MOUNT SNOW, Vt. – During Saturday's Moto X practice, Mike Jones became the first rider to take a jump on snow in an official contest. A day later, he attained another first for the cold-air version of Motocross – a gold medal.

Jones came into the competition a heavy favorite, nailing one big trick after another in practice. But with the unfamiliar course conditions causing some riders to abandon their tricks mid-air and superman seatgrabs and Indian airs commonplace, it would take something more to grab the judges attention.

Something like a Kiss of Death.

Mike Jones performs the Kiss of Death.

Jones recently came up with the trick in which he thrusts his body forward and up, doing a virtual handstand mid-air with his forehead inches from the front fender.

"I pulled it off, that's what I wanted to do," said Jones shortly after the competition. "This is what I came here for."

Jones felt confident that the Kiss of Death would be enough for the gold but he was ready just in case.

"I've got a couple more tricks up my sleeve that I didn't have to pull out today," said Jones. "I'm sort of glad because I can save them for next year. They are just a little more dangerous as far as the landings go. I'm happy I could win with what I had."

Tommy Clowers turned in three impressive runs to take the silver medal, while Clifford Adoptante took home the bronze.

The first Moto X Big Air event on snow got off to a slow start when Dan Pastor revved up for the first jump of the competition but pulled a dead sailor, hitting the landing without doing a trick. It would happen a few more times throughout the day, but for the most part the riders felt comfortable pulling a wide variety of Seat-Grabs, Hart Attacks, and more.

Minutes later, Kenny Bartram busted out a one-handed Superman Seat-Grab and the bar was raised for the rest of the competition. Metal Mulisha member Brian Deegan took things a notch higher with a Look Back Hart Attack that pushed him into fourth place, just out of medal contention with one round to go.

The third and final run left everyone wondering who could challenge Jones for the top spot and what they would attempt in order to to do it.

Cifford Adoptante gave Jones his first real threat attempting a trick he pioneered, the Sterilizer, in which the rider thrusts both feet through the arms, over the front fender, and landing with the feet still over the handlebars. Adoptante landed a little soft and was thrown from the bike without injury. It was enough for third place.

The next to final run of the competition came from Metal Mulisha member Brian Deegan who was rumored to be thinking of trying a backflip. There was even an extra kicker built into the side of the course just for the occasion.

As the tension mounted and the announcer baited the crowd with the rumors, Deegan approached the primary kicker and sailed across the jump without pulling off a trick, finishing in fourth place and leaving the crowd somewhat unfulfilled. It marks the first X Games in which Deegan has failed to medal.

Tommy Clowers with a huge Look Back Hart Attack.

That left the final rider, Tommy Clowers, as the last obstacle to a gold medal for Jones. He attempted another, even more extended, Look Back Hart Attack but it wasn't enough for the judges. He finished in second place, two-thirds of a point behind Jones.

"I felt good," said Clowers after claiming the silver medal. "I did all my tricks pretty good and big. I was able to do what I wanted to do and came out second."

Jones was watching from just off the landing as Clowers and Deegan attempted to take the gold away from him with their final jumps.

"I pretty much knew what they had. I didn't think they really had anything else left that was bigger but you never know," said Jones. "I wasn't celebrating until the very end. It's a bit cold out here and it's hard for it to sink in, but hey, I did it."

After the competition, riders reflected on jumping on snow and where that ranked among some of the sicker things they've done on a motorcycle.

"This is probably one of the craziest things I've ever done on a bike," said Jeremy Stenberg who had trouble most of the day and finished in 12th place. "When they told me the course was going to be built out of snow, I thought 'I don't know if I even want to go there.' But it was definitely fun."

"That is the sickest thing I've ever done on a bike," echoed Jones. "I'm basically doing a handstand and nobody else is doing it. It's a gnarly trick, that's why it's called the Kiss of Death. If you don't do it right, you are going to have some problems, especially on snow."

As for Clowers, the sickest thing he's ever done on a bike?

"You just saw it," he said with a chuckle.

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