JOY ALEXANDER
BASE: Aspen
X LINK: Whats a bartender but a counselor to the night, mixing wisdom in the dark?

If you go out in Aspen, its easy to trip over the velvet ropes. But for all the high-priced hoopla, its a good bet you wont find SnoCross racer Tucker Hibbert blowing loot at the Gucci boutique or snowboarder Danny Kass throwin a C-note on raw fish at Matsuhisa. Hell, MX two-wheeler Brian Deegan couldnt find the Wheeler Opera House if the fat lady sang directions. So where do the X Gamers go to kick snow from their boots? Erics BarAspens favorite watering hole/cigar bar/pool hall/Mexican restaurant. During the Winter X Games, bartender Joy Alexander says Erics switches from local haunt to balls to the walls, if you know what I mean. Actually, were not allowed to ask. Alexander, a former school teacher, followed two bros from South Carolina to Aspen four years ago, and shes been dispensing barkeep philosophy along with OO7s, the orange vodka/OJ/7 UP house speciality, at Erics ever since. The X Game guys are the biggest crowd we get, says Alexander, and they give us the fewest problems. Heres to being the teachers pet! -additional reporting by Deric Gunshor

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CHRIS "GUNNY" GUNNERSON
BASE: Big Bear Lake, Calif.
X LINK: Drives modded tractor, pushes snow into piles so others may ride.

Its 3 a.m., and while youre either stumbling or dreaming, Chris Gunny Gunnerson is driving a Snow Cat up and down Buttermilk Mountain, making sure the snow is piled just right for whatever event is rockin later that day. Gunny and the crew from his company, Snow Park Technologies, have built the snow coursesSuperpipe, Slopestyle, Skier X, Snowboarder X and Moto X Big Airat every Winter X Games, pushing snow from 5 p.m. until dawn. Three nightmare scenarios keep Gunny awake during the few hours reserved for sleep: not enough snow, too much snow and rain. To check his handiwork, Gunny snowboards every course he builds, which is the only time he joins the fun. In six Winter Xs, he says, Ive been to zero parties. Things wont change this year, even though Gunny turns 30 on Day 2. So think about that in the wee hours, and spill a toast for the birthday boy. He deserves it.

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CHRIS "UNCLE E" ERNST
BASE: Lake Forest, Calif.
X LINK: Skiers racing, bumping and grinding. What a concept. Watch out, Olympics

As epiphanies go, it ranked up there with You got peanut butter in my chocolate! In the early 90s, aerial skier Chris Ernst, a.k.a. Uncle E, was skiing down a Boarder X course when it hit: I thought, This is like blasting through trees when I was a kid! Why cant ski racers do this? By summer 94, Uncle E had created the Lord of the Boards, a new-look ski race pitting four two-plankers nose-to-knuckles downa narrow course. A tour followed, and in 98 Uncle Es newly anointed Skier X,now with six skiers, joined the X Games. Affable and cred-heavy, Uncle E manneda mike at the 99 Games, bringing instant stoke. In Aspen, hell announce Slopestyle, Skier X and Ultra X, after which hellreturn to EXP Productionshis events consulting companyto spread the gospel of Skier X. Were aiming for the 2006 Olympics, he says. Weve planted the seed. Now lets watch it grow.

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VICTOR WARYAS
BASE: Lebanon, N.H.
X LINK: Keeper of the tent. Protects celeb athletes from the unwashed masses

Looking for VIP treatment at the WinterX Games? See Victor Waryas. He guards the gate and ups the lux factor of the Athletes Loungethe 40'x80' tent that serves as the athletes refuge from fans, media and, well, other athletes. Among the amenities:analcohol-free bar, a living room stuffed with couches and TVs (PlayStation reigns), six PCs so athletes can e-mail, a massage therapist and, naturally, musicians and Hollywood typesSean Penn, Brett Scallions, Danny DeVito, Pink, Stefan Lessard. Getting the celebs in and outis usually easy, but Eminem caused a mini-riot at Mt. Snow in 2000. People screamed when he stepped out, says Waryas. It was achallenge just to move him through the crowd. Victors reward for all this? Putting on theend-of-games, athletes-only concert, whichhas featured Green Day, Cypress Hill and Godsmack. Says Waryas: We try to find ways to show the athletes this is a world-class event, and that without them, there is no event.

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GEORGE SHERRARD
BASE: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
X LINK: Brilliant wrench, dirty hands, three Winter X gold medals

Tell George Sherrard hes got quite the rep, and get ready for an atypical superstar response: You think? he asks. Aw, people are just being nice. Not really. For the past two years, Sherrard, 48, has kept HillCross racer Carl Kuster in gold medals, tuning his 1,000cc Ski-Doo Rev just right. Racing at Aspens 8,000-foot altitude brings out the best in a wrench: The higher you go, the thinner the air and the more power you lose, he says. We adjust the clutching and jetting. Before settling into an extended stay with Kuster, Sherrard had spent six years bouncing team to team, winning Winter X gold in 99 and amping his rephes at turns irascible, funny, difficult and brilliant. Sherrard clashed with more than one past team over his habit of locking sled setups in a safeaway from the prying eyes of his drivers. Tuning sleds is like fishing, says Sherrard. You dont give your favorite hole away, you know?

This article appears in the February 3 issue of ESPN The Magazine.