STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Fifty years ago, a group of skiers changed the arc of the ski world forever. They eschewed the traditional approach of relying on slalom gates to demonstrate greatness. They rejected time clocks and speed suits.
Instead, these mavericks of skiing embraced freedom of expression, demanding different skis, boots, clothing, bindings and anything that separated their look and performance from the past. They donned distinctive Salomon head bands as they bounced over moguls and soared in the sky, upsetting the entire culture of traditional ski action.
These freestyle legends will gather in Sun Valley Monday through Friday, March 31-April 4, to share stories about what they created back in the 1970s—accomplishments that resulted in the exciting freestyle competitions we see today in the Olympics, X Games and on the World Cup circuit.
They will kick the week off reliving the stories of the 1970s at 7 p.m. Monday, March 31, at Ketchum’s Limelight Hotel.
They will end it Friday evening with a panel discussion focusing on panelists’ journeys and triumphs, the evolution of freestyle skiing, training techniques, mental and physical preparation and the future of the sport.
That discussion will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 4, at The Argyros in Ketchum. The panel will include Wayne Wong, inventor of the Wong Banger; freestyle pioneer Joannie Teorey TerMolen; Deno Dudunake, who won the World Mogul championships at Heavenly, Calif., in 1977, and Bruce Bolesky, who competed in freestyle ballet, also known as acro-skiing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Rounding out the panel will be John Eaves, a Canadian freeskier who won 42 World Cup events, three world aerial skiing titles and three world combined titles before retiring to entertain audiences with stunt skiing. Eaves also served as the double for many movie stars, including Roger Moore for whom he skied down an icy bobsled run in Cortina, Italy as the 007 spy hero James Bond.
Tickets to the panel discussion are $28, available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35937/performance/11608738?performanceId=11608738. A portion of the ticket fees will go to Higher Ground, which provides adaptive therapeutic skiing and other activities for youth, veterans, first responders and others.
The schedule:
MONDAY, March 31, 7 p.m. HISTORY NIGHT at the Limelight Hotel. Bring old photos and tell stories.
TUESDAY, April 1, AM. Meet to SKI THE GIRLS WAY with Holley DuPont and Katie Morning; 6 p.m. Fondue Dinner at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute.
WEDNESDAY, April 2, AM. Meet to SKI THE WONGWAY with Wayne Wong; 6:30 p.m. Music and Pizza Night with John Eaves.
THURSDAY, April 3, AM. SKI WITH THE LEGENDS followed by unstructured apres ski at the Limelight Hotel.
FRIDAY, April 4, 7:30 p.m. FREESTYLE LEGENDS PANEL DISCUSSION at The Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum