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As out-going President, I would like to thank all of you who have participated in this year's activities. I hope y'all had fun, I sure did! I especially want to thank the members of the Executive Board that served with me this last season:
| Vice President | Jim Kuhn |
| Trip Chairs | Dave Bodenstab Bob Morimoto |
| Treasurer | Chuck Borcher |
| Secretary | Tammy Ahlert |
| Program Chair | Lisa Weber |
| Binding Editor | John Unruh |
| Racing Chair | Bob Camp |
| Membership Chair | Rey Maa |
The other members who have helped with each of the activities are also especially appreciated by me and by the rest of the Board. Your help on activities from the fall picnic to running the ski trips to collecting tickets at the door for the BASH makes leaving office difficult. But also, because of you, I feel confident that I can leave office without fear of IHSC falling into an abyss of neglect.
My words of wisdom for future officers of IHSC are simple: remember first and foremost IHSC exists to promote fellowship among its members who like to ski. Primarily, we all like to participate in enjoyable, safe activities. We want and need to be treated with respect during these activities (Unless your name is "Wayne", leading others down a Black Diamond.
My other insight concerning the future of the Club is to remember to treat others as you would like to be treated. I believe that that may just be a paraphrase from some famous book, but it is no less important to IHSC than to those who hold the original text as the "Golden Rule. "
I will still be around if any of you would like to stop by and reminisce.
Thanks for a GREAT YEAR!
(Don't Ski with) Wayne
A little needs to be said about my crystal ball, I am not in touch with the SNOW GODS nor did I major in meteorology. I am not a travel agent who knows all about all the possible ski areas. What I try to do is listen to advise I receive from you, my constituents, the trip chairs and travel agents. I figured (wrongly) that this year's December trip would continue to be supported by more of you than last year's trip to Aspen. So, I wanted to be sure that we would go to a location that would offer the most early snow that was easily reachable. Remembering that John Sochacki used to organize a Thanksgiving trip to Park City a few years ago, I figured that in December Park City would have even more snow. Besides John wouldn't organize anything that wasn't first rate! (Of course the last trip he set-up to Park City ended up at Indianhead, because the UP had lots of snow that year and Utah had none!)
We didn't have that problem! The day before we flew out of O'Hare, the mountains received 14 inches of Champaign powder! When talking to people in Park City during the week before our trip, they described the conditions as "mid-winter," not early season! Of course mid-winter not only means great snow but cold temperatures. I asked what the temperatures were and was informed to expect mid 20s during the day. So, that was the weather everyone prepared for, but when we woke up on Friday morning it was 11 BELOW!!! Fortunately, we woke up real early! By 9AM it was already 10 above and rising.
For a place with strange liquor laws, Park City had plenty of watering holes for those of us in need. Even the on-mountain restaurants served beer and wine. Milo skied the Jupiter Bowl from morning till night. Someday I will be brave enough to ask him for a bump and powder lesson. [Milo is a very patient teacher - Ed] A large portion of our group skied the blue runs with one or two greens for variety! In spite of all the natural snow Park City received before we arrived, they were still making snow on some of the blue cruisers! And when they make snow, they really make snow. The guns just point in one direction for days, making mounds of the stuff. Tom Emerson and Jim Kuhn joined me for my morning skiing and rest stop. After the rest stop, I couldn't understand why my boots didn't feel so good. Tom suggested that maybe if I put them on the right feet, the boots would fit and feel better!!
After a big day of skiing, a group of us went to the Wasatch Brew Pub to sample the local micro-brewery's finest. Included in the group were Tom E. , Jim K, Mike Anderson, Paul Murphy, Torrong Siddhiteja, Art Toy, Don Draper and the Drechslers (Audrey and Paul). We sampled the raspberry wheat, Christmas ale, stout and all the rest. After this sampling, we were ready for dinner and decided on the local Thai restaurant. Some of the curry dishes caused a little steam to rise, thanks Torrong.
Snowbird provided most of us skiers with more runs than we could handle in one day. Two members, Greg and Dave V. , stayed at Park City to take the second day of a three day lesson package. The rest of us skied from the tram at Snowbird (boy, we now know how sardines feel in a tin!). There actually were some lift lines at Snowbird! This was really the best weekend up to that time of the season, and the locals (Salt Lake City is only 35 miles away) decided that they might as well get the skis out and see if they remembered how to use them. John Unruh had advised me to organize the trip to Snowbird on Friday, to avoid the weekend crowd, but I figured we needed our rest Friday morning and leaving for a bus ride the first day out wouldn't be appreciated. Snowbird wasn't that crowded anyway.
We had a group dinner at Texas Red's -BBQ with everyone attending. This sure beat the curry dinners from the night before! (To each his/her own!) After dinner some people went to the brew pub while others found some entertainment (including Jefferson Starship!) in one of the other watering holes. Lots of us ended up in our rooms, trying to recover from two fantastic days of skiing.
We finished up our trip skiing Park City for a day and a half more. It just wasn't crowded! We had both indoor and outdoor hot tubs at our condos, but most of us chose the outdoor one. Some chose to use the tub instead of showing up for the beer, veggies and dip and buffalo wings apres-ski party. I think everyone had all the skiing they could handle for this weekend. The only downer was on Monday when the gondola at Park City was closed because of the high winds. Of course these winds not only closed the gondola, but lowered the wind chill to well below zero. For some of us, this extra low chill factor allowed us to do some unexpected shopping on Monday morning. It also allowed some to go back to their favorite restaurant, a Sushi, bar for some of that raw fish.
I want to thank all of you who participated in the trip and especially for the T-shirt! I will wear it on all of the future trips. Also, special thanks are extended to John Unruh, who provided us with his suggestions for runs to take and places to go. John has spent a lot of time skiing in Utah and wrote up a rather nice, informative note for the first timer.
Boners were limited to only a couple of us:
The Cascade Mountain trip could have been a movie. A comedy would have been good from our bus drivers point of view because her day was a comedy of errors. From the trip coordinators point of view I would have named the movie "Perseverance Mountain - The Trip that Almost Wasn't. "
From the start of sign-up for the trip I was worried. Initial response was good, but after a week everything tapered off. From talking to others, I was told first time coordinators always are jittery, but don't worry, most people will sign up in the last two weeks. The last two weeks arrived and nearing the end, still the trip was only half full. This coordinator was getting very jittery now, so I went looking for alternatives and began the discussion of running the trip at a loss for the Ski Club. After analyzing all the alternatives, it was decided that to minimize the Ski Club loss, we would take a smaller bus (sans restroom of course) and cut some of the non-essentials like cameras, etc. So with this new approach the trip was on.
The day of the trip arrived. All the participants were eagerly (those who had been drinking coffee) or sleepily awaiting the arrival of the bus. I was thinking this is too good to be true. My biggest worry of the day was having someone not show up, but everyone was here on time. I had even brought my cellular phone so anyone ( including the bus driver ) could call if problems arose. The arrival time for the bus came and went. Calls were placed but only an answering machine was awake at the bus barn. Search parties were organized and sent out to search nearby AT&T sites and the security guards were queried for evidence of the bus, but it was not found. Finally, almost an hour after the designated arrival time, word spread that a bus similar to our AT&T shuttle buses was standing in front of IH. Could this be our bus? No, it couldn't be, but it was. When questioned, the driver said "The original bus would not start and I was the only one at the bus barn so I took the next available bus. " Also, she said she did not know how to get to AT&T. I asked her, "Did they pass her the directions or the phone number that I had given" knowing the response. But what the hell, the bus was here, the trip was on, all is good. Where do we put the skis was the next question to the driver. "Well, this bus does not have any storage, but there are 5 more seats" was her reply. With skis stored under the seats and boots overhead we departed, finally. A rest stop was soon required for those early coffee drinkers but good time was made to Cascade.
Arriving at Cascade, we breezed through lift tickets, rentals and such and were skiing by 10:00am. The conditions were perfect. It was not too cold, there was plenty of snow, and from the reports I heard during lunch everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.
Being the coordinator and with this mornings history, I finished skiing early so that I could locate the bus. I found the bus idling, the heater blowing cold, and the driver messing with the heater controls. I assisted her in fiddling with the controls and we determined it was warmer with the heater off and we could only hope that once the bus was moving it would generate heat. Everyone was told to stay dressed just in case. As we waited for everyone to arrive, the driver told me of her day spent waiting for some of her associates who never showed and of fueling the bus, overflowing the fuel tank, and spilling gallons of fuel on the ground.
We departed nearly on time and made our fast food stop. The driver wasn't quite finished with her bad day though. As we departed the fast food stop, her French fries fell from the dash and landed inside someone's wet and stinky ski boot which was sitting on the floor next to her.
Boner Awards
All boners pale in comparison to the ones generated by Illinois Coach and the driver assigned to the trip, so only those will be given.
Ed's Tip
Ed told a story on the return trip that is the basis of this ski tip. When a single, choose your lift chair mates carefully. Ed was unfortunate to ride up with a few novices who fell getting on the chair and who at the top wiped him and all the others on his chair out not to mention the next 2 or 3 chairs that arrived after them.
Lisa Weber
Devil's Head Trip Leader
Searchmont is a great place to ski be it downhill or cross-country! This trip enjoyed all the pleasures Canada has to offer: Great exchange rate, Great hospitality at the Inn and at the Hill (or Mountain as they corrected me), Short (or no) lift lines, Good food, Good entertainment, and good skiing. It also had what I am getting to be known for: COLD temperatures. Give me a break - it was only between -10 and 10 F instead of -20 like Powderhorn last year!
It always amazes me how people can arrive at the Inn at 3:00 am and be up and ready to ski at 9:00 am. And ski we did. It is deceiving when they complain about no snow. They could not open all their cross-country trails because of lack of snow this year. We think of no snow as bare ground; I think their definition is less than one or two feet! They did get several inches just before we arrived, so they were able to open more trails. The cross country skiing is as good as anywhere I've been. They have nice gentle flats which made for a nice morning warm-up, to skiing up the back side of the big hill. Skiing up may not be exactly what Dave and I did. I'm not sure about the others - we did not ski with them - but Dave and I kinda Herring-boned up for a couple of hours and then snow-plowed back down in about 30 minutes. It would not have been so difficult if it had not been for all the tress and turns in the way! What a great time!
The Apres-ski ain't bad either. The Water Tower Inn is a great place to stay. They have two hot tubs, a sauna, a pool, an exercise room and a bar with Karaoke every night. The outside hot tub did not seem as crowded this year as it has been in the pass - could the cool temperatures have had an effect? And their meals are something to behold. MOST of us enjoyed a Friday night feast without utensils. Its hard to be neat, isn't it Kathryn, when you have to eat Jell-O, and whipped cream with your fingers! Saturday night dinner included line dancing lessons after the meal with dancing continuing in the bar afterwards. We really hooked Sue with that.
It was not all roses, and I feel it is my duty to tell you about the trip up. First, I should have assigned seats; I felt that with the bus half full seating would not be a problem. It was and assigning seats would have helped. Due to comments from several people, the club Executive Board has adopted a policy giving the trip leader more authority to quiet the bus down if it gets too loud too late. I hope this helps us prevent a repeat of the problems of the last two years.
Now for the boner awards. First let me say that there were no outstanding nominations. The bus should get one of no heat on the way home. Dave should get one for using utensils Friday night. And the hill for announcing that our bus was broken down and being towed into town! Imagine Ed's (our driver's) expression when he heard that as he was sitting in the lodge at the hill! It turned out to be another club's bus.
Thanks to all who went to Searchmont this year for making it an enjoyable time. We had a very light turnout this year; I'm not sure why, but I would really like to know. The officers need to know what's happening so we can plan the trips that you want to go on. Please let us hear from you.
Chuck Borcher
We all boarded the Airtran Bus destined for O'Hare airport at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6th to begin our journey. The Gallatin Canyon area of Montana, part of the Rocky Mountain West, was our final destination. The anticipation of great powder skiing was felt by all on this trip.
At O'Hare, little did Alan Graves know that there was a complimentary snack bar for all that were flying with Northwest Airlines. You were provided with a "lunch bag" to fill with a sandwich, snacks and a beverage. Alan was so hungry that he stopped at one of the local airport cafes and bought food before proceeding to the Northwest gate, missing out on the FREE food and snacks! I think this is the first boner nomination of the trip!
The second boner nomination goes to 4 X 4 Stages Bus Co. (or Winter Ski & Sport) for not having our bus reservation in their system when we arrived at the Bozeman Airport. We had to wait at the airport while 4 X 4 called for two vans and drivers to take us to the lodge. We were the only people left in the airport!!
It was raining when we arrived in Bozeman with no snow in sight until we hit the higher elevations on the way to the Huntley Lodge at Big Sky. Fog and snow were visible through the van's wiper blades as we approached the Huntley Lodge at approximately 11:30 p.m. mountain time. Tired from the long plane rides (we had to change planes in Minneapolis), we wearily unloaded our luggage and headed directly to our assigned rooms for some much needed sleep. Everyone except for Alan Graves and Tammy Ahlert, who were starving (guess we didn't fill our "lunch bags" with enough food for the long trip!) and decided to get a pizza at Levinsky's next door in the Mountain Mall!
We woke up bright and early Friday morning to an overcast, foggy sky. Light snow was falling as we gazed out at the slopes from our breakfast table. It was so foggy that you could not see the top of Lone Mountain which stood majestically in front of us. But, the lifts started running right at 9 a.m. as promised and slowly but surely, skiers were spotted making their way to the barely visible slopes. Ann Bass, Dave Bodenstab and Rich Litwitz all decided to take the Mountain Tour that was offered. These brave souls were lead all over both Lone and Andesite Mountains so they could "scope out" the best trails to ski.
As the lifts closed at 4 p.m., cold, wet, tired skiers dragged their bodies and their equipment back to their rooms. Next on the agenda was the hot tubs! The Huntley Lodge had two heated, outdoor pools, and four outdoor hot tubs. Sitting in a hot tub, at the base of beautiful Lone Mtn., light snow gently falling, with a refreshing drink in your hand... this is a little piece of heaven!
Friday night we had dinner at an exceptional wild game restaurant called Buck's T-4. We gathered at the tables and shared stories of their fun-filled, first day of skiing at Big Sky. Dinner was fabulously filling, so much so that most people went back to their rooms afterwards and "died" ! This seemed to be the trend for the next few nights. Other restaurants that we dined at were: Edel Weiss (which served German cuisine) and First Place (which had the best desserts you've EVER tasted!!!). As the days passed, the snow got lighter (meaning dryer) and deeper!!! By the time Monday rolled around, the snow was at its peak. We realized over 30 inches of new snow (powder) while on this trip!!! Personally, I've never skied in powder over my knees, but I did Monday!! This was truly an incredible experience!! So much so, that six of us seriously considered staying an extra day to take advantage of this late season gift from the snow gods/goddesses! As it turned out, though, the cost didn't justify only one more day of skiing. So, we grudgingly boarded the buses that took us back to the airport bound for Chicago, IL.
Some of the interesting stories/boner nominations as told by the Big Sky participants are listed below for your amusement:
The 1st IHSC ski trip that featured the most people who DIDN'T ski for some of the lamest excuses:
- It's snowing!
- Some vague references to Mexico & being too tired (Tammy & Alan).
Generally subdued, Dave Bodenstab, turned into a loud, "yahooing", mountain man as he mastered powder turns after a day and a half of frustrating attempts.
Ironically, Dave Bodenstab, Rich Litwitz and Ann Bass (the three people who probably worked the hardest to get to the lifts by 9 a.m. everyday) were the only three to have their 4-day lift tickets refused on the fourth day because the ticket scanning machine said the tickets were used up. This is after they stood in a 50 minute lift line caused by a lift machine failure. Correction: Tammy Ahlert also had her lift ticket refused on the fourth day (one of the two days she decided to ski!).
Ah, Big Sky! A wonderful place to meet new people, drink expensive coffee, drive to and from, go shopping and get massages. I understand there may even be some skiing available!!
Singing "Edelweiss" and other "ditties" on the bus ride after dinner.
Tammy wins the highest per-run dollar cost!! Tammy's rebuttal: Actually, I think Pat Lisonbee wins this. Zero runs to five runs is much more expensive!!
The mystery of the Bathmats: Who took all our bathmats on Saturday? No one seems to have had any Sunday morning!
"Who had what appliances?" was one of the most common conversation starters. Some rooms were very lucky, they had coffee pots, refrigerators, ski racks AND humidifiers (the last item wasn't discovered until Monday morning while packing to leave!).
Hot Tub Stories:
Jay and Julie sat on the bottom of the hot tub, which had only 18 inches (at best) of water in it. The hot tub had been drained and was in the process of being re-filled.
Some of us got a good look at the bloody head bandage on the guy who's head had a close encounter with a tree! YUK!!
Bar Stories:
Scissorbill's Bar happy hour has THE STRONGEST margaritas ever and for only 2 bucks !! YaHoo !!
"Schitzoid Johnny" was the headline performer at Chet's Bar in the Huntley Lodge (where we stayed). This guy was named appropriately! Being the accomplished musician, actor, singer, freak, weirdo that he was... anyway, if you were drunk you might have understood him and actually enjoyed his show !!
What's the difference between how many people promised to make it to breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and the actual number of people who did? A BIG NUMBER !!!
... and made Tammy work all morning Monday before we left to make arrangements to stay an extra day and nobody wound up staying!!
Award - Big Sky Mtn. for coming up with over 30 inches of new base which lead to some GREAT powder skiing!!! The powder was nearly waist deep on the Elk Park Meadows run!
Boner Nominations
- Alan Graves for getting up at 2 a.m. and cleaning out (eating) the contents of the refrigerator containing Tammy's leftover dinner.
Boner Nom. - Jay Mitchell for leaning into a turn and falling over because he wasn't moving!
Boner Nom. - Big Sky Mtn. for poor planning and multiple equipment failures that lead to only one running lift for nearly one hour on the last day of skiing.
Boner Nom. - Tammy Ahlert for her C. R. S. mornings (Can't Remember S__t). See explanations below:
Dave Bodenstab called Tammy and Alan's room to wake them up for 7:30 a.m. breakfast. Tammy picked up the phone and in her state, hung it back up without saying anything to the caller. Later that morning, she didn't remember the phone ringing at all!
Setting the alarm and never remembering turning it off in the morning.
Boner Nom. - Alan Graves' siestas (naps) - he was noted sleeping every chance he got and sleeping anywhere!
Boner Nom. - Ann Bass for passing out on Jay Mitchell's bed (pictures forthcoming!). I guess "the Sound of Music" was just too much for her!!
Boner Nom. - Tammy's Wine & Cheese party looking a lot like cookies and hot cocoa!
Boner Nom. - Rich Litwitz for ordering two 42-inch pizza for four people! (Rich did you think Alan was going to be there??) We had LOTS of leftovers. And he did freeze the sour cream for our cold lunchtime pizza.
Boner Nom. - Alan Graves for saying "Now I'm ready to go skiing!" just as we landed at O'Hare airport Monday night.
Boner Nom. - Winter Ski & Sport for:
The lack of ground transportation when we got to Bozeman.
The Wine & Cheese party that turned out to be a Hot Cider & Cookies party.
Booking a 3 out of 4 day package (according to the front desk) instead of a 4 day package.
The trip began on Wednesday December 14th with a 9:30 AM flight out of O'Hare, about 38 hours after I arrived at O'Hare from Park City. After meeting the hosts and the others in the group and toasting (Champagne, of course) to a fun trip, we were boarded our flight to Boise. Never having been to Idaho before, I thought we were going to Boy-Zee, I would later find out that if you wanted to blend in with the locals (not that they cared if you didn't) you would know that our destination was Boy-Se. Anyway, the flight was uneventful.
We arrived at the Boy-Se airport shortly after noon. Since we had only people in the group, we would be taking a regularly scheduled bus to Sun Valley. This left us with some time to kill at the airport. Karl drafted one member of the group to join him on a bus supply run and the rest of us checked out the airport lounge. The three hour bus ride to Sun Valley included the standard bus fare, in addition to Everclear egg nog provided by Fleetwind Phil. Luckily we had to save some of it for our hosts at Sun Valley lodge.
We arrived at Sun Valley Lodge around 5:30. After checking in and quick trip up to the room, we met in the Duchin Room for a welcome cocktail party and met our two hosts from Sun Valley Company, Heidi Crawford and Mark Thorsen. This evening also featured a tour of the Lodge, including a display of Olympic medals, and a long hallway lined with photos of stars who have stayed at the lodge. The highlight of the tour was the hot pool, a circular pool 50 feet across with hot tub temperature water. When the pool was built "Hot tub" technology did not exist, so it doesn't have bubbles.
Thursday morning started with breakfast at Gretchen's, just off the lobby of the lodge, the food was excellent. We met in the lobby and walked over to the bus stop to catch a ride to the Warm Springs base area of Bald Mountain. Bald Mountain is the larger of the two ski areas at Sun Valley. On the way to Baldy, we passed Dollar Mountain, the Idaho version of a bunny hill. Dollar features 3 chair lifts, two trees and 600 feet of vertical. We were met at Warm Springs base area by three mountain guides for a tour of the mountain. After splitting into three groups: knuckleheads, and two cruising groups, we began our tour of the mountain. The knuckleheads concentrated on many black runs and the numerous bowls, some blue some black. Sun Valley has more bowls than Betty Crocker. The cruising group that I skied with spent most of the morning on blue and "Sun Valley green" runs. I think that by the end of the morning Heidi was tired of hearing "THIS IS A GREEN RUN". I mean who had ever heard of an ungroomed green run. Heidi`s explanation was that Dollar Mountain was made for green skiers, although there were a few legitimate green runs.
After a morning of non-stop skiing we met at Seattle Ridge Lodge, a recently opened 17,000 square foot restaurant with breathtaking views in all four directions. S. R. Lodge has a varied menu from typical ski food such as pizza to baked potatoes (Idaho), to gourmet - mesquite grilled salmon, swordfish, or prime rib. The fresh pasta and sauces were a popular choice. After lunch, I declined the invitation of one of our hostesses to follow her into the trees. Instead, I leisurely skied back down to Warm Springs Lodge and after a short refreshment break, headed back to Sun Valley Lodge were the hot pool was waiting (I think I forgot to mention that the pool also features bar service).
The evening featured tours of several condo groupings followed by dinner in the lodge dining room, a high class place (it was early in the season so I was able to sneak in). The wine flowed freely, and the food was excellent. After dinner, several of us went to check out the night life in Ketchum.
Friday featured much of the same, great skiing, great food and property tours. The highlight of the property tours was a ride in a fire truck. The fire truck is used by Base Mountain properties to shuttle skiers to the base area. After a quick dip in the pool, we gathered for a sleigh ride to Trail Creek Cabin for dinner. The only thing I can compare the sleigh to is being in a giant post card. There were no clouds, the stars shined brightly, and the light of the full moon danced off the snow. When paired up with a great dinner in a relaxed atmosphere, this should be part of any trip to Sun Valley. After the sleigh ride back, once again several of us felt it was our sacred duty to explore Ketchum. We stopped at several bars, that ranged from laid back to rowdy. Unfortunately it was getting late and we did not have time to check out all of the 30 or so bars/restaurants in Ketchum.
Saturday morning was spent skiing or checking out the shops of Sun Valley. At 12:30 we thought the fun was over, we were on a bus for the 2 hour ride to the Twin Falls airport. The flight was the maiden flight of United's non-stop service from Twin Falls to Chicago. This allowed us to transform a boring plane ride into a high altitude typical bus party. In addition to our group there were two other people on the plane. We were served complimentary wine and champagne and the only thing that interrupted the party was an occasional "fasten seat belt" light. We never encountered any turbulence, it was the flight attendants method of getting us to settle down.
This is probably a lot more than people wanted to read about Sun Valley, but what can I say, I guess I've listened to too many of Wayne's bus announcements/filibusters.
Overall, it was a GREAT TRIP, to a GREAT SKI AREA!!!!!!!!!!
Jim Kuhn
This year the Great White North was again the destination for a memorable Indian Hill Ski Club trip. Red Mountain, located in the Canadian province of British Columbia, is an "undiscovered" ski resort. There were no fancy boutiques, expensive shops, exclusive restaurants or the other trappings of a typical ski resort. The lure of powder and extreme skiing is what brought us to Red Mountain. Unfortunately, mother nature did not totally cooperate with the promised powder this year, but that didn't stop us from enjoying this fantastic area.
We arrived in Spokane about noon on Saturday which gave us plenty of time to make the three hour drive to Rossland. Our fearless trip leader Dave Bodenstab got directions to a suitable watering hole for lunch, and, with everyone else following, promptly missed the turn and lead our caravan (of Caravan's) on a scenic tour of the interstate. After a short detour, we sat down for lunch and Wayne Kalbow ordered the "biggest beer you've got. " Needless to say, we must now add one more warning to the ever-growing list of dont's associated with Wayne: "Don't order a beer with Wayne!"
Sunday was overcast and gloomy, but that kept no one away from our 9AM appointment to pick up our lift tickets and meet our Ski Hosts from Red Mountain (including Lynn, the group coordinator for Red Mountain, who was easily the most attractive French-Canadian in all of British Columbia - more on this development later. ) We began our mountain tour by skiing through fog so thick that we could follow one another only by the sounds we made trying to follow our guide. Soon the fog lifted, and we were shown some impressive chutes on the back side of the mountain. Larry Gonyea and Mike Panacek tried to talk our guide, Brad, into a descent down the chute.
Larry: Aw, it doesn't look so bad.
Brad: If you want to do it, I'll come with you.
Larry: If you want to do it, I'll do it.
Brad: If you want to, I'll do it.
Larry: If you want to, I'll do it.
After a few minutes of this interesting conversation, it turned out that no one went down the chute after all!
Sunday evening we faced our first crises. As we were loading the vans for the drive to the Collander Restaurant, Ann Bass locked her van with the keys in the ignition and the engine running. This is 6:45 PM on a Sunday evening in a small town in British Columbia - where are we going to find a locksmith now? What happened next is something no one would believe even in a fairy tale: Ed Saloga's van key unlocked Ann's van! The next day, Ann had a duplicate key made - just in case...
The snow conditions were not ideal. There was a frozen, rock-hard crust just underneath an inch or two of fresh snow. This made the more interesting ungroomed, unpatrolled runs on the back side of Granite a real adventure. But Dave (adventure is his middle name) Bodenstab talked some folks into a run down Beer Belly. As we picked our way carefully down the icy moguls, I heard a noise from above me. I thought "great, here comes some hotdog," and as I turned around I saw something pink go sliding down the slope behind me. Well, that "something pink" was Alan Graves, who had decided to do a free-style slide down the mountain, and had thoughtlessly left his skis and poles scattered above for us to retrieve. Alan did pick up some extra ventilation in his pants as a result of his adventure; just ask Jill Otto about the duct tape she bought to fix Alan's problem.
Our club race was held on Tuesday. They do things a little different at Red Mountain: our course was set up on a suitable slope, but the starting gate and finish line were somewhat unusual. The starting "gate" was two poles at the top of the course - one got into position and held oneself from starting down the slope only by carefully positioning one's poles. Our starter from Red Mountain held a radio and counted "five, four, three, two, one, GO!" At the finish line, the person holding the other radio used a stop watch to time the run. Hey, it worked! Who needs some fancy-schmancy starting gate and electronic timer anyway?
That evening we met for our wine & cheese party at the Flying Steamshovel, so named due to the fact that it was the site of the first and last flight of a steam-powered helicopter in the early part of this century. This was the second of four excellent meals we shared this trip. We loaded our plates with veggies, cheese, cold cuts, stuffed mushrooms and Cajun shrimp, and washed it down with excellent beer and wine. That evening Lynn joined us, and I've been told that the picture of the guys talking with (actually listening to) Lynn could be described as "dogs on point. " Apparently Larry Gonyea wins an award for quality time because of his intense concentration, and Dave Bodenstab wins an award for quantity - actually, I don't get it, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary!
The missing snow finally made its appearance on Wednesday at the Whitewater Ski Resort, about a two-hour drive from Rossland. Fresh, soft powder made this day one to remember. Alan Graves took advantage of the soft snow and signed up for snowboard lessons. Is this where he reportedly asked a female desk attendant for an old white scarf to use as additional padding for the inevitable falls?
Ainsworth Hot Springs was the next attraction - well worth the hour-long drive over snow-packed and slippery roads. The hot water was an excellent way to soothe those overworked muscles, and conveniently located next to the hot pool is an ice-cold waterfall which was too much for the macho men (and women) to ignore. After a few "dare-you's" and finally a challenge from Larry Gonyea, a few took the plunge: Larry, Ralph Umbdenstock, Alan Graves, Doug Saloga, Lorrie Reagan, Eddie Saloga, Mike Panacek, and finally, Dan Geiger who holds the record for staying in for more than twenty seconds.
Eating seems to have been an important component of this ski trip. Since we hadn't done enough yet that day, we continued on to Nelson to the Main Street Diner for another gourmet meal. Everyone was stuffed with the grand assortment of Greek appetizers, roast lamb, wine, salad, desert, ... Thursday evening we had our banquet at the Uplander Hotel. The rain had put a damper on our skiing that day, but we celebrated the conclusion of another IHSC trip over a dinner of prime rib, salmon or chicken.
These trips couldn't be done without the cooperation and help of all involved. We need to thank the people who volunteered to be van drivers: Ann Bass, Ed Saloga, and Bill Adams. Everyone put up with the long drives, and the less-than-ideal snow conditions to make this a trip that I will be fond of remembering.
Finally, no IHSC trip would be complete without the goofy things that inevitably occur when a group of crazy people go skiing:
Ann Bass and George Halstead had to be rescued from the Red Mountain chair lift after the power failed.
Wayne Kalbow, Dave Connet, George Halstead and Byron Ritsche fighting for the steamers at the bottom of the kettles (many kettles) at the Ramada Inn.
Someone mentioned that we should ask Alan Graves about the gourmet chicken tacos at the world renowned, five-star Coyote Cafe.
Mike Averbukh had his shoes locked in the van when the rest of the group got out and left. He was standing around in the hotel with no shoes!
Ed Saloga broke his bindings on the first run of the day. He swapped skis with his son so Ed could ski down on two skis. His son, having only one ski, then proceeded to crash into the trees. When Ed finally got down and had the binding fixed, they got stuck on the chair lift when the power failed. Total runs that day: 1 and a half!
Dave Bodenstab gave the van keys to Suzanne Panacek so she could go cross country skiing later that morning, and then found out that his gloves, hat, etc. were locked in the van. Although Suzanne was sitting in the lodge for the next hour, Dave couldn't find her and bought a new pair of gloves so he could ski.
In the hot tub at the hotel, George Halstead asked Dave Bodenstab for the key to the room, and Dave presented George with the keys to the van instead.
Dave Bodenstab left his swim suit at the hot springs dressing room. Dan Geiger noticed the swim suit lying there, but left it there and said nothing about it to anyone.
At the border, the customs officer looked like he wanted to give us a hard time. He opened the sliding door on the van so he could check the interior. When he opened the van, he saw George Halstead's splinted leg and started to laugh! He then proceeded to tell us about his wife's recent leg accident and the waved us through.
Larry Gonyea was so thoughtful and picked up Mike Averbukh's lift ticket at the front desk at the hotel. However, Larry went skiing without giving Mike his lift ticket.
Larry Gonyea didn't bring any documentation with him in case he was asked to prove his citizenship at the border. Lucky for him no one asked!
Barb Saloga skied the race course on the wrong side of the flags, but no one noticed and she got a medal anyway.
John Unruh ignored the warning "don't ski with Wayne," and went off a four foot drop onto a cat track.
Eddy Saloga almost missed the flight from OHare because he had left his wallet in the car back at Doug Saloga's office.
Doug Saloga talked his mother, Barb Saloga, into a run down a black diamond run when the snow was so heavy it was like cement.
Eddie Saloga took his family down a run that took one and a half hours to come down "Indian style" (side stepping and butt-sliding. ) His wife, Sue Saloga, says she will never listen to her hubby again!
Thanks to all of you for making this trip so easy to run! I know I'll remember the good times every time I think of Red Mountain!
Dave Bodenstab
From your FTLs point of view.
The excitement on sign-up date was clear and the roster grew. By late December, ski fever was starting to gnaw away at the procrastinators, including the trip leader! On the week of the trip everyone got word that the trip was still on and a pre-trip gathering was taking place at... (that one place) anyway the trip leader couldn't find it and the guests had to wait till boarding time to get their final trip itinerary. As the bus filled up most took their seats according to the seating chart that was provided. The other half made up their own seating arrangements. That's when the trip leader noticed that he had sold his seat for the ride up. Mr keg ended up being his seating partner.
The Bus rides were... well this is what I heard: "long, hot, cold, boring, gassy, can you point that somewhere else, loud, cramped, slow, bumpy, stinky?, #^@*%&`, get off my ..., biz, Bulah, your in my seat, shhhh, Who's on keg duty?, John!, me me me..., lucille, Are we almost there yet, etc. etc.
Once we were there we realized that we had to be up in two hours for breakfast (You try saying 'Good morning' to 45 sleepless people). Its roll call and guess who is still in bed? The clubs president and vice-president decided that they had not had enough sleep and snoozed their way past breakfast. Wayne Kalbow and Jim Kuhn were able to catch the first shuttle to the slopes but had to endure the warm bone head song provided by everyone (over age 18 of course).
This year marked the fifth time the club had returned to Marquette and the ski lodge welcomed us back with the traditional brat and hot dog party on the slopes. This year, however we were honored with a white ski trophy. The trophy was signed by everyone on the trip, then permanently placed above the stage in the main bar. So our club is eternally part of Marquette Mountains ski lodge!
The trip consisted of two main types of participants: those that wanted to ski and those that wanted to just get away with friends with the option of skiing. Marquette provided both nice skiing and a friendly faces, the reasons the club has gone back for many years.
The prime rib dinner Saturday night was good but the Ramada Inn was boned for not providing enough place settings for us and holding our dessert for 25 minutes. At times during dinner it felt like we were at a wedding. The chiming ding of a glass signaled someone had to kiss someone (John and Judy).
We had six first timers along this trip. The club welcomed: Deanson Lin, Rebecca Sherry, Kathey and Brittnay Koresch, Weslie Jones, and Roy Young. We hope to see them in future club activities!
The night life in Marquette provided entertainment for all tastes, including live bands. Most just went to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep. Mark Myers, Howard Hooper, Tammy Ahlert, and Bob Nye hijacked the club camera and went on a "lets see how many kisses we can get from strangers" spree. Should announcing this kind of activity be a boner nomination?
The next morning Lisa Weber provided us with our first blooper of the day. Lisa was waiting for Tammy to come back to the room for a last time. Tammy had already done that. When Lisa realized Tammy wasn't coming back, the group had already cleared their throat to welcome the LAST (LATE) person boarding the bus.
The race proceeded as planned that day and I'm happy to announce that we walked away with 9 bronzes, 14 silvers, and 1 gold! Unfortunately they didn't have the location engraved on the metal. John Wrycza, and Kristi Picton were our fastest female and male.
During the trip I asked people to write down potential boner nominations and this is what was turned in:
Marquette is a great place to enhance skiing abilities and meet new and exciting people. It provides a stepping stone for those who will someday ski the great out west trips. I hope it was just that.
Many thanks to Bonnie Daniel, Dan Geiger, Vertis Howard, John Sochacki and all of you for helping me out when I was going crazier.
Rey Maa
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Sat Oct 25 12:47:35 CST 1997
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