Friday — March 12, 2004

Big air event returns

SolFest scheduled March 27, 28 on Baldy

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Spring is in the air, the sun is rising high and Sun Valley is preparing for its biggest on-mountain event of the 2003-2004 ski season.

In a farewell bid to winter, the 2004 SolFest Big Air Exhibition will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28, on Bald Mountain.

The 2004 SolFest Big Air Exhibition, scheduled for March 27 and 28, is expected to attract numerous professional skiers and snowboarders. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Now in its fifth year, the annual event will shine with an array of entertainment, including a Warren Miller film festival, snowboarders and skiers exhibiting their aerial talent on a 65-foot jump and a half-pipe, a ‘70s-garb costume contest and live music.

SolFest 2004 will kick off with a tribute to the old school of skiing, with a screening of renowned filmmaker Warren Miller’s best 1970s ski films. The screening is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, March 27 at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum.

The film screening will be followed by a 1970s costume contest and performance by the ’70s revival band Soul Purpose, at Whiskey Jacques’ in downtown Ketchum.

On Sunday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the new school of skiers will take the stage with stars C.R. Johnson, Sarah Burke and Phil Belanger launching themselves off of a 65-foot table on Round House slope, below Sun Valley’s Round House restaurant.

The performers will then head to Bald Mountain’s new half pipe at the base of Warm Springs to perform more tricks. A post-exhibition concert at the base of Warm Springs will feature Soul Purpose.

Local participants from the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation include David Kunz, Jancy Caldwell and Fraser Donald. A portion of the proceeds from all SolFest events will go to the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and the proposed new Ketchum Skate Park.

SolFest debuted in Sun Valley in 2000, attracting some 500 spectators. The event, which was created by the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, essentially introduced Sun Valley to the world of new-school skiing and snowboarding.

Over the past four years, SolFest has grown to include 15 professional skiers and snowboarders and over 3000 spectators who come to watch athletes fly high overhead.

"We created SolFest to give freeskiers and snowboarders a venue to display their talent and to show that Sun Valley provides fun for all ages," said

Carrie Westergard, marketing director of the Chamber.

Besides Belanger, Burke and Johnson, invitations for the 2004 event have been extended to: Mark Abma, Phil Larose, Jon McMurray, Nick Mercon, and Steele Spence. The athletes are known for impressing crowds with triple-spin "1080s" and many other tricks that send them twirling through the air.

"SolFest is a super fun and relaxed event," said Burke, a professional skier. "Really one of the funner events that I did last year…and it was such a positive and supportive atmosphere. I’m definitely coming again this year."

Burke’s execution of 1080s (spinning three times around), rail slides, and rodeo 720s (an off-axis spin in which the skier ends up inverted for two rotations) have earned her respect and attention in a sport overwhelmingly dominated by males.

Last year, Burke took first place in women’s super pipe at the Global X Games held in Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia. She also placed first in the U.S. Open Slope Style competition in Vail, Colo., and first place in Women’s Super Pipe at the World Ski Festival in Whistler-Blackcomb.

For additional details on SolFest, call the Chamber at 726-3423 or visit www.solfest.com on the World Wide Web.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.