By Devon O’Neil, XGames.com

ASPEN — Ten years removed from her first Winter X Games gold medal, Kelly Clark reminded everyone Friday night why she will go down as the greatest snowboard halfpipe rider in history.

Clark, wearing a “Celebrate Sarah” sticker on her helmet in memory of late halfpipe skier Sarah Burke, posted both of the night’s highest scores (90.00 and 93.66) to defend her snowboard superpipe gold medal by another wide margin. She finished 10 points ahead of silver medalist Elena Hight of South Lake Tahoe and 17.66 points ahead of bronze medalist (and birthday girl) Hannah Teter of South Lake Tahoe. Just like last year, Clark’s ability to stick massive frontside 1080s separated her from the rest of the field and delivered her fourth career Winter X gold and ninth pipe medal in 13 appearances.

Clark, a three-time Olympian from Vermont, has now won 13 contests in a row. The last one she entered and failed to win was the December 2010 Winter Dew Tour at Breckenridge.

“I approach every contest, every run, every trick in that moment, one run at a time,” Clark, 28, said. “I’m coming out here to achieve my goals, not to win the contest, that’s just a byproduct. In my third run tonight, having the contest won, I still stepped up my run because that’s what’s motivating me. It’s incredible. I came off the best season I’ve ever had last year. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to keep going. I’m kind of in awe of my streak right now. But at the same time, I’m having fun and I think that’s the biggest component to my success.”

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By Colin Bane, XGames.com

ASPEN — Jamie Anderson of South Lake Tahoe is now 6-for-6 in podium finishes in women’s snowboard slopestyle at the Winter X Games.

Her gold medal Friday is her third. She dominated the competition, posting a Run 1 score of 94.00, then improving to 95.33 in Run 3 — the highest score in a women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final at Winter X Games — to hold her lead over Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas and defending champion Enni Rukajärvi.

A dumping of fresh snow overnight at Buttermilk made for challenging conditions, and the four close-together jumps left little room for error.

Added to the difficulty factor was the light, which disappeared into afternoon shadows on the landings. Of the entire women’s field, only three finished complete runs.

“The toughest thing on the course was definitely the jumps,” Buaas said after the contest. “Jamie, you’re a gangster.”

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By Colin Bane, XGames.com

ASPEN — Shaun White’s planned return to the podium in men’s snowboard slopestyle at the Winter X Games will have to wait.

After taking practice runs Friday morning before the elimination round, White deemed his sprained left ankle too much of a liability, and left the Winter X Games 2012 venue at Buttermilk as the competition started.

White, who signed this season to train at Northstar, was treated by X Games medical staff Thursday after aggravating a sprained ankle, but had been cleared to ride.

“I’m disappointed. My priority this year was to ride in slopestyle, and unfortunately I hit my ankle again riding the course in today’s practice,” White told ESPN Friday. “I’m going to rest up and get ready to ride pipe on Sunday.”

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By USSA

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn of Vail torched the St. Moritz speed track for a 1.42 second margin of victory and her career 49th Audi FIS Alpine World Cup win.

Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley was fifth and Leanne Smith of North Conway, N.H., seventh as three Americans crowded the top 10.

It was Vonn’s eighth win of the season, second in two days, and extended her World Cup overall lead to 352 points over Slovenia’s Tina Maze. The win ties Vonn with Austrian Renate Goetschl for second on all-time DH wins list.

It was Smith’s career best World Cup finish and moved her inside the downhill top 20 standings.

The inaugural Tahoe Fat Tire Festival will be Sept. 20-23 for a weekend of all things mountain bike at Squaw Valley.

It will feature cross country, short track and gravity racing, rides, trail work, demos and vendor expo, and nightly antics with a beer garden, movie screenings and local bands.

Interesting bikes to ride at the 2009 Fat Tire Festival in San Francisco. Photo/Susan Wood

TAMBA and the Truckee Trails Foundation are teaming up on this event. The goal is it will be a primary fundraiser for both organizations.

More information will be on Lake Tahoe News as details are solidified.

It’s one thing to take a life-saving class in a pool in a rather controlled environment. It’s another to train in the middle of winter, in icy water – outdoors.

Dressed in odd looking wetsuits, South Lake Tahoe firefighters plunged into Lake Tahoe on Friday morning. It was all in the name of ice rescue training.

South Lake Tahoe fire Capt. Fred Vermillion paddles Jan. 27 to a "victim" in the Tahoe Keys Marina. Photo/SLTFD

Each year firefighters take to the waters as the ice is melting from the lake or canals in the Tahoe Keys.

Instead of being on a surfboard, they use a Homatro rescue board to paddle to the victim. That’s because the board is designed for a victim to be placed on, with a rope attached for the firefighters to pull the person to shore.

While ice rescues are not common, they are a reality. A vehicle could skid off the road, landing in the lake, Emerald Bay or American River. Or an ice skater could fall through the thin ice.

 — Lake Tahoe News report

By USSA

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn of Vail pushed her Audi FIS Alpine World Cup points total to 1,070 with a super combined victory in bluebird St. Moritz on Friday. It was Vonn’s seventh victory of the season. She now leads the overall chase by 302 points over Slovenian Tina Maze, who was second.

Vonn has won in every discipline this season except slalom.

Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley was 13, Leanne Smith of North Conway, N.H. was 18 and Laurenne Ross of Bend, Ore., was 20.

Stacey Cook of Mammoth was 15 in the downhill, but did not start the slalom portion

A downhill is slated for Saturday, with a second super combined on Sunday in St. Moritz

“There’s a really solid American contingency here. We actually had some banners in the finish and a big American flag. It was cool to see the American support,” Vonn said.

Nevada State Parks needs a name for the trail that currently is called the Marlette Hobart Trail.

This section is scheduled for completion in July and will offer 2.7 miles of flowy singletrack to bypass the exposed and steep Sunflower Hill.

A committee will determine a handful of the best submissions that meet parks criteria and put those out for a popular vote to determine the winner.

Submit your idea online.

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

Federal attorneys withdrew a challenge to a judge’s ruling against plans to restore one of America’s rarest trout by poisoning a remote Sierra stream, a move conservationists are calling a victory but which federal officials characterize as but another development in a lengthy dispute over a project they still intend to pursue.

On Monday, federal attorneys filed a motion for “voluntary dismissal of appeal” in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case pitting a coalition of conservation groups against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service over plans to poison Silver King Creek south of Lake Tahoe.

The government was considering appeal of a September ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell Jr. granting an injunction blocking plans to poison an 11-mile stretch of the creek to remove unwanted fish and replace them with threatened Paiute cutthroat trout.

“This means the judge’s injunction is permanent now. I’m very pleased,” said Patty Clary, executive director of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, which sued to block the project along with Wilderness Watch and Friends of Silver King Creek.

Jeannie Stafford, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife office in Reno, described Monday’s motion as a “procedural step in the process” and said the government intends to continue pushing for the project.

“It does not mean that the project is dead,” Stafford said. “We’re still hopeful that the project is going to go forward.”

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By Chris Gabel, Reno Gazette-Journal

They built the stadium. They drew the crowds. They won a division title.

Now the Aces — and the city of Reno — are to be rewarded.

The Aces on Tuesday officially announced the “least best-kept secret” in town: Reno will host the Triple-A All-Star Game in 2013.

Stuart Katzoff, Aces managing partner, sat on a stage inside the Aces Ballpark home clubhouse with other local and Triple-A dignitaries for the announcement, which came as a surprise to no one. The Aces long wanted to host the nationally televised game since they arrived in Reno in 2008. The RGJ in July reported the franchise was a strong candidate to host the 2013 game.

But the team waited until Tuesday to let the cat out of bag, prompting Branch Rickey, Pacific Coast League president, to call it the “least best-kept secret in recent years.”

“We didn’t want to come out and announce it until we had everything in motion and everything planned,” Katzoff said.

The three-day event, July 8-10, that also includes a home run derby and fan fest, as well as league meetings, galas and other events, will bring a significant number of out-of-town visitors to Reno, Katzoff, Rickey and Reno Mayor Bob Cashell said.

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