Flying and Crashing
Trip Start
Feb 13, 2002
1
7
9
Trip End
Feb 21, 2002
Provo, Utah
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
We again drove through the Provo Canyon, around Deer Lake, and across Soldier Hollow to Park City. This time, we parked in a muddy, slushy field in the middle of nowhere near the corner of I-80 and Highway 40 that was doubling as a parking lot. It was the only place to pick up the buses that were taking spectators into Park City for the events. In fact, the buses were the only way to get into Park City because the town was closed to non-resident (and non-VIP) vehicles.
We trudged through the mud to the lines for the buses. The lines seemed particularly long, especially considering that the event was only an hour and a half away. We soon found out that there weren’t too many buses in service that day. And those that were in service were getting stalled in Park City traffic.
After a 45 minute wait, a small fleet of buses arrived. We boarded and began the trip to Park City. After about ten minutes, we were at the Park City city limits. I thought, "We’ve got plenty of time." Then, I saw the traffic jam all the way up the one lane road which led to the venue. Considering the jam was moving at about a half mile/hour, I began to get worried that we wouldn’t make it in time. Evidently, my fears were shared by the rest of the bus. After crawling through traffic for about 30 minutes, some people on the bus asked the driver to let them out so that they could run to the event. The driver agreed and opened the doors. That led to a mass exodus by most of the bus’ riders. We then began to sprint to the event. That was not an easy trip. The Freestyle Aerials venue was midway up one of the hills surrounding Park City, about a mile from where we had been deposited. So, we had to sprint to the base of the hill, and then continue to run up the snow-covered mountain to the venue. Between the snow and the many layers of clothes we were wearing, the run turned into a trudge. Only the sound of the event’s crowd cheering the first skiers motivated us late-comers from abandoning this trek.
We finally made it to the venue. Three skiers had already made their first jump, which meant that nine more were left. We set up position in the snow field between the bleachers and the jump area. A lot of other people had the same idea, because we were jostled left and right by the shifting crowd. Still, it didn’t take long for us to find a good spot to see all the action.
The last nine jumpers finished their first jumps in quick order. Eric Bergoust of the United States was the leader after the first round. That Bergoust was in the lead was no real surprise. He had won a gold medal in this event in Nagano, and was a heavy favorite to repeat. However, there was one competitor who had the crowd buzzing: Ales Valenta of the Czech Republic. Valenta was planning to try a jump that had never been done in competition before: a triple back flip with five twists. If anyone could deprive Bergoust of the gold medal, it was Valenta.
I hadn’t seen enough freestyle aerial skiing before the Olympics to appreciate the sport’s nuances. But, I could definitely appreciate a jump unlike one that had been done by any other competitor. Such was the case with Valenta’s jump. Eight other jumpers went before Valenta, and all their jumps looked the same to me. But, Valenta’s jump was clearly different. It looked like he was stationary in the air, flipping to his heart’s content, and only descending when he willed it. He topped off these acrobatics by sticking the landing. It was an amazing jump. Valenta immediately moved to the top of the standings.
Two more skiers made their jumps before Bergoust got on the ramp. The anticipation was palpable as he started off down the slope. The jump looked fine. But, as his skis hit the ground, his momentum carried his back into the snow. Bergoust fell from first to last in the blink of an eye. Final results were: Ales Valenta (Czech Republic) - Gold; Joe Pack (USA) - Silver; Alexi Grichin (Belarus) - Bronze
The competition was over, and not a moment too soon for my taste. The temperature sign on the mountain said 32 degrees. However, it felt a lot colder with the presence of some cloud cover that moved overhead. We trudged off the mountain and back on to the buses.
The ride back to our car was much more uneventful than our ride to the event. We slogged our way through the mud and got into our SUV for the drive back to Provo. As was the case with our earlier trip to Park City, our hunger arose as we drove. So, we again stopped in Heber City for some food. This time, we were in the mood for some Mexican food. After asking what restaurant had some good Mexican food, we were directed to Don Pedro's. It wasn't a bad recommendation: the food was decent and the prices were reasonable. With our stomach full, we continued on our way back to Provo.
The plan was initially to gather our belongings and head to Las Vegas for a night of fun with our friends: Kelly and Denise. But, it was almost 4 p.m. when we got to our accommodations in Provo. That meant we wouldn't be getting into Las Vegas until around 10 p.m. Given that late hour, we didn't think we'd see too much of Vegas, especially since we would be on the road again in the morning on our way to Fresno. Plus, our hosts seemed very receptive to the idea of us staying for another night. So, we looked at our schedules, found a way to shuffle things around, and unpacked our bags for another night in Provo.
With the schedules adjusted, we spent the remaining time of the daylight with our hosts, feeding the ducks that floated down the Provo River for a snack. Once the sun set, we went inside for a nice dinner. We concluded the evening by watching the Men's Freestyle Aerial Skiing competition on t.v. (yes, the same competition that we'd seen live earlier in the day...it was much better to see it live than through NBC's narrow filter).
