ABC may be home to the programs “Dancing With The Stars” and “Skating With The Stars,” but this weekend Parkites tuned in to the celebrity drama at Deer Valley Resort in Park City’s very own celebrity competition skiing with the stars.
The resort hosted the annual Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest, an invitational ski event that pairs former Olympic ski legends with television and film celebrities for a weekend of skiing, live music and fundraising. This year’s benefactor was the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization that aims to protect water quality.
Nosing around the media tent, I learned quite a lot about ecosystems and water sustainability, but the biggest take-away lesson for me was this: I need to watch a whole bunch more TV in order to understand what’s happening at the Celebrity Skifest.
“Oh, that’s the guy from ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,'” Park City resident and apparent pop-culture connoisseur Rachel Alday tells me. “I’ve never seen that show,” I admit.
A few minutes later she points to another celebrity skier and informs me, “That’s one of the ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.'” I’ve never seen that show either, but from what I did see of one of its stars, I can tell you this: I’m not convinced that much, if anything, about her was real.
“Oh, surely you’ll recognize him!” Rachel nudges me and subtly points at a man I couldn’t pick out of a lineup. I hopelessly shake my head no and she mutters something about that “big black rectangular thing that hangs on a wall in your living room. It makes noise and displays pretty people if you would ever turn it on.”
I tried to recognize some of these people; I desperately wanted to. But I hopelessly confided in her that unless it’s someone who plays in the NFL or is a news anchor, I most likely wouldn’t know him from Adam. I’m a pop-culture flunky.
After Rachel’s crash course in slope-side celebrity identification, I suggest we take a few turns ourselves. After all, it was opening day on the continent’s number one ski resort. Minutes later we’re carving our way down an untouched run. “It feels so good to be back on the snow!” Rachel exclaimed. “It’s like reconnecting with a long-lost lover you haven’t seen in years and discovering you’re both single and magically live down the street from each other.”
She was right. Being back on the hill felt fabulous. Most of the mountain was open, the coverage was great, the snow was soft, weather warm and the quads burning. “Um, maybe I shouldn’t have waited until December 3rd to condition for ski season,” Rachel admits between huffs. “Let’s take a rest.”
We decided to stop for lunch and that’s when I got my big break. “Do you mind if I share this table with you?” asks none other than ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff. I am completely star struck. So much so that I start to resemble that kid from “A Christmas Story” when he finally gets to talk to Santa. I can’t even mutter a “Sure, have a seat.” I just look at Rachel and grunt. She effortlessly strikes up a conversation with him, as I sit by looking and behaving like I’ve just had a stroke. I think I’m drooling, I can’t form a sentence and when he directs the conversation to me, I have to stop myself from telling him I want a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.
Despite my inability to speak coherently, Mr. Woodruff continued to engage us and could not have been nicer. No ego, no “don’t you know who I am?” attitude, nothing that would indicate he was one of the most decorated journalists of recent times. If I hadn’t known better, I would have mistaken him for someone normal.
After a few minutes of friendly banter (mostly between him and Rachel because I still couldn’t string together more than two words at once), it was time to go ski some more. As we exchanged goodbyes, I couldn’t help but think there’s a good reason no network has asked me to take part in a program called “Lunching With The Stars.”
Amy Roberts is a freelance writer, public-relations guru and globe-trotting thrill seeker. In a former life she worked in TV news, both as a reporter and sports anchor. She has bagged peaks on six continents, kayaked the Zambezi and Nile rivers, swam with great white sharks in South Africa and tracked mountain gorillas in Rwanda. She was once very nearly sold for 2,000 camels while traveling through Morocco.