Home

Steamboat Springs — At the very least, Colby James West's sleeping quarters have improved.

The three-time Winter X Games bronze medalist - complete with a signature Mohawk, signature smile and always a few good laughs - now has bigger and better things on his mind.

In town all week training on the water ramps at Bald Eagle Lake in preparation for the 2010 Winter X Games, West wasn't always the skier known for spot-on impressions, wild stories and big tricks.

No, West - who won skiing slopestyle bronze medals in 2007 and 2009 and a bronze in superpipe in 2008 at the X Games - actually slept in his car for more than a year trying to make it big.

West, 24, decided at age 19 to drop college and pursue a career in skiing. He packed everything he owned and drove from New Hampshire to Breckenridge. There, he slept in his car for 1 1/2 years trying to get into as many photo shoots and competitions as he could.

He admits the 1988 Saab wasn't the most comfortable quarters - at one point, he upgraded to a 1992 Saab - but the work he put in eventually paid off.

"It was terrible," West said. "I did that for a year and a half. It was pretty rough. It was cold. If I ever get upset about how my life is going now, I just remember how it was before. It makes me feel better."

In 2007, life for West became really good.

He took third in the slopestyle event at the X Games after getting a sponsor exemption into the contest.

The bronze medal meant more sponsorships, roles in films and, most importantly, no more sleeping in his car.

"It's worked out pretty well," he said. "I got into the X Games somehow with a sponsorship. Then, it was smooth sailing from there. I got lucky with it."

But now, West - who also won the 2008 U.S. Open Big Air competition and finished third in the 2009 superpipe Dew Tour - is getting sick of the color bronze. Because he hasn't been on snow in a while, the ramps at Bald Eagle Lake set up perfect for what he's trying to do.

The biggest ramps at Bald Eagle Lake best simulate the ones at the X Games and on the Dew Tour, West said. He's working on putting together doubles - the new big thing on tour.

He spent multiple hours Tuesday, Wednesday and today working on his form.

"Every year, he looks better and better," said Rob Day, a freestyle coach with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club who skied with West on the Waterville Valley, N.H., Ski Team. "He's getting more confident and doing bigger and better tricks. He's spending time here to get in some base work and make him the best."

Although the 2010 Winter X Games still are six months away, West said he's already focusing in on what it will take to stand on top of the podium.

He'll attend a couple of ski camps in the next couple of months and continue to work on his skiing.

Winning is "on my brain for sure," he said. "I haven't quite grasped it yet because I don't have the tricks. Right now, I want to make sure I'm as prepared as possible. Ask me about it again in December. ... But yeah, I'd like to step it up and win one of these before I'm done."