"It's the eyes of it all back again with an update for ya on this early morning. The trick showdown over at R 'n' B is set to kick off later in the day, and this one's gonna be the last time we see our competitors over on Peak One. The mammal that's got the lowest score from the judges altogether's not gonna carry on, while whoever remains gets to take on Peak Two and some new rivals. For those of you who weren't lucky enough to score a front-row seat to see your favorite snowboarder in action, we'll checkin' the mountain cams every step of the way and givin' updates on what's happenin' throughout the event. There's not a doubt in my mind that will be seein' our favs givin' it their all out there. Anyway, I'm sure so of you early morning riders need something to get ya energized, and we've got your daily dose of tunes comin' right up!"

Today was yet another day that he followed his little philosophy. He always said throughout the years he's been around that if you wanted to use every bit of your potential, you had to start the day by getting up for the sun did. And that was exactly what he did on this soon-to-be eventful day.

The sun had barely started to rise around Peak One when Snarlov pulled himself out of bed, got himself ready for what awaited him, and sat back down to look out the window. There was nothing quite like a sunrise to get yourself in cheerful spirits, so he took a moment to look out at the spectacle as he drank his dark roast coffee.

After he had taken his last sip of the warm beverage, which he had brewed just the way he liked it, and got up from his seat and walked over to the middle of his accommodation, over to the space between the television stand and the bed. He slowly got down to the carpeted floor below him, getting himself into a cross-legged position. He placed his right paw on top of his left as he straightened his back and delicately closed his eyes.

With him having turned the radio off earlier and no other sounds around him, he found it the easiest at the moment to enter relaxation. When it came to preparing for an event such as the one coming up, he had recently learned of one of the way to get himself in the proper state of mind. He owed all of it to someone he had met here on the mountain some time ago, a self-proclaimed expert in yoga and meditation that managed to turn his skepticism about that sort of thing into belief.

Having memorized what this mammal had taught him, Snarlov knew the next step that came after this. It was time that he now focused and brought all of his attention to his breathing. With that, he started to take a deep breath in, holding it for a brief second before slowly exhaling. He did this several times from where he sat, becoming more and more relaxed as he did so.

His mind started to think of the impending slopestyle event, as well as how he wished to do when it was his turn to take on that neat course. In his imaginative mind's eye, he could visualize himself cruising through that terrain against a rising sun, flowing across the rails, zipping passed the trees. With nobody else on that path but himself, he had the largest sense of freedom. He was the king of that course's domain. He could visualize how the crowds would be going wild at the tricks he would perform, some of them newly devised for today, as well as how highly the judges would score him once his run was over.

Some might have thought otherwise, but this little exercise he had been taught, where he imagined the day ahead of him, surprisingly helped him. He wasn't claiming that there was something miraculous behind it, but he couldn't help but think that it always made him less nervous and much better out in the circuit. Practice, of course, was the greatest of all assets, but this was also a genuine help.

The polar bear took one last deep breath in and one last deep breath out. He flickered his eyes open and gazed around at the room, slowly getting himself back up from off the floor. A smile came over his face as he returned to the window, looking out for a few more minutes before preparing to head out for the day.

Judy Hopps was awake the moment sunshine peaked through her room's closed curtains. After all of the unadulterated excitement that she had experienced that night in Metro City, it was almost impossible for her to wind down to go to sleep.

Even after she had managed to get a good amount of hours of rest, her mind still continued to think of how awesome that place on the peak was. All of the lights around there looked stunning in the nighttime, and it was definitely unlike the spots she had boarded through in the moments leading up to then.

Then there was that moment where she soared across the top of that building, of course, since it was pretty much the definition of big air. That weightlessness and adrenaline she felt in that instance was something her mind replayed continuously, as if it were some recording that she could rewind and witness over and over. While that was probably something that came once in a lifetime, she hoped there was at least a slight possibility that another chance to do something of that sort would come again.

And last but not least was that music she got to hear live, which Nick took her to see after they had finished exploring Metro City by snowboard. The DJ's set had tunes newer and older blended together, some of which remained stuck in her head for quite some time after they had been played. That was the perfect way to end one of the greatest nights she had since she had been accepted into this circuit.

Despite all of those cool things happening in a short matter of time, however, there was even more excitement coming up. The event at R 'n' B was today, and that meant she had to be on her A game. After all, this would be the event that determined who advanced to the second peak on the mountain. While bringing home the grand prize wasn't her number one priority, she definitely wished to make it to see that peak, and possibly even the third one that was supposedly more insane than that one.

Now she was making her trek to the snow for some early morning practice. Despite Metro City being the perfect playground to master her tricks with, a little extra preparation before things began didn't kill anybody. By taking the route from the lodge to where the event was happening, she felt that she could get in a wee bit more practice.

Before she could get into her board and head out, a ping came from her Z-Comm. Aside from a possible message from the circuit, she knew that it could only be one mammal possibly sending her something at this time.

Flick! She flipped the screen open and saw the name Nick pop up under what messages she had just received.

Good morning, Fluff, the fox's message read, followed by a smiley face emoticon.

Morning, she replied quickly. Out for a quick freeride before that thing begins soon.

There was a pause between them, meaning that what Nick was sending in response was taking a bit longer to come through. A few seconds later, what appeared to be a video clip appeared, looking like it had been taking during that DJ set he took her to back in Metro City. Couldn't get that one song he played outta my head last night and woke up with it in my head again, he explained. I gotta share the frustration now.

Judy placed a finger on the screen to play the clip. As the video played back, she saw the lights flashing from behind the performer to the beat of a catchy electronic tune with a lot of bass to it. This had to be what Nick was saying he could got out of his head, and she couldn't say he blamed him. It was pretty darn catchy, in her opinion.

Great, she texted back. Now it's circling around in my head. Thanks a lot.

You're welcome, Carrots, was Nick's sly response.

Can't wait to see how ya do out on R 'n' B today, by the way, replied Judy positively, changing the subject. I'm sure you'll do great.

I'm sure you'll do even greater, the vulpine on the other end returned through text.

You're just sayin' that, Slick.

No, I'm serious. I'm sure you'll knock those judges right off their paws.

In the wake of the fox's optimism, Judy complimented back, But I never could have done it without your great advice. You've been a big help in helping me learn those tricks, and helping me discover my special one.

Yeah, replied Nick, but never in a billion years could I have done what ya pulled off back in Metro City. That was tremendous!

The whole soaring-high-across-that-skyscraper thing? That was nothin', responded Judy wittily.

Haha, sly bunny. But seriously, though, that was pretty insane. How in the world did ya pull it off?

Well, I was a ball of nerves before I started to soar up into the air, the bunny admitted, but I just let all that go, I guess. I just focused on nothing but the trick and getting it right. Just threw my worries to the wind. That's what my mother always taught me to do.

You ain't afraid to take risks sometimes, Nick said. That's a great quality to have in this circuit, you know? Believe it or not, I'vebeen in it for awhile now and I still gotta work on that. I tend to get worried about biffing it or running outta time too often, and sometimes I need to just take a risk every now and then. I need to just have more fun out there and forget about the clocks, you know what I'm saying?

I know what you mean.

There was another pause between the messages they were sending back and forth, interrupted when multiple of them came through from the fox. Speaking of that trick you pulled in Metro City, he replied, I think it's actually caught some attention.

The bubble that appeared directly below the words was an article that seemed to be put on the SSX forums. Check out Judy Hopps catching some gnarly big air! the caption read, with a video directly below it.

Judy tapped on the video to see it for herself. As soon as she did, she started to see a clip of her flying through the air on her board. When she approached the top of that building in the video and started to perform that trick of hers, it started to play in super slow motion. A smile took shape on her face as she watched again.

Who put that on? Judy asked after the clip finished. Was that from one of those mountain cams they say they got over 262 of?

That was actually the radio station's page that did, Nick responded informatively. It being filmed by one of 'em cams was my idea as well.

Judy's grin grew wider at the recognition she saw. Seeing herself featured like that made for an even greater dose of confidence in her snowboarding abilities, and she hoped to continue to showcase those in today's event. Wow, she texted back, that's beyond awesome! This totally made my morning. Anyway, I'mma get back to some practicing.

Alrighty then, the fox said. Good luck on the slope later.

Thanks, Nick. Good luck to you too. See ya later!

After sending that last message to him for now, Judy reached into her pocket and retrieved a pair of white earbuds, old but still working like a charm. She clicked them into the jack of her Z-Comm before slipping the device back into the other one, the last bits of some upbeat tune started to fill her ears.

"The latest reports show some awesome-sauce weather over at R 'n' B," the announcer for the radio station said after it ended. "That bein' said, there ain't nothin' that's gonna put a stop to our riders tearin' it up out there later today. On a different note, though, ski patrol are urging folks to use caution while traveling out into the backcountry, because avalanche conditions have moved into the extreme." A familiar electric guitar started to greet her a few seconds later. "Now then, we got a request from the one and only Judy Hopps. She says this mornin' she'd like to shred to some Fur Fighters, and we've got some of that comin' right on up!"

The day just kept getting better for the doe.

Before she ventured out this morning, she decided to try and put in a request to the station, knowing that some of the boarders on the circuit got theirs mentioned in the past. Surely enough, hers had just been heard and granted. If that and everything else wasn't enough to get herself ready to take on this new slope, then she wasn't sure what was. Because right now she was beyond psyched!

Slipping herself into her snowboard, she started to slowly make her way towards the markers that pointed towards the course, feeling ready to take on the world. The event might not have been happening for a little bit, but there was nothing wrong with being fashionably early in her book.

"Another cup of the usual," the caribou waiter said as he walked up towards the table, taking the hot cup of tea from off his tray.

Nick nodded back at him with a smile, pulling the ceramic mug closer to where he was seated. "Thanks again," he replied before taking a sip from his tea.

The fox's attention returned to the window, and he saw that a certain timber wolf was making his way towards the entrance to the shop. The jingle of the bells above the doors rang nearby as he saw the canid stepped inside from the cold.

Nick waved as the fellow competitor in the circuit walked towards his table. "Hey there, Wolford," he greeted.

"Heya, Nick," the wolf said back in his typically friendly voice. "Just stoppin' in to get my usual pick-me-up."

"There's an extra seat over here by the window you can sit at," replied the vulpine, gesturing for him to come over to where he was sitting. "I don't mind ya sittin' over here."

Wolford walked towards the empty chair, pulled it out, and kindly took his load off on it. "Thanks."

"I be with ya in a minute," called the reindeer in charge of the place from behind the front counter.

The wolf nodded his head before looking over at Nick. "Ya gettin' ready for that slope style?" He asked enthusiastically.

With a chuckle, the tod replied, "You bet I am. Hopps and I got in some practicing over at-"

"Metro City," finished Wolford, who already seemed to be up to snuff on that despite not being there himself. He reached into his pocket and quickly turned on his Z-Comm, showing Nick the post from the mountain's radio station. "Saw those sick tricks she pulled off that night. Sure she's gonna be pretty sweet out on the snow today, don't ya think?"

"Yep," replied Nick in agreement, "and I've been trying to step up my game when it comes to tricks as well. Can't have those judges sayin' how I'm performing the same ones and that I don't got any originality, you know what I mean?"

"I know what ya mean," Wolford responded. His eyes returned back to the screen of his Z-Comm, which he scrolled a finger across as it made several consecutive singing sounds.

"What's going on there?"

"You probably already saw that photo I managed to get of the Unknown Rider out here on Peak One," explained the canid. "I'd have never expected to be getting this many messages on it."

"Still a buncha hubbub goin' 'round about that guy, huh?" Nick inquired, taking another sip of the tea he had ordered.

"Uh-huh," Wolford answered. "Turns our I ain't the only guy that saw him out on that part of the peak that night. And guess what else? The Unknown Rider put some other message out, sayin' he's been scoping the scene and plans to show himself. 'Look out for me where there's 1,760 yards to show off your snowboarding technique,' he said."

"So what do ya think it means?" the fox asked.

The wolf shrugged and replied, "Beats me. Could never be one of those that's in charge of crackin' codes." He went silent for a moment before his eyes started to widen, as if an idea suddenly sparked in his mind. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

Wolford slapped a paw against the wooden table. "I think I figured out what that meant!" he said excitedly. "There's exactly 1,760 yards in a mile, isn't there?"

"Yeah." Nick nodded his head as he listened to the explanation. Math was never strong suit back in his school days, but that was one fact he distinctly recalled.

"So maybe somewhere that stretches that long has something to do with where he's gonna show his face. But that's kinda vague, so where the heck would that be?"

The vulpine, now being roped into the conversation, pondered on that for a brief moment. "Now that I think about it, there was this course on Peak Two called Style Mile," he suggested.

Wolford looked back at him with a wide grin upon hearing that possibility. "That's possible!" he said excitedly. "Since I'm newer to this whole circuit, I ain't as familiar with those other peaks. But you could totally be right about him plannin' on making his appearance there, waitin' 'til us competitors get to that part of the mountain."

"Well," Nick replied, "I can't promise ya on that. I dunno the guy personally or anything, so it's not like I got details in advance."

At first, the fox didn't care much about the topic that Wolford had been much more involved in. After sharing the conversation with the fellow circuit member, however, he couldn't help but become intrigued about this mysterious snowboarder. Thinking anymore about it, though, was going to have to wait until a different time. Once he was done enjoying the last few sips from the usual he ordered from the cafe each morning, he had an event to get ready for.

Later...

The day was so not off to a great start for Duke Weaselton.

The rockiness began by the alarm, which he could've sworn he set, not going off when it was supposed to, causing him to sleep in more than he needed to. The extra time he spent in bed, instead, should have been his time out and about, getting down some of the things he wanted to try out on R 'n' B. Everyone else, he assumed, was already up and ready to go, and Weaselton was not happy about that at all.

It didn't help that he was already not doing too hot here on Peak One, with the other remaining riders passing him up. First off, there was that guy named Snarlov that was killing it this year. The damn polar bear had been doing some of the craziest tricks, making it all look like it was as easy as pie in the process. Sure, they were some pretty impressive moves. Heck, they were among the best the spectators had witnessed during this year's SSX competition. But it just felt to him like Snarlov was showing off at this point.

Then there was the newbie to the circuit.

That bunny that was gaining all of the spotlight.

He thought challenging her to that one-on-one backcountry race would be a way to show her that he was the champion, but that seemed to backfire on him. Hopps, in actuality, turned out to be the mammal that won that little contest, further crushing his ego.

He had to do something about his not-so-amazing performance. This was the last event taking part at Peak One, meaning that this was his final chance to ensure that he stayed in this year's competition. His champion status was currently in questioning, and he was now desperate to ensure that it remained the way that it was. He didn't care what it took at this point, even if it meant playing a little dirty.

The weasel cleared his mind as he swerved across the snow, heading straight for the station that would soon take him to the event that would be underway any moment now. The cheetah in charge of the gondola lift held a paw out, gesturing for him to slow down, and he obediently did so.

"Last gondola to R 'n' B will be arriving at the station shortly," the portly feline announced.

As the next gondola slowly came towards the station, Duke looked over to his right and saw that Skye was already here, presumably waiting for a ride to the event as well. The arctic vixen looked back at him and flashed him a cocky grin.

"Christ..." he muttered under his breath. He wasn't too happy of the fact that this gondola, since it was the last one heading to that destination, would have to be shared with her. Since both of them had a similar mentality, hellbent on the prize and nothing else, he had a definite feeling that taunts between the two of them would ensue.

Duke sighed as he stepped onto the gondola and took his seat, crunching a paw against the side of his face as he looked outward. He heard Skye make her way inside as well, and she sat down on the opposite side of the aerial lift. Within a few moments, the two rival snowboarders were making their way to that part of the mountain where they could show the others what they had. Both of them remained silent then, occasionally glaring back at each other without even saying a word or a simple greeting.

As Skye sat at her seat, listening to loud music that he could hear coming from her earbuds, Duke decided to just pretend as if she wasn't there. He got up suddenly before lying down his back on the cold floor of the gondola, propping his paws up on the cushioned seat he was on before. Arms behind his back, he broke out into some sit-ups, breathing steadily in between each one.

The vixen sitting aside from him took out an earbud and looked over towards him. "Gettin' a quick workout before headin' onto the slope today, huh?" she said with a smirk.

"What's it to ya?" Weaselton muttered as he continued on with his sit-up regimen.

Skye set the Z-Comm in her paw down to her side, readjusting herself in her seat. "I'm just giving you some advice that I thought seemed fair," she responded. "What you're doing right now's not gonna come in handy if ya can't stop yourself from wiping out. Y'know, the whole objective's to stay on your board, not fall off it and tumble headfirst into the snow. I mean, that stuff's what ya learn in Snowboarding 101."

Seriously? Duke thought. She's really bringing up that wipeout I had during that race event? It was one frickin' time, for goodness sake!

It might not have actually been one time—there was also the time he biffed it during the match against Judy—but he wasn't about to get nit-picky about that right now.

He stopped what he was doing and uttered a long sigh, picking himself back up off the ground. He looked back over at the rival that was sitting there, seeing the over-the-top outfit she was wearing right now. On top of the tiara she donned during the Crow's Nest event, the vixen was wearing a purple coat that was longer on her figure like a dress, as well as boots that were the same color.

"And what are you supposed to be there, Skye?" Weaselton retorted in response to her previous rhetoric. "Auditioning for some kinda princess musical in that getup?"

The vulpine swished her tail and laughed at this. "Gotta keep up my image as the queen of this peak, Weselton," she remarked.

Crossing his arms, Duke replied, "It's Weaselton. Duke Weaselton. The name ain't that hard to get right."

"When I put myself on that shelf and make claims to knock my competition outta the park," Skye replied, "I actually try to hold up to that. Unlike you, I've been killin' it out there instead of just talking and not givin' it my all."

Weaselton gritted his teeth and shook his head, deciding it was a lost cause to carry on this conversation with her. He just ignored what she said and got down to the ground in a high plank position, changing things up by performing some push-ups. Meanwhile, Skye returned to the music she was listening to and focused on the slopes that she would be shredding across.

One Hour Later...

"SSX would like to welcome you to the R 'n' B slopestyle event!" said the announcer. "Blizzard Bar and Grill is today's sponsor!"

The snowboarders remaining in the competition cruised their way towards the starting point, soaking in their ovation like it was the rays of the sun. They all then prepared to take on the turf that lied ahead of them, just passed the closed starting gates. As they gave their boards a quick wax or gave themselves their quick pep talk to themselves, they waited patiently for the announce to choose who would be taking on the course first.

Instead of them all going down the slope individually like they did back at Crow's Nest, two of them at a time would make the descent to the eventual finish line. With the fact that this would be happening in mind, it went without saying that this particular passage had the most mountain cams posted around, that way the judges scoring them would have crisp and clear footage of their performances.

"Up first in today's event is Hopps and Snarlov!" declared the announcer through the speakers, crowds going wild upon hearing this.

Judy heard her name being called out and felt the jitters coming to her. This was new territory she never ventured to, after all, and that meant she was unfamiliar with any routes she could take on this course. Any special spots in particular that were the best places to go to pull off a good trick.

She didn't let herself get too worried about this, though. She took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, making her way towards the leftmost starting gate and holding onto it. That trip to Metro City the previous night told the jitteriness she had about whether or not she was ready otherwise; she was most certainly ready for this, and nothing could stop her now.

The doe heard Snarlov coming up from behind her as he made his way over to the gate directly to the right of where she was standing. The ursid outstretched his paw and held it out towards her.

"Good luck out there," he said to her.

"Same to you," she replied as she shook his larger paw.

"It's time to soar through the air and taste the wind, isn't it, Hopps?" remarked Snarlov with a brief chuckle.

Smiling back at him, she answered, "Sure is."

"Love events like this one the most of all. Gives me the chance to just do whatever I want like no one's watchin', y'know?"

"You did seem like you're on cloud nine when you did some of those tricks and stuff," Judy remarked.

"That, my friend, is what happens when you enter what's called 'The Zone,'" replied Snarlov.

"The Zone?"

"It's what they call it when you lose yourself in what you love to do the most, when you feel like you're on top of the world. Well, that's what a guy I met recently said, at least."

"Well, he's pretty spot on about that," Judy responded. "I've totally felt that before."

In the corner of her vision, she started to see a cougar walk out and gesture for her and the bear to direct their attention towards the starting gate. The two snowboarders both did so, getting ready for the moment said gates opened and they made their way through R 'n' B.

As usual, the clock above them counted down from five to one, with the audience chiming in alongside it. When it reached its end and the starting pistol was fired, the rabbit adn polar bear both stormed out of the starting line out into the open snowy space.

While Snarlov continued to go straight ahead, Judy, unsure of which direction to take, thought it best to head for the rails. A sharp veer to the left and she was zooming across the first narrow rail on the course, which she thought was a decent beginning to her journey. While staying at this swift speed, she simply let herself go off of it and got in a quick flip, landing elegantly on a rail directly in front of her.

She elegantly cruised across this one, which was a lot less thin and had banners for the sponsors posted on either side of it, and she started to ascend while keeping her balance on it. She then quickly slid her paws out of her board and sat down on it as she continued to glide forward, getting a look around at her surroundings with a grin on her face that couldn't be wiped off. Picking herself back up and securing her feet back into the board, she jumped up and veered herself towards the right, onto a third and final rail in her midst.

Landing perfectly once again, she quickly slipped out of the board a second time and shifted into a handstand, holding that as she followed it until she reached the end of it. from there, her journey through the course involved her just sailing smoothly until she approached a mound of snow that curved into the air.

The bunny went straight for it and flew upward, performing a series of spins and she took one paw out of the board's bindings and held it out in front of her. She touched the ground safely, slowing down for just a moment before moving right along. She could raised booths out to her left in the distance, where a crowd watched her as they loudly cheered her and the polar bear on.

She simply waved in their direction before returning her attention what was out in front of her. While gazing out ahead, the advice Nick had given to her the night before started to come back to her mind just then: There's some special spots on the course where the judges will give you double the points to the score they give you if you do a trick near them.

"But just where is one of those spots?" she wondered to herself.

The question received its answer, surely enough, when she came towards a sign that lit up in a shade of bright blue, bearing the SSX logo. The way it captured her attention made her assume that this was one of those aforementioned spots that could help her out when it came to her score in this event.

Judy approached a hill that was a straight drop into a portion of the course where there was a good amount of fallen logs, which were an obstacle for some but an opportunity for snowboarders like her. The illuminated sign was just up ahead, meaning that she was coming towards where she could try another trick out.

The rabbit launched off the edge of that hill and out into the open. As she soared freely, her eyes caught a glimpse of one of the mountain cams that was positioned directly on one of the tall trees, probably there in order to capture each competitor's big air. Which was exactly she was going to take advantage of from this height. She grabbed her board from underneath her and held onto it in her right paw, spreading her arms outward like they were the wings of an eagle. She held that pose for a very brief moment before she got herself safely back into her board, briefly looking directly over at the mountain cam to her left and smiling giddily into it, making a heart shape with her paws.

Upon landing, she realized that she wasn't too far away from yet another hill. And another one of those, to her, was another chance to try a new trick of that sort again. She steadily approached the raised land as she raised the nose of her board off the ground. Quickly getting that maneuver in, she then zipped upward and became airborne.

Judy leaped up from out of her board, curling up while she did a quick spin in midair before clicking back into place. From there, still having some time to take more advantage of the big air, she carefully stepped out of its bindings and laid across its surface, as if she were cozily napping on it. Right before she was about to land, she quickly lifted herself back up and got ready to hit the snow.

"Absolute perfection!" she shouted enthusiastically.

Snarlov trailed a good distance away from where the bunny was now, but the amount of time he was taking wasn't even on his mind. He removed that from his thoughts as he boarded through the terrain, the only worry present being what he'd be pulling off once he got up to the incline up ahead. His routines on and off the circuit, without a doubt, had been among the most creative ones he had ever had in his time as a competitive snowboarder.

With how well of a response he had gotten regarding the tricks he performed at Crow's Nest, he knew that if he wanted to stay on the top of his game, he was going to have to keep being inventive. Keep using that imagination of his to wow the crowds with just how crazy of moves he could bust out on a slope like this. The tricks he had done were a bit on the milder side before he reached this point, but now was the time for the fun to truly begin for him.

A few seconds after he was catching some pretty big air off the embarkment, the polar bear took both feet out of his board, swung it around his back before holding it in his other paw, moving his legs back and forth as he imitated the motion of walking in the sky. He got himself back into the position to prepare for landing, and he looked down for a split second to see that he was about to land perfectly onto a long-stretching rail.

Surely enough, he touched the surface of the shiny metallic bar, his board making a crisp sound as he sailed on by. He slid his feet right both back out of the board again and sat flatly in the middle of it, crossing his legs and holding his paws up the way he did when he meditated.

"Inner peace..." he muttered softly to himself.

Immediately following that trick up, he flung back up into a standing position before crouching forward with his arms in front of him, making him look like he was a bear on all fours gliding across on his ice block-shaped board. He leapt right back up onto his feet and rode the rail until he got to the very tip of its surface, his balance wobbly for a quick moment before he regained control of it.

Right after hopping off the rail, he did a quick spin with the little bit of air that he got before cruising down the snow a good distance. Boarding down the flat terrain, his eyes caught sight of another sign nearby that indicated he was coming up to one of those randomly-placed spots on the course. The ones that made for double the points to his score. While he would have went a different direction any other time, he decided to take the route he never did prior to this. It was different from his usual plans when it came to R 'n' B, but there was no way he was going to pass that spot up.

He swerved suddenly to the left and made his way towards a log that angled upward on top of a rock, which was not too far away from some unused, snow-dusted train tracks. He picked up his speed as he glided onto the log and went up into the air at a good height.

Time for more, he thought as he grinned.

Snarlov reached down as hopped back out of the board, lifting it from below him and holding it tightly under his arm. While coming up to one of the posted mountain cams, he did his best attempt at a high kick, making it look like the kind he might have seen someone in martial arts do. He then passed the board he freed himself from behind his back and into his other paw, proceeding to bring it up to him and wrap both arms and legs around it.

"Bear hug!" he said out loud, as that was the nickname he came up with for the maneuver he had just executed. When it came to figuring out what he was going to call before, he just couldn't resist a chance to make it a pun based off his species.

He held that trick for a few seconds, feeling then like he had entered "The Zone" that he was mentioning to Hopps right before the event began.

Click! Right back into his board he went, and back onto the snow he continued. Perhaps it was just him but it felt as if the snowfall on this next part of the course was actually a bit thicker, making him slow down just a bit. It wasn't exactly a major problem for him, but it was something he took notice of in that moment.

The stillness behind him was cut by the loud and alerting sound of a train horn being blown. The sounds of chugging could be heard by him shortly afterwards, and he felt the ground below start to rumble a bit.

Guess those tracks weren't unused like I thought they were, he supposed.

He took a gander at what was directly behind him, seeing that out in the distance was a locomotive chuff-chuffing its way across those tracks. He heard it start to blare its horn again, this time louder than it was before. The bear then returned to what was up ahead was a gap that broke in between an upward slope and some sort of building, the top it displaying flecks of brown roofing underneath a blanket of fallen snow.

He first thought that it was some sort of house, but he then remembered something he had read quite some time ago, about how this part of the peak would actually become the place where new shops and such would be developed. He wondered when he read it then what that meant for this particular course's future, and if that meant the passage in which he and other competitors shred through might change someday.

This was probably one of the construction that somebody got to work on. It stood right out in front of him, sticking out against all the untouched snow around it. He flew back upward a short height, giving him just enough time to pull of a simple one-foot trick by clicking a paw out of his board and flicking it behind him. He then placed it right back into place before he started to slide across the rough surface of the roof to the building.

Snarlov looked over to his left as he skidded forward, slowing down in that moment. On that side of this portion of the course was a series of three thick logs, an unoccupied yellow construction machine, which looked like a shorter crane, only a short distance away from it. Seeing that idly sitting there caused him to hatch a clever idea, and he smiled broadly at the opportunity coming up ahead. It was something else that was different from his usual cruise down the course, considering that there was never something of that sort ever in that path, but he was totally up for it. Sometimes you just had to take a chance.

His board made a crackling kind of noise underneath the roofing he was sliding from one side to the other of, and he did a little spin as he came up to the end of the top of the unfinished construction. He returned back to the advice he had given by that meditation expert, about how to maintain a great amount of peace even when taking something presumably risky. He took a quick and deep breath before letting it out, just like he was taught to do, focusing on nothing but what he wished to do in that moment.

The ursid leaned himself to the left a bit as he flew off what he had been gliding across. While he was airborne, he did a backward flip as he took a paw out the board, holding it out behind him as he leaned back a little. He turned his head to the side as he put that paw back into place, seeing the top of the crane was dead ahead.

"Ya'll seein' this?" he whooped with glee.

He landed right onto it and cruised upward to the end of the short projecting arm, managing to catch even more big air thanks to that idea he quickly conjured up. Now that he was back up in the skies once again, he performed his Bear Hug trick for the second time, swaddling the board against him. From there, he did a quick leg split before placing the board on the top of his head and balancing it carefully for a quick second. He swiftly grabbed it and got himself back into the bindings of it in time to make a perfect and satisfying landing. He pumped a fist while carrying through the terrain that started to zig-zag a bit, just he heard somebody else not too far away from him speeding up ahead.

Making the sharp bend to the left, Judy saw the polar bear that was taking on R 'n' B alongside him coming up from behind. She hadn't seen him for a good amount of time, considering she had taken a different route than he did, and now she wasn't too far away from where he was now.

"Make way, Snarlov!" she proclaimed jokingly as she approached him, passing him up by a few measly feet.

Snarlov laughed from behind as he continued. "Sure thing, Hopps," he replied before cutting to the right, redirecting himself through this part of the terrain. Since this part of the course wasn't as open and spacious as it was before, he wasn't too far away from the rabbit as they both carried on.

Up ahead in Judy's vision was another hill, and she started to make beeline for that spot. Once up in the air just enough, she took out one foot from her board and twirled continuously in a circle on the other. Her spins were swift but kept to a minimum to ensure she didn't make herself dizzy. She transitioned then into another handstand, flipping straight into the air and grabbing hold of her board a second later. She held that before landing on the snow again, just above the tall bank that Snarlov was cruising through.

Much like some of the ones she saw a little bit ago, which she had passed when she took another route, another one of those constructions was to the right, dead in the center of the bank below. It seemed a bit taller than the ones she caught sight of earlier, and she thought it would be a neat idea to go for a jump.

Another long log with a snow-covered rock below it was in that direction, almost like it was just waiting for her to come towards it. A swerve curve to the right slowed down her speed just a little bit, but she swiftly regained it as she got onto the log and soared as much as she could into the air. She soared across the bank of snow and over the roof of the roof of the construction, reaching for the nose of her board with both paws as she freely slipped both feet from her board. She held it abover her head for a moment before clicking herself back into place.

While Snarlov took another route, Judy continued in this different direction, avoiding the part of the course where the passage way became tighter. Out in front of her laid yet another labyrinth of spruce trees that were growing together as if they were some close-knit community. They left tight spaces that she would have to slide her way through, where not being quick enough could lead to her taking an unexpected tumble. And she definitely didn't have that in mind right now.

The rabbit jumped into the air where a snow-covered rock rested in between two trees like a roadblock, keeping her arms stiffly on her sides to make sure she didn't knock into either of them. Once she was clear of that little hurdle, it was all a matter of getting out of the maze of spruces. From the left to the right she swerved with every obstacle in her midst. The last of the trees, however, caught her unexpectedly, and she ended up bumping her side into it without warning.

Hopps was slowed down for a split second before she shrugged it off and kept moving forward. "I'm not out just yet," she said to herself.

She was sure the finish line was coming up pretty soon; she could feel that the course was reaching its upcoming end.

The doe sighted a hill coming up that give her another shot at catching some big air, a chance that she was going to take without any questions. She leapt up a moment and did a brisk 360 spin, getting that in before proceeding toward the hill. The flurry of freezing air hit her face and blew her ears back once she was soaring over that rising ground.

She enjoyed that feeling for a brief moment before breaking out into another trick, which was the traditional method grab but changed up a bit when she released a leg from her board and held it out in front of her. She swiftly placed it back into her bindings before holding out the opposite paw outward. From there, she flipped her snowboard onto its underside and held it behind her back, tapping her boots together twice. She clicked back into the bindings before pulling off another quick trick, finishing up with a nimble kickflip that spun her board sideways before she landed.

Once she was cruising close to where Snarlov was once again, she started to see the lights of the finish line out in the distance, nothing but flecks of yellow and blue from where she was then. A few yards later and she was coming up to a series of three rails that were each different in size. The one that was in the center traveled up a tall mound of snow, where a podium that had a car built for a larger mammal had been place, its doors backseat doors open on either end of it.

"Oh yeah..." Judy said with determination.

She made beeline for that bright blue rail and hopped right onto it, traveling upwards and up to where the long car, most likely one of the SSX sponsors, had been positioned. The rail had been placed in such a way that it traveled through the roomy backseat and back out into the open before it ended, which she thought was actually pretty cool. She slipped out the board and laid flat on her back, maintaining that manuever before reaching the last inch of the rail. Once she was back in the air for the last time in her run down R 'n' B, she shifted into a perfect handstand, flipping higher into the air of her board before reaching for it and placing herself back into it.

The crowds from the finish line she was steadily approaching went wild, and Judy felt more excited than she had in the previous events on the peak. She ended her run with a simple nose grab as she crossed the line that marked the end of the course, looking back out at where she had just came cruising down. Now it was time to enjoy the ovation she was getting from the spectators around her.

"Never felt so alive!" she proclaimed against the cheering, giving herself a round of clapping at how she did.

Author's Note: Hey there, everybody! I'm back with another chapter of snowboarding action. Hope everybody enjoyed it this time around, and I'll be showing the remainder of the event Judy just completed in the next chapter.

The tricks they pull off have admittedly been a bit trickier (no pun intended) to write out. I've tried my best so far in this story to capture the tricks that SSX was known for, which are pretty technical and are in no way realistic to what can actually be pulled off on a snowboard in real life. Tried coming up with some different ones for each character so far, which has been pretty fun to do but a bit harder when trying to describe them for the readers to visualize, so hopefully I did a good job on that. :)

Anyway, let me know what your thoughts were on this. As always, your feedback, whether good or bad, is gladly appreciated. And thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with this little story of mine. I've been having a lot of fun writing it out, and I'm happy to know you are all enjoying it.

'Til next time! :)