The light snowfall that greeted organizers, athletes and residents as they awoke at this tiny mountain resort was the first significant fresh white stuff in nearly six weeks.

Of course, the sun made its regular appearance too, breaking through the clouds for a few hours in the afternoon. But after the almost tropical weather the Rocky Mountains have experienced over the past month, the off-and-on dusting of new snow was a welcome sight. It had been six weeks since the last real storm moved over Crested Butte Mountain Resort, dropping a foot-and-a-half of snow.

Tuesday's snowfall was measured in inches -- maybe.

But with the start of the Winter X Games only days away, any new snow is good snow. The four-day competition schedule in snowboarding, skiboarding, mountain biking, skiing, ice climbing and snowmobile racing begins Thursday.

Not that anyone was panicking. The technology that is man-made snow already had ensured the Winter X Games would be just fine. But now it feels a little more like winter.

"I think the ultimate would be for the snow to end (Wednesday) and then no more snow," said Chris Stiepock, the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Winter X Games. "(Then) sunshine, good light the rest of the way."

Hopes for fan-friendly weather for the thousands of spectators expected in the coming days is a pretty safe bet. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies the rest of the week and more sun than storms in the near future.

"The only thing we need right now is snow for the Snocross snowmobile (course)," Steipock said. "We need some more snow there. Otherwise (the course) will turn into mud -- which they are used to. Everything else, they've blown enough snow and concentrated it on the courses. And the courses are set. There is enough snow.

"If I were a recreational skier, who rented a condo here for a week, I wouldn't be pleased with the amount of snow that was on the mountain. But for the courses and the athletes, it's fine."

The first athletes to test those courses were the mountain bikers, who rode SnowCats up the mountain and then roared down the Biker X course during a three-hour practice Tuesday. While the course set-up drew raves from both the men and women, the new snow wasn't as appreciated.

Tuesday's fresh coating of flakes made for difficult traction on the berms and made hitting the jumps properly a little more difficult. More than a few riders had their bikes slide out from under them. But as with any of the Winter X Games sports, adapting to the elements is what makes them extreme.

"I think the only problem the bikers are having is that the courses are falling through. It's not hard enough packed; we need almost ice out there. That's what we are all expecting," Shaums March said after the practice session. "When there are ruts out there, you can't cross them, because they'll grab your wheel and pull you off your bike."

Mercedes Gonzalez-Natvig, who will compete in the new Biker X format that sends six riders down the course at a time, agreed that the course was too slippery.

"If it was harder packed, it would be great. Because every time you come down, it can be only 10 minutes later, and it's completely different," she said Mercedes Gonzalez-Natvig. "You've got to really react to the conditions, which is tricky in itself."

The first qualifying runs for Biker X will be Wednesday at 11 a.m., sandwiched between practice runs in snowboarding and free skiing.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort once again is Ground Zero. ESPN has spent the past month setting up its production headquarters among a maze of condominiums, hotel conference rooms and temporary facilities at the base of the mountain.

In order to broadcast what will become 89½ hours of Winter X Games coverage, an army of more than 500 ESPN television technicians and production people are on site. An additional support staff of 200 organizers also is in place -- not to mention the 250 volunteers who will be counted on during the week.

What isn't seen by spectators or television viewrs -- the nervous system, so to speak, of the Winter X Games -- is buried under the snow. The miles of cable that connect the mountain to the ESPN control center is still in place from last year, but some unusual problems did crop up when technicians began preparing for this year's Games.

"We've had creatures -- critters, so to speak, not knowing what they are -- bitting through some of the (buried cable)," said Bruce Shapiro, project manager for both the Winter and Summer X Games. "Unfortunately there's not much you can do about that. Mother Nature takes its toll.

"Logistically-wise, this mountain has been excellent. The cooperation we get in moving equipment and people around is superb. They've learned from what little problems there were last year, and they've taken it a step up. And we've had no problems getting things done."

Preparing the mountain itself was an entirely different task -- albeit one made much easier by the fact the Games had been held at Crested Butte before. Conceptual planning started in October, and the construction of courses started in mid-December.

The final product is a dual-venue setup that covers the majority of the resort's base ski area. Chris Gunnarson, who created the snowboard park at Snow Mountain, among other sites, was put in charge of designing each of the courses.

Once the Winter X Games get under way, spectators can expect to see the top athletes in each discipline -- something that wasn't always the case in the Games' first two years. But the Winter X Games have evolved into an event that athletes can't afford to pass up.

"I think as a winter event, it's really getting its name out. You can tell by the amount of attention we receive by the individual industries," Stiepock said. "The first couple of years it wasn't necessarily an event they had to be at. But this year, everyone is coming. This is a place they have to be."