Did you ever wonder what a video game would look like in real life? What if you were able to put yourself inside your favorite Amped Series game with every pro you could imagine throwing tricks you thought were only possible in the animated form? This feeling can only be dreamed of at an event such as the 2007 ESPN Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. The X Games this year saw some of the biggest crowds, sickest athletes, and most amazing shows. Packed every day with thousands of screaming fans, the venue located at the bottom of Buttermilk Mountain was one of the best in action sports history. This year, the sick ladies of X-Games Eleven had something to say to the action sports world. LOOK AT US!! Not only were they going huge, but they looked damn good doing it!
Thursday night saw the women’s snowboard Superpipe finals, where former Olympians, Gretchen Bleiler, Torah Bright, Elena Hight and Hannah Teter battled it out for gold. Each of these four superstars quite obviously had the skills to be on the top of the field, so it was crucial for each of them to go as big as possible and land as clean as possible. Watching these women could bring a tear to the eye of any enthusiast as they came down the pipe. Bright ended up on top, followed by Bleiler, and close behind was 17 year-old Elena Hight. Teter ended up in fourth, but hey, with of field of such amazing ladies, she wasn’t one to complain!
The women skiing Superpipe finals also caused a big scene, with airs nobody thought would be possible for girls. Sarah Burke, women’s freeskiing icon, wowed the judges with her amplitude and technique, throwing a wicked 900 and massive grabs. She was followed by Grete Eliassen, who had a touchdown on her switch landing from her final hit; and Jen Hudak, who has worked her way up from moguls to freeride and is starting to gain a great deal of respect from her fellow competitors. All of these ladies are continuing to prove that women can most certainly keep up with the men!
Speaking of badass women! Skier Cross gave the girls a bit of a chance to get out some of their aggression, where the skiers and riders stopped at nothing to win themselves a medal. These girls raced around obstacles, went over jumps, crashed, got back up and raced for the finish line. Nobody was about to mess with these ladies when they got to the bottom! For the skiers, favorite Anik Demers-Wild got her ski caught on Sasa Faric’s tail, pushing her out of the race only a few seconds in. The rest was up to Ophelie David. She kept a steady lead the whole way, and ended up with the gold, followed close behind by Valentine Scuotto and Meryll Boulangeat. In snowboarding, Joanie Anderson gained a surprising win ahead of Lindsey Jacobellis, after a neck-and-neck race down the course. Maelle Ricker was close in with these women also, but couldn’t get ahead in time to cross the finish line and ended up with the bronze.
Each of these women represented for their sport and proved that men aren’t the only ones who can do sweet tricks. They are continuing to tear up the action sports circuit and show that girls aren’t all about nail polish and blow driers. These fierce ladies not only dominate their specialties, they look good doing it!
Words by Molly Sullan
Photos by Ian Bisio
