Whose idea was this? Somebody actually convinced the owners of approximately 180 vintage Porsche 356's to bring them to Park City on a rainy, cold weekend in October. What were they thinking?! What they were thinking is: "This is gonna be so cool!" And right they were!
Standing in the parking lot at Olympic Park at 9:00a.m. a slight drizzle was giving way to a full on downpour. Between the stripes on the pavement sat a number of the most well maintained specimens of the Porsche 356 model in existence, and more were pulling into the lot by the second. License plates from all over the country adorned the curvaceous rear ends of these squatty beauties. One had actually driven from a Pittsburgh suburb, zig-zagging all the way across the country. They were here for the "Wag Your Tail" hill climb, part of the 356 Register's West Coast Holiday.
I was invited to be the official event photographer by the organizers, an honor that I wouldn't fully appreciate until later in the weekend. As I looked around at my surroundings I was beginning to understand just how special this weekend would be.
At this event would be a large variety of 356's including Speedsters, Outlaws, Pre-A, A open and closed, B open and closed, C open and closed, and one completely salvaged job whose roof was totally caved in during a roll-over, then rebuilt and clear coated over unpainted metal. This collection was the creme-de-le-creme of 356's!
The event organizers were now deliberating on wether or not to go ahead with the timed hill climb event. In question was the safety of the course for the drivers. After all, nobody wanted to take the chance of wrapping one of these sweethearts around a metal pole or careening off an embankment because they lost control on a wet road. That probably wouldn't go over so well with the insurance companies.
A pre-run of the course would determine if the event would go on or not. The cars roared to life as they began to line up at the gate. The road course would take the curved steep road that swaggers up the mountain following the luge course at the park. I drove up ahead of the pack and claimed a spot where the road made a sharp bend under the track, then turned uphill. A bridge over this part of the road would afford me an eagle-eye view. I quickly set up.
Car after car screamed by and flung water trails into the air as they ripped their way skyward toward the top of the mountain. All different colors and types conjured nostalgic images in my mind of a previous era of Porsche, one that doubtlessly shaped the future of this dominant company.
In the pack was a super-rare supercar, a Porsche Glockler (umlaut over the "o") reportedly valued at anywhere from $750,000 to over $1,000,000! How often would you get to see this car out for a Saturday morning hill climb --- IN THE RAIN?! This was a one-off car! What a privilege!
Glockler and Porsche came together in the 1950's to create only six of these cars, and (as I understand) there are only three known left in existence. None of the six looked alike, thus making each car a one of a kind. This one was from 1952; chassis #3. This noble beast made quick work of the mountain road as Herb and Rose Wysard, its owners, piloted it through the twisties.
After two runs up the course the cars made their way back down to the start line where a determination would be made to wait until later in the day to hold the hill climb. The weather was supposed to break and conditions would be more suitable for the event to occur. We would try again at high noon.
By noon the weather hadn't changed significantly and the course for the hill climb was still too wet and slippery to allow the cars to race. There was, however, the road tour to Mirror Lake in the high Uinta mountains, east of Park City.
Keep in mind that the Uintas are home to the tallest mountain in Utah, Kings Peak at 13,528'. The drive for the tour went along the Mirror Lake Highway and reached a pass at Bald Mountain near an elevation of 11,000'. If it's raining in Park City, it's most assuredly going to be snowing like the devil in the Uintas.
The road trip to the lake was supposed to begin at 1:00p.m. and be over two hours later. I hopped into my SUV and had in mind to literally "head them off at the pass". As I reached higher and higher along the mountain road the snow got heavier and heavier. I thought to myself there was no way they would continue past the weather to make the lake in those beautiful cars. I couldn't have been more wrong!
Off in the distance was the familiar rumbling of the 356's carbureted motors sucking as much of the thin mountain air as they could to power up that pass. That sound was warmth to my frozen fingers! Another gentleman was there to capture the event in live images with his video equipment. He saw my frigid state and took pity on me, loaning me his rain gear to at least stop the wind from cutting through my clothing. For that I will ever be grateful. The cold mountain road made for a spectacular photographic backdrop. The sun broke through the clouds illuminating the mountains and the cars. My shutter was flying once again! It turned out these owners really understood that these cars were meant to be driven regardless of atmospheric conditions. What a great drive!
The next morning back in Park City was the Concours. At 7:30a.m. Main Street was shut down to make way for this fabulous event. Despite the weather conditions of the previous day the cars were glistening in the morning light. The owners must have spent the night in the parking garage of the hotel cleaning every last inch of their vehicles. That, or some car wash in town made a KILLING!!
As I walked along the street I couldn't help but feel that I had time traveled back to a bygone era. From the post office to the top of Main Street was gathered a collection of 356's unsurpassed anywhere that I had ever seen. Mirror finished greens, reds, slate-grays, silvers, blacks and various other colors covered the bodywork which was nestled atop the most perfectly chromed hubcaps imaginable. This was a car photographer's paradise indeed.
Later that evening at the awards banquet, after a punishing photo editing session in the hotel ballroom (I would later equate this session to doing six days of work in six hours), I would learn of just how significant this event was. Porsche AG had sent a representative over from Germany to speak on behalf of the manufacturer! Somehow in my naivete, I had mistakenly assumed that this was just a collection of well networked friends that had gotten together to hang out for the weekend. Once again I couldn't have been more wrong!
I must say that it was an honor to have been asked to be a part of such a well organized program. These people were not just owners of rare and vintage Porsche 356's, they were people of character and integrity first who had a love of preserving a part of the past. They had a passion for making sure that the details were eradicated of the devils that might lie in wait to spoil such classic cars, instead, sealing the legacy that Dr. Porsche had begun so many years ago into the bodies of their period correct classics like they were rolling time capsules.
As the day wrapped, I left Park City feeling a bit saddened that the weekend was over. Images of these cars burned in my imagination and I dreamed of them during the following nights. There's something captivating about being around them. They're part of an era that I can only read about or listen to in stories told by those who had lived during that time. Having these cars in front of me brought the past to the present, and will carry over to the future as these enthusiasts work to maintain the soul of these wonderful fire breathing contraptions.
