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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 29, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 19, 2005 Fujas once again airing it out on the slopes By FRANK SILOW Mail Tribune Pep Fujas is keeping busy these days and having fun at the same time. The 22-year-old Rogue Valley native is in full stride again after tearing an anterior cruciate knee ligament more than a year ago during a ski competition in Zurich, Switzerland. Fujas specializes in free skiing, an alternative form of the sport that encompasses tricks and flips while sliding on rails or going off jumps. His knee injury occurred in October 2003, 10 days before his 21st birthday. Fujas was back on skis in five months and rehabilitated himself this summer in New Zealand. Advertisement Now Fujas is preparing for his third appearance in the U.S. Freeskiing Open, which begins today in Vail, Colo., followed by Winter X Games Nine Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen and Snowmass, Colo. Caleb Wyatt of Medford, the defending champion in Moto X, is also scheduled to compete. Save for a two-hour segment on ABC Jan. 29, the Games will be televised on ESPN In the 2003 Winter X Games, Fujas finished second in his specialty, the slopestyle. After a third-place finish in moguls last month at the Steamboat Bumps and Jumps in Colorado, Fujas senses he is returning to peak form. "I feel confident in my abilities again," says Fujas. "I’ve been jumping real hard on my knee and haven’t felt any pain. The mental is the biggest part. There’s so many stages you go through, and sometimes you feel it will never be right. There’s so much to overcome." Fujas is using the Open as preparation for the Winter X Games — the premier event in the sport. "I’m taking this (U.S. Open) as a practice contest," says Fujas, who began skiing on Mount Ashland as a 3-year-old. He says he’ll stick to a "low ball," or less risky, program. In his previous X Games competition, Fujas participated in both the slopestyle and superpipe. But this year he’s going to stay with the slopestyle, an event in which the athlete is judged doing tricks through a series of jumps and rail rides. "I’ve trained in the slopestyle the most," he says. "The pipe is really touchy. There’s such a small margin of error. I don’t want to risk going 15 to 20 feet up in the air." The X Games brings together the top performers in the winter sports scene from all over the world. Most of them Fujas knows and has competed against. "It’s the biggest event in both money and exposure," says Fujas. "The last time I was in it, it was quite an amazing feeling coming to the finish line and having people cheering and all the energy from the fans." Between competitions, Fujas keeps himself busy by filming segments for specialty movies and videos. Recently, he’s worked on a new independent TV show, "Epic," which documents skills like skiing, snowboarding, motocross and surfing. Fujas derives much of his income from company sponsorships, which include Oakley (glasses, goggles, apparel), K-2 (skis), Tecnica (boots), Joystick (poles), Giro (helmets) and Gordini (gloves). "I’m doing four different projects right now," says Fujas. "I only plan to compete for a couple more years. Filming is the most fun and challenging part. I just want to ride a bunch of powder and show how much fun skiing is to me through videos." Not a bad way to live and make a living, too. Reach reporter Frank Silow at 776-4480, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Advertisement s