The Valley Sun

Sun Valley Ski Club Championship Giant Slalom Race on Cozy begins at 10am. For more information, comntact the Sun Valley Ski Club at (208) 622-3003 or www.sunvalleyski.com.

A Celebration of Mountain Life

a benefit for the family of Tim Michael and in recognition and gratitude to all Wood River Valley First Responders at River Run will take place on Wednesday, July 21.

Dave Mason, Kole Moulton and the Lonely Road and the Disciples of Rock to perform at River Run Wednesday, July 21 from 5-9pm.
Tickets are $20, Kids age 12 and under are $5.

From noon to 4pm there will be emergency rescue equipment demonstrations.

Concert tickets are available at Atkinsons Markets in Ketchum and Hailey. $20 for adults, and $5 for kids 12 & under.

Can you believe it?  Here, in  our little town, the ever popular Dave Mason with the disciples of Rock…That River Run concert venue is proving itself to be a great one for performers and enthusiasts both!  What a great spot though, cooler when the sun gets lower, and beautiful with the mountain at your back and the river just in front as you sit on the grass enjoying the show.  And the acoustics are amazing there, it seems the mountainside captures the music and bounces it right back at you. It will be a memorable evening for everybody.

This one is a benefit, organized by the tireless Julie Gallagher and members of the Sun Valley Ski Patrol for the family of Tim Michael who left us this winter while skiing on Baldy. And it is part of a whole afternoon of activities there at the River Run Plaza.   There will be displays and demonstrations by the Wood River Valley First Responders and the Ski Patrol.   The gondola will be running, and there will be lunch served at the Roundhouse during the day. You’ll see games and fun stuff for everybody, kids included.

There will be BBQ, a no-host bar, a silent auction and a raffle for 2 season ski passes on Baldy. The whole Ski Patrol will be out, enjoying the event, and offering the latest version of the Ski Patrol t-shirts and hats for sale. It all goes to a good cause. And a good time for everybody.

Bring the kids and bring your own picnics if you prefer, but be sure to come help out, you won’t regret it.

See you there

The Vancouver Games are in full swing this week as curling fills daytime TV, Shaun White and Shani Davis defend their gold medals, figure skating draws millions of TV viewers each prime time, Gold medalist Hannah Kearney sets the stage in the moguls, and stars like Apolo Anton Ohno, Lindsey Jacobellis, Jeret Peterson, Kikkan Randall, Kelly Clark, Bode Miller, Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Vonn continue to display the Olympic spirit.

And in this valley, we have our very own Olympic heroes. Graham Wantanabe, Morgan Arritola, and Simi Hamilton continue to represent the Olympic spirit that is so alive in this country and this community.

Two-time Olympian Graham Wantanabe, who hails from Hailey, is one the brightest, friendliest faces of the games. Always with a kind smile and with anecdotes to make you laugh (telling reporters in Vancouver, "Try to imagine Pegasus mating with a unicorn. And the offspring . . . I’d somehow tame it and ride it into the clouds, the sunshine and rainbows. That’s how I feel."), Graham is a role model to snowboarders, athletes, and fans all over the world. During the Men’s BoarderCross comp on Tuesday, Graham made it out of the qualifying rounds as the fastest American, with the second fastest time overall. Unfortunately, a small bobble in the finals eliminated his chance in the medal round, while defending gold medalist, American Seth Wescott went on to win his second gold medal. These games may not have ended as Graham had hoped, the valley and local community continues to be incredibly proud of our Olympic Champion and can’t wait to see him back on the slopes of Bald Mountain sometime soon. Congrats, Graham!

Nordic skiers and SVSEF Olympic Development Team athletes, Morgan Arritola and Simi Hamilton made their Olympic debuts this week. Arritola, who only began skiing seven years ago, finished as the second fastest American female in the 10K sprint race. Her finish at the middle of the pack, in 34th place, serves as a successful beginning to what we can only hope is a long and successful Olympic career for Morgan. Simi Hamilton, too, had an incredibly successful beginning to his Olympic story. Simi made it past the qualification round in Wednesday’s Individual Sprint and finished as the fastest American man in 29th place.

Both Morgan and Simi are expected to race in the coming pursuits so don’t miss your chance to cheer on more local heroes! Morgan will compete again Friday in the 15K Pursuit, starting at 12 pm (Mountain Time Zone) and Simi will race in Saturday’s 30K Pursuit, beginning at 12:30 pm (Mountain Time Zone).

Morgan Arritola, a Sun Valley local and a Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Olympic Development Team member, finished her very first Olympic race today in Whistler.

Arritola was the second fastest American female in today’s 10-Kilometer individual freestyle. She finished 34th overall in a strong field of 78 women. With her coaches, US Ski Team Teammates, parents, and SVSEF Nordic Coach Rick Kapala all there to cheer her on, Morgan raced a great race today. Congrats to our little speed racer! Watch for more from Morgan as the week continues!

Photo from http://www.fasterskier.com/

Months and years of preparation, training, studying, learning, and racing is coming to a head for local Snowboarder, Olympian, and US Snowboard Team-member Graham Wantanabe. The race is on today.

Graham will compete in today’s Olympic BoarderCross in Whistler. He will be racing against teammate Seth Wescott, the reigning Olympic Champion as well as current World Cup Champion, Austrian Markus Schairer. Wantanabe, who finished sixth at the 2009 World Championships, will strap on his board this morning at 10:30 am for the Qualifying Round and again at 2 pm for the Medal Round.

About his second Olympic appearance Wantanabe told reporters last Wednesday it was like a “Pegasus mating with a unicorn and the creature that they birth, I somehow tame it and ride it to the sky and clouds and sunshine and rainbows.” There is no doubt that Wantanabe is excited for today’s races.

Watch Graham on your local NBC station or pick it up at www.nbcolympics.com. And make sure to send Graham all the good vibes, support and luck that our community can!

Good luck to the Valley’s very favorite Pegasus! Go Graham!

Wantanabe taming the Pegasus.

Photo by Adam Finkle, ajfphoto.com

Local snowboarder and Boardercross competitor, Graham Wantanabe, has officially nabbed a spot in the Vancouver Games! Wantanabe, another SVSEF Olympic Development athlete, Wood River High School graduate, and lifelong Sun Valley resident, will compete in his second Olympic Games in February.

After he did not qualify for the 2006 Winter Games, Graham attended as a Wax Tech for the US Snowboard Team. But when a teammate was unfortunately injured during training, Graham was in the right place at the right time and filled the vacancy on the Olympic squad. But this year, Graham has taken a more traditional route and qualified at last week’s snowboardcross World Cup in Stoneham. Graham’s second place finish concretes his spot on the Olympic Team. Read the entire story: click here.

Don’t miss Graham next month and send him tons of Sun Valley love!

Morgan Arritola can now add Olympian to her long list of accomplishments. Arritola, an SVSEF athlete and US Ski Team member, was named to the Olympic Cross Country team today. The announcement came after good early season results for Morgan who is still riding high following an extremely successful 2008/2009 season, finishing 5th at the U23 World Championships and a solid 22nd at the FIS World Championships in the Czech Republic. As one of four American women to compete in the Olympics, keep an eye out for this speed demon in Vancouver.

This local speed demon, who graduated from the Community School in Sun Valley and is currently a member of the SVSEF’s Olympic Development Team, only skied for the first time when she was 16. Introduced to the sport by SVSEF Cross Country Coach/Program Director, Rick Kapala, she certainly has something special. Kapala said, "Obviously this is really exciting for Morgan, as well as for the team and the community. She’s sort of ‘our gal’." He continues to point out the spectacular nature of her rise as a Nordic skier. "For her to have started where she did, which was basically picking up the sport at the age of 16, and now, only seven years later, she’s on the Olympic team. It’s really awesome."

We can’t wait to see her compete next month and are proud of all she has accomplished. Keep it up, Morgan!

Kaitlyn Farrington, SVSEF athlete and Sun Valley local, competed over the weekend at the Wendy’s Invitational Superpipe Final in front of over 14,000 people. Farrington finished second overall in Snowbasin, though she seemed to be the crowd’s favorite as boos were heard when were lower-than-expected scores were announced. Although, Farrington was stoked on her second place finish and continues to have a killer season. Read the entire article here: http://www.allisports.com/news/elena-hight-takes-snowbasin-superpipe.

In disciplines that range from moguls to Cross Country skiing to Halfpipe to SkiCross, Sun Valley natives and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) athletes are busy this winter. With the Olympics less that a month away, several local skiers and snowboarders are currently competing around the world on the World Cup circuit and anticipating the announcement of the Olympic rosters.

Graham Wantanabe, already an Olympic athlete, stands a chance of again competing in BoarderCross. Langely McNeal and Biche Rudigoz are currently vying for spots on the newest Olympic sport’s team, SkiCross. Also competing around the world, Bellevue native, SVSEF athlete, and US Snowboard team member, Kaitlyn Farrington.

The Olympic fate of Cross Country powerhouse, US Ski Team Member (A Team), and longtime SVSEF athlete Morgan Arritola will be announced on Tuesday, January 19th. Also on the Cross Country front, two other SVSEF athletes, Simi Hamilton and Adele Espy were recently named to the World Junior Cross Country team.

And as we speak, mogul-virtuoso and son of storied mogul-expert Joey Cordeau, Shane Cordeau is competing in one of his first World Cups in Deer Valley, with qualifications runs set to take place Saturday night at 5:30. Shane has had an incredibly successful 2009/2010 season thus far, after winning two Nor-Am Mogul Championships in the 2008/2009 season, as a new member to the SVSEF’s Olympic Development Team (ODT), and as a recent addition to the US Freestyle Team, this season Shane is competing in his first World Cup events and has a shot at one of three remaining spots for the Olympics.

Watch out for these skiers and boarders who ski, train, and live on Sun Valley snow as the Olympics draw nearer and check back here for results and announcements. Also look at www.svsef.org, www.ussnowboarding.com, and www.usskiteam.com for more information. Good luck to all of them!