He with the least clothes wins

Standing at the top of Snowbasin's Wildcat Ridge was a motley crew of snowboarders, dressed in heavy jackets and baggy snow pants. They were waiting for the start of the Xterra Snowboard Dash 4 Cash.

Triathlete Justin Hurd of Fort Collins, Colo., looked a little different than the other competitors. He was dressed in biker shorts, a tank top, arm warmers, thin gloves and boot liners without shells covering them. He appeared almost naked on the sunny, but snow-covered ridge top -- dressed for a summer run, not a snowboard competition.

Hurd was getting strange looks from the other snowboarders.

"Somebody make sure and take out the guy in the shorts," said one member of a group, standing in a circle and laughing. Hurd jogged back and forth to keep warm until the start of the race.

The Dash 4 Cash involved a series of uphill runs and downhill descents.

Hurd is no stranger to competition. He placed 40th in Iron Man Hawaii and his lack of clothing looked more appropriate for the Aloha State where that race was held.

The Le Mans Style start had the group running en masse to strap on their boards and descend the groomed slope below.

On the second uphill run, Hurd was all alone, but off course, way ahead with no one else in sight. Xterra volunteers yelled and waved their arms to direct him back on course. Being the first racer cost him most of a huge lead as other racers started to catch up.

At the top of the hill, Hurd was still running strong and appeared only slightly winded. He strapped on his board and descended with minutes to spare.

A long line of exhausted and sweat-drenched competitors were breathing heavily to reach the top of the hill.

They were dressed for shredding down the hill, not running up it, and many had already stopped to strip off layers and rehydrate.

At the finish line, Hurd was 2:28 in front of the second place finisher. Hurd picked up the $500 prize for first place, while those who had been cracking jokes before the race got nothing.

"It was more running than I thought it was going to be," Hurd said. "Luckily I just kind of dressed right."