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Show 10 Towle Transcript, Tliurday, April 15, 19S2 ? . In Rush Valley Crack The Ice! If Water Skiing Season by CJiariie Robert are building a good water ski facility, "Water Ski Rush Valley. Sound like an attempt at humor printwhiih hangs in a West Yeled on a lowstone gift simp. Rut it's for real, folks. Never mind that it was only last week that snow plows were clearing six inches of snow off of city streets. Forget the fact that just a few days earlier you had to chip off a laser of windshield ice so you could safety find sour way to work. It is the water skiing season. And not only in the warm watens of Lake Powell and the ret reals of Arizona. When you speak in terms of hit it, slalom, and over the wake, the time is now and the place is St. John. However, liefore you start waxing skis that have lieen buried in the closet for six months, it will lie best to know that the only water skiing facility in all of Rush Valley (and Tooele County for that mate lake. ter) is a privately owned, It is kind of like the ncighliors swim pool. You are welcome to watch, but you will have to go elsewhere if you want to man-mad- have some real fun. Hie pond, which was constructed by a is located corporation of water-skieraland one mile west of the intersection where the Old Mormon Trail road meets state highway 36. And if you are thinking this is just an oversized swimming hole that a handful of Salt Lake fanatics put in overnight, you are mistaken. The lake is just a few hundred feet off the St. John road and is nestled between patches of sagebrush. It is nearly a half-mil- e long, about 300 feet wide and is anywhere from five to eight feet deep. Who in their right mind would build a lake for water skiing and why construct it on the floor of Rush Valley? The firm that built the lake is called SimTen. It is a Utah licensed company, and nine of the 10 owners live in Utah. The other is from Caldwell, Idaho. The families involved in the project enjoy water skiing, but they also take it very seriously. Most have several years of experience in regional competition. Take a tennis player like Bjom Borg, explained SunTen vice president Donn Hooker. He is not satisfied to practice and perfect his skills at local tennis s, Mr. Hooker said. Iz--e I huit, president of the corporal ion, said there are several good liodies of water where skiers from the Salt Lake area can enjoy the sport. Willard Bay, East Canyon, Pmeview Reservoir, are just a few. But the key element missing at these places is cant rolled environment. That in- cludes reducing the numlier of waves, turn around points, interference from other floats, and adequate room for jumps, Mr. Hunt explained. The Rush Valley luke is in the shape of a dog bone and it has two Islands at each end. "When a boat turns around it leaves a center wake in the circle, Mr. Hooker explained. The Islands have been carefully designed in shape, size and shoreline ratios to eliminate this wake." He said although the idea of a manmade lake used strictly for competitive water skiers is not a novel idea, the St. John lake is the first in the Intermountain area. There are almut 14 other lakes like this one, Mr. Hooker explained. California, Washington, Tennessee and Florida all have very similar facilities. But we are the first in the Rocky Mountain region. Mr. Hooker explained that members of the SunTen group toyed with the idea of a private lake for several years. But it wasn't until August of 1980 that the corporation was fomied and a serious search for a site began. It was only six months after the company owners rolled up their sleeves and that the deal got down to the nitty-gritt- y in St. John was finalized. Prior to construction we had extensive meteorological and geological studies completed to examine the feasibility of such an understaking, Mr. Hooker said. The ingredients at this site (Rush Valley) are nearly perfect. It is on a large, flat piece of property with almut six feet of clay at the surface. The lake has shown no signs of leaking, but the clay has eroded. To help alleviate this problem, large boulders have been hauled in and placed along the shoreline. The lake was dug last summer and water was pumped in into the reservoir almut five weeks ago. The company has clear rights on a well which provides the bulk of the water. The company, through its attorney Doug White, has also filed for surface rights. We have run into some conflicts with the people of St. John, Mr. Hooker said. But we feel that we can be good, compatible neighbors with the community. Many of the misconceptions are based on a lack of understanding exactly what we are doing out here. He said that SunTen has no plans to turn the lake into a resort area. We don't have a hidden master plan with a golf course and condominiums and we have no intentions of making a financial profit venture out of this. We simply want to have an ideal place to practice and enjoy our sport, he added. Security is also a concern to M r. Hooker and the rest of the SunTen owners. There are several reasons why the lake cannot be opened to the public," he said. The main one is insurance. Premiums would be exorbitant." He said that the lake will be used mainly on weekends, with the heaviest use during the three summer months. However, SunTen families will also be using the facility during some weekdays and will ski until it is iced over. Last Saturday (when the accompanying photos were taken) the water was a mere 41 degrees. Eventually we are going to raise fish in the pond, Mr. Hooker said. Many other e ski ponds have fish in them and aid in aeration of the pond. they We also plan to plant some trees this spring, which will add to the beauty and man-mad- even reduce the wind a little bit, f he t added. Hie SunTen group has plans for sponsoring two major tournaments this summer. And they may hold as many as four. Our big one is the Golden Spike Open, Mr. Hooker said. We are considering several amateur events where owners could participate. ,,A 9 1 f , i p ix, f i f ' .i Hang On, Baby Not just any water skier will brave icy waters to get back into condition for the upcoming season. But Steve Young will. Young is e one of ten owners of SunTen, the company that constructed a pond in St. John that will be used strictly by SunTen families for practice and tournaments. man-mad- non-SunT- courts. He iusists on good facilities to compliment his game. For this same reason we 4 m Look Ma, One Foot Smooth Cruising Flying High Steve Young flies off the dock as he enters the brisk waters of the lake. His suit helps ward off the 41 degree temperature of the Rush Valley water. & daughter of one of the SunTen owners, takes in a quick lake. session Saturday on the waters of the Jodie Short, man-mad- e Steve Young, secretary of SunTen, performs one of the numerous tricks that he has mastered on the Rush Valley water-sk- i pond. e I J |