Eye of the Hawk As anyone who has schussed through freshly fallen snow, traditional winter sports like skiing and snowboarding can be addictive fun, but why not kick it up a notch with some third-party propulsion? Enter skijoring, a maddeningly simple hack on snow sport staples. Essentially, a person on skis is pulled through a predetermined course of jumps and slalom-like gates by something else — a horse, team of dogs, snowmobile, almost anything. In practice, though, it is almost always a horse. Above (photo): Phillip Driggars and Janae Lukezech (atop Hawk) were the sole snowboarder/equestrian team at the Sandpoint Winter Carnival's skijoring competition in Sandpoint, Idaho. "It's awesome that they will let snowboarders compete in the event also," said Driggars, who competed both days at the town's inaugural event. He was disqualified in his first two runs because he fell and let go of the rope, but he was eventually able to hold on and register an official time of 17.22 seconds. "During practice, it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be," he admitted. Below: Four-year-old Avery Smart stands inside the opening gates waiting to be the youngest skijoring participant in Sandpoint. His father, Matt, helped organized the skijoring competition and Avery was featured in the opening ceremonies. "Skijoring brings together two of my favorite sports together at once," said the elder Smart, who also organizes trail rides at nearby Schweitzer Mountain.

Big Air "Skijoring originated in Scandinavia about 700 years ago, when it was a means of transport during the winter months," said Sandpoint organizer Matt Smart. "It arrived in North America as a recreational pastime in the 1950s, and it's now a specialized competitive sport, practiced in at least five different states and several countries." Today, the North American Ski Joring Association (NASJA) has set forth basic guidelines to help event organizers keep a challenging and safe course for its competitors. All jumps must remain 150 feet apart, and be twice as wide as tall. "Our jumps at Sandpoint are 8 feet wide and 4 feet high," Smart said. "The gates are 18 inches high, and skiers will have to manipulate or go around them while traveling the course. If they miss the gate they will be penalized a few seconds off their overall time." "It's a whole lot faster and more exciting than anyone gives it credit for," Smart added. "In some cases these skiers can be traveling up to 50 miles per hour while having to make jumps and gates — all at the same time." Below: Ron Behrendt of Whitefish, Montana, is pulled by horse Harvey Wallbanger during the Sandpoint contest. Behrendt, Scott Ping (who owns Wallbanger), and friend Dale Duff are also major organizers in the World Skijoring Championships that have taken place in Whitefish every year since its 2003 revival. "A skijoring event is great for small towns like Sandpoint or Whitefish," Ping said. "The sport is a perfect way to create a sense of camaraderie between the two groups of people and help give each community a wintertime boost."

Beer Cheer Kevin Devaney cheers with his beer during the start of the 2011 World Skijoring Championships in Whitefish, Montana. "This is my second year participating in the event," said Devaney, who was competing in the novice division and placed third after rider Kali Kitchen and horse Streaking Spider Mit pulled in a time of 19.01 seconds. The total pot for the novice class was $1787.50. Their teams' total haul? A whopping $53.62. So, sure, while the money isn't all that fantastic, it's clear that skijoring participants are firmly passionate for a sport that's making inroads, albeit slowly, in gaining widespread popularity. And as more small towns like Sandpoint get into the skijoring spirit — according to the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, the event will return again to the small North Idaho resort town sometime in 2012 — so the bigger cities will finally get wise to the quirky charms and unusually addictive allure of this still-fringe sport. And yet, for all its new-found interest, skijoring actually was contested as a demonstration sport at the second-ever Winter Olympics in 1928 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While any global exposure at Sochi in 2014 seems unlikely, perhaps we may see it at the 2018 Winter Games (location to be announced on July 6). Scott Ping, the horse owner from Whitefish, says that more sanctioned skijoring events are currently in the works throughout the Western U.S., including McCall, Idaho, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "To us, 'sanctioned' means you're part of the family," he said. "We want everyone to know how to run the event properly, but still have a lot of fun." He may not look like he's having fun, but Lester Johnson (at right), the self-proclaimed "Mountain Man" of the Whitefish Winter Carnival culture, has been a part of it all for nearly 30 years now. "The skijoring event and the winter carnival are great for Whitefish," he readily admits. "It brings people from all over to the place to visit our town."

Bundle Up! Dory Shellinger and her 4-year-old daughter Ryenn sit bundled up in the stands during the final day of the 2011 World Skijoring Championships in Whitefish, Montana. "It's cold out here today," Dory said. "But it's totally worth it because my daughter has never seen this before." The weather on the final day of the event reached -16 degrees Fahrenheit, including the wind chill.

Who's a Good Horse? Duchess of Lark Betsy Morrison (left) and Queen of the Snows Carol Erikson spend time with rider Tom Britz and his horse on the World Skijoring Championships course during the Saturday round. Local residents of Whitefish are chosen each year to become Winter Carnival Royalty for the weeklong festivities that kick off with skijoring at the Whitefish Airport. When extreme cold blew through and left both participants and spectators shivering and dwindling in numbers on the second day of the event, Britz could only sum it up one way: "If you are not out here today, you're a wussy!"

Catch and Release Skijoring volunteers must quickly and carefully release rope to the skier and rider team as they exit the gate. If too much rope is released in the beginning, the skier risks not gaining enough speed to properly clear the three jumps throughout the U-shaped course. As the team nears the end of their run, skiers often use a "climbing the rope" tactic to try and gain some last-second edge.

Climbing the Rope Ron Behrendt uses a technique called "climbing the rope," while Michael Righetti and horse Someo hurry to the finish line. This technique can be used throughout the course, but is mainly saved for the distance between the final jump and the finish line. "Climbing the rope can be dangerous," said Behrendt, "but it's the best way to gain a second or two if you're in stiff competition."

Long Jump The long jump competition held at the end of each day and was of a chance for some final excitement for the spectators in attendance. Cowboys pulled skiers for big air off a 7-foot-high jump, specially built for longer distances. The winning distances were 49.8 feet on Saturday and 52.1 feet on Sunday, both by skier Cody Smith of Spokane, Washington.

All Dogs Allowed Cold weather didn't detract fans with tall cans from coming out with their dogs for the final day of the 2011 World Skijoring Championships in Whitefish, Montana. While dogs were allowed at the event, announcer Joe Warner told the crowd they must remain on leash at all times in order to avoid any dangerous situations for competitors. Right: A "yeti," who preferred not to disclose its name, stands at the Whitefish Airport and watches the championships form a safe distance. "We come down from the mountains during Winter Carnival to harass the Winter Carnival Royalty and bring riffraff to the town," it said with a chuckle. "We yeti people have been a tradition in the Whitefish Winter Carnival for years."

For Love of Country (and Skijoring) Spectators, including the Whitefish Winter Carnival's Viking Divas, gather near the announcing booth and salute their country while Amanda Duff Caldwell (far right) sings the national anthem during the World Skijoring Championships in Whitefish. This event and others around the Western US are sanctioned by the North American Ski Joring Association (NASJA), which was founded 12 years ago. When the event was revived in 2003, according to event organizer and participant Scott Ping, Subaru donated $10,000 in seed money to the local skijoring community: "The now retired vice president of the company's western division moved to Whitefish and wanted to become involved in his community."