The hardest thing about going to the Teva Mountain Games is deciding what to see and what to do. With so many events to choose from it's impossible to catch everything.

This year, the IFSC World Cup of Climbing was a must-see event with the championship for both men and women coming down to the final climb. The crowd kept the energy levels roaring from Chris Sharma's struggle in the Semi Finals right up until Kilian Fischhuber crushed the last boulder problem in the finals. It has been 20 years since such a high caliber climbing event was on U.S. soil. Alex Johnson placed first for women and Alex Puccio made up for her 6th place finish with a first place finish in the speed climbing competition the next day.

Down on the river the 8 Ball Kayak Sprint was a tried and true crowd pleaser. Paddlers raced against each other in a chaotic 200-meter sprint where they were not the only ones on the water. Kayakers called 8 ballers wore black shirts and black helmets and hid behind bushes. Their job was to charge, ram, hit and try to knock the lead kayakers out of the race. This event, that sounds more like a hockey match than a boating race, is pure mayhem making it impossible to predict a winner. This year's lucky male sprinters were Todd Anderson who took first, Casper Von Kalmathaut (2nd) and Pat Keller (3rd). The frisky females that out smarted the 8 ballers were Emily Jackson (1st), Eleanor Perry (2nd) and Ruth Gordon (3rd). (Video to come)

Raft cross was just as exciting as the 8 Ball Kayak Sprint, with two-man teams racing their way down Gore Creek, navigating around two upstream gates. In this race anything goes and ramming IS allowed. Team Teva / Mongo must have had some inside secrets as they stole the first place spot right out from under the United States National Whitewater Center team and team Timberline. Both teams were trying to wind around the final gate when Team Teva / Mongo came flying down the rapids. Team Teva used the other two boats to stop themselves right in front of the gate claiming the first place spot. (Video to come)

In the two-wheel category, Ryan Trebon flew in the X-Country Mountain Bike race finishing nearly 7 minutes ahead of the second place rider. On the women's side, Katie Compton crossed the line 5 and a half minutes ahead of the second place woman.

Watch out for road biker Benjamin Day, who set a new course record in the Backcountry Hill Climb, clocking in at 25:48 with an average of 22.6 miles per hour...up hill!

Speaking of which, my teammate Nina Baum placed 7th in the women's Hill Climb shooting us into a second place finish in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge team category.

My Rockin' Teammates: Rachel Friedman and Nina Baum

The 10K Spring Run Off--my portion of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge--could well be a speed hiking competition as the start sends runners straight up the Vail ski slope. No zig zag, no fire roads, just straight up the mountain. For as much as the uphill was a killer, the downhill was fast and plenty, taking runners across the slopes on hiking and biking trails that wound through crisp woods. The overnight rain and snow kept the air cool and the trails muddy, making everyone wish they had a little more traction.

And I didn't even mention the dog competition, fly fishing, or the adventure film school. As the town quieted down and exhausted athletes headed home, film students stayed behind in Vail to sort through three days of footage. It's those films that help keep us energized until we get to play in the mountains again next year.

Scroll down for footage from the 2008 Teva Mountain Games and Check back here for more Active.com video coming soon.

Over 100 climbers from 30 countries came to compete in the IFSC Bouldering World Cup. Only six men and six women made it to the finals to compete on Saturday night in the headlining event at the 2008 Teva Mountain Games.

On the women's side was Alex Johnson, Alex Puccio and Tiffany Hensley representing the U.S, Katharina Saurwein and Anna Stohr from Austria and Vera Zijlstra from the Netherlands. On the men's side was Paul Robinson and Daniel Woods from the U.S., Kilian Fischhuber from Austria, Gabriele Moroni from Italy, Gerome Pouvreau from France and Tyler Landman from Great Britain.

In a true testament to the route setters, competition was tight on both the men's and the women's sides with the championship coming down to the last man (Fischhuber) and the final woman (Stohr) on the wall. If they flashed their respective routes, they would be the champions.

When Stohr stepped up to her 4th and final problem, Johnson was in the lead. Stohr gave it several attempts before her last ditch effort as the clock was running out. Unfortunately her foot slipped and Johnson held onto her lead. Watch Stohr's Heartbreaking fall:


When Fischhuber stepped onto the mat Moroni was the only man to have flashed the 4th and final route in the men's competition. If Fischhuber could complete the climb successfully, he would take the championship from Moroni. Check out Fischhuber's crowd pleasing--and World Cup Winning--climb:


Results
Men
1. Fischhuber, Kilian AUT
2. Moroni, Gabriele ITA
3. Robinson, Paul USA
4. Pouvreau, Gérome FRA
5. Woods, Daniel USA
6. Landman, Tyler GBR

Women
1. Johnson, Alex USA
2. Saurwein, Katharina AUT
3. Stöhr, Anna AUT
4. Hensley, Tiffany USA
5. Zijlstra, Vera NED
6. Puccio, Alex USA

Austrian Kilian Fischhuber advanced to the IFSC finals with ease after flashing (successfully climbing the problem on the first try) all four qualifying problems. He is the only competitor to send all four and no one else was able to finish the last two.

Here he is on the final problem:

In what turned out to be a cold and rainy morning, paddlers raced their way down homestake creek in the event that kicked off a weekend of outdoor competition. Tao Berman (#371) took first place with a combined time of 3:41.51 from two runs down the quarter-mile creek.

2. TODD ANDERSON 0:01:50.54 0:01:54.15 0:03:44.69 380

3. ANDREW HOLCOMBE 0:01:53.82 0:01:50.99 0:03:44.81 393

4. GEOFF CALHOUN 0:01:55.17 0:01:52.29 0:03:47.46 360

5. PAT KELLER 0:01:57.25 0:01:50.95 0:03:48.20 369

6. BRAD LUDDEN 0:01:53.64 0:01:54.63 0:03:48.27 386

7. MICHELE RAMAZZA 0:01:58.00 0:01:50.96 0:03:48.96 402

8. SCOTT SHIPLEY 0:01:58.00 0:01:51.37 0:03:49.37 387

9. DAVE FUSILLI 0:01:59.68 0:01:53.40 0:03:53.08 357

10. JASON BEAKES 0:01:56.91 0:01:56.30 0:03:53.21 370

Rain, wind and cool temperatures are in the forecast this weekend in Vail, Colorado, which could make competitions like the mountain bike race and the trail run pretty dang fun!

The great thing about mountain festivals is the folks that come to play never let a little weather get in the way!