TV, that is yet to be determined.

For the record, WE LOVE ALL the GIRLZ, ---individually, together and as often as possible. We just hope the camera-men and the beanie wearing, walkie-talkie-wielding producers (led by Brett Weinstock) don't turn their lives into a sh*t show. BE CAREFUL GIRLZ; REALITY BITES.

We attended a few of the groovy parties that were "staged" for the show. We'll come right out and say it, LOUD and CLEAR: We prefer to party FREE-STYLE.But everybody wants to be on TV, right?. So we slicked it back, put on a blazer (?) and showed up to the alcohol (?) fueled "reality" parties. It was fun to observe the production, and see how the "stars" reacted to the red light, but it was far from reality. With equal parts fascination and nausea we watched and snapped a few.

Click REALITY BITES to see some pix.Aspen Reality TV: Click 4 Pix

Reality Bites: Click 4 PixWe've also heard rumours about BRAVO casting a reality show of a similar genre in Aspen."More of a character study" said one insider, right?. Also talk of a Cougar movie, zzzzzz. It'll be interesting to see if either of the shows ever see the light of day.

The BOYZ are BACK / Gay Ski Week in Aspen

Gay Ski Week in Aspen.It's Gay Ski Week (GSW) in Aspen and the BOYZ are BACK.

In Aspen, it's time to "rock out with your c*ck out". Let your rainbow flag fly and "jacuz with dudes".  As always, GSW is a rowdy, party filled week of fun, decadence, and pleasure.   While competition from other GSW's (namely Whistler and Telluride) has dwindled the numbers in Aspen, these  guys (and a few gals) definitely know how to "get after it".   The skiing, the roving cocktail parties, gallery night, a gay vs. straight hockey match, the "drag" ski parade on Ajax, and the BIG DADDY of them all, the POOL PARTY make for a raucous weekend.

Hey --- its all good.  Boyz will  be boyz (and girls) in Aspen.  They shop, they dine, they drink to excess and they spend big bucks.  Then---- poof---they're gone.