Freestylers ready to shred in Park City

PARK CITY — The world's best freestyle skiers will return to Deer Valley at the end of the month for another World Cup event, and they will have some company.

While freestylers are performing aerials maneuvers and bouncing off moguls, the world's top snowboarders will be at Park City Mountain Resort for international competition in the Superpipe.

The events will run Jan. 29-31.

Among those competing will be Olympic silver medalist Shannon Bahrke of California, Jeret Peterson of Boise — he holds the record for the highest score in aerials — and X Games halfpipe medalist Jen Hudak of Park City.

The freestyle event falls in line with the scheduled 2011 Freestyle World Championships, which will be hosted by Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort.

Deer Valley held the World Championships in 2003 and will be the first resort in America to hold the championships twice. Park City has held the World Superpipe event for the past six years.

"It's important to continue honing our event management skills to their very best," said Bob Wheaton, president and general manager of Deer Valley.

"Our goal each year with our World Cup is to put on the finest possible event, both for the athletes as well as spectators, whether they're here in person or watching our event on television. … We consider the crew who works on our World Cup events the best in the world — from the volunteers, to the coaches, judges, technicians and staff.

"And, of course, the gifted athletes who compete on our mountain are too impressive for words. We're honored to have them here."

Deer Valley has hosted seven freestyle World Cup events since 2000, along with the 2002 freestyle Olympic events.

The Park City halfpipe competition is also a prelude to the 2011 event.

Park City's Eagle Superpipe is considered one of the best in the world, "making it the perfect venue to host America's first World Cup skier halfpipe competition," said Peter Curtis, president and general manager of Park City Mountain Resort. "This year's World Cup will truly unite the Park City community with events at two of SKI magazine's top-five resorts and a celebration on Park City's historic Main Street."

The Eagle Superpipe was the site of the 2002 Olympic snowboarding event and the site of the World Superpipe Championships for the last six years.

Officials expect around 300 athletes from around the world to compete.

The aerials and dual moguls events will be held at night under the lights at Deer Valley. The moguls and ski halfpipe events will be held during the day.

General admission to all events is free. For those who want to enjoy an enhanced experience at the Deer Valley events, Freestyle Feast tickets will be available for purchase and include lunch/dinner in Deer Valley's VIP tent, and a commemorative gift. A detailed schedule of events is available online at deervalley.com or parkcitymountain.com.