As the bar gets continuously raised in freestyle snowboarding and skiing - so does the risk: first shown by the Kevin Pearce's near fatal head injury on new year's eve 2009 - and now by X Games superpipe gold medallist freeskier Sarah Burke, who's suffered a head injury and is currently in critical condition after crashing (eerily) in the same Park City Mountain Resort halfpipe.

Sarah maybe a skier, but at the pinnacle of progression and pushing female riding forwards, she's very fondly thought of in the sideways snow community too. A Roxy and Smith pro rider, Sarah is the most successful female freeskier ever - winning eight Winter X Games medals, including four golds. Competing in pipe since 2000, she's been at the forefront of pushing women to be represented in ski pipe at the Olympics - which will debut in 2014.

The Canadian's crash happened on Tuesday afternoon at about 1pm, where she suffered a serious head injury, after riding the halfpipe at Park City in Utah during training with her Monster Energy team mates, reports powder.com:

Around 1 p.m., she landed a trick off of the wall on her feet at the bottom of the pipe, but then "whiplashed" over onto her side, according to person who witnessed the accident. She was obviously injured, said the witness, who spoke to Powder.com on condition of anonymity. Ski patrol stabilized her at the scene of the accident and transported her to the base of the mountain...

Sarah, 29, was then airlifted to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City - where she has remained in a critical condition. 

Shocking, but sadly not uncommon, we hope this pionering woman bounces back to full health from the crash soon - and our thoughts are with her and her family. Watch the above video, an excerpt from the movie Winter, to find out more about this inspiring individual.

Below is the official statement from Sarah Burke's family releases yesterday:

On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke was transported by AirMed helicopter to University of Utah Hospital from Park City Mountain Resort after sustaining serious injuries during training. She is currently listed in critical condition in the hospital's Neuro Critical Care Unit.

"Sarah sustained serious injuries and remains intubated and sedated in critical condition," according to Safdar Ansari, M.D., a neurointensivist with University of Utah Health Care.

Sarah's husband Rory Bushfield and her family are by her bedside and wish to express their sincere thanks to everyone, all over the world, for their heartfelt thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. "Sarah is a very strong young woman and she will most certainly fight to recover," said Rory.

Sarah's family has asked that fans and media respect their privacy during this difficult time. Sarah's friends and fans are encouraged to post their well wishes on Sarah's Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/Sarah-Burke