Red Bull Crashed Ice Season is Underway! | Video

(via stupidDOPE.com) Saint Paul is home to some pretty frigid weather, so what do you do when Jack Frost is nipping at more than your nose? Welcome to Red Bull Crashed Ice. The combination of ice skates and downhill slalom sounds exactly as fast as you think. Utilizing thousands of square meters of ice, course architects created a whopper of a raceway, filled to the brim with harrowing drops, hairpin turns, and gaps at speeds of up to 80 km/h. Pair the sport of ice cross downhill with a die-hard following, and you've got one of the hottest winter sports to come out of this century. Since the first-ever race in 2001, Red Bull Crashed Ice has sent the toughest ice skaters in groups of four, blade to blade, as they scrap for first place. The whole race was held on a steep downhill track flecked with chicanes, high-jumps and rollers. Every skater has one goal in mind; first to the bottom takes the cake. We were fortunate enough to talk shop with Ice Cross veteran, Reed Whiting as he takes us through the ins and outs of the Crashed Ice industry. The sport is no joke, with more and more athletes joining the ranks from all kinds of disciplines. From inline skating to mountain biking and more, Red Bull Crashed Ice continues to adopt principles from many extreme sports, and we don't think it's done evolving.

We have to give shout-outs to Marco Dallago for the surprise victory in the men's final, and Amanda Trunzo for her win in the women's final. And Jojo Valesquez February 3rd for the next stop of Crashed Ice in Jyväskylä, Finland!