The crowd at the Livigno snow park could barely believe what they were seeing.
A sport in which the extraordinary is made to look ordinary was being taken to an even more ridiculous level.
The athleticism and acrobatics unfolding above them in the cavernous Livigno halfpipe — positively glowing under the floodlights and sparkling light snowfall — were blowing their minds.
Rider after rider was dropping in and pulling off some of the most staggering snowboarding ever seen at an Olympic Games.
And it was only the first round of qualifying.
"Those qualies were like a final," a beaming Valentino Guseli said.
"Finals are just going to be insane. It's going to be the biggest show ever."
Situated on a snowy plateau above the snow park, the halfpipe has loomed over everything at these Games.
The striking, luminous tube that dominates the view up the mountain when entering this multi-discipline venue is set to be the scene of one of the most anticipated events of the competition.
Getting up to the halfpipe was an ordeal in itself, with spectators traipsing up powdery snow as soft as sand dunes, many breathing the frigid air in increasingly ragged gasps.
But my goodness, was it worth the adventure when they got there!
Ruka Hirano dropped in first and delivered a phenomenal first run to score 80.50.
But that was the first of a series of simply astonishing runs that just got better and bigger and more technical over the next nine competitors.
Remarkably, the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic champion ended the first run in ninth spot, such was the level.
The scores kept rolling in.
World number one Yuto Totsuka delivered 85.50. American Alessandro Barbieri, an 88.50. Defending champion Ayumu Hirano 83.00.
Then it was Guseli's turn.
"I did the triple tonight, which is good to kind of get it out of the way," he said, pointing out that he hadn't attempted a triple in almost two years in competition, such was the level of this qualifying round.
But he also showed some of his trademark amplitude with a massive backside alley-oop 360 nose grab off his first hit that drew praise from a significant admirer in snowboard legend Shaun White.
"He complimented me on my first hit in my run," Guseli said.
"Which is like, if you get a compliment regarding amplitude from Shaun White, then you're doing something right, I guess.
"So I was pretty happy about that."
The level barely dropped.
Campbell Melville Ives — the precocious New Zealand talent who some are tipping to challenge Scotty James and Guseli for Southern Hemisphere, and world supremacy — put down an outrageously flamboyant run of 84.75, an all-or-nothing effort that will either win him a medal or require him to be placed on ice.
Then it was James' turn.
He told media afterwards that he was aware that something was going down in the pipe while he was waiting.
"Honestly, I was listening to it," James said.
"I was in the back, so I could hear it, but yeah, unbelievable riding from everyone.
"The Japanese, of course, Valentino amazing, Cam from New Zealand rode well.
"The whole field was pushing it, so I kind of was staying there thinking, 'If I want to go where I want to go position-wise, I need to turn the dial up a bit.'"
Say no more.
James comes into this, his fifth Olympic Games, as the favourite for gold. A slim favourite for sure, but someone that the vast majority in the sport would love to see win the one thing that has eluded him for his career so far.
And, wanting to qualify in as good a place as possible to ensure he starts last in Saturday's AEDT final, he dropped a magnificent run.
"I put my best foot forward to try and qualify first," James said.
"I feel like being in that position in the finals is a really good place to be; you can be a little bit more mindful and strategic in the approach when it comes to the competition on Friday.
"So, that was our plan as a team and a group, and I was able to do that.
"I've pushed it a little bit more in qualis than I usually would with the switchback 14.
"I was really happy to execute it all and put it together.
"It's going to be exciting on Friday," he added with a grin.
If the qualifiers showed anything it was exactly that.
James believes that any of the top six could end up winning gold, saying that, in his opinion, halfpipe riding is at its most competitive level ever.
He acknowledged that if he is to claim that elusive gold medal, he is going to need to bring it all to the table and, although he was charmingly evasive about whether he had too much more up his "wizard sleeve" to show, he knows that others will, and whatever happens, he'll need to be at his best.
"It's the finals. We've got to bring something special, and that's what I plan to do," he said.
So, to the final. The hottest ticket at these Games.
Rumours are that chief Olympic cheerleader Snoop Dogg himself will be making an appearance at the pipe in what is sure to be an absolutely jam-packed Livigno snow park for the Games' blue riband event.
Regardless of who is there, there is no question that James' date with destiny will stir emotions among those watching like no other event at these Olympics.
Guseli said James is the favourite for gold and the man to beat, but the Japanese quartet will no doubt be bringing their A game too.
"Yeah, pretty much," the 20-year-old said.
"I think for the first time in quite a long time in halfpipe it almost could be anyone's day.
"But Scotty's got some stuff that's pretty insane and pretty hard to beat.
"I know if I do my best stuff, then I could potentially be up there, but yeah, I'll have to do some pretty good riding, I think.
"The Japanese guys have way more… I don't know.
"It's going to be crazy, and it's hard to speculate on.
"But I think all you can do is watch and see what happens and enjoy the show."
As for James. He knows exactly what it's going to take.
"Look, Friday, I'm going to try and pull off the best run of my life," he said.
"And I think that's what it's going to take to win.
"So let's see how we go."
The men's snowboard halfpipe final gets underway on Saturday at 5:15am AEDT.
