Smith's Fresh Values Balloon Rally

by Tim Brown

How do you repay your crew for years of hard work, coming out anytime you need them, leaving at the drop of a hat for a rally, and dedication to the sport? When the chance to return the favor arises, you answer the call! The call came from Paul and Laurie Cheatham, the best crew anyone could hope for. Now that they both own balloons, they needed crew for the Smith's Fresh Values Balloon Festival in Park City Utah. The occasion was the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) $1,000,000 Utah Showdown. The balloons were there to add a little early morning excitement.

Park City is nestled in a valley of the Wasatch mountain range. It will be the site of several competitions during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for the Salt Lake area. Our launch site was in a grassy field, scattered with wild flowers at the base of The Canyons Ski Resort. Having been to this area for another event, it was no problem convincing my daughter Laura to come along to help.

Friday's media flight, cancelled due to high winds, didn't start things off well. The consolation was the excellent dinner hosted by Smith's. The evening weather report showed promise for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday awoke with gentle down canyon winds off the Wasatch mountains and out to the valley. Balloonmeister Mike Bauwens called the task, a judge declared goal; however there were a couple of minor problems. The majority of the valley is a red zone filled with ranch homes and horses. Once you get past them, there is a narrow strip parallel to interstate 40 that is open with good landing spots. Miss that and you might want to change your name to Peter Pan, because you are headed for Never-Never Land.

The down canyon breeze didn't last long, and soon turned to light and variable, scattering the balloons all across the valley (but not in the red zone). Only two pilots were able to make it to the target area and score - Irwin Oertly was in first place with a drop of 1.5 feet, and Mike Bauwens barely sneaking in at 187.5 feet.

After the flight everyone headed back to the launch sight for a tailgate party hosted by the local Park City pilots. These people know how to party! Crab, cream cheese, and egg burritos, huckleberry pancakes, fresh fruit and, of course, champagne. Laura and I had to use a lot of will power not to overindulge since we were on a mission. A couple of years earlier when visiting the area, we were told of malts and milkshakes to die for, but unfortunately the day we had gone by they were closed. .. not this time. The 20 mile drive to Heber went quickly but I could not say the same for the line at Granny's Malt Shop. The wait, however, was well worth it: malts and shakes so thick you could have set a fence post in them!

Back to Park City and we were off to the ski slopes! I know you think we are crazy but, really, people were skiing... well sort of... ESPN was recording an aerial ski competition on artificial slopes with the landings in a huge pool. Winter Park is a summer training area for the US Ski Team. The triple flip, quad twist, side by side team competition was unbelievable.

Sunday's weather brought even lighter winds than the previous day. Mike used a little caution by calling a hare and hound competition. Again, the light and variable winds made it a challenge to reach the target, but those who worked them reaped the rewards. First place Sunday went to Skip Mencimer, second to Eddy Clements, but Irwin's third place combined with Saturday's first proved him to be best of the best as the overall winner.

American Airlines and Cadillac, in conjunction with Smith's, helped to sponsor the event. The hard work and friendly personalities of Mike and his wife Betty really made this weekend a success. My promise to them. . . I'll be back next year (sorry Paul and Laurie), with a balloon!