Pep Fujas lives the charmed life. He’s just as likely to be found skiing some obscure foreign mountain top as a popular resort in this country.

When the snow season ends here, the 23-year-old Rogue Valley native might be found skiing in another hemisphere or surfing in Hawaii.

When it came to purchasing his first home last year, Fujas naturally settled on Sandy, Utah — a place where the powder is at his door when the snow starts falling.

Putting his life of leisure aside for the moment, Fujas is returning to the spotlight in today’s Winter X Games 10 in Aspen, Colo. It will be his third appearance in the annual snow-thrill festival geared for the youth generation.

Fujas’ real interest is not competing in his slopestyle specialty but rather in finding exotic out-of-the way mountains with outrageous conditions to do free skiing — an alternative form of the sport that originated in France around 1990.

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The slopestyle is a judged event featuring free skiing tricks done on jumps and rails going both forward and backward.

Fujas finished second in the slopestyle during his initial X-Games appearance in 2003. He didn’t participate in the 2004 games and failed to advance out of the qualifying round last year. For today’s competition, Fujas admits he hasn’t done much preparation.

"I don’t expect to place in the top five," says Fujas. "I’m just going to go out and have some fun.

"I’d rather be out skiing powder and doing jumps," he adds. "My heart is not in the contest at all."

Today’s Winter X-Games can be seen on ESPN beginning at 11 a.m.

For Fujas, there is more to the X-Games than just the competition.

"I definitely think it has created something with a lot of entertainment value," he says. "It also allows a bunch of us to come together and commiserate and have a good time. There is a lot of energy and good parties."

For parts of the past two years, Fujas has been sidelined by knee injuries. He had anterior cruciate ligament surgery in the spring after a mishap trying a 900 degree jump (2½ rotations) last April in Grizzly Gulch in Utah.

"I underrated a back-country jump a little bit and twisted my knee," says Fujas. "I did a bunch of rehab, then went surfing in Hawaii."

Prior to the injury, Fujas spent two months in Europe. He traveled to Austria, Switzerland and Russia among other places to do specialized ski videos that showcase his unusual skills.

He travels with a cadre of about a half-a-dozen people that include cinematographers, a photographer and other skiers.

"The whole purpose of the trip was to find great terrain and snow conditions where we could shoot," says Fujas. "We followed the storm."

None was better than at a resort in southwestern Russia near the Black Sea. Fujas skied a 9,000-foot peak, with a 6,000 foot vertical drop to the base of the ski area.

"Russia was by far the most amazing place I’ve ever been," says Fujas. "There are cliffs, tree skiing and pillows of snow that build up on rocks. You can jump from mound to mound and they look like pillows. There is incredible snow pack there and it’s s all accessible by ski lift."

Most of Fujas’ income comes from sponsors such as Oakley (glasses, goggles, apparel) and K-2 (skis). He appears in videos primarily to promote the sport.

Fujas, who learned to ski on Mount Ashland as a 3-year-old, returns to the Rogue Valley several times a year to visit with family and friends.

When not flying through the air on skis experiencing a sense of weightlessness, Fujas enjoys photography and reading.

But more often than not, he can be found at some isolated spot.

"I like doing big mountain skiing which requires back country skills," says Fujas. "We’ll use helicopters, snowmobiles or just hike. Any means we can get to the top of the mountain, we’ll do it."

Anything for the pursuit of the perfect powder — not a bad objective for a single 22-year-old.

Reach reporter Frank Silow at 776-4480, or e-mail fsilow@mailtribune.com.