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Holcomb’s Looks to Improve Trout Habitat for Senior Project Page 5
Ski the Rails Kicked Off Nordic Fest, Find Out What’s Next
Ski Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Today Page 10
Kisiel Talks About Knee Injuries and Alignment Page 12
read about it on PaGe 11
J a n u a r y 3 0 , 2 0 1 3 • V o l . 6 • N o . 5 • w w w .T h e W e e k l y S u n . c o m
Peter Henderson Tickles the Ivories
Street Makes Hall of Fame
BY KAREN BOSSICK
B
en Hong is out, due to an unexpected contractual conflict with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. But that gives more time for pianist Peter Henderson to strut his stuff. And Saturday’s solo piano recital featuring the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra pianist will thrill piano lovers, said Series Artistic Director, Susan Spelius Gannon. “We are very excited to be presenting Peter, and his programming for the evening is brilliant. “Experiencing solo piano repertoire of this stature being presented by an artist of Peter’s caliber is a rare opportunity in this community. I think a program of this sophistication could be presented in any of the major halls throughout the world,� Gannon added. Henderson will perform classical works by Debussy, Mendelssohn and Liszt at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum. The numbers including Debussy’s “Puck’s Dance,� Mendelssohn’s “Piano Sonata No. 1 in E Major, Op. 6,� and Liszt’s “Fantasia Quasi Sonata.� The concert will be preceded by an informal “Meet the Artists� questionand-answer session emceed by Gannon at 6:15 p.m. B. Restaurant and Bar will serve wine and light appetizers at a post-concert reception for all ticket holders following the concert. Henderson will also present a program on Friday for students from the Community School and The Sage School, giving the students a chance to interact with a world-class classical pianist. Henderson has been involved in a number of musical partnerships, including the St. Louis-based Ilex Piano Trio and the Virginia-based Garth Newel Piano Quartet. He’s performed with other symphony members on the Crossing series and at the Innsbrook Institute’s Music Festival. He was a keyboardist for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in 2004. Adult tickets are $24 and student tickets $10, available at Ketchum bookstores, at the door or online at svartistseries.org. Information: 208-725-5807. tws
Valentine’s Ball BY KAREN BOSSICK
F
eeling that love in the air? The Boutonnieres and Sun Valley Resort are presenting their annual Valentine’s Ball Friday, Feb. 8, at the Sun Valley Dining Room. The night kicks off at 6:30 with a nohost reception, followed by dinner and dancing from 7:30 to 10 p.m. DJ Lenny Joseph will provide the music. Tickets are $75 per person, tax and gratuity included. The party is limited to a hundred people to ensure plenty of room on the dance floor. “A number of Sun Valley residents started this 15 years ago. It’s a party, not a benefit,� said Frank Meyer, who co-chairs the dance with his wife Anita Meyer and Neil Ryan and Phoebe Thorne. “Attire ranges from black tie to Sun Valley formal. Some come in black tie wear; others come in Sun Valley formal—that is, jeans or a combination of jeans and black tie.� For reservations, call 208-622-2800. tws
Picabo Street just recently taped a biographical piece for the A&E Channel. Here, she taped a segment on Sun Valley, which she praised as the “No. 1 Winter Wonderland Resort� for the Fine Living Network as Sun Valley cameraman John Plummer shot the video.
STORY & PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Y
ou might think that the most memorable moment of Picabo Street’s career would be that of winning her first Olympic medal as she slashed her way down a downhill course in Lillehammer, Norway. Or, perhaps, the gold medal she won in the super-giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano games—a feat she made look so easy. Or even her two World Cup downhill championships, both of which certainly contributed to her induction this afternoon in the Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame. But the three-time Olympian claims none of these are among the first images imprinted on the Rolodex of her brain. Try, instead, a less public memory involving the day she learned she needed $5,000 if she wanted to race at the Junior Olympics in Alaska. “I wrote a form letter about how I needed help if I were going to go, and I put on my walking shoes and went into Ketchum,� says the tomboy from Triumph, her words spilling out nearly as fast as the 80 miles per hour that she used to race. “I got $200 here, $100 there and before long the community had put together enough money for me to go. And a silent sponsor paid tuition for me to be on the ski team—I still don’t know who it was, although I think I have an idea.� Such generosity has fueled Street’s own insatiable need to pay it forward, she says.
It shows up in her Street of Dreams Foundation, in which she finds worthwhile causes she can be involved in as she helps youngsters achieve their dreams. And it shows up in small things, like her decision to come to Sun Valley a couple days ahead of today’s induction ceremony so she could ski a few runs with some of the racers in the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. “I wanted to talk with them about their future, their dreams, see what’s in their heads, their hearts. If I just came up to have a ceremony, I wouldn’t have been comfortable in my own skin,� she said. “I need to keep creating opportunities to make positive change everywhere I go.� Street said the prospect of mentoring young ski racers was part of what made retiring from ski racing at the conclusion of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City easy. “I felt like (racing) was such a selfish endeavor—I was ready to get on with something else,� she said. “I wanted to figure out how I could put together a mentoring program to help ski racers get their heads screwed on right, keep their heads on straight.� In fact, Street did just that with Lindsay Vonn, who had idolized Street since she was 10. She counseled Vonn to treat every race like it was an Olympics race so she wouldn’t get psyched out by all the chaos of the big show. But Street wasn’t afraid to dish it out when she thought the occasion called for it. Case in point: When Julie Mancuso
opted to set aside her helmet for a tiara. “I called her out. I said, ‘Don’t sacrifice safety. Don’t set a bad example like that for the next generation just so you can wear a cutesy little tiara,’ �she recalled. Jonna Mendes, who was on the U.S. Ski Team with Street, said she was one of those who looked up to the Sun Valley skier. “She was so confident in her ability. She always believed she had the tools and skills to win everything—that’s why she was so good,� said Mendes, now the recruiting director of the Sun Valley ski Academy. “I found myself wishing I had her confidence a lot of the time.� That said, Street hopes to present a softer side in an A&E biography she’s been filming that she expects to air next fall. “A lot of people see me as a tough, intense competitor. What I want to do with this show is show the other side of me and provoke a positive difference.� Street’s life now revolves around her husband John Reeser and four sons who range in age from 9 to 2. Reeser is a biology/chemistry teacher at a tight-knit Alabama high school where there are just 20 kids per class and everyone knows everyone. He, Picabo and Eli, Treyjan, Dax and Roen live on 10 acres with horses and a pond and a Jacuzzi that is Street’s sanctuary. “We’re at the end of the country road. Still, it’s not Triumph,� Street said, al-
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