Sky And Ski -- Washington's Para-Skiers Hope To Get A Jump On The Competition In The Two-Sport Event

Parachuting into the tricky, swirling air currents in the high mountains to save someone in distress is one thing; willingly jumping from a helicopter toward a bull's-eye the size of a half-dollar is another.

But that's the difference between high-mountain rescue and para-skiing, the sport born of such rescue techniques in the 1950s.

In the 20 years since para-skiing made the jump from Europe to America, the Pacific Northwest has come to dominate the two-event sport, which counts about 40 serious U.S. competitors among its 125 enthusiasts.

``Everybody has this image of jumping out of a plane with skis on,'' said Jessie Farrington, who will be competing in the world championships next month in Switzerland. ``But that's wrong.''

Farrington, who lives in Kapowsin, south of Puyallup, is a four-year veteran of the U.S. Women's Para-Ski Team. She explains that para-skiers are devotees of two sports: sky diving and skiing. The first day of a competition, they don a 30-pound parachute to compete in accuracy jumping; the next day, they grab their ski gear and compete in a giant slalom - a downhill ski race through more than 30 gates.

Scores are determined by a formula that considers total distance from the bull's-eye after six jumps and total time for two trips down the slalom course.

Lori Wolk, 28, a member of the U.S. women's team, said she became a passionate skier about eight years ago. Then about four years ago, a friend pulled her into a jump plane for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of sky diving.

``I swore I'd only do it once,'' said Wolk, who lives in Snohomish. ``But I loved it.''

Joy Burtis, a Seattleite who's legendary in U.S. para-skiing circles, noticed Wolk's enthusiasm for jumping and learned she was a skiing fanatic as well. ``Have I got a sport for you,'' she told her.

Burtis talked Wolk into competing in a para-ski competition in Canada. Sky-diving from a helicopter toward an electronically sensitive pad positioned on a slope with a 20-degree tilt was one novel experience. So was the ski race.

``I had never raced before, until I went to my first meet,'' Wolk said.

She was hooked instantly - despite pre-jump butterflies and starting-gate jitters.

What's better than combining the two sports you like the best and getting good at it? asked Wolk, knowing the answer.

Most people who become avid para-skiers follow Wolk's path. They are interested in skiing in winter and sky diving in summer.

``Sky diving isn't for everybody,'' Wolk said. ``Skiing isn't too hard to learn with a bit of determination. Sky diving isn't hard, either, if you aren't horrified by the thought of jumping out of a plane.''

Wolk, Farrington and Bellevue's Kristin Stephan, who now teaches in Germany, fill three of the four spots on the U.S. Women's Para-Ski Team that will go to Wengen, Switzerland, next month. They will all compete in the U.S. championships next weekend in Park West, Utah. Like Wolk, Farrington, 41, was a skier first.

``I skied ever since I was 12 years old and started jumping when I was 16,'' said Farrington, a Puyallup native. ``It's much easier to turn a sky diver into a skier than a skier into a sky diver.''

Getting good at para-skiing takes time. Wolk tries to ski the coin-operated ski course at Crystal Mountain at least once a week, takes an annual racing clinic at Alpental, and spends Friday nights at Stevens Pass. Farrington said she skis at Crystal once a week.

Both try to spend weekends sky diving. They concentrate on jumping for accuracy and reading the winds, skills that take years - and plenty of money - to develop.

Wolk, who works as a display builder for a beverage distributor, said that once a skier or jumper makes the transition from renting equipment for learning to purchasing equipment for competitive performance, the dollars pile up faster than snow in a blizzard.

Parachuting gear can cost $3,000; jumps from low altitudes cost about $5 each; ski equipment and clothing can cost $1,000. And there are travel costs. Those who make the national team get no financial support from the U.S. Parachute Association, the governing body in Alexandria, Va.

Farrington enjoys an advantage similar to what world-class skiers Phil and Steve Mahre had growing up at White Pass. She operates Kapowsin Sky Sports with her husband, Geoff, which allows her to log a few jumps each day.

Last Saturday, after early-morning fog lifted to reveal a sparkling day, Farrington joined Wolk for a few dives from 3,500 feet.

The climb to that altitude takes about five minutes, the jump about three. Farrington, who has thousands of jumps to her credit, floats toward a pea-gravel jump pit. She aims her heel at the plate-size pad and lands with a hop no more jarring than a jump from a swing set, which some competitors use to practice pinpoint landings.

She misses her mark by 5 centimeters, a mere 2 inches. Wolk, who has made about 450 jumps, lands a bit harder, about a meter - 39 inches - from the pad.

``In the mountains, if you can put all six jumps on the electronic pad, you're doing quite well,'' said Farrington, who hopes to stroll into retirement next month with the world accuracy title.

Geoff Farrington, who was part of the U.S. men's team that won the accuracy title at the 1985 world championships in France, is leader of the U.S. national team. He has high hopes for the Americans.

``Individual-wise, we have a chance for medals,'' he said, citing Jessie's cool in competition and international experience and Wolk's willingness to work for the team.

As a team, the U.S. women may not be able to return home with the gold, as they did from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in 1987. But Geoff Farrington said the men's team, which includes Dave Forsyth of Prosser, is stocked with the best skiers the U.S. team has ever had.

Wolk says she's just glad she landed on the U.S. team. And while she acknowledges that competing at the world-class level may not be an economically realistic goal, she considers herself a lifelong para-skier.

``I doubt I'll give up those two sports; I'm too hooked on them.''