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Berthoud Pass, with a base elevation of 10,610 feet, hosted the second annual Berthoud BadAss Championships, where 60 competitors qualified to rip turns on — and off — the nearby cliffs and chutes. Alpine skiers, telemark skiers and snowboarders laid it on the line on some of the most savage skiing terrain in Colorado for a $5,000 total prize purse.

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Two days of semi-finals began between 10am-11am each day, when frozen, boiler-plate conditions softened to beautiful corn snow. The finals were originally scheduled for Saturday, but when unrelenting weather moved in, organizers were forced to delay. Sunday's finals began with bluebird skies and 10 inches of fresh snow. It was worth the wait. Competitors hiked or skinned from the top of the Continental Divide chair for fresh tracks down Russell Peak, elevation 12,240 feet.

Ultimately, three days of variable snow conditions, from slick and fast to deep powder, forced competitors to demonstrate a full palette of skills. After all was said and done, the following winners were crowned:

• Jeff Hannan (Snowbird) - Men's Alpine
• Maeve Nevins (Crested Butte) - Women's Alpine
• Jesse Shotwell (Arapahoe Basin) - Men's Snowboard
• Beth Paige (Bavarian Village) - Women's Snowboard
• Yuri Koslick (Colorado) - Men's Tele-mark
• Jennifer Plous (Summit County) - Women's Tele-mark

The 2000 Berthoud BadAss Championships is sanctioned by the International Free Skiing Association. Competitors represented hometown resorts as far east as Stratton and as far west as Squaw Valley.

— Courtesy Texture Media, Inc., www.texturemedia.com