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January 29th 2010
X Games Ski Big Air

Words & photos by John Vandervalk
Video by Craig Lamond (Frnt Row Productions)

Immediately following women's superpipe finals, the third day of Winter X Games culminated in a jaw-dropping and historic way with the over the top insanity that was the ski big air.

Before we get into all the craziness that went down tonight under the lights in front of a maniacal and massive crowd of 20,000+ people who were screaming their lungs out for the boys, let's talk about the jump.

This year's set up was just to the skier's left of the perfectly-scuplted and extra long superpipe, where more mind blowing shenanigans are sure to go down over the next two nights. The jump had a great amount of kick with a bit of step down, complete with a large gap in the middle and a gorgeous and retina-burning full moon above.

Andreas Håtveit

The night began with a round of eliminations that would narrow down the exceptionally talented field from 10 to five. Sammy Carlson, Jacob Wester, Andreas Håtveit, PK Hunder and Tom Wallisch all skied their hearts out, and as expected, threw more double cork 10 and 12's than one could keep track of, but it wasn't enough to best the warriors that fought their way to the 20-minute long jam session finals where the following fab five had to throw two different tricks that would count towards their overall score: Elias Ambuhl, TJ Schiller, Russ Henshaw, Jossi Wells and Bobby Brown.

Sammy Carlson

Jacob Wester

Skiing's favorite Kiwi, Jossi Wells, eventually ended up in fifth with a variety of doubles including a head-turning switch double cork 1440 that would ultimately be a sign of things to come. Look for Wells to make even more noise in tomorrow's back to back slopestyle finals and superpipe eliminations.

Jossi Wells

Russ Henshaw placed fourth, and was looking as solid as ever with his own dubs, until a ski came off during one of his take-off's and he badly bruised his calf during his one-ski landing. Join us in wishing our man Russ all the best in the hope that he's still good to go for tomorrow's slopestyle finals, although if I know Russ, he'll be there charging like a bull.

Russ Henshaw

The Swiss sensation Elias Ambuhl took home his first ever X Games medal at his first ever X Games tonight by placing third, thanks to taking a page out of Jossi's book, with a switch double cork 1440, complete with a grab more tweaked out than Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse.

Elias Ambuhl

But the story of the night and quite possibly the entire X Games so far was the milestone showdown between TJ Schiller and Bobby Brown.

Bobby Brown

Bobby dropped in first and threw a never before seen trick...a switch double misty 1260, which earned him a perfect score of 50. At that point, the contest was Bobby's to win, but the Teen Heartthrob wasn't finished, and decided to step it up a notch with a switch doubly misty 1440, earning him two back-to-back perfect scores. A first at Winter X Games...or any ski competition for that matter.

TJ Schiller

After seeing Bobby's first perfect score, TJ then went for absolute broke after failing to make it into tomorrow's slopestyle finals, and like Bobby blew 20,000 minds away with a double cork 1620 that was grabbed start to finish and with style. Yep, you read that right...a double cork 1620! This also never before seen or even attempted trick earned him a perfect score as well, and although after he wasn't able to repeat the feat (although he missed it by only five points), Bobby Brown was crowned the winner, melting 10,000 ski bunnies hearts in the process.

Bobby Brown

Results

1) Bobby Brown - 100
2) TJ Schiller - 95
3) Elias Ambuhl - 90
4) Russ Henshaw - 89
5) Jossi Wells - 89

Elias Ambuhl (3rd), Bobby Brown (1st), TJ Schiller (2nd)

To say that Bobby, TJ and Elias set the bar for the remainder of the weekend would be an understatement of greater magnitude than what went transpired tonight in Aspen, which was unquestionably one of, if not the most impressive big air contest in the history of skiing. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for more of the same in tomorrow's slopestyle finals and superpipe eliminations, followed by Sunday night's superpipe finals and pipe high air. It's going to be one hell of a ride.

Video by Craig Lamond of Frnt Row Productions

Average Rating: 9.94 of 33 ratings
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Comments
Posted By
First?
ON-3POUltimate Bling!
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:29:49am
2nd
Dhanu
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:32:02am
Double 16s...... wow. Can't wait for video of that.
ON-3POUltimate Bling!
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:32:52am
sick
nickyp$
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:33:57am
so baller
shubjero
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:36:11am
did someone record it by any chance? i saw it live but id like to see it again
manuel87
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:36:50am
sick format in this years big air!
MrLarsen
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:36:56am
Nice photos !
Mathieu.fr
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:41:21am
simply amazing. been so stoked watchin that
i+am+ghetto
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:42:22am
dude seriously double misty 14 and dub cork 16. this is insane cant wait till slopestyle
ski.loon
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:46:42am
such a sick event
LIL_WAT
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:02:57am
yeah so sick Bobby for Team NS JOSS
pb2co
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:12:50am
11th yeahhhhhh such a sick comp. Everyone absolutley killed it, but mad respect for Bobby and Teej!!
jibNAS
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:14:49am
the_kock
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:19:11am
sooo ridiculous
jjibLARA*
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:44:30am
it was amazinggggg!
Peyton
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:46:12am
pello
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:57:20am
sooo insane! my jaw was dropped over and over again :D
salkley
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:58:05am
holy shit, skiing is insane right now
greyninja
Jan 30th 2010 at 8:15:44am
kinda repetative but bobby killed it
willyg0808$
Jan 30th 2010 at 8:41:58am
jon olson didnt compeat because he didnt like the jump?
L.UPTON
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:12:43am
ridiculous
wisconsinsteeze
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:16:15am
hoooly shit! everybody was killin it!!!!
dunkaroos
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:17:52am
illlinist
Billiards.
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:20:47am
weeeoooww so much new shit.
stauss101
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:25:30am
tjs dub 16 was amazing :O
-Such-is-Life-
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:27:01am
dude skiing has gotten to that level- this has been the most progressive competition of all time
Cheezebo
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:30:15am
shilla was unreal
blavallee4
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:35:12am
my brain still hurts from trying to comprehend the craziness of what went down last night. Props to everyone in that Comp cause they changed to face of skiing.
Flashkick101$
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:40:32am
Teej is rediculous, the 16 was perfect!
ColinB
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:42:01am
sick!!!
JakeC
Jan 30th 2010 at 9:50:55am
thats absolutely insane
BPshibby
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:03:48am
that is so ridiculous!!
fsuadl
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:18:55am
honestly shit was crazy, but i was so sick of hearing double at the end of the comp
joey.$
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:24:46am
tjs double 16 was so insane
thebeesknees
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:24:51am
most amazing night ever
ashamedkrew
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:25:13am
soooo sick
COLE.
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:28:10am
i watched it and freaked out last night
jaredlax11$
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:32:14am
Bobby Brown's big air backflip victory run was dope
.802Steeze$
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:39:04am
the full moon makes the pictures real lovely.
kaliformula
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:49:49am
absolutely insane... you can watch the entire replay on espn360 as well as the other nights
eastcoast80
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:51:56am
all of that was so insane, but so was Freestyle Snowmobiling, body varial?
N-U-G-G-E-T
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:54:46am
i was there, so sick
pkafterbang
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:55:16am
dude what the fuck. my brain hurts im gonna have a hangover from just watching that. dub 16, switch dub misty 14. . . . thats like a joke
Zeppelin1080
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:00:28am
yea BOBBY!!
Dan-Man
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:03:35am
wow.
jdub1249
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:03:41am
that blew my mind
Brent_Whipple
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:20:36am
that shit was nuts
prksilllymrkt
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:24:35am
bobby brown with a perfect jump? judges?
freestyler540$
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:35:05am
Jossi should have gotten 3rd first sw dub 14 ever and grabbed and stopped the shit out of weak judging.
Bleeds
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:37:09am
Thank you Bobby! Thank you TJ! Thank you skiing!!
ski-plastic
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:37:44am




here's the hd vid of bobby and tj's tricks

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4871163
senorRONALDO
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:55:55am
shit a squirrel.
sarahskis
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:57:20am
where does skiing go from here, holy fuck
mikemac
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:06:40pm
theres almost no room for improvement... holy balls!
DaveMUltimate Bling!
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:36:25pm
probly the most progressive 20 minutes in skiing's history
alsberg
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:42:10pm
awwwwww yeah boys
rach
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:49:39pm
sooo glad i managed to watch that last night, whats the jacket bobbys wearing? its sick
kerry.fs
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:56:33pm
yah bobby those moon shots are too legit
LO_GO
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:56:56pm
Well I shit my pants.
alztar
Jan 30th 2010 at 12:57:44pm
skiing is ill
tlilly
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:04:58pm
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END
JCon
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:06:29pm
unreal skills!
zkiier07$
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:08:12pm
i just creamed all over the keyboard. Now i have to go get a new one
CloudNine.$
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:17:21pm
after watching that last night, i couldnt decide if its even possible to progress big air skiing any farther than they did... dub 16, sw dub mist 14... filthy
freeskier925
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:29:10pm
that was fucking amazing !!!!
ARMADA221
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:32:20pm
those pictures were so dope with the moon and such
gstaff
Jan 30th 2010 at 1:36:43pm
thats fuckin ridiculous
philcote4
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:03:51pm
i dont know how to handle this
nstubler
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:09:19pm
Bobby is THE man!!!!! So smooth and TJ is a freak!!! These dudes are making these tricks look so easy WTF!!!!!!!!!!! Its coming in the BC!!!!!!!!!
Tommyairlines
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:13:54pm
SICK pics with the moon, and both Teej and Bobbys last runs were dope, the huge backflip and Teej with the B
skiarmada3
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:21:43pm
and A grab i forget the spin on that but it was sick
skiarmada3
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:22:40pm
Didn't Tom throw the 1st double 14 on his last run? Switch too.
Sweetums$
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:31:35pm
it's over

this is beyond me
jmason
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:33:08pm
^^tom just threw a right 14 no cork in it though
ONTerriible
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:41:11pm
watching that live was one of the most exciting things i've ever seen
Low.End
Jan 30th 2010 at 2:48:02pm
so sick. and we need bobby for team ns in joss. if he can do this on the xgames jump, imagine how nice he would be with jon's jumps
rossiskier93
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:07:17pm
it's hard to do and it takes skill but, i REALLY miss laurent favre busting out switch 7s to the bottom of the landing, skiing and aerials are getting more and more alike until they will just be the same sport lol
Matty.Ultimate Bling!
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:10:26pm
what!!! thats sick! I wish I could have watched it
MatRichUltimate Bling!
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:13:35pm
the sickest f*ckin' competition ever!
sw right 14, sw dub misty 14
Girleeskiier
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:25:11pm
Jossi def deserved 3rd of Ambhul. His leandings were clearner then anyones the WHOLE night. And his back to back sw dbl cork 14s were SICK. They gave him the shittiest score on his first one cuase he grabbed saftey, then he goes back up again and throws a fat mute on it and still, they score him low.

But overall, best big air comp ive ever seen.
DeV
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:28:19pm
breakthrough
VT_scratch$
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:42:20pm
That was so sick! Wells definetly deserved a better score tought...
Clownz
Jan 30th 2010 at 3:57:28pm
everything was so sick. but does anyone remember jossi doing a sw dub 14 at joi a few years ago?... i think teej should have won
nyjib540
Jan 30th 2010 at 4:14:22pm
hahaha bobby "some reeealll skiing i mean backcountry skiing"
C-cash-Money
Jan 30th 2010 at 4:24:24pm
so sick bobby...hope you kill it in slope today.
ScooterLapooter
Jan 30th 2010 at 4:48:18pm
WOW
germanater
Jan 30th 2010 at 5:00:54pm
yay
SKRILLA
Jan 30th 2010 at 5:31:53pm
Crazzzzzy ass throwdown sesh. so epic man progression
skiwiscompton1
Jan 30th 2010 at 5:46:21pm
anyone got a link to vid of this event?
600U
Jan 30th 2010 at 6:01:34pm
Fredriik
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:26:27pm
just watched history go down, i couldnt believe my eyes. so insane!
kristeezy$
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:28:41pm
100/100 in a big air...wow what the fuck!
popNfresh44
Jan 30th 2010 at 7:51:52pm
best big air comp ever. hands down. except the judging on jossi, that was shenanigans.
StanMcStanson$
Jan 30th 2010 at 8:11:02pm
dopeeee
dank.$
Jan 30th 2010 at 8:31:32pm
hoooooooly gawd, that was redunkulous
GavinG
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:29:48pm
To be 110% honest, Teej's double was really wobble cork. I didn't even know it was supposed to be a double until I read this article. That said...ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Like, holy fucking fuck.
AreMG
Jan 30th 2010 at 10:44:59pm
The jam format was perfect. The skiing was ridiculous. The commentary was pretty impressive considering it was going out to the masses. To anyone from X-games who reads this- the contest was 100% on point. You made a lot of skiers very happy, and got a lot of non-skiers stoked. Do it just like this again next year.
richwp
Jan 30th 2010 at 11:40:07pm
yeah TJ bless jah and i was there and saw the whole comp it was ill
junmomo
Jan 31st 2010 at 12:08:08am
Who is the mauf of the green jacket the Bobby has in the last picture?
Dasboot1414
Jan 31st 2010 at 12:28:55pm
Manuf**
Dasboot1414
Jan 31st 2010 at 12:43:17pm
a double cork 10 was an average hit...wtf?!?!
GreekPeakFreek
Jan 31st 2010 at 12:56:38pm
wow! thats blows my mind, poor judges, 2 tricks never done, wow!
ASkierNamedZeus
Jan 31st 2010 at 11:06:53pm
WHAT?!!! Absolutely insane!
Luke.S
Jan 31st 2010 at 11:31:41pm
way too progressive, all that stuff was unreal. bobby brown and sammy for tean NS pros, i think so...
Leemer
Feb 1st 2010 at 7:35:11am
thats insane man!! its incredible seriously I can'T believe it.!!
zacsteen
Feb 4th 2010 at 7:05:36pm
Big_SpenceUltimate Bling! frenchy...Ultimate Bling! HolteUltimate Bling! iggyskierUltimate Bling! keystoner1Ultimate Bling! mattyb.Ultimate Bling! Mr.PandaUltimate Bling! mrstskierUltimate Bling! My.ns.usernameUltimate Bling! sander_hUltimate Bling! soulskierUltimate Bling! summersoverUltimate Bling! J-Wallz$$ Jenifa$$ Rowen$$ TWA$ woozy$ A.Sun$ AndrewZ$ casual$ cobra_commander$ silencedeauxg...$ SkierX$ 1337.$ 80[2]07$ A@r0n$ aKrieg$ Bstrizz420$ CarRamRod$ Chris...$ Cuckoo$ Dan.$ Derk_E$ GANDALF$ Gnar_Czar$ have.faith$ Joe_$ Jordan$ JStrathern$ Leafman$ Maskote$ MN_Nice$ nashbuck$ nickyp$ NiftyShifty$ POUNDTOWN_USA$ skiRay$ Steeze-mongler.$ Style+eeze$ subaru_steeze$ zff$ *Pow2ThePeople -Kevin- 14Mt.HollyRider 3R1C A+P andreaswhite AngusM bbking434 BC_CHAI BerGNARdo Black-Bandanna Bonzai_Warrior bromammoth BryanGallant Buzzell c.robz camohard CC_steeze charmander churchill ckk ClovenMercury connory998 d-jib damastax68 darblon Derb430 DG.3 dubcork10 Ducky_ dwuw enewmski Eric.S E_coast_skiBum farmskier feihlination finnonor09 foodisfun Fred_Rick FreshToothPaste FRODO. fujative12 funkynuggz fuzzball gabski GHardie ghoodonya gREED Hansel. Hatrick HERCULES. hnosyalnif hotsaucey IAmNotAWhore iDK_Wear invaders29 iSasquatch I_Am_God J-Mel JBerger jeppenator jim. jive_turkey JMSkier Jobin JonahA11 Judge. JustDidIt K-G Kale keith_tuan KevCur Keyjibbs kickel kingcomet32 kinggnarlia kneehands KravtZ Kyyyle LauraAnn lloyd_christmas LordoftheTrees lunchmeat luxinterior Lwaghorn macdeez marsland matinthehat mattp. maxxie mbracken mdej188 mdr.233. megadrop5000 meltonsnow member104808 Midwestjibski MikeWeinerONE mjs4878 MothaHucker N-Yourd n3ro Nick_P nitsua Nonen nostrebor No_Dub NPG Obstreperouss99 ohio_dreams oldschoolers~ ONTerriible owsley Ozone. Palmieri-_- papsu phishcreations pow_pow2 pow_slayer RCookish rileyrem Riser Roy s-hand sammiedee SgtSteamy sherwood4099 Shlogan Shreddysaurus SHski simonknight ski2fast4u skisk8ride19 ski_DC skollsteeze slash22 slim11420 starSKIandHUCK Stauble steep style+ease sugarloaf Sulli T-Pency t3hb055 tedmgee the.cheat TheDutchMaster THIGHHIGH throwin_steeze ThunderousFilms tinkytwinky TomasAa Uncle.Badness valley VanMelle wambat wazzucrewskier Wiggin wildBILL* WillMurphy Will_Erickson. woods XtRemE11 xXxXx young_hawaii [Nai] ~skittles~
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