ASPEN, Colo. (AP) – Tanner Hall made a mistake. He knows that.

The freeskiing sensation got kicked out of high school for smoking marijuana when he was a sophomore.

Hall never went back, pursuing a lucrative career on the slopes rather than a diploma.

It’s a decision he still laments.

So the 25-year-old is doing something about it – heading back to school. Hall will start an intensive six-month program at a school near Heber City, Utah, to complete both his junior and senior years.

“When I get that diploma, it’s going to feel like I won the X Games,” said Hall, who had his streak of three straight titles in skiing superpipe halted as he finished second to France’s Xavier Bertoni at Winter X on Thursday night. “I’m ready to close that chapter and move on.”Skiing has been splendid to him. He’s made movies, toured remote parts of the world, even started his own ski company.

He’s also found success – lots of it. He’s one of the most decorated skiers in Winter X history.

But the term “drop out” ate at him. Hall said he failed a drug test for marijuana while attending the Winter Sports School in Park City, Utah, and was expelled.

Big deal, he thought at the time. He had skiing.

Who needs an education?

Turns out, Hall did.

“That was the worst decision of my life,” he said.

Hall thought about simply going for his GED – a “good enough degree” as he calls it – but wanted the real thing.

“That way, if there is a day I wake up and do want to go to college, I can actually go because I’ve got a real diploma,” he said.

He’ll soon be sitting in a classroom full of teenagers, learning pre-calculus and history, possibly even a foreign language.

The Kalispell, Mont., native can’t wait to begin.

“If you want to sit down with me in class all winter next year, come join me,” he said, laughing.

Hall wasn’t all that old when he burst on the X Games scene, winning his first gold in 2001 at 17. He has captured seven titles at the event, tying him with Shaun White for most at Winter X.

No. 8 was not to be as the 20-year-old Bertoni turned in a superb run, pulling off some difficult switch combinations to earn the win.

“It’s amazing,” Bertoni said of his title. “I’m going to do a big party tonight.”

Hall’s good friend and halfpipe nemesis, Simon Dumont, took third. Dumont had a big run planned, but had to scrub it. “Pipe just is not long enough. If they’re going to make it big, make it longer,” Dumont bemoaned.

After turning in the best run during the elimination round the night before, Hall had the final run of the evening. He moved up a place, but it wasn’t enough to unseat Bertoni, who finished 14th in the event last season. “The kid was on his game,” said Hall, who mixed in the double flip that he’s been perfecting in practice. “I wasn’t holding anything back.”

That’s the approach he’s now taking with his education. He’s going all out for the degree.

Only this time, he won’t have to worry about prom, acne or being socially accepted.

“It’s tough growing up as a teenager,” he said. “There are so many pressures. If you’re not a football player, you’re a dork. If you’ve got zits, you’re not getting the hot girl. It’s a hard thing. But if you’ve got a passion, whether it’s skiing, soccer or mathematics, chase it with full bore. You can do whatever you want in this world. I’m living proof of what you can achieve if you really put your mind to it.”

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NEXT DAY AIR: Joe Parsons broke a bulkhead in his Ski-Doo snowmobile the other day and needed a replacement – pronto.

No problem, one was shipped to him from Canada in time to be installed.

The new bulkhead worked well Thursday night as Parsons beat the defending champion Levi LaVallee in the finals of speed and style.

“It feels really good,” said Parsons, who’s from Yakima, Wash. “Everything worked well.”

LaVallee, who’s competing in all four snowmobile disciplines this week, had one bad jump that cost him points and a title.

“I was all revved up. I went for my fourth jump, doing my cliffhanger, which I can do in my sleep. The sled just came off a little bit crooked and nose high,” LaVallee explained. “I’m up there and I have to do something. So I did a little one and it was pretty horrible.”

Parsons said he followed the lines of LaVallee all the way to the finish, knowing he had time on his side with LaVallee’s mistake on the jump.

“I’m sorry I’m stealing your lines,” Parsons said to LaVallee at a post-race news conference.

No apology necessary.

“He’s riding so solid,” LaVallee said. “I knew with those bobbles it wasn’t going to be enough.”

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QUICK HITS: Kevin Pearce sprained his wrist and needed a couple of stitches in his head after a fall in a practice run Thursday. He withdrew from the snowboard big air finals later that evening to heal up and concentrate on the superpipe and slopestyle competitions. … Travis Rice won the big air snowboard event over Torstein Horgmo in a competition decided by a text vote from the fans. “I’m pumped. No doubt about it,” said Rice, who hails from Jackson Hole, Wyo. … Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler is feeling better after a recent bout with a stomach virus. She finished fifth in the elimination round of the superpipe Thursday, still good enough to move on to the finals Friday night. Torah Bright had the top score, with Kelly Clark second and Hannah Teter third.

AP-ES-01-23-09 0022EST