Riders Clash For X Games Gold At Harley-Davidson Snow Climb

It's a 600-foot hell-bent battle up an 18-degree slope on unforgiving ice, two riders running full throttle on hopped-up V-twins. The prize? Gold. X Games Aspen gold, that is.

“The snow is definitely different than dirt, rock, mud,” competitor Josh Mueller said. You know it’s a slippery slope when a professional hill climber calls snow a different animal altogether.

For the second year in a row, Harley-Davidson has gotten snow hill climbs into X Games Aspen as a medaled sport. Last year, Whitlock grabbed the holeshot, hugged the wall, and rocketed up the hill in the finale for the win. While the 48-year-old may have been one of the older competitors, he happens to have won 14 national and three world hill-climbing championships, and his experience definitely paid dividends on the tricky surface. Defending his title this year though will be even more challenging as the list of competitors has almost doubled.

Many of the competitors use a Harley Sportster as a starting point, wedging its Evolution engine into a dirt bike-style frame which is wider and lighter. Swingarms are kicked out to keep riders from looping out as the modified engines are pumping out almost twice the horsepower over stock and punch like a heavyweight at the crack of the throttle. Competitors can run bolted or studded tires or can opt for paddles, whichever gives them the traction needed to get up the steep SuperPipe the fastest. Rules like no chains and no wheels bigger than 19 inches help level the playing field. The rear can't be wider than 3.5 inches either.

Sportsters aren’t the only Harley that will soon be mobbing up the Aspen slope. Logan Lackey of Unknown Industries took his stunt bike called “Swamp Juice,” a 2001 FXDX with a monster JIMS 120 engine, and converted it into his snow hill climber. Between the behemoth Skat-Trak back tire and the nasty bolts protruding from it, Lackey rightfully calls the imposing backside of his Dyna the “business end.” From the looks of it, he’s taking full advantage of all 3.5 inches he’s granted on the rear. Affectionately known in the stunt riding realm as “Wheelie Pig,” we’ll see if Lackey can keep the front end down long enough and be a force to be reckoned with against riders who race up wicked grades for a living.

Joining defending champion Whitlock for a second go-round with the Aspen SuperPipe are Jake Anstett, Austin Cardwell, 2018 silver medalist Logan Cipala, Louie Lauter, Dan Lauters, Logan Mead, and Josh Mueller. The list of first-time 2019 Harley-Davidson Snow Hill Climb challengers include Lloyd Mueller, Lackey, Joel Falde, Luke Cipala, Austin Teyler, and Tyler Cardwell. The races will be broadcast on January 27, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. (MST).