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Kim's
Experience
at Sun Valley (Part II) |
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| Summer Nights on Ice | Sun Valley 2000 | COI - Summer 2000 | SOI - 2001 | CSOI - 2001 | |
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Practice Laurie's reports Kim's first sighting of Alexei Kim's practice photos of Alexei Laura's stills of Alexei's practices The Show Backstage! |
With the veritable monsoon setting in at Sun Valley I was seriously beginning to wonder at this point: WILL I EVER GET TO SEE ALEXEI SKATE? He dutifully arrived for the evening practice but it was obvious that no one would be skating on the outdoor rink. As Laurie mentioned, we were becoming very proficient at identifying Alexei even at distances and with him wearing tons of clothing. His hair flicking in particular gave him away that night. It was the first thing he did when he took off his hood. I had also begun to notice that he has a fairly distinctive walk (sort of a saunter in his gait) that alerted me to his presence as well. So at that point it was on to the indoor rink which really wasn't in much better shape. Alexei didn't seem to relish the prospect much. It was cold in the rink, not cool but COLD and Alexei was dressed accordingly. He was bundled up like "Nannook from the North". AND he had a (GASP!) hat on. Covering that gorgeous hair (which I assume got wet and that was the reason for the covering). The only visible flesh was a little of his face and his hands (he obviously had forgotten to bring his gloves) and he managed to cover those eventually with the sleeves of his jacket. ACK!!!!!!Definitely NOT the way an Alexei fan likes to see him dressed for practice. Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse he lifted the hood of his jacket OVER his hat. No reason to take any pictures at that point. Could have been the Zamboni driver in those pictures for all anyone would know. It was just as well. By the time I would have gotten my camera out Alexei had decided he'd had enough and was headed to the boards to get his skate guards-----practice over. I could at last say that I had seen Alexei skating but it certainly wasn't what I'd had in mind. No powerful stroking, fine edges, or thuds for me that night. Cold, wet, and rather dejected, Laurie and I decided to go to the lodge for something to warm us up and make us feel better. Apparently Alexei and his friends (who walked in a few minutes later) thought that was a good idea too. Didn't get to see the practice I'd hoped for that night but at least I did get to take in some of that majestic scenery I'd counted on seeing while in Sun Valley. Saturday dawned with yet MORE rain---BUCKETS and BUCKETS of rain (hey---I thought the place was called SUN Valley). The prospect of not seeing the show or even a practice was becoming a very real possibility. To say I was dejected was a vast understatement. At one point I sat sobbing in front of the TV staring at the Weather Channel. It was not a pretty sight. I was beginning to think that the black cloud over Sun Valley was mine too. Just the thought of coming SO far and not seeing the show or even a practice....well, you can imagine. The prospect made me ill. I felt sorry for Laurie having to put up with me. She did a much better job of handling it all than I did. We knew that Alexei would be intent on getting some quality ice time since he hadn't really practiced since Thursday at his home rink. We hoped he would venture to the indoor rink even though the ice wasn't good. The practice, if he showed up, might be the only thing we would get to see. As it happens, we got there just as he did and practically followed him into the rink. The hat was history now and his hair was visible in all it's glory. We lost count the number of times he flicked it back or ran his fingers through it. He was dressed all in black and began his warm-up wearing the jacket but discarded it as soon as it got too warm. NOW I finally got to see him MOVE on the ice. I was immediately impressed with the speed he strokes around the ice with. Heavy, heavy, stroking and edging. More so than any other skater I've ever heard. It was fun to see him try some unusual moves (which he hasn't quite mastered yet it appeared) as well as such standards as scratch spins (no Martini--yeah!). The jumps were nice to see too. He landed all of them on the opposite end of the rink we were on but a faint "thud" could still be heard even at that distance. And did I mention he looked positively gorgeous? MR. "GQ" on the ice as well as off. I must say that I wondered if I would be disappointed when I finally got the chance to see him up close. I can say now that I was not. He looked even BETTER in person. And I say that unequivocally. |
