The world around us is great, and even inveterate travelers will not have time to visit all the cities in their life, get to know the local life and make friends with their neighbors. We are much more limited by time than by money. But curiosity for the world is inherent in man from birth and is our most charming feature as a species. To satisfy this curiosity, Lenta.ru is launching a series of materials called Other Cities, in which readers talk about the places where they live. The first text came from Tatyana Loskutova from Salt Lake City, USA.

I have lived in Salt Lake City for over 16 years, my second husband was a Mormon from a Mormon family of Mormon pioneers (that is, those who came to the valley with Briham Young), all family members are active Mormons, go to church every Sunday , pay 10 percent of annual income, observe all the canons and customs bequeathed by Joseph Smith.

As an atheist, no one has ever forced me into the Mormon faith, but I never come out with criticism. They believe in this utopian rubbish, so be it, I don't care. They remind me of our communists in Soviet times: there were normal people, but there were rabid Bolsheviks, from whom there was no salvation anywhere. Only Mormons are extremely tolerant of other religions. Mormonism is a typical American church that has absorbed all the religions and philosophies that the inquisitive mind of J. Smith and his associates in writing Mormon books could reach in the first half of the 19th century. Such an American religious melting pot. According to the latest data, 52 percent of Mormons live in Utah, the remaining 48 percent are from other faiths.

As I was told, in Russia they know about Mormons mainly from the story of Conan Doyle and suspect that Mormon girls are still forcibly given in marriage. Not at all. They decide who they marry. Some only want Mormon boys, some don't care what denomination their loved one belongs to, some don't want to marry anyone at all. The Church officially banned polygamy at the end of the 19th century. Although secret polygamists still sometimes come to light in Salt Lake City and go to trial. Young people not only drink coffee and tea, but also smoke marijuana, and what can be stronger. Statistics say that we have the most high level the use of antidepressants in the country - 62 percent: that is, a cloud of people is simply inadequate around the clock.

The bulk of the Mormons are Republicans, Utah on the election map is always painted in red Republican color. I only know one Democrat Mormon (he is Mormon by birth). I don't know where they discuss politics, but definitely not at work. Probably in places reserved for such discussions or in families. Facebook posts from Democratic friends are much more aggressive than Republican posts. Democrats are probably more unhappy even with a Democratic president.

One of distinctive features Utah - large Mormon families. It is normal if there are four or more children in the family. The Church does not prohibit, but does not approve of abortion. The use of contraceptives is permitted. Mormon women give birth as many as they can and want to give birth. Local family cars are called "Mormon Suburbs" - they are big cars full of children and dogs, with a young pregnant mother behind the wheel.

I live in the most Mormon area, I often walk around the area and almost never see children playing in the street, everyone plays inside the yards. If I meet someone with children on the walking paths, then these are Indians or Chinese (of which there are only one or two around). Mormon animals also roam exclusively in backyards. Because, as they explained to me, "they understand that walking along the road is life-threatening." It's funny, because in the old center where they live different people, cats walk the streets!

Mormon churches are built every few blocks, each family is assigned to its own parish. On Sundays, the family attends church with their children. The parish churches have a huge parking lot because everyone comes by car. I have been to church several times, once all morning at the so-called service and a couple of times at the funeral, it was a long time ago. At 8 am, people arrive with their children and go to the "assembly hall", where there are rows of chairs in front of a normal stage, on the back wall of which there is an organ, and on the stage there is a piano or piano. There is a book of psalms in pockets on the backs of chairs, everyone takes a seat, a priest appointed from the flock (they are appointed or elected for a certain period of time, they are not paid anything for this work) greets everyone and calls the page of the psalm, everyone reads in unison and then sits down. Further, the agenda may be as follows: 1) the report of the missionary who returned home; 2) a report on an emergency in the parish; 3) anything, up to a small concert by the forces of one family. After that, people are taken to different large rooms: women - in the Women's Society, men, respectively, in the Men's Society. Girls and boys are also in different rooms.

At the Women's Society, when I visited in the winter of 1998, there were some discussions about knitting courses, salad recipes, and all sorts of other nonsense. Handed out salad recipes to everyone. Then we discussed how we can help lonely old people living in the parish to clear the snow. After that, they appointed who would report and on what topic on the following Sunday, and dispersed into classes of interest, where there were already both children and men. Interest classes were different: cooking, music, literature, and so on. As you can see, there were no sermons and prayers after reading the psalm at the beginning of the service.

Photo courtesy of Tatyana Loskutova

Children are taught to write reports and speak, and all Mormon children are excellent at this. They grow up to be good speakers.

All church work is absolutely free, no one receives money for it. The church, through the state bodies, regulates the number of liquor stores here. For example, in our town of 43,000 people, there is only one liquor store, which is located on a mountain where there are no schools or churches nearby.

Grocery stores sell only beer with a minimum alcohol content; on Sundays and public holidays the liquor store is closed, on other days it is open from 11 am to 10 pm. Although in neighboring states - Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming - you can buy drinks with a strength of up to 40 degrees around the clock in grocery stores. But in Arkansas, the law is generally dry, so our devil is not so terrible yet.

Mormons do not wear or cross themselves, nor do they have a cross on the pointed spiers of churches, because they believe in the resurrected, living Jesus Christ. They don’t have icons either, in churches there are portraits and statues of Joseph Smith, Briham Young and other “apostles”. In the houses you can see images of Christ with the inscriptions “Come to me” or “I will come to you”, which at first amused me a lot. My mother-in-law had one thing on the refrigerator, but on the contrary, on the wall, another, so I kept asking what to do? Wait for Christ to come himself or go to him?

Restrictions in Everyday life such: you can’t drink coffee, tea (but they drink all kinds of Pepsi and Coca in liters), smoke, drink alcohol, wine, beer, drugs (the latter can be prescribed by doctors), don’t swear, don’t watch porn, don’t have sex before marriage ( both girls and boys, but this also applies to widowed or divorced adults).

Photo courtesy of Tatyana Loskutova

The president of the church automatically has the title of prophet. This is the current prophet for the duration of his reign. The congregation unconditionally believes him. For example, if he says that all Mormons in Salt Lake City need to take children, animals, pack home belongings and move in a column to the mountains to escape an earthquake or some other misfortune, then everyone will pack up overnight and move. I asked many around me and even my husband, who has not been to church for many years, and they all answered that if the prophetic president said to go to the mountains, then they would go. Why? Because they'll be told, that's why. The same “because we were told” applies to the genealogical archives in every family, and to the fact that they all keep diaries, whether on paper or on Facebook, capturing important events in the life of each member of this family. Because they were told to do it. Because we were told. And do not question it. Everyone is obsessed with genealogy, endlessly collecting albums with photographs and documents, this is copied and distributed to adult family members for memory. This is very good, because I could not find the names of relatives beyond my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. Mormons know all relatives up to the 10th generation, and maybe even earlier!

Monday is considered a “family day”, in the evening everyone should be in the house, one of the parents or the eldest of the children read the Bible to the family.

Children are taught music, they sing wonderfully, constantly participate in competitions. Scouting programs operate through the church, and instructors work with children for free in their spare time. In the summer, children are taught to play softball from a young age, there are a lot of game parks with softball fields, schools are also surrounded by huge green fields for games and parking lots. Here children are loved and taken care of very much.

After leaving school, some (not all) parents send their children to missionary work in other states or other countries. If children go to other countries, then they take an intensive accelerated course in the language of this country at Briham Young University. The mission lasts two years, parents pay the lion's share of the costs, if not all 100 percent. Because of this, there are many people in the state who know foreign languages ​​and geography, at least the countries where they have been missionaries.

Photo courtesy of Tatyana Loskutova

Mormon women knit, sew blankets, gather at someone's house for a presentation of cosmetics, bags, crafts. In general, a rich "female" life. Of course, our state celebrates all federal national holidays, but the biggest parade in Utah is July 24, Pioneer Day. This is the day when the first detachments of the Mormon column with women and children, exhausted by many months of march from the east of the country, having lost many dead from diseases along the way, left Immigration Canyon for the Salt Lake Valley. And Briham Young, seeing the valley and the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, said, "Here we will build New Zion." Fireworks start a few days before July 24 and do not subside three days after. There are free concerts and movies in the parks this month.

Since Mormons don't drink alcohol, their parties and celebrations can seem boring. This is not entirely true. Their families are large, when they all get together, then with children and grandchildren there are more than 30 people (only one family, without cousins), and they have many common interests. In the summer, of course, they cook meat on the grill in the yard, guests bring salads and desserts with them. They agree in advance who will bring what. How are they having fun? Go to sports performances: football, basketball, baseball. They themselves play a lot of these games, there are summer teams (you have to pay for the use of the site) baseball, you can subscribe to only one season and play once a week. In the canyons we have rivers with trout, you can go fishing or just take meat for picnics where there are tables with benches and fire places and you can kindle a fire. In the mountains, many have summer houses with pieces of land around and a stream, Sundays are spent there. In such houses there is light, hot and cold water, bathrooms and toilets. You can live in them all the time, only in winter a lot of snow falls in the mountains and if the road is not cleaned, you can’t get out of there.

After the Olympic Games in Park City (ski resort) there are a lot of all kinds of sports githiks, which are now used in the summer for riding on the bobsleigh track, aerial cable cars and other entertainment.

And, of course, the Great Salt Lake and many artificial lakes throughout the state. Everyone goes there to ride boats or scooters, water skiing. Many have their own motor boats, boats, so that on weekends a string of trucks with attached boats stretches out of the city along the freeway in both directions. Some even travel to lakes in neighboring states. Golf, of course, but it's everywhere, so I won't write about it.

in winter skiing. We have about ten ski resorts on Wasach (part of the Rocky Mountains). In addition to skiing, you can ride sleds and boards. For local season tickets are sold at a discount.

Photo courtesy of Tatyana Loskutova

And, of course, in winter and summer, you can hit the road for three days either to Wendover (on the border with Nevada, about 2 hours by car) or to Las Vegas (about 5.5 hours by car) to stare at poker and other things . If you go to Wendover, you can generally turn around in one day. Gambling is prohibited in Utah, but you can always go to a neighboring state to sin. It’s not necessary that everyone goes to Las Vegas to the casinos, many famous bands and performers tour there, so you can go to a concert and at the same time spend 20 dollars on one-armed bandits. That’s how it should be, because in Vegas they give you a lot for free.

What's with the weapons? Twice a year, gun shows are held where they sell weapons (from pistols to machine guns, like Schwarzenegger in the Predator movie). Everyone has a weapon in the house, but no one flaunts it, it goes without saying. Just in case. As the clever Golda Meir said: "Israel does not have nuclear weapons, but if necessary, we will use them." If you want to practice shooting, you can go to shooting ranges specially equipped for this, not for free, of course. They say we have low unemployment and low crime. The crime rate depends on where you live. The east and southeast are the most prosperous areas, the west is less prosperous. There's a different demographic, Mexicans. The police in Salt Lake City are so easy to see on the streets. They patrol, of course, but somehow imperceptibly.

Last year, an incident happened in our town: some stray drug addicts drove by at 5 in the morning, stopped in the wrong place, and then a night police patrol. He stopped and asked if they needed help, he didn't even get out of the car. They shot him. I woke up at 7am to the sound of a police helicopter and sirens. They chased the police from everywhere, blocked all the roads, put up posts with machine guns and called on the phone, told everyone within a radius of three miles from the incident not to leave the house until they reported that the suspect was caught, and to report to the police immediately if a stranger appeared near the house . This happened more than a year ago, and the policeman is still remembered and always and everywhere they talk about him.

In older parishes, such as Mill Creek, where the population settled down in the 1950s, a Warning! We are watching this area ("Attention! We are watching this area"). This means that if a stranger appeared in this area who just walks the streets, then, be sure, some local aunt who saw him from the window of her house has already informed everyone who needs it. But the absence of a sign does not mean that Mormons in other areas do not report seeing strangers and cars on the street.

Public transport away from the center is very poorly developed, so that the population mostly drives their own cars. There are no pedestrians on the streets. Robberies take place in stores at gas stations and in shops, attacks take place in parking lots, but this is done by complete idiots and drug addicts, because absolutely everything is under the supervision of video cameras. In the evening they will show it on TV right there. If the police have not already found them, then after the show they often find them right away.

Here is a summary of local life and customs. This, of course, is not all, but I would like to stop here, otherwise it will be difficult to put an end to it.

Yeah. I type really fast :)

So, I had the happiness in the form of as many as 5 free days in a row. Levon came to pick me up in a car, and one of the most exciting adventures of my life began.

We are rushing along a perfectly smooth highway. Levon plays some music unknown to me, but which I really like. Ameno - Era (remix), as it turned out later.

Periodically, Levon includes a Turkish performer. As soon as the melody is replaced by a string part, Levon lets go of the steering wheel and starts slapping.

- Although I do not like the Turks for what they did to the Armenians, but I like this song!

Levon hardly speaks Russian, after all, he has not been in the USSR for 18 years. He speaks some phrases in English, but that suits me just fine. By the way, in subsequent years, he began to speak Russian without an accent - he flew to Russia several times, visited with me and his relatives - and on the very first flight he met a flight attendant from Aeroflot, whom he later married.

Stopped for a bite to eat. Levon talked a lot about the local bison, which at first were almost exterminated, and then the population was restored. And now there are so many bison that some of them are shamelessly allowed on hamburgers, a couple of which we built in this institution. Well, it was delicious.

Then we moved, and I rush on. It was already getting dark. At some gas station, Levon reached out to get something out of the trunk. and I saw a scattering of disks there, which he took with him. Discs with Russian performers - as Levon said, they are sent to him by his relatives from Los Angeles. Attention was drawn to the disc Ta-Tu. I myself did not listen to them in those years, but I knew what they were high places on the local charts. I suggested to Levon to listen...

Levon loves the sky and airplanes very much. In the US, he spent a lot of money and became the owner of a private pilot's license. Now he is gaining hours and preparing to take the CPL exam. He tells me how he was trained, where he managed to fly, and how it generally happens in the USA. In his attitude towards me, there is undisguised respect as a line pilot, however, this gives me some discomfort, because. I feel that I can learn a lot from such an American private trader.

And I, for my part, tell him about work in Russia, about flights on the Tu-154. He is very interested - for him this plane is a legend, and all its pilots are almost Chkalovs. I try to dissuade him of this, convincing him that we are all quite ordinary people.

We moved and I started to doze... I fall asleep to "Thirty minutes" and wake up to them. Levon liked this track so much that he listened to it an infinite number of times in a row.

We are crossing the mountains... It is already dark and the road is almost deserted. TATU is practicing English, the engine is purring, the car is carrying me into the exciting unknown.

The feeling of unreality does not leave me.

And here we are. 9 hours behind! I have never been in a car for so long. I meet Levon's parents, I am located in the room allocated to me. Shower. Sleep! Levon told me something that tomorrow we'll take a plane and fly to Las Vegas, but I still can't believe that it could be serious...

I wake up. Levon went somewhere on business, I communicate with his mother. She tells what a good guy Levon is, how he is fond of aviation, and how she worries about it.

Levon returns and we go to the airport. However, the trip to Las Vegas was no joke.

We stopped on the way in a rent-a-car. While Levon was doing something there, I walked around and stared. Every meter was interesting, despite the fact that I had already spent three weeks in the States - after all, before that I managed to get abroad only once, at the age of 14 - when I studied English for a couple of weeks in the English city of Hastings.

And here we are at the airport. I am terribly interested in how it happens in the USA, and I enjoy every moment. First, we went up to either the local flight director, or the shift head of the flying club, of which Levon was a member. We found out that there is a free plane, however, not quite the one that Levon was counting on - he wanted a Piper Warrior, but there was a Piper Archer with a less powerful engine. We had to fly through the mountains and would like to have a little more power.

But I didn't have to choose. Levon took the "keys to the plane" and we went to get ready. More precisely, Levon was preparing, but I was watching.

Arriving on the plane, Levon drained the sludge of gasoline for a long time, now and then swearing at the presence of impurities. I began to doubt - is it worth starting such a risky event? But the next test showed a clean result, Levon did a test run and an engine race - everything was OK.

Well, we did some more business and hit the road.

After the flight, I was simply killed by admiration for the views that opened in the sky - we flew to the mountains covered with snow. They looked great in blue! For some reason, I did not find a single photo - probably, I just did not find the moment to break away from the beauties.

Initially, we planned to land at an airfield closer to Las Vegas for refueling. However, after flying 135 miles, it turned out that there was already less than half of the fuel in the tanks. You have to make a decision - to fly further to the airfield indicated in the flightplan, risking being left without fuel, or to land somewhere for refueling. After consulting, we chose the second.

All this time I was piloting, and Levon controlled the flight on the map. Directly below us was an airfield with an artificial runway and even a working meteorological channel (which is rare for airfields general purpose). They transmitted a headwind of 14-28 knots. We were shaken, but Levon did not take control from the "linear pilot". Heh! If only he knew how the "linear pilot" was then mentally afraid of "screwing up"! I have never flown on such small planes in my life, but here even for a large liner there are quite conditions! Moreover, it was an exclusively visual approach - having made several downward spirals, I lost extra height and went straight ... "Hood-horizon, hood-horizon!" The plane is bobbing in the roughness of the atmosphere... The runway is approaching... we seem to be hitting it. But to fly to the runway for the pilot, even for "linear, no experience on Pipers"- It's not a problem. The problem is landing! And the speed is different, and the reactions to rudder deviations are different, the pitches are different, and, most importantly, the height of the eyes above the strip during alignment is much lower! Well this is a small Piper, not a big Tu-154!

Well, will it work? And my legs are trembling!

However, we were on the strip, and not bad enough! And I really felt a sense of joy and pride, like after the first solo flight!

The wind was so strong that when, having taxied to the parking lot, I tried to open the door, it was pulled out of my hands and only miraculously did not break anything. Glory to the American engineer for strong loops! I had to turn the plane into the wind.

Yes, yes, just like that - they flew, sat down, refueled. And they flew on. And the cost of landing is ZERO. Only gasoline.

This is America. We probably won't live to see this here.

In the air, we tried to submit a new flight plan to Las Vegas, but could not communicate. Well, we continued our flight to our original chosen airfield, which was an hour's flight from Las Vegas.

There was no one at this airport. Levon voiced all our actions on the air, and by pressing the transmitter, he turned on the lighting of the strip. We landed...

Empty... Silence. The air is immovable. On a fairly spacious site there is some kind of aircraft, not at all modern in appearance. So it seems that soon we will hear an incomprehensible rustle and langoliers will appear.

We went into the house. There is nobody there. Hanging sign - "if you need gasoline, call me, I'll come". And a phone number.

There is a refrigerator on the wall. And a plate with the inscription - "all drinks one dollar". And dollars in a bowl. Drinks are in refrigerators.

In the same way - there is a table with different chocolates. And a plate: "All Chocolates One Dollar". And dollars in a bowl.

We took a drink and a chocolate bar and put down a dollar each.

Levon got through to the right place. It turned out that it is very windy in Las Vegas right now, there is a wind shear, so we were advised to wait for the night and fly in. "What an adventure!", I thought. During the day we flew visually, and now we will also fly at night - how will this happen? I see that Levon is also somewhat tense.

But it's easier for him, he thinks he's flying with him "airline pilot", and how do I feel? This "airline pilot" has never flown like this in Russia!! :) Well, let's see, come what may.

In the meantime, there was nothing to do, so we decided to fly in circles around this airfield. One flight is Levon, the other is me. And so they flew until evening came. Then they gained altitude and flew.

Everything turned out to be much easier than I thought. First, the night was clear and the visual cues were clearly visible. Secondly, there are so many VOR / DME beacons crammed there that you have to be completely incompetent to get lost on the route. We weren't like that. And thirdly, on approaching Las Vegas, the dispatcher took control of us, providing vectoring to the northern airfield (North Las-Vegas).

True, when he stopped the service, leaving us over the city, it became "a little" uncomfortable. Night, a huge city, we somehow relaxed while the dispatcher set the courses ... And suddenly he abruptly said goodbye. There are a million lights around, and which airport is it unclear? I gave control to Levon, took the map, found the VOR/DME, set it up, aligned the arrows, getting a radial. Oops, so that's where we are... And here's the airport! Almost below us!

However, we had a hard time finding parking. It took a local worker to do this - we flew in on a Friday and the parking lots were filled with a variety of private jets. Las Vegas is the capital of gambling and entertainment, so it is very crowded here on the weekend.

Museum at the airport

After unsuccessfully waiting for a taxi for more than an hour, we got together and pochapali in the nearest hotel-casino. There were much more chances to catch a taxi on Friday. The first thing that impressed me when I left the terminal building was the huge cacti, two or more human heights high!

We got to the nearest hotel. We feel very tired. We need to get to the Rio hotel, where Levon's comrade, also an Armenian who won two million dollars in the lottery and therefore does not work anywhere, received a free number for this weekend as a gift from the casino owners. Life is in full swing all around, huge tinted limousines drive up, but the line still does not reach us.

However, an hour later we still waited - and a huge black limousine was taking us to Rio. Around the night, nothing is visible. I enter the hotel and realize that I am in a real Hollywood casino. Everything is so bright, colorful, everyone walks satisfied and happy - and everything seems so unreal ...

Levon keeps wanting to show me the local beauties. Even before the flight, he said: "Here, I'm taking you to Las Vegas, look at our girls." And now, he pushes me in one direction, then in the other: "look, what!". I say: "Levon, you know, in Russia to see beautiful girls You don't have to fly to Las Vegas. It’s enough to go outside. " Levon laughs, he liked my answer. Well, he is very truthful - in the USA girls are not very confused by how he looks. I saw a lot of amusing couples - a guy walks quite well, slender, hugs incomprehensible forms and the size of a girl ... and at the same time both look insanely happy!

Finally, we settled in ... Wow! A room the size of a good Soviet three-ruble note, with only one partition wall. And a huge wall-to-wall window. I walked up to the glass and clung to it, looking down from the 36th floor at the lights of Las Vegas... "Is all this happening to me?"

We had a quick bite and Levon dragged me to show me the night Las Vegas. Memories remained in my head like a kaleidoscope. We moved from one casino to another, went out into the street, talked about something with the locals ... Each hotel starts with a casino, and each looks purely individual. On the street, nimble African Americans shoved booklets with prostitutes into their hands, in fact, they stood at every intersection. Smartly dressed, smiling - and if Levon had not told me about their occupation, I would not have understood myself.

I completely lost track of time. We walked from Caesar Palace to the Pyramid (the next day I appreciated this trip, repeating it in the afternoon) Finally, and forever energetic Levon got tired and we took a taxi and returned to the room.

In the morning I woke up before everyone else. Levon and his friend buzzed a little more when I was already asleep. Therefore, I did not wait for them, pushed Levon, saying that I would go to see the city. He muttered something and immediately fell asleep further.

Well, let's go.

Hotel Rio is located off the main avenue. So I had to walk a kilometer to get on it.

The Eiffel Tower. Also the hotel-casino Paris.

Going out onto the central avenue, I began my inspection from Ceaser's Palace. An enchantingly beautiful hotel, with wonderful architecture. While I was clicking it, an African American in white clothes, spinning nearby, diligently did not fall into my lens. I decided not to annoy him.

And he stopped, struck by the unprecedented beauty of the spectacle and the power of sound - a singing fountain in the "lake" near the Bellagio hotel!

For some reason, I didn't take a photo of this event. Probably because it was on video.

I walk along the avenue, with wide eyes, closing my mouth hard - and not because I wanted to sleep. But the views were too impressive. An indescribable variety of architecture, colors, shapes. Music is playing, people are happy...

And very hot. Very, very hot. After all, Nevada is a desert. I got burned on yesterday's flight right hand- my right side turned out to be sunny, and this gave me some discomfort.

Cooling zone

american beauties

After taking this photo, my camera battery died. I shot a lot on video, but it is on cassettes. It's lying around somewhere, I don't even know if it's playable.

By the way, in Google Earth you can very well repeat my journey. In Las Vegas, all the buildings are made in sufficient detail and a lot of different photos.

Having reached the Pyramid on foot, almost to the Las Vegas Int airport, I turned back.

Returning to the hotel, I found Levon cheerful and in good health. At night, he sowed a phone somewhere, so we loaded ourselves into a taxi and drove to the nearest Verizone office to restore the number.

When we returned, we decided to take a dip. Fortunately, the hotel had a chic pool, and the air temperature hinted at this necessity.

So the day passed.

The next morning we set off on our return trip. Unfortunately, my camera did not work, I did not change the batteries, deciding that the video would be more valuable. So it is so, but where can you look at it now? ..

We made this flight with one landing - at the very airfield that turned up so well for us for the first time. We went to Salt Lake already in the evening, from the side of the mountains ... An indescribable sight! Class!

I hope to revive my videos someday. I even roughly know where the cassettes are lying around.

Thank you Piper Archer! I fell in love with this little plane.

After spending the night, Levon decided to continue our air travel. This time we got a more powerful Piper Warrior. We flew across the Salt Lake to one of the airfields, an hour's flight. There we just flew in circles, a little indulged in passing the runway at a height of 2 meters with acceleration and a subsequent sharp climb.

Levon claims that this plane (in the background) was used in the movie Con Air with Nicolas Cage.

Levon chose this airfield, because. his friend lived there - a former line pilot, and now just an aviation lover, the owner of just such flying "toys". Levon once flew with him on a MiG, and still admires those feelings.

Do we have many aviation pensioners who own military fighters?

Having flown at our pleasure, we went back. We circled over the Salt Lake, enjoying the views. In the background are the mountains that I so admired above.

We came in for a landing and sat down in parallel with a large Boeing, which was entering the left lane. In Russia, we would not be allowed to do that.

After landing, without stopping home, Levon took me to the mountains - to show the diversity of local nature. What can I say? I wish I lived in Salt Lake City!

And in the evening, Levon's family arranged a banquet! We had a very good time, tasting Armenian kebab (only then did I discover Armenian lavash) and cognac. Of course, Armenian.

The next day, we said goodbye to Levon at the airport - on a Frontier flight, I flew to Denver. Seeing how suspicious guys say goodbye for a long time, an emotionless security guard said to me: "You have been selected for further inspection. Please come with us.". And for about fifteen minutes they examined me from all sides, twice shifting my simple belongings in a bag.

So finding nothing, they wished me a pleasant flight. At this time, I heard my last name - the airline was looking for a lost passenger. But I was already approaching the gate, I smiled at the girl on it: "Your guys in uniform liked me so much that they didn't want to leave" she laughed. And here I am on the plane.

As always, I am waiting with interest - what will my foreign colleagues surprise me this time? They didn't keep themselves waiting long.

The conductors came out and stood around the cabin. Not at all young - aerograndmothers by aviation standards, all over 40. If not more. But everyone is very neat and tidy. And all with a smile. They stand, they wait.

The flight was fast, it's not 9 hours in the mountains by car. There was a very strong turbulence at the approach, which the pilot warned about several times during a short flight. And here we are in Denver.

What else struck me about America was the accessibility of sports. The Americans themselves are worn on roller skates and bicycles, as if scalded. They run along the paths, just manage to dodge. Various sport facilities are scattered around, but I found what interested me the most - a tennis club.

Lots of first class courts, with rent... $5 an hour. Mom dear! In Russia, for such a price, you will only be allowed to stand at the entrance, and even then not everywhere.

And this is sunset near my hotel.

Actually, this is what she is. Nicely.

Even before flying to Vegas, having bought a camera, the first thing I tried it on was a nearby stream. The quality compared to the previous model of the indistinct Chinese author was simply remarkable.

What else impressed me during the very first days of my stay was the availability of barbecue places right in the city

Nearby there was a Russian store with products from Russia and Galkin. True, I really did not like the dumplings.

Our training was coming to an end. Five days of the weekend ended, we were left with a couple of sessions and a check-ride - the final exam.

After an enchanting trip to Las Vegas, having already been in the USA for a month, Mikhalych and I unexpectedly admitted to each other that being in the states was starting to get a little boring. Yes, everything is great here and everything is cool, and it is necessary to live here ... But it is pulling us back, and every day it is getting stronger. Perhaps this is the “love for birches” glorified in prose? Don't know. But I felt it.

Having successfully passed the final two sessions (and received a flick on the forehead from the instructor for smugness and overconfidence), we came to the check-ride. However, it was postponed a couple of times for some reason.

Finally, X-day has come. We were worried - because. there have already been precedents when the crews did not pass the check-ride and they were given additional sessions. We, on the other hand, felt a strong pull "home", and we really did not want to linger.

But we got it right the first time.

And so, the training is over. Certificates in hand. Alexander Mikhailovich organized a mini-banquet on this occasion - we tried a microwave as a grill for a purchased chicken, and I must say, we succeeded.

Having already halved well, I don’t remember what, Mikhalych opened up. To be honest, I didn't think he'd ever be able to confess. But his words were very sweet:

Dennis, I want to thank you very much. You helped me a lot, and at least 80% of my retraining is your merit.

Wow, I didn't even know what to say at first. Our relationship was not so trusting, I would even say strained, so these words confused me very much. But I got out:

All right, Alexander Mikhalych. If so, let's agree - 80% of your salary will be mine. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. And thank you very much!

We flew back the same way, through Washington. Upon departure from Denver, the party sending us fussed and we ended up in business class. We flew on the B777 United. What can I say? Very comfortably. We were even fed sandwiches.

But I didn't manage to get promoted in Washington on the flight to Frankfurt. The employees motivated this by the fact that I was wearing jeans ... Therefore, it is not allowed. I was very surprised, especially against the background of those passengers in shorts who were landing in the business corridor. However, as they told me, these guys bought a ticket. And for those in jeans, the upgrade is not allowed.

So, we didn’t even fly in economy +, as on a flight from Frankfurt, but in the closest economy. 8 hours in a crooked position with poorly reclining (as in all foreign cars) seats, right behind the engines - I'll tell you this, it's not at all comfortable moving through the air.

Yes, and fed again badly. Some kind of plastic pasta, I did not understand what kind of dish. However, no one around complained. I had to finish my meal - 8 hours without food, plus a transplant after all.

We flew to Frankfurt and waited for our plane to arrive. And business class Tu-154 with its most comfortable seats, low level The noise seemed like a paradise.. And when our girls brought a menu of the usual three courses, we simply melted away in bliss.

All. We're home!

A few days later, the first two B737-500s arrived. And on June 24, 2005, I flew off the airfield training, together with Alexander Mikhailovich and two other crews. It was very interesting. Night flying in circles, simulated engine failure, approach with go-around, landing with 15 flaps on "one" engine...

Before airfield training.

Feeling the plane in the sky, I realized that I was wrong - some two months ago I looked at the B737 as an ugly duckling ... And he turned out to be a very friendly friend. Bobik. He penetrated my heart, 8 years have passed since the moment of retraining - and my feelings for him do not fade away.

Thank you for your attention! See you!

The Olympic Games in Pyeongchang will be the fifth in the career of SKA striker and the Russian national team Ilya Kovalchuk. For game types sport is an outstanding achievement. In history, only ten players have played five or more Olympic Games. Among them - Jaromir Jagr, Teemu Selanne, Jere Lehtinen, and one ice hockey player, Hayley Wickenheiser. Before the Games, which will become historic for Kovalchuk, Team Russia recalls how the four previous top tournaments turned out for the striker.

Salt Lake City 2002

6 games, 1 puck + 2 assists, utility score: -1

Status before the Olympics

Home hope Russian hockey. In June 2001, Kovalchuk became the first Russian in history to be selected with the first number in the NHL Draft, and that says it all. Atlanta, who chose him, only made its debut in the league two years earlier, and in the first season with Kovalchuk won only 19 victories. However, this was not his fault - behind the backs of Kovalchuk and Dani Heatley, who played in the same trio, there was no one but players from the lower overseas leagues, less promising youth and crappy checkers. Kovalchuk scored 29 goals in his first season and could have become the best rookie of the year if he had not suffered a back injury after the Olympics - the prize went to a friend of Heatley, who did not miss a single game.

During the Games

Many were surprised that Vyacheslav Fetisov took the "green" Kovalchuk and Datsyuk to those Games. But it made sense: if guys are rocking the NHL, why look at their age? In that team, 18-year-old Kovalchuk was next to 42-year-old Igor Larionov. In Salt Lake City, the forwards of the Russian national team as a whole showed themselves not in the best way, coming off only on the Belarusians, but there were no complaints against Kovalchuk. The third link of the Samsonov team - Fedorov - Kovalchuk was one of the best in the team, and the young Ilya really created chances - just not lucky.

Quote

Dad has been keeping a special diary since the first day he put me on skates. I was then four and a half years old. And in the first entry were my height, weight, as well as the words: "Our goal is the Olympic Games."

Ilya Kovalchuk, forward of the Russian national team

Turin 2006

8 games, 4 goals + 1 assist, utility score: +3

Status before the Olympics

Young superstar. In 2004, Kovalchuk shared the Maurice Richard Trophy with two more players who scored 41 goals. And in the Olympic season, he showed his best result in his career - 98 points, but Atlanta still did not reach the playoffs.

During the Games

A month before the 2005 World Cup, Kovalchuk said that he would not go to the tournament if Zinetula Bilyaletdinov remained the head coach of the national team: the striker and the coach had not yet agreed in the Ak Bars lockout. That interview was one of the reasons for the appointment of Vladimir Krikunov to the national team. Games that seemed promising after the historic "cracker" with Canada in the quarter-finals did not end too beautifully. Kovalchuk played in a trio with Kovalev and Datsyuk, but scored all four goals in one match - against Latvia. One of best snipers The NHL did not understand where he was, and after the Games, experts suggested that he no longer be put on a link with Datsyuk. True, they hardly remembered their words later.

Quote

Two four-minute removal of Kovalchuk and Kasparaitis at the end of the third period of the semi-finals with the Finns - signs of impotence?

It was pure hooliganism.

Vladimir Krikunov, Main coach Russian team:

Vancouver 2010

4 games, 1 puck + 2 assists, utility score: +1

Status before the Olympics

Hero of the nation. The rule that the last one, given by the screenwriters to Stirlitz, is always remembered, can also be applied in hockey. After the words “Kovalchuk” and “team”, almost everyone remembers the World Cup in Quebec, but only historians who like to rustle with protocols remember that before the final, Kovalchuk held a frankly weak tournament for himself. But in 2009, Kovalchuk, together with Bryzgalov, dragged a KHL players team for yourself. Kovalchuk played 30 minutes in the final and became the most valuable player of the tournament.

In Atlanta, Kovalchuk had become the captain by that time, but further stay in the team did not make any sense - the club was killed by mediocre management and disagreements between the owners. It was not possible to sign a new contract - and on the deadline, Kovalchuk was traded to New Jersey for three players, of which only one played at the NHL level. The exchange took place on February 4, a few days before the start of the Olympic Games.

During the Games

It's better not to remember. The only flash of the Russian team at those Games was the match with the Czech Republic, which was pulled out by a trio with Ovechkin and Malkin. Kovalchuk started the tournament on a line with Malkin and Afinogenov, but after the defeat from the Slovaks, Vyacheslav Bykov rearranged the two centers. Troika Kovalchuk - Datsyuk - Afinogenov - the only link that finished the catastrophic quarter-final with a positive indicator of usefulness. There was no shame for them then.

Quote

It's not even about reconfiguring, we played with the Canadians before. We made a lot of mistakes in the beginning of the game. It's a shame, but there's nothing you can do about it now.

Ilya Kovalchuk, forward of the Russian national team:

Sochi 2014

5 matches, 3 goals, utility score: +3

Status before the Olympics

The main star of the KHL. During the lockout of the 2012/13 season, Kovalchuk came to play for SKA. New Jersey reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012 on the shoulders of age leaders and guys who had gone into free agency. Kovalchuk ended his career in the NHL, oddly enough, to the mutual benefit of both sides: the Devils gladly began the restructuring, decently offloading the payroll.

SKA before that season was traditionally powerfully completed and did it in the NHL market. Kovalchuk received a captain's patch from the first game in St. Petersburg and played most often on the line with Shipachev and Tikhonov / Ketov. Then Kovalchuk entered the top 15 scorers in the league, but it was not quite what was expected of him. He began to break the league a little later.

I'm downtown in front of the city hall .
Hello Olga. I am writing to you from the snowy Salt Lake. Strangely enough, summer continued until the day before yesterday and the air temperature was up to plus 30 Celsius, and yesterday winter came. With snow and cold. I have been reading your blog for a long time, but I never dared to write. I read your magazine, firstly, because it's interesting, and secondly, because it's interesting to watch the success of a fellow countryman (hello to Irkutsk :)). Many girls write to your magazine sometimes just to talk about the place where they live. So I decided to write a little in my impressions of the city of Salt Lake.

So. "Salt Lake City is a city I will miss" I once told my husband. By American standards, Salt Lake is a small town. It was founded by Mormon pioneers in the middle of the 19th century and was immediately built according to a single plan, which now makes it very convenient to navigate the streets. The temple is considered to be the starting point, and streets go from it - to all directions of the world. If we represent this as a coordinate system, it will be: the southeastern part of the city, southwestern, northwestern and northeastern. The best place to live in Salt Lake is on the east side. As they say here - location. Because the eastern side is mostly mountain slopes, and the western side is mostly valley. But on the east side is both the university and good schools, and clean areas. Although it is wrong to say that clean areas are only in the east. They, in principle, are clean everywhere, but cleaner in the east :).

Maybe someone is curious: how is life among Mormons there? And is it true that they have many wives, and that they do not smoke or drink. Firstly, there is an unspoken rule here: if you are not a Mormon, do not say the word Mormon :). Helps to avoid unnecessary conflicts. By the way, they call themselves LDS. So they say: "I am LDS." Although, perhaps, these are only those that I have met. And my social circle now is 80 percent of LDS :-). They don't smoke or drink - no tea, no coffee, nothing strong. In Utah, you can’t generally buy anything stronger than 3.2% alcohol in a regular store, and usually it’s a beer that gives you a headache in the morning, even if you drank very little. They make it specifically for Utah.

I remember our surprise when in a grocery store in California the first thing we saw was huge rows of a gallon (about three liters) of Smirnoff vodka or some other. And when we crossed the border between Utah and Nevada, and billboards began to appear on the road with advertisements for casinos, cigarettes, alcohol and not quite dressed girls, it seemed that we were in another world. And, the strangest thing, non-alcoholic Utah seemed to us the best of all this disgrace. But we are not yet 25 years old (he is 24, I am 22). It seems that they should accept all these joys of life. But when they're so open... it gets vulgar... My husband once said to me: “When I arrived here, I did not understand many of their laws and rules, everything seemed alien and strange to me, now I even began to like it, and it scares me”. We do not go to church or to any religious organizations. We do not talk to anyone about religion and related issues, but we have begun to look at many things differently. And I can no longer say what is NOT right.

Yes, and the issue of polygamy among the Mormons. It's strange, but all this pops up, mostly either in Arizona or in Colorado, but in Utah itself, if there are such cases, they are not talked about. According to my observations, if they were polygamists and had many wives, then why did they build such small houses?

This is deserted Salt Lake on Sunday (on Sunday all Mormons go to church,
and the city becomes completely empty, which gives it something from the stories of Stephen King :)

We live in the old part of the city, where all the houses are 90-100 years old. They are all brick and in fairly good condition, we even thought about buying a house here, but after looking at several houses, we abandoned this idea. All houses in the area are two bedroom and one bath. True, the houses are brick, but as I heard from the reviews of their other states, the houses there are plywood everywhere. So, although the house is brick, it is very cramped. True, there is a large basement (which is also found only in a few states), but this will not save the situation. Of course, new large houses are being built on the outskirts, but in general, in the east, the houses are not so big, so where to keep 20 wives there ... is still a mystery to me. Probably, on farms or in small towns this is the case, but I can’t say anything about Salt Lake specifically. Did not see. None of my friends LDS - either. True, they have many children. Four at least.

By the way, houses in Salt Lake are expensive, on some site I looked at a price comparison and the average price of a house in Salt Lake was higher than in Miami. Many people move here from California. By the way, do you know that the famous Ebay is from here? Their office is located here, as well as the head offices of many other well-known companies. The Marroit Hotel is owned by the church, and they are also shareholders of Coca-Cola (someone told me that they have a controlling stake, but why would they need Coke if they don't drink it anyway?). Now, a lot of people here are from California, so - almost one in four cars - with California plates.

About public transport. Unlike other states, it is here. And not even one bus, but a well-developed network. They run from 6 am to 12 am, although you need to know the schedule for night flights. Many people do this: they go to the tram station in their car, leave it there for a day in the parking lot. And they themselves go by tram (or bus) to the center or wherever they need to go there. Sounds weird, right? But parking at the tram station is free, trains run every five minutes, clean and convenient, and parking in the center ... After a couple of penalty tickets, we also began to use the tram (this is the name of public transport). Sometimes it's funny: a well-groomed lady drives up in a brand new Mercedes, puts it in the parking lot and goes to the tram. Probably, this is how she saved on a Mercedes :), getting to the city by tram :).

Many people think that Salt Lake is a desert. Actually, it is. According to legend, when the leader of the pioneers came to these parts and said that there would be a city here, the leader of the “mountain people” (local Indians) told him: "I'll give you a thousand dollars if you grow just one ear of corn here". That is, the local Indians lived mainly in the mountains, and, as such, did not descend into the valley, considering it not a particularly suitable place to live. I don't know if the Yangs got their thousand on that money or not, they grow corn here, just like everything else.

The road to the Big Cottonwood canyon, where the ski
resorts, apparently, already next weekend it will be possible to go skiing
skiing: it has been snowing for the third day, yesterday was not Halloween, but Christmas :))

If you drive along Highway 15 to Las Vegas, you can see a lot of farms, which is somehow not quite drawn to the desert. But this is a desert. And the high desert. The height here is from 1500 meters and above. In the mountains (they are called Vasatch) there is such a lake - Mirror. So the Indians called it, because it is like a mirror. It is located at an altitude of 10,000 feet (I don't know how many meters it is). And there is such a height that almost nothing grows. Even the mountain is called so - Bald. Lower, of course, there is a coniferous forest and other lakes, but this is kind of one of the highest, and besides this Bald Mountain, there is also a canyon, which looks quite surreal when you know how high you are, that even planes fly close enough.

About the Salt Lake itself. Although many people believe that Salt Lake stands on its shores, this is not so. No one lives on the shores themselves, and there is nothing there. There is, however, the building of an old casino built in the style of oriental palaces, but it is half-abandoned and does not function, it is shown to tourists, but the building is rather gloomy and resembles something from the X files. They don’t swim in the lake, there are no ships, there is nothing there. There is Antelope Island there. To put it mildly, it smells very good if you are near the shore. If you climb higher, then you can even breathe the air (although, probably, in order to avoid the smell, you need to go there in the spring). But there are bison there. Real bison, which, according to the texts in my Soviet textbook, died out long ago along with the Indians. I can assure you: both of them are alive.

The Indians are everywhere here, especially when their national festivals are held, you can see different clans, and I even already distinguish: where are the Navajos, and where are the Utes, and where are the others. Some Russians told me that Indians and Mexicans are the same person. But in my opinion, it's the same if we say that Koreans and Japanese are twins. By the way, I have a friend SungMi, she is Korean, and I even understand her English, which I consider a great success for myself, because if you learn to understand an Asian accent, you will understand other accents :).

But back to Antelope Island. There is a farm there that raised sheep until 1952, and then they were all killed because their diseases killed the bison, and since the bison is more important, they left them. But it's the first farm in the states to use electricity to shear sheep, as your farm guide will proudly tell you. You can also ride horses there. If you are a fan of westerns, then this is an enjoyable entertainment of the wild west.

If you drive along Highway 80 east from Reno, then on the way to Salt Lake there will be such a city - Wendover. Imagine a city on the seashore, in the distance - bizarre rocks, on the other side you can see mountains. Represented? And now everything is the same, only the sea without water. This is what Wendover is. A city near Montero Bay where there is no water. It was as if someone had drained all the water and left the bottom, the sand kept the breath of the waves, the coastal rocks captured the water level, but there is no water, and probably last time it was there thousands or millions of years ago. But it looks beautiful. Like eternity. By the way, the same thing happens in Salt Lake. Only this empty bottom was inhabited by people. But scientists find fish bones in the mountains, and if you walk along one of the hiking trails in the mountains, you can clearly see all the changes in the geological structure on the cliffs...

One of my favorite buildings in Salt Lake is the public library. It's brand new, just opened this year, it's a chic building almost entirely made of glass, we do our homework there and just hang out. You can bring your laptop there and work in peace (free internet connection). Books are available in all languages. There is a huge section in Russian. There are Russian newspapers, and magazines, and all of Akunin, and newfangled Russian writers. But I, to my shame, have not read a single book in Russian from that splendor, everything is in English.

Well, that's about all. Although I could write so much more, I myself know that reading long letters is tiring.

I would also like to answer Marina Kalland from London to her questions, although she specifically asked you, Olga.
Marina's first question: "Why are our women so eager to go abroad?"
I say to myself - I love to travel, new cities and new countries, new people. I have been to many countries, but specifically I could live in a few.
2. "Is it easy to adapt?"
Mine - yes. (Well, I’ll write now and it will begin - adaptation :). I know the language, I watch local news, I communicate with people, I study, I travel, I have no time to be bored or think about the past. I don’t go to someone else’s monastery with my charter, but I also don’t take on faith everything that they try to inspire me.
3. “Don't you think that our women look down on foreign women a little? Why?".
Hm. If you take what they write on the Internet, you get the impression. And if we take offline life, then with the Russian ladies (I don’t like the word woman :), with whom I communicate here, somehow they didn’t really raise this issue. My acquaintances treat them (foreigners) in the same way as they would in their own country.
4. “Is it difficult for our women to find points of understanding both with foreign husbands and with, in fact, residents of the “host” countries?” People are the same everywhere. And everywhere they have the same problems - family, work, children, money, rest. Therefore, if you don’t shout (and don’t think) like Zadornov that everyone is stupid, and the inhabitants of a particular country are smart, then you can get along.
5. “Can foreigners understand our Russian soul? Why?"
Can the Russians themselves understand their own soul? This is a myth that often covers up ignorance of the language (or insufficient knowledge) and culture of a particular country. It's easier to say: "Oh, they don't understand my Russian soul" than to try to find a common language.
6. “What advice would you give to our women who are going to marry abroad?”
Girls, please don't post "stupid" pictures on the internet. It's embarrassing to watch when they show on the news here about mail brides and give such shots that it's not clear: either she is looking for a husband, or she sells you know what. What else ... You need to know the language of the country you are going to, to know that no one owes you anything, that abroad is not a magical country, that you have to work here, and that princes exist, and if your destiny is to meet him, then you will meet him, just don’t measure his “princess” with money, but look: if he is your prince, then you are his princess :). Well, read more on the Internet on this topic. There are many good sites and forums (although it is not always worth following their advice).

Competitions in speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were held from February 9 to 23 at the Utah Olympic Oval indoor high-mountain skating rink. 10 sets of medals were played, 5 for men and 5 for women.

At all distances, except for the 500 meters for women and men, new world records were set at the Olympics.

Representatives of Russia did not win a single medal for the second Olympics in a row. The closest to the prizes was European champion Dmitry Shepel, who became fourth at a distance of 5000 meters, losing only 12 hundredths of a second to third place.

Salt Lake City Olympic Speed ​​Skating Medal Score

By that time, not a single one had been built in Russia. indoor ice rink. All this ends with the fact that the national championship, which has been held since 1889, did not take place at all. BUT qualifying competitions the strongest runners of Russia were held not in their native country, but in Berlin.

The conflict between the leadership of the Russian Skating Union (SKR) and the leading runners, which began several years ago, has been going on since new force. This time, all the strongest skaters - Svetlana Bazhanova, Varvara Barysheva, Svetlana Zhurova, Alexander Kibalko, Vadim Sayutin, Dmitry Shepel - are even more aggressively opposing the President of the ICR Vladimir Komarov. Two press conferences were held at which the runners expressed serious arguments against Komarov and suggested that he resign.

The best Russian skater of the season is Dmitry Shepel. He performs consistently throughout the season: third place at the European Championships and second place at the World Championships. But at the Olympics, Shepel failed to become one of the winners - he took fourth place at 5000 meters - 6:21.85.

Varvara Barysheva set several Russian records during the season, and she performed best at the Olympics: tenth at 1500 m - 1:56.44 and fifth at 5000 m - 6:56.97. Svetlana Zhurova was seventh in the 500m - 75.640 (37.55 + 38.09). After an unsuccessful performance at the "five hundred", she announced that she was quitting the sport. Present at the Games, our famous skaters, Olympic champions Lydia Skoblikova and Lyudmila Titova comforted Svetlana, persuaded her not to give up her skates, and for good reason.

Claudia Pechstein

Canadian Catriona Le-May Duan wins the 500 for the second time in a row. Chris Whitty trades silver for gold in the 1000m. And Marianne Timmer was fourth this time - 1:14.45. Annie Friesinger was the most successful in the 1500m. Claudia Pechstein had no equal in the stayer distances.

It is not known how the men's 500m competition would have ended, if not for two but. First, multiple world champion Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon fell in the first race. The second race he ran perfectly and showed the best result and a very high time - 34.63. The second - the American Casey Fitzgerald ran away from the start in the first attempt, but the starter did not react. The favorite in the 1000m Erben Vennemars failed to rise above fifth place - 1:07.96. Our Sergey Klevchenya ran in tandem with the future winner of the competition, the Dutchman Gerard van Velde, and, one might say, “brought” him to gold. Klevcenya started very fast and that helped van Velde to win.

Jochem Eitdehage

European champion, later world champion Dutchman Jochem Eitdehage won two distances at the Olympic Games - 5000 and 10000 m. And he was close to victory at 1500 m, but the American Derek Parra unexpectedly surprised him. He did not shine either before or after the Games, and at the tournament itself he ran the 1500 m best of all. In addition to the 500 m, both men and women, in other disciplines, world records were set at the Salt Lake City high-mountain skating rink. Salt Lake City, along with Calgary, became the fastest ice rink in the world. Ranked since 2002 International Association skating statisticians, they alternately occupy the first position.

All winners:

Men

500 m
1. Casey Fitzgerald (USA) - 69.230 (34.42 + 34.81)
2. Hiroyashi Shimizu (Japan) - 69.260 (34.61 + 34.65)
3. Kip Carpenter (USA) - 69.470 (34.68 + 34.79).

1000 m
1. Gerard van Velde (Netherlands) - 1:07.18
2. Jan Bos (Netherlands) - 1:07.53
3. Joseph Cheek (USA) - 1:07.81.

1500 m
1. Derek Parra (USA) - 1:43.95
2. Jochem Eitdehage (Netherlands) - 1:44.57
3. Adne Sondral (Norway) - 1:45.26.

5000 m
1. Jochem Eitdehage (Netherlands) - 6:14.66
2. Derek Parra (USA) - 6:17.98
3. Jens Boden (Germany) - 6:21.73.

10,000 m
1. Jochem Eitdehage (Netherlands) - 12:58.92
2. Gianni Romme (Netherlands) - 13.10.03
3. Lase Setre (Norway) - 13.16.92.

Women

500 m
1. Catriona Le-May Doan (Canada) - 74.750 (37.30 + 37.45)
2. Monica Garbrecht (Germany) - 74.940 (37.34 + 37.60)
3. Sabine Volker (Germany) - 75.190 (37.62 + 37.57).

1000 m
1. Chris Whitty (USA) - 1:13.83
2. Sabine Volker (Germany) - 1:13.96
3. Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) - 1:14.24.

1500 m
1. Annie Friesinger (Germany) - 1.54.02
2. Sabine Volker (Germany) - 1:54.97
3. Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) - 1:55.32.

3000 m
1. Claudia Pechstein (Germany) - 3:57.70
2. Renate Gronewold (Netherlands) - 3:58.94
3. Cindy Klassen (Canada) - 3:58.97.