Celebrity Shred Watch: Meggies does Sundance

DAY 1

Day one of Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah. After a 3-hour layover in Denver (where it appeared to be dumping in the mountains) I arrived in Salt Lake City with the rest of southern California. After grabbing a shuttle, we made the 35-minute drive to Park City, rolling in at around 9 that evening. Trying to motivate for a night out on Main Street, desire to make party time was squashed after hearing the news that downtown’s power was out, leaving film fest revelers in the dark. Apparently the infrastructure of an 1800’s mining town wasn’t meant to handle a sudden influx of 90-lb starlets and their straightening irons. Instead of heading out into the cold we stayed in, drinking White Russians and planning our day on the mountain. We left dancing in the dark to the Spielberg wanna-be’s and called it a night, allowing us to be shred-ready in the morning.

Park City Resort, located steps from downtown Park City, offers over 3,000 acres of terrain for shredders to tear apart. I arrived at the mountain for a tour with Park City Communications Manager Paula Fabel (Paula, you killed it!). We started by lapping some cruisers off of the Silverlode lift and then hit the trees in an unmarked area called Black Forest, located off of McConkey’s. Steep and well-spaced, the Black Forest trees took us to the Pioneer lift, which accesses many secret spots known to PC locals. We then headed to Jupiter bowl, hiking out to skier’s right at the top of the lift. After charging some super steep, narrow chutes, we ran into a local named Steve. Steve was the man - he led us into Scott’s Bowl, where we found more fresh snow in well-spaced trees. After showing us all the sweet spots Scott’s had to offer, we headed back to the frontside of the resort.
(Sidenote: Park City was also recently ranked #3 in a list of North America’s most environmentally friendly ski resorts, making this an eco-friendly choice.)

As the day drew to a close, our group reconvened and headed into the base area. We were thirsty. Amid rumors of an Entourage cast member sighting in the village, we headed to the Cornershop for a few beers. The nice people of Amstel Light happened to be hosting a soiree, complete with free beer and lots of LA industry types, and for the next 2 hours we were loyal to Amstel and only Amstel. We never saw Vince, Drama, or Turtle, but a good time was had nonetheless. Stumbling out of Cornershop, we slumped onto a crowded bus for a free ride across town; however, with all the Sundance craziness afoot, we ended up ditching the overburdened public transport system to walk the 3 miles back to the condo.

ONE NIGHT IN PARIS

That evening, we headed out to Park City to take in the opening weekend of Sundance. Walking up the main street downtown, it was a challenge to find a bar without a guest list. Park City had been transformed from mellow ski town into a LA-NYC hybrid, with a splash of Vegas. Continuing our trek, high-pitched squeals and flashbulbs turned our attention to one of the many tinted SUVs cruising the strip. Clearly we were in the presence of a major celebrity, and before you could say “shameless self-promoting hussy”, an interior light of the vehicle illuminated and there was Her Highness of Night Vision Documentary herself, Paris Hilton. P. Hilt pretending to be unaware of the commotion for a bit, then quickly gave up the game and performed a little show for her fans. If you’re a trash-talking, gossip mag-reading hypocrite like I am, you can view the ridiculousness here (courtesy of our very own paparazzi/crazed fan Sherwin Baghai):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FstnuAM2hiM

Apparently she was in town pimping some movie that she’s allegedly acting in, the name of which I can’t remember and don’t ever plan on watching. (For the record, our celebrity sightings that weekend included people who did not actually look as though they took a wrong turn on their way to Vegas: William H. Macy, Danny Glover, Virginia Marsden, Matthew Broderick, and That Guy Who Played Michelle William’s Gay Brother on Dawson’s Creek.) After that scene, we decided we needed whiskey more than ever. The good people at No Name saloon were happy to assist, and we drank furiously into the early morning hours.

DAY 2

After a late start to the day, we mustered the courage to once again fight the Sundance crowds in order to get our shred on. Once on the chairlift, the fresh air helped to quiet the throbbing in our brains. The lift lines were minimal and the mountain was quiet. Turns out, the one redeeming quality of your ski town being invaded by LA hipsters, hangers-on, and D-listers is that you get the mountain to yourself. We cruised to King’s Crown terrain park, located at the top of Payday lift, to take in the official park of PC’s team riders (Shaun White, Aaron Biittner, MFM, Bode Merrill, etc). This is where you want to be. The park’s insane jump line gave me the chills, and their features included an array of rainbows, boxes, rails, and even a four foot tall eight-ball; for jibbing, not sniffing, that is.

Monday morning brought 4 inches of fresh snow to the mountains. It also brought my airport shuttle. But that’s how it goes; roll the dice, buy your tickets, and pray for Mother Nature to send a storm your way. Park City is definitely worth the chance, so next year, when Park City is over-run with dudes in women’s pants donning Flock Of Seagulls coifes and crying about some stupid French film, you’ll be charging Jupiter Bowl under sunny skies, and not a soul around.