ADVENTURE SPORTS BY WINA STURGEON 4/23
CHINA'S PARANOIA: NEPAL'S COPS CAN SHOOT
Olympic Torch protests made headlines when they got violent in England and Europe, but the protestors are ignoring the authoritarian mayhem to come. Nepalese soldiers and police have been given "permission" (read: orders) to shoot (as in: shoot with guns) any protestor on Mt. Everest.
Nepal's recent election was won by pro-Chinese Maoists, who are cooperating fully to keep any protest on Everest out of the sight of the rest of the world while China takes the Olympic Torch to the summit of the 29,028-foot high mountain.
China first banned climbers from starting expeditions up Everest, then banned those in the established base camp from having cameras, computers or cell phones. They are to be handed over and "checked" until the Torch Relay is over. Authorities inspect all belongings to make sure the forbidden items are handed over.
So the world has no way of knowing what is going on; all forms of communication from Everest to the outside world are banned. Between May 1 and May 10, the Everest Torch Relay dates, no one is allowed to climb above 21,000 feet on the mountain. This is despite the fact that Mt. Everest is between Nepal and Tibet, and is not owned by China.
Meanwhile, other Torch Relay troubles have been downplayed. Pakistan closed the entire route to the public. India barricaded roads to keep protestors away from the Torch.
TIGER GOT THE ORIGINAL
When an athlete star like Tiger Woods requires arthroscopic knee surgery, he goes to the best. In his case, he went to one of the actual inventors of the procedure. Arthroscopic knee surgery was invented by three surgeons in Salt Lake City: Thomas Rosenberg, Charles Beck and Lonnie Paulos. All three still practice.
Woods went to Rosenberg, whose office is in the ritzy town of Park City. Fluid and tumors were removed in the one-hour operation; the third that the famous golfer has had on that knee. Woods will be out of action for about four weeks.
NEW SPEEDO SUIT DEFEATS GERMAN OLYMPIC TEAM
The German Olympic swimming team is bummed. They are sponsored by Adidas, and are contracted to wear their swim suits in the Beijing Games. But new technology has totally changed the sport. The new Speedo high-tech suit, the LZR Racer, has already set 22 new world records since February.
The Germans want to wear the LZR Racer, but their country's governing body of swimming won't allow it. Problem is, whether the Germans could have won in an Adidas suit or not, they already believe they can't, so of course, they can't.
Meanwhile, it's back on the Germans. More than a decade ago, U. S. ski clothing company Spyder invented the "speedwire" downhill suit, which had pintucks sewn into it, no wires. The tiny seams broke up the air barrier around a racer, reducing drag. American Hilary Lindh was winning World Cups wearing the speedwire suit; the Germans protested and the suit was banned. You know what they say about paybacks!
WOMEN'S MARATHON TEAM TRIALS
Women's Marathon team trials held April 20 in Boston brought three more runners onto the Beijing Olympic team. Deena Kastor won in 2:29:35, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, who led the race for an astounding 23.5 miles, was second with 2:30:19, and Blake Russell was third at 2:32:40. There's money in marathon. Kastor got $50,000, Boulet won $40,000 and Russell got $30,000.
Boulet's story is inspiring. She left her native Poland in 1991, lived in Germany for three years and then came to America and applied for citizenship. She wanted a nice ceremony on that special day, but instead her naturalization was over in five minutes and she was rushed out. The day was 9/11; and a disaster had just happened. Now Boulet is an American Olympian.
The men's team was chosen last November.
ALTA HAS HIGH TECH FOR PASSHOLDERS
Alta, the oldest ski resort in America, has a sort of rustic tinge, a purer 'skiing-the-way-it-used-to-be' image, even though there's no real reason for it. Entrance to the high-speed quads is via a plastic lift pass that automatically opens gates, and according to one employee, is a lot greener and less wasteful than paper tickets.
But the best thing is the high-tech part of what these new tickets do for season pass holders. On closing day, they were flocking into the resort office to get printouts of their season. The computer printout, which is free, shows all the runs that were skied, plus the time and day they were skied. At the moment, Alta is the only Utah resort that has the printout technology.
CLOSING DAY AT ALTA
Ski season in Utah isn't over until Alta closes. But the 2008 final closing was very different from the normal ritual. Normally, thousands of skiers take the long traverse to High Rustler, a steep and moguled run. While throngs crowd the top for hours, throwing snowballs at anyone who starts down early, less adventurous skiers set up the famed tailgate party in the parking lot. Steaks and beer are shared in a low-key party atmosphere, as everyone says goodbye to the season. The unauthorized gathering goes on for hours. People fly in every year from Texas and New York and Canada because they wouldn't dream of missing this tradition.
But when Alta closed April 20, it wasn't spring weather. In fact, it was 13 degrees on top, with wind gusts over 60 miles per hour, and snowing. The temps had dropped 30 degrees overnight, and the excellent soft spring snow had turned to ice.
The groomers were great, smooth and hard and fast. But the sidehills were like riding over ice cubes. Most people bailed on the Rustler tradition; it was too cold and windy to hang out on top, and skiing down a steep, icy and moguled run was not appealing.
Still, the parking lot was full, though no one was moving their cars to make a place for the tailgate party. Nor was anyone ready to party. Not one grill was smoking away. It was just too cold.
One part of the closing ritual remained: the box at the Angle Station labeled "Liftie Treats." Sure enough, it was filled many times over with beverages (which shall go undescribed) and the frequent dollar bill. A new part of the ritual, instigated by Alta Ski Patrol, is a sign put up right off the Collins Lift, just where skiers start the traverse to High Rustler. Tired of annually waiting hours for the very last partier to ski down, the sign said, "This area will only be patrolled until 5:00 p.m. Have a great summer. Buckle your boots."
The last part was very thoughtful. One patroller said, "You would be surprised at how many people start down the hill without buckling their boots."