Snowboard Grand Prix

Our lovely friend Kate was in town for a too-short weekend and at her behest we attended the Snowboard Halfpipe Grand Prix up in Park City on Saturday. Ordinarily we avoid Park City during the Film Festival like the plague, but so strong is our love for Kate that we persevered through the horrific crowds (actually, we stuck to the outskirts of the city and it was fine), car trouble (ah, the joys of a van that's old enough to legally enjoy, and occasionally require, a good stiff drink), avalanches (we got stopped on our way home for "successful" avalanche control - and success = they triggered an avalanche), and occasionally winy children to have a really great time watching world-class snowboarding right in our own backyard.

Here's an incredibly detailed photo of Kate, Steve, and Sasha watching Shaun White during his practice runs. Of course, you wouldn't know it was Shaun White by the crappy photography, but you can just take our word for it. That's what happens when I don't feel like lugging the SLR to an event...

The boys weren't actually tall enough to see over the fence, so they passed the hours climbing up the giant snowbank and sliding down. They hardly took out any pedestrians in the process, so we considered it a completely appropriate activity. Besides, anybody who tries to climb up a giant hill of snow in their "I want to be seen at the Sundance Film Festival" cowboy boots probably deserves to fall on their butt (with a "helpful" nudge from our boys as they cavorted), right?

Oh, and they also whiled away the time in the Xbox 360 booth, admiring the Xbox ice sculptures and receiving free glo necklaces. It was a veritable boy wonderland.

And Sasha discovered the wondrous and enrapturing invention that is the disposable handwarmer. Even now she walks around the house shake-shake-shaking them with a giddy smile on her face. For a girl who refuses to wear her mittens, she sure seems to like warm hands a lot.

We stuck around long enough to see Shaun White's legendary 49.5-point run. Man, that guy is amazing - look how high he gets on that Park City Superpipe. It was well worth the drive (and the crowds, and the break-down, and the winy kids) to see some of the world's best snowboarders strutting their stuff. Thanks for dragging us along, Kate!