Local Color

Ted Ligety

Born and raised in Park City, ski racer Ted Ligety laughs that he’s “a lifer.” A graduate of our Winter Sports School and Park City Ski Team, Ted made the U.S. Ski Team “A” squad at age 21, where “slalom is my specialty, but I ski everything.” He has a good chance of competing in the Torino Olympics. “I foreran the slalom and giant slalom here during the 2002 Games, and that was an exciting experience for sure. Being a Parkite, it would be really cool to compete in the 2006 Olympics and continue our sporting heritage.”

What’s so fun about ski racing? “The main thing is the thrill of speed. That drags us all into it. I love competing against other people. The thrill of being at the bottom of the pile and then winning? Big.”

The perfect run: “Where you’re not sliding your turns at all, you’re grounded on the course, and you can see where you’re supposed to go in your mind.”

The perfect course: “I like stuff pretty difficult and technical. One of my favorite hills in the world is Kitzbuhel, Austria. It’s like going down a staircase. You can’t ever get in a rhythm. You have to stick your nose into it and just grind.”

The perfect ski day: “Powder days at Snowbird, taking laps off the tram, getting face shots, skiing chutes, jumping cliffs. A lot of people have the perception that racers don’t like to free ski. That’s totally false. We love our powder days as much as the next guy.”

Race days: “I don’t feel too much pressure. I try to stay pretty relaxed about my skiing. The day of a race, I try to just have fun with the day. I really focus the few minutes before the race.”

Help from his friends: “A lot of older guys on the team definitely try to help out. When you first start, you’re not used to the frenzy of the World Cup tour. In some places, there are 60,000 people at the race. Sometimes you have to dodge people just to get into the start gate! The other guys are always willing to help me out—give me a little guff sometimes, or push me in the right direction.”

On snowboarding: “I tried it once. I got a little bruised up.”

Role model? “The last couple of years, I’ve looked up to Bode Miller. He started a whole new theme in ski racing. He’s taken the sport in a new direction in terms of what people thought was possible to do on skis.”

On Park City: “Park City’s great because it has everything you really want: three ski areas here and then the Cottonwood Canyons, the reservoirs, great mountain biking. I’ll be staying here for a while.”

Guiding principle: “I try to live every day to its fullest and work really hard at whatever I’m doing.”

Cordell and Riley Warr

Brothers Cord and Riley Warr have spent their entire lives in Park City, attending elementary at the old Marsac School. Cordell was a snowmaker for seven years at then-Park City Ski Area, taught Nordic skiing for White Pine Touring for years, was a partner in Lone Peak Window washing company and has worked as a bartender at Zoom for more than eight years. His biggest passion, though? Rock climbing. “Climbing is pretty much my way of life and has been for 18 years. That’s my deal,” he says. “I like the movement of climbing, moving over the rock, getting strong enough to move over it so that it’s not hard anymore. When you finally get in good shape, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

You’ve probably seen Cord’s autistic brother Riley walking around town. He walks everywhere. Riley’s been a grocery bagger at Albertson’s for years and enjoys chatting with the customers. He loves swimming and is often seen in the Racquet Club pool on summer afternoons. He fondly remembers a favorite family home in Thaynes Canyon and its garage door openers. Riley also likes airports and flying to Vegas (“It’s nice in the plane—taking off and landing,” he says). And he skis a lot. He likes Jackson Hole and The Canyons in particular. And he says that some people are strict.

Favorite buddy (aside from each other): “Our parents’ dog, Billy Bob. He’s a retriever/chow mix from Texas. He walked 70 miles after a car accident. He’s so cool, we just love him.”

Biggest overcome obstacle? “I spent a lot of time coming back from a broken femur in 1993 [from an ice climbing accident]. I was on crutches for six months. Those were some hard times to get over,” says Cord.

Biggest changes in town in 31 years? “They don’t have the gondola anymore at Park City. There’s nowhere to park. There are a lot more houses with no one living in them. (But they have nice windows.) And gas is too expensive,” says Riley.

Guiding principles: “I usually try to have as much fun as possible. I get a lot done as far as work and play—pack it all in. Then I feel like I’ve accomplished something. And I dance as much as possible. Dance and sing. And be kind of funny. I’m not a good dancer. I just like to do it,” says Cord.

Myle Walsh

Myle Walsh’s fetish for red shoes is indicative of her approach to life. “I tend to be someone who has a lot of energy,” she says. “Anybody that knows me would say that about me,” she laughs.

A resident of Park City since the age of 15 (her late mom bought the Blue Church Lodge for $20,000 at the time!), Myle spent her formative years at Park City High School and her senior year studying in Switzerland. “That’s when I got the travel bug,” she admits.

On travel: “In 1984, my boyfriend [now husband] and I went to a friend’s slide show on Nepal and Asia. When the lights came on, we said, ‘We’re going.’ We traveled for seven months through Asia with backpacks. We hiked over 300 miles in Nepal. When we got to Bali, we said, ‘this is the place.’” Myle has organized trips to Bali every year since, acting as tour guide to anyone who wants to share in the adventure. Her love of Bali’s artwork, clothing and jewelry evolved into opening a store in Heber in 1994, Water From the Moon. Myle both designs and imports Balinese goods for the store.

On Bali: “Bali has everything—incredible culture, amazing scenery and beaches, fabulous food, the best shopping on the planet. But the true reason Bali is so special is that it has this incredible culture unlike anyplace else. Bali parallels Utah in many ways—the people are rooted in their religions, they revere children and family, they build temples—yet they’re totally accepting and non-judgmental. And everyone’s an artist in Bali. People are dancers, painters, woodcarvers, weavers, jewelry makers. They live the art/nature connection.”

Priorities: “My family (husband of 21 years, Mark, and sons Wyatt and Makena). If my family’s happy, I’m happy.” Myle also loves to cook (“I’m led by my stomach”), hike, bike, read and ski. She was on the board of directors for the Soldier Hollow Charter School, was president of Wasatch High School PTA, works with Friends of the Library and more.

On her life: “My cup is always half full. I’m a positive person. I have the personality that will go out and make it happen. I don’t know why I am that way, but it has helped me get where I want to go, kind of by the seat of my pants. Experience and adventure drive me more than money does. Certainly we all need to make a living, but at a certain point, I want to take people on a journey with me, sharing Bali, and making it affordable. I know all of the great stuff about Bali and you don’t have to check into the Ritz Carlton for $500 a night to have a good time.”
Guiding Principle: “A Balinese philosophy says that what you put out into your community or your world is what will come back to you. I really believe that.”

Park City Mountain Resort's Brian Suhadolc; The Canyons’ Dave Shankey; and Deer Valley Resort’s Scott Enos

Along with their crews, Park City Mountain Resort’s Brian Suhadolc; The Canyons’ Dave Shankey; and Deer Valley Resort’s Scott Enos bring snow to Park City whenever we need it most. Nearly 100 snowmakers among the three resorts use a combined 250 snow guns to cover a total of 1,600 acres with the white stuff when Mother Nature needs a little padding. These guys live by the credo, “Let it Snow.”

What’s the best and worst part of the snowmaking manager’s job? “The weather and the weather.”

What are the biggest misconceptions about snowmaking? “It’s not a cold job. If you have the right gear, and you’re working hard, you shouldn’t be cold at all,” and “People probably have no idea how much man power, energy and money it takes.”

What are the magical moments of snowmaking? “When it’s a clear night with a full moon [so you can see what you’re doing], 12 to 15 degrees, with a light breeze. Those are perfect snowmaking conditions,” and “Big, beautiful piles of snow in the moonlight,” and “Watching the sun set in one direction and the moon rise in the other, and snow flying against the sky. It’s a beautiful sight.”

Things they least like hearing from their snowmaking crews: “That snowgun wasn’t frozen when I went by …” and “Who was on that snowmobile?”

Things they least like saying to their snowmaking crews: “WHY did you want to point that gun into the breeze?”

Most stupid question they’ve ever been asked: “Where do the snowflakes go in summer?”

Favorite snowmaker joke (that can be printed in this magazine, anyway …): “You put a snowmaker in a room with a hammer and a shovel, and he’ll lose one and break the other.”

Guiding principles: “Safety. Make sure your people are safe in their jobs,” and “Every day’s totally different in snowmaking, so keep a positive attitude and have fun with what you do,” and “It’s gotta be fun. Don’t forget to ski.”