A new snow day dawns

Though it has not even begun, the Winter Dew Tour seems to have already emerged from the shadow of the Winter X Games, with the competition roster including 24 Olympians.

How is this possible?

Because the inaugural Winter Dew Tour, a three-event series that begins today at Breckenridge, Colo., has been embraced by the world’s top snowboarders and free-skiers, most of them X Games veterans.

On the roster are 2006 gold medalists Shaun White and Hannah Teter; 2006 silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler, and 2002 gold and silver medalists Kelly Clark and Danny Kass. Kass also won silver in 2006.

The list also includes top snowboarders Steve Fisher, Travis Rice, Danny Davis and Kevin Pearce; and free-skiing stars Tanner Hall, Sarah Burke and Simon Dumont.

In all, athletes from 20 countries and 21 U.S. states will compete in contests that include superpipe and slopestyle, the latter discipline involving a course with jumps and other terrain features.

Top international athletes include snowboarders Antti Autti of Finland, Kjersti Buass and Andreas Wiig of Norway, and Torah Bright of Australia. Most top snowboarders are accompanied by Olympic coaches preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Like the X Games, which is an ESPN production, the Winter Dew Tour will be presented before a mainstream audience, live on NBC Sports on Saturday and Sunday.

“The athletes are super-excited,” said Burke, winner of X Games gold in skiing superpipe in 2007 and 2008. “It sounds like it’s always been such a success and such a fun event in the summertime. To have it come to winter, everyone is super-pumped up.”

Fisher, a Breckenridge resident who was the world’s top-ranked snowboarder heading into 2008-09, said the new series represents “a giant leap in the world of action sports events.” Fisher added, “We at the snow side of things have been excited about this for two years.”

The $1.5-million Winter Dew Tour joins the Grand Prix circuit in holding the only true series for snowboarders.

Chris Stiepock, X Games general manager, said of the Winter Dew Tour: “It is good for winter action sports, the athletes and the action sports industry for NBC to add more exposure and consistency to the winter event landscape.”

Because of the recession, action sports athletes have fewer opportunities to maintain a high profile as companies have reduced sponsorships and killed video projects and made other substantial cuts. As a result, “contests are huge,” said Molly Aguirre, a top snowboarder from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., along with her brother Mason. “It’s kind of the main way for snowboarders to get their name out there now.”

After Breckenridge, the Winter Dew Tour will move to Mt. Snow in Vermont on Jan. 8 to 11, then to Northstar-at-Tahoe, where series winners will emerge, Feb. 19 to 22.

The X Games are scheduled for Jan. 21 to 25 at Aspen-Snowmass in Colorado.

--

pete.thomas@latimes.com