While U.S. freestyle ski team members shared in an emotional group hug, rookie Hans Gardner fought through tears to pay tribute to Olympic silver medalist Jeret ''Speedy'' Peterson the best way he could, by catching big air in the first training jump Wednesday morning at Utah Olympic Park.
Gardner shouted as he headed down the steep ramp and slapped his thigh the way Peterson often did.
''I wanted to go out there and be as strong as I could ... while letting him motivate me,'' Gardner said a day after learning that one of the world's most innovative freestyle skiers apparently had taken his own life just miles down the road in Lambs Canyon.
''It definitely was hard. I cried up on the ramp,'' Gardner said, still fighting to control his emotions an hour later. ''We're all going to miss him a lot. I want to let his legacy influence me in a positive way.''
The 29-year-old Peterson gained fame for his innovative moves but he also had problems when not competing.
He had been cited for drunken driving Friday in Hailey, Idaho, reportedly after arguing with employees at the Sun Valley Lodge.
On Monday night, Utah authorities say the creator of the one-of-a-kind ''Hurricane'' called 911 before shooting himself.
Officers found Peterson near his car along the canyon road between Salt Lake City and Park City. Police said a suicide note was found nearby but authorities don't plan to release it publicly. ''We'll turn it over to the family,'' said Lt. Justin Hoyal of the Unified Police Department of Great Salt Lake.
The news reached ski team members, coaches and staffers Tuesday afternoon, and they gathered Wednesday morning before a scheduled training session.
''Showing up this morning I didn't really know what to expect, how everybody would be doing,'' said Olympian Scotty Bahrke. ''But it was really good to see everybody and get all the hugs and get to laugh for a bit. (The news) devastated everybody.''
Bahrke eventually would do a triple daffy off the big ''Mongo'' jump, not an easy thing because the ramp sends aerialists straight up rather than out.
But he said he wanted to do something special to honor Peterson, even if he could stay focused only long enough to practice two jumps Wednesday.
By the time practice had ended, the music at the outdoor jumping facility was blaring and young jumpers were climbing the ramps and splashing awkwardly into the pool where skiers land after practice jumps.
US Ski Team CEO Bill Marolt called everybody together shortly before 8:30 a.m. Bahrke said it was important to hear Marolt speak, and to be around teammates.
There were tears and plenty of stories about Peterson, one of the sport's most colorful of athletes, who wore his heart on his sleeve - especially on Feb. 25, 2010, when he walked off the mountain with tears streaming down his face after taking the Olympic silver medal.
Bahrke thought back even further, to a time perhaps 13 years ago, when he was just 13, standing at the top of the Park City ramp about to attempt his first double jump.
''I was just absolutely terrified but Speedy went before me and told me I was going to be all right,'' Bahrke recalled. ''I ended up going down and just landing right on my stomach. I couldn't breathe, my helmet went flying off and Speedy jumped in, swam me to the edge and told me it was all right, that everybody crashes. I went back up and did another jump and landed it.''
He still practices with bindings given to him by Peterson more than a decade ago.
Bahrke couldn't say what might have driven Peterson to take his own life.
''But it must have been pretty tough for him,'' Bahrke said. ''Hopefully he's in a better spot, catching big air up in heaven.''
Freestyle coach Todd Schirman had known Peterson since he was about 10, and knew Peterson dealt with ''demons,'' but said his death was a tough loss for everyone. He said athletes were given the option to train Wednesday if they wanted.
Some simply could not, but cheered from below as Gardner and Bahrke performed jumps.
Bahrke's monster jump helped lighten the mood.
''He was trying to bring some life to it because that's what we all are, a group full of life and energy,'' Schirman said.
Tom Kelly, vice president for communications for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Associations, said memorial arrangements are still pending in both Boise, Idaho, where Peterson is from, and in Park City, where he trained.
Idaho authorities said an intoxicated Peterson was involved in an incident with Sun Valley Resort employees on Friday before his arrest, insisting they take him to ''backroom parties'' after bars had closed and suggesting they transport him to a casino hours away on the Idaho-Nevada border.
Just before 3 a.m., a resort security officer reported that Peterson drove off in his silver 2004 Dodge Dakota truck. He was eventually spotted speeding through Hailey, Idaho, about 12 miles to the south.
He was weaving, crossing over the yellow line with both front and rear tires and driving so fast that it took five miles before police finally caught up with him.
''I asked Jeret if he had consumed any alcoholic beverages tonight and he said, `Yes, he had one drink,' '' Officer Manuel Ornelas wrote in his report. ''Jeret failed the 3 Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and I informed him he was under arrest for driving under the influence.''
Peterson lived a life replete with incredible highlights and crushing disappointments.
Until the silver medal in 2010, his career had been filled with success on the smaller stages of his fringe sport but defined in the mainstream by his moment at the Turin Olympics where, after finishing seventh, he was sent home early after a minor scuffle with a buddy in the street.
While in Italy, he was still reeling from the suicide of a friend, who shot himself in front of Peterson only months before.
Even before then, Peterson had problems with alcohol and depression and admitted he had his own thoughts of suicide, all stemming from a childhood in which he was sexually abused and lost his 5-year-old sister to a drunken driver.
He picked up his nickname as a young boy because the big helmet he wore reminded his coaches of Speed Racer of cartoon fame.
As his career progressed, he became better known for his signature jump, the ''Hurricane''- five twists packed into three somersaults as he vaulted off the snowy ramp and flew 50 feet in the air.
Helped by the huge difficulty marks for the jump, he still holds the two-jump scoring record of 268.70, set at Deer Valley in January 2007.
He had seven wins on the World Cup circuit, was the 2005 World Cup champion and a three-time American champion.
This year, Peterson was enrolled at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, working on a degree while he took some time off and decided if he wanted to re-up for 2014. He had signed a deal as a spokesman for the onion industry and was featured in a fun little video on YouTube cooking up a so-called ''Hurricane Burger.''
