Taking talent to new heights

PARK CITY -- After being a gymnast for 10 years, Ogden's Zac Amidan decided he wanted to take his talent higher into the air.

Amidan is in his third season as a member of the U.S. Aerials Ski Team and likes the opportunity of competing with other world class athletes.

Aerials ski jumpers perform multiple flips and twist about 50 feet in the air off of large jumps then land on a steep hill below. The sport is judged based on takeoff, jump form, landing and degree of difficulty.

"It's awesome. It pushes me to the next level," Amidan said.

Amidan's biggest trick so far is a Full, Full, Full which involves three flips and three twists with 360 degrees of rotation.

As Amidan approaches a jump he tries to stay calm, keep everything down and focus on the takeoff.

"It's awesome being that high in the air," Amidan said. "Everyone thinks we are crazy, but we take so much work to get to that point."

Wrecking on the landing is just part of the sport and athletes must learn to deal with it. Amidan has had a knee reconstruction and knocked himself out on the water training ramp last summer after smacking his head on top of the jump.

"I was out for a while," he said. "That's a little hard to come back from, but you deal with it. Everyone has to go through it."

Despite the accidents that seem to be inherent with the sport Amidan believes aerials are a lot more controlled than people think.

"We see a lot of the ground flipping through the air. We actually see our landing," he said. "I think a lot of people think we're out there just hucking ourselves around, but it's actually pretty controlled."