Driving from Park City to Aspen always sounds like a good idea, until you’re four hours deep into a six-and-a-half-hour drive. But that’s what my friend Carrie and I did Monday night. It’s sort of a tradition now.

Carrie, a former member of the U.S. Ski team (and a 1994 Olympian) is headed out to Aspen to cover the Winter X Games for EXPN.com, and I’m headed out for the magazine. All in all, it wasn’t a bad drive. We took the long, southern route and avoided icy roads—and basically all people. There were a couple of hours when we didn’t pass a soul on the road. I have to say, after the craziness of Sundance, it was a welcome pace change.

Winter X begins tomorrow afternoon, and the city is starting to fill with athletes, industry folks and fans. (I was a guest on the ESPN The Magazine show on Sirius yesterday, hosted by my bosses Gary Hoenig and Gary Belsky, and talked about the event, and our choice to put Gretchen Bleiler on the cover.)

Carrie and I ran into half the Skier X lineup at the grocery store last night, stocking up for the week. Everyone is excited about the event this year. The largest prize purse in its 12-year history ($1 million) could have something to do with that.

Check out www.expn.com for hourly updates on the events, starting today. They also have a ton of writers out here blogging four to five times a day. They’re putting me to shame.