Gehrke: Utah‘s winters don‘t have to keep going downhill

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune The Salt Lake Tribune staff portraits. Robert Gehrke.When the Closing Ceremony ends next week, there will be a hole that all those hours of short-track speedskating and curling and biathlon and slopestyle once filled.

It’s been fascinating to watch the downhill, as skiers tear across the iced slopes, or the cross-country skiers slogging through miles of snow, then the camera pulls back a little and you can see the mud and brush just a few yards off the course.

Ninety-eight percent of the snow for the competitions in Pyeongchang is made by machine and it’s easy to wonder, especially as Salt Lake City leaders prepare for another Olympic bid in 2026 or…