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Extreme Exposure: Super Bowl puts Mavericks on hold, Vonn wins again

In this week's edition of Extreme Exposure, Lindsey Vonn adds to her win total while a pair of big wave contests were held for the Super Bowl and could now run this week as surfing officials have athletes on high alert.

In this week's edition of Extreme Exposure—a weekly column featuring news and photography from the world of action and outdoor sports—Lindsey Vonn adds to her win total while a pair of big wave contests were held for the Super Bowl and could now run this week as surfing officials have athletes on high alert.

Win One, Lose One

Lindsey Vonn continued her fantastic season this weekend, winning the downhill Saturday in Garmisch, Germany, and then taking third in the Super G on Sunday. Vonn just missed winning four straight Super Gs in a row to open the season, which had never been done before.

Her lead over Lara Gut now stands at 87 points in the overall as the two have gone back and forth all season. Gut’s first place finish in the Super G more than made up for her disappointing 14th position in the downhill Saturday. Vonn admitted to taking a cautious approach Sunday as the snow conditions deteriorated into a wet, sloppy mess. "The snow was soft and like spring and I didn't risk everything,” she said. “I probably could have, but I feel like I'm older and wiser now and to get to the finish healthy and be in third is still a pretty darn good day and the Broncos game's tonight, so if they can win, it'll make up for my third place.”

Aside from her Super Bowl wish being granted (she lives in Vail, Colo.), Vonn’s now just 10 World Cup wins shy of the all-time mark of 86 held by Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark.   

Foiled by the Super Bowl—Two Big Wave Contests are on High Alert

The waves have been huge and the conditions ideal, but the Titans of Mavericks surf competition was still put on hold this weekend due to the Super Bowl up the road in Santa Clara, Calif. The Coast Guard, sheriffs department and other government agencies were needed to beef up security during Super Bowl week, security that would also be needed at the Titans of Mavericks contest over at Half Moon Bay.

Thanks to an El Niño-fueled swell, Mavericks has had particularly good conditions this winter, bringing in big wave surfers from around the world. But blackout dates—like Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Super Bowl—have kept the contest from running. But this week there’s a more sizeable swell in the water and big wave surfers and contest organizers are keeping a close eye on Mavericks. They're also watching Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore, where a yellow alert has been issued for the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. If the “Eddie” runs at Waimea Bay, it would be the first time the contest has run since 2009 when San Clemente, California na Greg Long won the event.

Raging in Revelstoke

Red Bull finished up its Cold Rush competition this week, a progressive event showcasing backcountry freeskiing in Revelstoke, British Columbia. Sixteen men and five women were invited to compete at the three-day event that included a day of accessing a cliff band with a helicopter so athletes could throw massive tricks—like double backflips—in near-vertical terrain. The third day had to be canceled due to too much snow so all the footage from the two days was collected and played at the Roxy Theater in downtown Revelstoke where competitors judged one another, casting their votes to decide the event champions. Angel Collinson grabbed the top podium spot for the women while Kye Petersen won the men’s comp. Angel’s brother, Johnny, finished second making for a good weekend in the Collinson household.