It was the '70s, and freestyle skiing was in its infancy.

Known better then as "hot dog" skiing, it was a free-form sport with few rules. Freestyle was about skiing outside the box, making your own way, drawing your own lines in the snow.

Each competition was broken down into three events - ballet, moguls and aerials - yet you never knew what to expect. And the accompanying scene was not to be missed: The setting was raucous, the music loud, the crowd rowdy.

Winners were chosen in each individual discipline, and an overall champion, the best skier that day, was crowned "King of the Mountain."

Individuality was emphasized, and creativity reigned - so much so that, in the years that followed, it affected every aspect of the sport, from fashion and equipment to style and technique.

Two of the early pioneers of freestyle skiing were Wayne Wong and John Clendenin. They graced the covers of all the ski magazines and were the envy of anyone who ever skied bump runs or attempted a "spread eagle." Wong was chosen Freestyle Skier of the Year in 1972 by Skiing Magazine, and Clendenin was anointed world champ in 1973 and 1974.

Despite freestyle's popularity, those in the accepted, more respectable sport of ski racing saw these "hot dog" antics as a blight.

Things obviously have changed because the once-renegade sport of freestyle skiing is now a respected Olympic event and now boasts the widely popular Winter X Games.

Wong and Clendenin still are actively involved in the ski industry.

Wong, who lives in Reno, Nev., keeps busy doing corporate outings to promote the sport of skiing and to help various charities. He estimates he has raised more than $26 million for charities, specifically the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Clendenin, who lives and works in Aspen, is the founder and creator of The Clendenin Method, a specialized program designed to teach skiers how to negotiate bumps, steeps and off-piste conditions.

My son, Sean, and I recently spent the day skiing at Aspen Mountain with these legends and, of course, discussing the evolution of freestyle skiing.

Wong: "Freestyle skiing is a whole different ballgame now. The way we skied then and the way they're skiing now is completely different. The whole mogul scene is different in the technique and how the sport has evolved."

Clendenin: "The sport is now more clinical and contrary to what it was in the beginning. When freestyle skiing started, you had all these challenging ski runs - Ruthie's in Aspen, Look Ma in Vail, Exhibition in Sun Valley and Gunbarrel at Heavenly Valley. They were famous for being tough, challenging runs. The idea was to hold a contest to see who was the best skier on the toughest run on a given day."

Wong: "It all started as a conversation between Doug Pfeiffer of Skiing Magazine and Tom Corcoran, who just started Waterville Valley (in New Hampshire). Doug asked Tom who the best skier on the mountain was. Tom answered, 'The racers, of course.' Doug's reply was, 'What about all those guys on the other side of the mountain skiing the bumps and getting air? How about if we hold a contest and see who's best?' And, so, the first freestyle contest was born in March of '71 to find the best skier on the mountain. . . . And the rest is history."

Clendenin: "We were innovators because we had to be. It's primarily that we didn't have anybody to copy. So the idea was to come up with stuff that was unique . . . "

Wong: "There were no boundaries, and it was every skier pushing themselves to their limit to come up with stuff no one had ever done. It was a very creative time."

Clendenin: "So, while it appeared that was a wild free-for-all, hurling yourself down the hill, there was a lot of hard work that went into doing things on skis that had never been seen or done before. The attitude we developed was that if we're going to try these tricks that have never been seen before, they had better work."

Wong: "Freestyle skiing became synonymous with excitement. . . . Back when it first started, it wasn't as technical as it was exciting. Many times it was the skier who had the most exciting run or the most spectacular recovery that won the contest."

Clendenin: "The traditional spirit of freestyle can be seen in the X Games, which is closer to what it was in the '70s. The spontaneity can be seen in free riding, slopeside and big mountain skiing as well as skiercross and the halfpipe that you see at the X Games."

Wong: "Spontaneity was the key. . . . Now it's all so predictable and looks like what we tried not to be with racing. Then, with ski racing, everyone looked the same in the gates and now everyone looks the same in the moguls. Speed and air are the main emphasis, and it's turned into an aerial contest."

Clendenin: "I have to give a lot of credit to Jonny Moseley, who broke the mold at the '02 Olympics in Salt Lake City with his 'Dinner Roll.' The 'Dinner Roll' was an off-axis 720 that combines two full rotations, one on a vertical plane, the other a horizontal plane. No one had ever seen it before, and the judges didn't know what it was and didn't know how to judge it. That was how it was in the early days of freestyle."

Wong: "The business now is manufactured, and the skiing is fabricated. Back then it was all natural, and everything was new. We were limited pretty much to bumps and a steep run, so we had to be creative in a different way. As the sport evolved to be more disciplined, it lost its 'free' and became more stale."

Clendenin: "Originally, freestyle skiing was about who was the best all-around skier in moguls, ballet and air. The big award and the car went to the skier who was the best all-around. Now, ballet no longer exists, and there are only two events that are recognized at the Olympic level, moguls and aerials. And those who compete are specialists for one event or the other. Most can't or don't do both, so gone are the days of finding the best skier."

Wong: "It's a shame because ballet is becoming a lost art, and we really have an obligation to pass the knowledge on. There is a whole generation that has grown up and never seen a skier do a Royal Christy or a Crossover. I would love the opportunity to train and teach the newer generation the art of the ballet-trick skiing before I am too old."

Craig McNeil is a certified Primary Movements instructor. To order his book, How to Ski the Blues and Blacks Without Getting Black and Blue, or to contact him, go to his Web site, HowToSki.net.