Snowboarding as the Olympic Bricolage?

Just some questions after watching all these extreme sports events in the Olympics.

If extreme sports is all about individuality in the face of the corporate anonymity of more established sports, then why are most of the events (snowboard cross being the exception) about being judged by other people? Why does Bode Miller seem more independent thinking (and more risk-taking) than, say, Danny Kass or Shaun White? What's so free about freestyle skiing?

And I'm not sure what to make of the fact that snowboarding is surfing transposed onto snow. By contrast skiing evolved indigeneously from its immediate circumstances, namely, trying to get around on snow. Is snowboarding an example of postmodern culture combining two unlike things to create something new--a kind of Olympic bricolage? Or is it an example of capitalist market expansion? Surfing can only be done when it's warm and on an ocean, and winter mountains represents a new market opportunity. Can we say skiing is a more authentic winter sport? Would we want to?