PARK CITY, Utah — Skiing in the World Cup at Deer Valley is a dream come true for Kylie Kariotis, who grew up watching her brother and sister ski in the same competition.
“Looking back, she was my age now, but it was fun," she said. "I got to see her under the lights and ski, and I thought was the coolest thing ever, and it was like, one day, I hope I get to do that.”
“It's honestly like, the best feeling, just being surrounded by all the people that I love and getting to do what I love and being at home at Park City," said Davis.
August Davis is competing in her first world cup ever.
“I've also come here and watched the world cup out here and really like, look up to all the skiers that I'm skiing with, which is pretty surreal," she said.
The real challenge, according to Free Style Skiier Lulu Shaffer, is the mogul course at Deer Valley.
"Deer Valley’s mogul course is one of the most challenging of all World Cup courses because of the steepness and the length of the course," said Free Style Skiier Lulu Shaffer.
“When you stand at the top and look down, it's one of a kind," she said. "You don't really get that feeling anywhere else. It's kind of shocking, but it is super sick, and it's just like such a notorious course for being one of the hardest in the world.”
Deer Valley is expecting thousands of people to come to watch the mogul and aerial competitions at the Intermountain Health Freestyle International Ski World Cup.
“What makes this event so special is how accessible it is to the public," said Mikaela Wilson, Mogul Program Director for Park City Ski & Snowboard. "It's pretty exciting with finals under the lights. There's a crowd of almost 10,000 people that come up, especially Saturday for duels."
Nerves are high for the younger athletes, but they couldn’t be more excited to represent their home on the world stage.
