Throwing it back to the days of neon, skinny skis and Hot Dog, Look Bindings + Pit Viper put together a fun, wild short featuring the fictional International Pro Skier Tryouts. This could be a legit thing if the current ski landscape wasn’t filled with safety Karens and liability questions. Ah, the good old days!
Who remembers the Chinese Downhill? This competition will come down to the fastest, the highest, the most extreme lines ever shred by Spandex-clad skiers on straight skis. I’m still impressed by the gal jumping rope in ski boots! It’s Sander Badley vs. Turbo at the International Pro Skier Tryouts. Who will finish with all the glory?
The Sundance Institute announced today that they’re caving to the Omicron variant.
“The 2022 Sundance Film Festival’s in-person Utah elements will be moving online this year. While we’re disappointed to not provide the full hybrid experience and gather in-person as intended, audiences this year will still experience the magic and energy of our Festival with bold new films and XR work, the discovery of new storytellers, direct encounters with artists, and an innovative globally accessible social platform and gallery space.”
The Institute had hoped to bring their annual Sundance Film Festival back to an in-person experience, but the recent record spread of the Covid-19 virus in Park City and beyond forced their hand. When you think about it, it’s not really that thousands of attendees might get sick; it’s that staff, volunteers and resources would fall victim. Look at what happened this Christmas- hundreds of employees got sick and stayed home leaving the resorts and support services to operate at half-capacity, obscene liftlines, limited terrain, no dining availability, cancelled flights and all-around pissed-off guests. Can you imagine the lines at the theaters and venues if half the volunteer staff went missing?
No Hybrid 2022 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance had been looking forward to the first fully hybrid 2022 Sundance Film Festival (and I was too! Watching movies from my couch but hitting the speaker series and parties that were cancelled last year). However, Omicron’s high transmissibility rates “is pushing the limits of health safety, travel and other infrastructures across the country. We do not believe it is safe nor feasible to gather thousands of artists, audiences, employees, volunteers, and partners from around the world, for an eleven-day festival while overwhelmed communities are already struggling to provide essential services.”
The Festival is the most important fundraising tool the Sundance Institutehas for underwriting the year-round artist support labs so they’re not about to go silent for a year. Therefore in two weeks, audiences will gather online starting Jan. 20, 2022 as promised. Screening schedules are being adjusted to add those that would have only premiered in person. I’m totally psyched for the entire Animation Program to be online! Seven “satellite partners” will also host screenings for locals from January 28-30. As previously announced, single tickets will go on sale January 13 (January 12 for the membership pre-sale) at 10 a.m. MST.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a good call. The Christmas period had a terrible impact on our town. Sure, the hotels and CEOs at Vail Resorts were rejoicing but locals and guests struggled. Sundance brings nearly 50 thousand people to town. Egads! The bright side of this is that if you are thinking about a Park City ski vacation, get your asses out here! Lodging will be clearance sale cheap and the resorts and restaurants empty. And I’m now freed up for more private lessons. 😉
While we all anxiously wait for the post-holiday Covid numbers to confirm what we all expect, Sundance Film Festival organizers. already foreseeing another Super Spreader sitch, plan to not only require Covid boosters but will actually offer shots to eligible attendees, according to an exclusive (unofficial) report in Variety.
In the wake of Hollywood dropouts like the annual Palm Springs Film Festival, the film academy’s annual Governors Awards and the Critics Choice Awards, Sundance is trepidatiously hanging on. The showcase for independent filmmakers went virtual for 2021 but is back in hybrid form for 2022; online for couch surfers and in-person for __?____, January 20 to 30.
COVID-19 cases have hit record rates in Utah’s Summit County. According to the local health department, on Monday there were 136 new cases; the largest single-day total since the start of the pandemic. The good news is that hospitalizations have not increased. The bad news is that people are getting scared again- that things will shut down, flights will be cancelled, Covid restrictions will become restrictive. But Sundance Institute (and Park City) needs Sundance FF to emerge.
Sundance plans to use PandemSafe to verify proof of vaccination. Individuals will upload their vaccination card into the PandemSafe portal via an email they receive after purchasing tickets. The buyer then gets a QR code to show for a wristband but if guests don’t want to be tracked in a third-party system, they can just bring their vax card to a hub to get a wristband. However, QR codes will be accepted at the theaters but not vaccine cards.
The vaccine verification hubs will also offer free COVID-19 PCR and rapid tests to accommodate the requirement that all employees, volunteers, and onsite contractors be tested at check-in and mid-way through the festival. Attendees too must pop in for testing if they visit anything other than screenings such as private events, Q&As, seminars and press lines.
Current hubs:
Kearns Bonanza Corner (Old Maverick Station)
January 17 – January 30 from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM MST
Miners Hospital
January 20 – January 25 from 2:00 PM – 11:00 PM MST
January 26 – January 30 from 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM MST
Galleria Parking Lotoff of Main Street in Park City
January 17 – January 30 from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM MST
Didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas? You’ve got a new pile of giftcards ready to walk on over to Amazon and REI? Here is the gift guide for your second chance at the present you wished Santa had delivered:
Talk about bang for your buck. The Slipper is actually an indoor/outdoor shoe that is just as functional around the campfire as it is driving home after an epic day on the mountain. The warm, fleece lining, removable PU insole for cush and durable, rubber outsole make the perfect combo for winter wear … so long as you don’t need a ton of traction. It’s great with or without socks.
Worn Socks
There’s honestly nothing more satisfying to a skier (aside from untracked powder) than a brand-new pair of ski socks. Worn’s high-performing, long-lasting, Enhanced Ski is designed for all climates and conditions. They use a patent-pending organic Merino called Arrowool that offers 4x the life, 2x the performance and ¼ of the waste compared to most cotton-based socks. The medium padding hugs your foot without bunching or feeling clammy after an all-day session on the hill. The bonus is that with each wash it’s like you’re putting on a brand-new pair of socks all over again.
You can spend $400 on a pair of bougie goggles or you can make the smart move and get the Slingshots. For $70 or less you can have a fun, helmet compatible non-fogging goggle that comes with two easily swappable magnetic, anti-fog lenses with UV400 protection. I’ve been wearing mine for the past two seasons and they’ve yet to let me down!
If you are at all concerned about stuffing your head in a newer local brand (Wildhorn is based in Utah) then trust the pros. The Drift Snow Helmet is an official product of the US Ski and Snowboard teams! Of course helmets are super personal and fit depends on the shape of your head but the lightweight, well-vented lid fits me well. It also has an adjustable dial in back for fine tuning and is compatible with most audio pucks- although you’ll want to use their Alta drop ins. Unlike my Skullcandys, these have lasted three seasons and are user friendly- left press to connect, power on/off and answer calls; right side buttons control volume and song choice. The pucks charge with a standard micro USB, connect to your phone via Bluetooth 5.0 for hands-free calling, texting and music listening, they have a 10+ hour battery life and are water, sweat, and cold resistant with IP45 rating.
There’s no denying that mittens are double the warmth for your digits but when you want dexterity and warmth you gotta love these 750-fill DownTek gloves. The waterproof down is on the back of the hands while there’s Megaloft synthetic insulation in the palm. There’s also a waterproof, windproof, breathable membrane between the four-way stretch softshell and the insulation so your hands stay warm and dry no matter how stormy it gets.
I was going to write about this awesome jacket in the fall but then our fall turned to winter in a blink. Still, the Camper can be worn and loved year round; on warmer days in the 40s or as a midlayer under a ski jacket when temps dip below. The compactible DuPont Comfort Max Fiberfill insulation provides 4-5 times more insulation than other similar fibers, keeps its warmth even when wet, and even has enough room underneath for a sweater or fleece without making you look like the Stay Puff man. You’ll love all the pockets (three on the outside and three inside), the internal stuff pocket turns the jacket into a travel pillow. Did I mention that Coala Tree is another awesome Utah brand?
Let’s see- we had super early snowfall in October that amped everybody up for the ski season. That was the fluffer. But then, just like the partner who gets a headache, the winter potential rolled over and took a snooze until mid December (now). Guess what all this adds up to? A sketchy avalanche situation for the rest of ski season. There have been 30+ skier-triggered avis in the Salt Lake area since October 14 according to The Utah Avalanche Center.
But luckily at inbound resorts, this isn’t something the average rider needs to worry about. First, it takes highly skilled, highly caffeinated ski patrol to get out on the hill before daylight to assess conditions, evaluate the dangers and start mitigating them. Then those patrol throw explosives into potentially unsafe areas to see if they can get the snow to “release”; better to do it before you open the area of skiing, when no humans could be swept away and buried. Once, things settle, they will ski cut the terrain to make sure it’s safe for the public.
This cut wasn’t made by a patroller but you get the idea-
As you can imagine, ski patrollers are first in line if something goes wrong so any sort of device that can create distance between them and a slide is a game changer. This year, Alta and Snowbird ski resorts installed 13 new avalanche towers.
The towers made by Wyssen Avalanche Control, use a remote control to trigger a blast. “The deployment box contains 12 prepared explosive charges, which can be individually deployed by remote control. When the explosive charge is dropped, two igniters are pulled and the explosion is set off after a time delay. The charge remains hanging from a cord at a pre-set height above the snow cover, which is completely dropped after blasting. To reload explosive charges the complete deployment box is lifted from the mitigation tower by helicopter and brought to a station building or warehouse respectively.”
These avalanche towers may be new to The Bird and Alta but Alta, often considered to be the birthplace of North American avalanche research, was an early adopter of remote-controlled systems. The resort uses Remote Avalanche Control Systems (RACS) along with Avalaunchers, two-pound hand charges and an M101-A1 105 Howitzer to control avalanche-prone slopes around the ski area.
The next time you are scooting across the East Baldy Traverse, look up and check out the alien-spaceship-looking things above you. These O’Bellx’, use a mix of oxygen and hydrogen to create an explosion that generates controlled avalanches.
Courtesy Alta Ski Area
Pretty cool, huh? So that’s what’s going to keep you safer in Little Cottonwood Canyon this winter.
