Craig Coker introduces the 2nd annual War of Rails.

It's been two months of non-stop work for Mr. Craig Coker. Between lining up sponsors, sorting out the all the crazy insurance matters, and collaborating with Bear Mountain Resort, it's been, in his words, "pretty damn stressful."

With the event less than 24 hours away, however, things are finally starting to fall into place. And for all his efforts, Craig notes, "it's all worth it in the end."

With $15,000 on the line (a cool $8,000 going to the winner), numerous notables have made the trek to SoCal. Phil Casabon, Matt Walker, Sean Jordan, Gus Kenworthy, Mike Mertion, Kolby Ward, a handful of Utah shredders including McRae Williams & the Peters brothers, as well as the reigning War of Rails champion – Tim Russell, are only a few of the many that are on site this weekend to get their grind on. 

The finishing touches to the setup are in the works, the athletes are ready to rock, and the LA-crowd is here in throngs to check out the event, and to take advantage of some live DJ action and some sweet product giveaways.

The setup in the works.

Right now, the only thing standing between us and an absolutely smashing event, is the forecast. A hefty snowstorm is rolling into town this evening, threatening to hamper the collective positive vibe that has taken hold of Big Bear. 

But according to the locals, forecasts up here on top of the mountain are about as predictable as Lady Gaga's next hair style, so there's no telling what tomorrow has in store. Either way, if all goes to plan, this is going to be one seriously killer multi-real-feature. Something tells me that the competitors aren't going to let a little precipitation get in the way of them throwing down to take the crown.

Back tomorrow with a full recap.