Extreme Sports

Professional backcountry snowmobiler Randy Sugihara was injured in a snowmobiling accident recently. He is shown here in this trailer for the Alpine Assassins movie "We Ride".

ASPEN, Colo. -- Caleb Moore releases from the handlebars of a 450-pound snowmobile, 35 feet off the ground, with the possibility of being crushed if his high-flying stunt goes wrong.

"This is awesome!" Moore yelled at the Winter X Games on Buttermilk Mountain, where tricks keep getting bigger, despite the recent death of one of the event's household names.

SAN DIEGO -- If all goes right on New Year's Eve, daredevils Robbie Maddison and Levi LaVallee will roar down the takeoff ramps on a motorcycle and snowmobile, respectively, fly over a 300-foot water gap, complete their record-setting jumps and toast their accomplishments.

The side-by-side jumps at Embarcadero Marina Park on San Diego Bay will be the latest in the "Red Bull: New Year. No Limits" series.

SAO PAULO -- Brazilian motocross rider Swian Zanoni died after losing control of his motorcycle during the last lap of a weekend race. He was 23.

Zanoni apparently struck a tree Sunday in a race in the small city of Orizania, the Brazilian motorcycling confederation said. He sustained a severe neck injury while attempting to overtake another rider.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Dew Tour hits EnergySolutions Arena this week for the fifth consecutive year. The biggest names in skate and BMX will be returning to compete in Skate vert and street and BMX vert and dirt today through Sunday. The Toyota Challenge will also feature the Hart & Huntington Speed and Style, a freestyle motocross contest, followed by a concert by The Used on Friday.

LOS ANGELES -- The idea for the X Games, the latest edition of which begins Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, was hatched in a Connecticut bookstore by an ESPN employee in 1993.

Two years later, the first X Games were held in Rhode Island and, looking back, the action sports event was rather whack.

X Games officials looked upon the athletes they corralled, a so-called rebellious lot of adrenaline junkies, and remarked how crazy most of them looked. The athletes, in turn, glared at the "suits" embodying the so-called establishment and wondered if their talents were being appreciated or their image was only being exploited.