ADVENTURE SPORTS BY WINA STURGEON 7/9
The winner of Ski Utah's photo contest was no amateur. Lee Cohen is a 48-year-old professional photographer who won with a glorious shot of a skier in the air with perfectly crossed skis. He is framed framed by a whipped-cream slope on one side and a clear sky on the other. The brilliantly small sized freeskier emphasizes the vast mountains and space in Utah.
Cohen took the shot late in the season at Rocky Point, on the Catherine's Pass ridge between Brighton and Alta. He also got the title "Perfect Powder Winner" for the photo. He also got great swag, which he will hopefully share with his buddy, Cody Barnhill, who is the skier who posed for the air shot (over and over again).
Cohen will get two Delta round trip flight tickets to Salt Lake, plus five nights of lodging, four days of lift tickets, and $500 from camera store Pictureline towards the purchase of a new Cannon camera. His photo will appear in Ski Utah's 2007-2008 "Winter Vacation Planner," soon to be available for those suffering from our triple digit summer temps.
GODFREY VINDICATED, SALOMON CENTER RULES
You can go skydiving for about $15 a minute. You can go surfing on an endless wave. Or try climbing and bouldering, all without ever leaving the building on Kiesel Avenue in Ogden.
The Salomon Center has only been open a month, but it's already an undisputed success; despite the fact that these indoor adventures don't come cheap. The vertical wind tunnel that simulates skydiving, called "IFLY UTAH" is actually used by real skydivers, says staffer Brock Rallison. "They come to work on their technique, because they can stay in the tunnel much longer than a free fall flight, which usually lasts less than a minute," Rallison said.
A beginner's flying package is $45 for two minutes of flying, which sounds like a lot, but first timers get their money's worth. They get a half hour lesson to prepare, rental of a flight suit and helmet, and an instructor who coaches them as they float in the air inside the tunnel.
Those who get hooked, and they are many, will pay $15 per minute, with a five minute minimum. The flight chamber is a 12 X 12 octagon. During the weekends, there’s usually a line. Kids over three can fly too. Age is no barrier.
"On our grand opening, we flew a 75 year old lady," says Rallison, who describes the feeling as..."like hanging your head out the window of a car, but more intense and all over your body, everywhere. There’s no dead air in the tunnel."
The Center has something for everyone. Parents can go bowling on the lower level, while more adventurous family members opt to fly in the IFLY or surf in the Flowrider.
It is Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey's vindication. Godfrey says, "There was lots of resistance at first, a steady drumbeat of opposition. It became most intense when we went for the final approvals of the city council. It was so extremely controversial, it barely passed.
Now that’s its open, it’s been overwhelmingly positive. People hav e been excited about the magnitude of the Salomon Center, and impressed by the various activities and how much fun it all is."
The center also has a Gold's gym, racquetball and basketball courts, a swimming pool, bowling lanes, indoor miniature golfing, billiards and three restaurants. Admission is free; the only charge is for the chosen activity.
NASCAR COMES TO UTAH
If it works for the rednecks, it works for Larry Miller. So no surprise that he is bringing NASCAR to Utah. Yes, the real thing will be at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele on July 14. Miller is also offering free tickets, if there are any left. A small number of tickets were given to each of his 17 dealerships to give away. To get them, stop into one of the car lots and say, "After all, you know this guy." If there are any freebies left, you'll be handed four free tickets.
FLOAT YOUR BOAT
Or on the same day as NASCAR, you can go green on the Jordan River. Utah Rivers Council and sports store REI are co-sponsoring a paddle-down-the-river event at 5:30 p.m., when the heat of the day is cooling off. If you don't have your own canoe or kayak, a $20 donation will get you a boat, life vest and helmet. For more info, call Utah Rivers at (801) 486-4776.
FLYING TOMATO DOES IT AGAIN
Is there anything Shaun White can't win?
Shaun is the "Flying Tomato," so named because A: He's usually in the air, and B: He's got this great mop of red hair. Yes, you've heard of him; he won gold in the 2006 Olympics as a snowboarder. He's won every snowboard title at the Winter X-Games, the first ever to win the slopestyle crown four years in a row.
He's also a skateboarding world champ. A few weeks ago, White won the 2007 Panasonic Open Skate Vert (short for vertical); the second year he's won it. He was not put down by this year's format change. This year, each skater was allowed three 45-second runs, with the best run scored. Skaters had to measure their risk before popping a big trick, if you fell, you were out.
White blew everyone away, getting the highest score in the event's history.
NON-SPORTING THOUGHT
Before buying an iPhone, think about this: When the government demanded that phone companies give them your phone records for detailed surveillance, only one company turned them over immediately, without a word of protest. It was AT&T.
Those who buy an iPhone are tied into only one phone company. It is AT&T. That means that in addition to phone records, they will have every iPhone user's internet and texting records.