Ultracross is a relay race featuring a snowboarder and a skier on the same team. To set up teams, the top 16 finishers in Boarder X draw from a hat containing the names of the top 16 Skier Xers.

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Teams race four at a time down the half-mile course. Skiers go first one round, and snowboarders go first the next. When the first rider crosses the finish line, an electronic signal shoots up the hill, and the gate drops for the second rider.

As a skier, I went first in last year's final. I was so confident in my teammate, Seth Wescott, that I knew I only had to keep it close. I finished second and Seth passed one guy to win. When you go second, you are so psyched that you can't wait for the gate to open. It's easier if your teammate gives you a head start. But if I come out of the gate behind, I get pumped to pass everyone.

Once you start, it's just like Skier X or Boarder X. You try to get a good start, keep a clean line in the corners, and land smoothly on the jumps. I use my size-I'm 6'4" and 220 pounds-to keep the other guys honest in the corners.

There's tremendous suspense when you are waiting for your partner. All you can do is holler, "Come on."
-as told to Derek Taylor<

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