There were 3 reasons I went to Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
1. Cause Whitly entered our comedy short IT FACTOR and we decided we'd go whether it made it or not.
2. To have some adventure in a new place.
3. To see some films and experience the vibe of a very famous festival.
IT FACTOR didn't make it in but we did give out some DVDs.
Stuart and Anastasia were of course talent in the film.
Our condo was great and a block away from a shuttle (with great music) that takes you to town for free.
One of the best things about the condo was that it was nestled among a grove of chalky white aspens with a blanket of sparkling snow that climbed a small hill.
At Bacchus Wine Bar, we had our first full meal of tapas, fondue, grilled shrimp, humas and roasted red peppers with olives, lamb chops and chocolate and strawberry fondue. Everything was delicious.
Fri. Stuart, Faz and myself went skiing. Faz of course had all the latest gear for snowboarding.
I had ski pants from 7 years ago.... Beautiful day, warm , conditions weren't great but just as good as most eastern skiing I've done. I was a little worried cause I hadn't skied in about 7 yrs. Yes, I fell a few times. I loved it thought and wonder why it has been so long. At one point the guys had gone down a more difficult route and I decided to just enjoy an easy run. I was the only person on it. There were no crowds on the slopes.
It was lovely. Fri night we had dinner at Purple Sage with the coat woman who obviously needed a good......something....
Nice little place. I'd give it a 6.5 or 7 for food and atmosphere and a -3 for the coat check lady.
Faisal's friend Greg and his girlfriend Sam joined us.
Sat. Anastasia & Whit had gotten tickets to see a 9am movie, we headed downtown to see what was up.
Sat. afternoon the daredevils in the group went to Olympic Park to race down an icy tunnel at 78 miles an hour for less than a minute.
AMAZING! INSANE! Greg had scared us the night before about riding the Comet. Talking about how narley, nauseating and scary it was. And he's been to IRAQ!
Well, it is the OLYMPIC bobsled track.
http://www.olyparks.com/uop/winter_bobsled_rides.asp
Come to find out it is also maned by Olympic athletes and coaches.
So, you sit on your butt with your legs straight out in front while holding onto handles that are about where your ankles are.
Your helmet is 2 inches away from the person in front of you which in my case was Alex the driver.
They push you off and for the first :10 seconds or so you think oh this is not too bad - this is FUN.
You hit the first curve, the 2nd and then by the third you go in at 60mph and come out around 80mph....... upside down and your chin is slammed to your chest cause you are experiencing about 4.5 to 5 Gs... There are 15 turns. You are able to pull your head back up out ot the turns and scream your best cuss word while thinking how many turns was that? A minute can be a long time when you are struggling to keep your eyes open, your head from banging the guy in front of you and the side of the comet, thinking was that turn 8 or 9????. The sound was awesome. Steel ripping down ice at amazing speed and the barely audible screams of the 2 behind me. When we stopped we were all cranked up, breathing hard, loving life.
That was an EXTREME ride for sure.
YES, I'd do it again.
The film festival vibe is very fun.
It was a great time. And no, I didn't see a single film!
Sort of knew that going in.
Everybody is somebody and everyone is beautiful.
I was kind of glad I didn't have one of those big orange and yellow sundance tags around my neck notifying everyone that you are part of the great Sundance.
Interviews on every corner. Parties all over town.
We did meet some interesting people.
Wouldn't trade it.
Maybe next year I'll see a movie or even have one shown.....
