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(1) Peter Olenick whirls through the air for the final evening of the halfpipe ski competition at Warm Springs. (2) World-class skier and Sun Valley resident Zach Crist hangs with Lost star Michele Rodriguez. (3) Coping well in subzero temperatures, The Wailers from Jamaica play to an excited crowd during The Ski Tour’s BaseCamp Music Experience. (4) Skiercross competitors await the start at the top of Dollar Mountain. (5) The Ski Tour girls show off the latest in skiwear by Spyder. (6) Soaring through the air, a halfpipe competitor shoots for a high score. (7) Ski Tour founder and Sun Valley resident Kipp Nelson poses with Tommy Lee, formerly of Motley Crew, who performed at a private concert during the weekend. (8) Despite freezing temperatures, a large crowd gathered at Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge to watch the first ever skiercross competition in Sun Valley. (9) Austin Winkle, lead singer of Hinder, woos the Saturday night crowd at the Basecamp. (10) The concert crowd rages at the Basecamp where a street party took over downtown Ketchum. (11) The winner of the skier halfpipe competition, Simon Dumont celebrates his sucess. Valley View: Sun Valley comes alive Text by Sabina Dana Plasse Photos by Keith Carlsen/MSI .When The Ski Tour arrived for a long weekend in January 2007, the event took Sun Valley by storm, infusing youth and energy back into the somewhat sleepy ski town. The first on The Ski Tour’s four-stop musical and snow-sport extravaganza, Sun Valley lured big-name athletes such as Candide Thovex and Daron Rahlves, alongside bands Three Days Grace, Hinder and The Wailers. Despite the weekend’s consistent below-zero temperatures, crowds climbed Dollar Mountain to watch the skiercross competition, trekked up Warm Springs to witness death-defying freestyle skiing in the halfpipe, and filled the streets to enjoy live music into the wee hours of the morning. The Ski Tour brought both young and old out to play, recalling past times of street parties and skier competitions. Television cameras rolled over bundled-up spectators, who watched in awe as the world’s top skiercross competitors screamed down Dollar Mountain and free-style skiers twirled to heights 20 feet above them at the Warm Springs halfpipe, built for the tour. The tour’s founder, Kipp Nelson, was pleased with his first time out of the gate. So much so that Sun Valley will be the last stop on the 2008 tour, giving fans spring skiing conditions instead of sub-arctic agony. Coming to town March 14-16, the tour will feature all the events, parties and big-name concerts of 2007, alongside the debut of snowboard cross and snowboard halfpipe events, as well as women’s competitions. |