Steve Zdarsky takes us on a 540 double twist spin through last year’s Red Bull Nanshan Open qualifier.

6:30 a.m.

Home—Miyun, near Beijing

I wake up because my phone alarm is ringing like crazy. Then it's straight to the bathroom. 6:40 Get cleaned up but don't shave because I’m too lazy and I heard Chinese ladies are into beards. Open my MacBook and check emails. It takes ages because there’s no cable in my flat and I have to do it wireless over my phone. Weather forecast: no wind. Sweet, perfect conditions to jump the big kicker.
7:00 I wake up my flatmates. There’s Marco, my best friend, who works with me at Mellow and is also a Quiksilver sponsored rider; Lihai whom I met six years ago when I first came to China; and Aleksey who works as a park shaper. Still fooling around with my Apple (Facebook, MySpace, mellowparks.cn). I call Andrew (China's top snowboarder right now) at the other flat (we have two because we are too many people) and tell him to get everybody up there.
7:10 Still trying to get them out of bed, still playing with my Apple and updating my blog on www.quiksilver.cn.
7:30 Finally everybody is up and ready. We hit the road.
7:45 Breakfast at McDonald's. I love Egg McMuffins and "good" coffee. Miyun just got a McDonald's so we are all stoked.

Nanshan Ski Resort

8:15 The park shapers, my media ladies (aka "we do everything Steve is too lazy to do" ladies), the Mellow Construction staff from Austria, film crews, photographers, judges and all the other snowboarders who hang around meet in my office.
8:30 Hit the slopes for the first time for two speed runs.
9:00 My phone starts ringing. Red Bull is asking for the millionth time if everything is going as planned. Everybody is nervous so they ask tons of questions.
9:30 Meet the 16 international and three national riders at breakfast and update them about the day.
10:00 All 19 riders hit the park and get comfortable with the setup. My phone is ringing all the time so I switch it off. Marco and I work the crowd, Marco in Chinese and me in "Arnold Schwarzenegger" English because I am not allowed to do it in Chinese after Red Bull said I used "niu bi" too much last year.
11:00 Make sure the judges, starter, riders, TV (live broadcast on BTV6!) and film crews are all ready, then start the first runs. The guys ride hard and the crowd freaks out. I tell DJ Wordy 100 times that his tunes rock!
12:00 p.m. All 19 riders finish their runs. Check rankings and discuss with the judges and Marco. Then it's time for lunch. I steal something from the buffet and try to fight off all the people who have questions. Super stressed.
1:00 Second and third runs of the qualifier start. I am moving around like I'm on drugs because I already drank too much Red Bull (I'm not allowed to drink anything else in public during the event).
3:00 Qualifier ends. During the live punk show on the Gibson stage I meet with the judges in my office to see the results. Hardcore discussions ensue because only 10 out of 19 riders qualified for the shot at US$25,000 prize money the next day.
3:25 Marco and I announce the 10 qualifiers. Interviews follow.
4:00 Meet with all the photographers and camera people to review the footage.
4:30-8:00 Go through TONS of photos, selecting 15 good ones for the press release I just got handed. Help cut a video for the web.

Restaurant

8:00 Meet with riders and foreign media for dinner. Ganbei some beer and check if everything is okay.

Home

10:00 Finally hit the showers. The water’s not hot anymore because my flatmates used all the hot water ... grrrr!
11:00 Last email check, last phone calls and then I hit the bed. The finals are tomorrow and I have to get out early. Recap with my flatmates how the event went and go to bed with a smile because the bunch of us just organized the best "extreme" event China has ever seen.