Category Archives: winter sports

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The Rope Tow

The diabolical surface lift of all time- the rope tow.

I posted about the poma lift back in January of 2022 and gave everyone some funny stories of that iconic surface lift for skiing. Check out my archives for that story. This post will feature what I call the diabolical demon of surface lifts- the rope tow. Now before I start my rant, I wanted to tell you a bit of trivia. For those who don’t ski, or those who have never had the pleasure of ripping your gloves apart on a rope tow, this lift is historical. In fact, the grandfather of my friend in Tahoe, donated the first rope to Clinton Gilbert who installed the first rope tow in this country on his farm in Vermont in 1934. Powered by a Model T engine. Interestingly of local note, Adolph Dupre, the original owner of Seven Springs Farm( now Mountain Resort) created his first rope tow in 1935. Skiing was becoming very popular in the 30s and lifts were springing up all over the country. But, Clinton Gilbert was the first in Vermont and Eric Durfee’s grandpap was part of the historical lore of the first tow in America.

Photo courtesy of Eric Durfee- originally of Bethel, Vermont

So what is the deal on the rope tow? Well- when you are a kid learning to ski, this is the first major obstacle besides stopping that you have to overcome if you want to keep skiing. There are only so many times you are going to walk up the hill tripping over your skis until you get the bright idea that it is time to take a ride to the top. When I was a kid learning at 7 years old, I ventured over to a red tractor in the “beginner bowl” that powered a fast moving rope that you had to grab to tow you up the hill. Most rope tows are powered by automobile engines or tractors and the red tractor at Seven Springs was the first time I had seen a rope tow.(For those of you who don’t know- this was before the hotel was built and it was in that general area.) I studied it for a while, watched the other kids have success, or no success or somewhere in between, and eventually grabbed the rope and went for a ride. I was amazed at the car wheel pulleys that were used to stabilize the rope where it returned back to the engine. One big continuous loop of speedy, thick, glove burning rope.

Rope tows move fast and when you finally get into place with your skis, muster up enough courage to slowly let the rope move through your hands, and then take the eventual grab, you either were successful or you basically exploded out of your boots and went ass over tincups off to the side of the hill. Lots of laughs were had by fellow kids learning, and we all had our turn embarrassing ourselves by grabbing the powerful, fast- moving rope too quickly. We also learned that you must never have loose fitting scarves, jackets, or other bits of clothing that might get caught in the rope. That was pure unvarnished danger and there were signs everywhere warning you of the impending doom of that kind of mistake.

As kids, we also learned that it was fun to grab the rope, swing out to the side, and see if we could knock our fellow riders out of the track. The lift attendants always took a dim view of that and chastised us when we got to the top, threatening to take our passes. But nonetheless, we became experts at riding the fast- moving surface lift of doom. We all figured out ways to make it fun going up.

The result of riding the rope tows, was the fact that your gloves took a major beating with the grabbing of the fast- moving rope. We all tried leather glove liners, thicker gloves, mittens, and everything we could think of to keep the burning rope from destroying our gloves. But usually to no avail and it was those times where we graduated to the poma lifts, or to the chair lifts. But as kids, we had our fun on the rope tows and fond memories of dragging each other in and out of the snow tracks, will always be in my mind.

Today- a lot of smaller, family run areas still have rope tows and even the larger areas use them to get from one major lift to another across a flat area. But for the most part, modernization with slower moving chair lifts, and surface lifts like the magic carpets, have replaced the rope tows. Everytime I grab a rope tow to make my way to another lift, I think of all the fun times I had as a kid. I mean, we lived on those rope tows even when we were night skiing. In the early days, we would kill ourselves trying to get back up if we had fallen in the track, looking like we had been in a blizzard covered with snow, and making our way into the lodge for a hot chocolate and a warm -up by the fire- only to go back out and have at it again. The rope tow never stopped except when it was shut off for the ski session by an attendant. It just kept running and running, killing our gloves, punishing us if we grabbed too hard, and in general showing us who was boss. 62 years later, I still give some pause any time I have to use one and make sure that I gradually grab the rope. Exploding out of my boots at my age could be catastrophic and my experience from long ago serves me well when I approach these mechanical devices. Hopefully everyone will have an opportunity sometime in their skiing lives to use a rope tow, poma lift, or t-bar. They are becoming more and more extinct with maybe the exception of the t-bar in Europe. But for the most part, surface lifts can be as much fun going up as skiing is going down. Especially as a kid, or in my case, a kid in my own mind. Thanks for reading and think snow.

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The Skiing is Good to Excellent

Kinda looks like this in early season.

This cartoon always cracks me up because in a lot of ways, it describes early season skiing anywhere, but particularly here in the Mid -Atlantic. The title line above is what I heard from the former Director of Skiing at Seven Springs Mountain Resort- Lars Skylling, when I would call the ski report incessantly as a kid. ” The skiing is good to excellent with a few izzzzzzzzzy spots.” This time of year, I still look at the ski reports and hope for the best to get an early start around here. People ask me all the time why I ski locally when I get the opportunity to take several trips out west during the season. I tell them that I live and work in the Mid-Atlantic, and if I only skied out west, I would only have a few weeks a year to make turns. Maybe someday I will spend more of the season out west, but for the time being, I ski here and look forward to our trips.

Yours truly at Seven Springs Mountain Resort as a kid. Wooden skis, cable bindings, and leather, lace, boots with the old ski lodge in the background.

So back to local skiing. Typically, whenever anything is open at our local resorts, I will make the trip up to ski. I am a turnpike pounder and could drive that in my sleep. Generally speaking, it has been a good 7-8 months since I have last made a turn and I miss the feeling. Last season, I finished in May at Mammoth, so my time off skis is a little less. But as soon as anything is open, I will go and make some turns. Yes- with the popularity of season passes by Epic and Ikon, a lot of areas look like the cartoon in early season. But I try to get out locally, really early, and when the throngs come crashing in, I leave and wolf down a sandwich on the way home. If it rains, and the cover is good at the areas, I will don the Gore Tex and ski in the rain. Around here, if you don’t ski in foul weather, you don’t ski much. My western friends laugh at me when I say I ski in the rain, but I do what I have to do to get my limited days in during the season. I have really good foul weather skiing and MTB clothing. I ride in the winter too. This is my 62nd year of skiing and my protocol has not changed much at all.

One of my oldest skiing buddies- Dixon Rich. We are still skiing Laurel Mountain together after all these years.
Jan and I on a nice day at Laurel Mountain.

Like mountain biking, I have my local crowd and we all look forward to the season opener. The camaraderie and the nice feeling of seeing your posse for another ski season is always gratifying. Sure, in the beginning of the season, you tend to ski on limited terrain with big crowds. You head is on a swivel as you make endless laps on only a couple of slopes and trails. When it becomes unbearable, the best thing is to leave so you don’t get creamed by an out- of -control yahoo. People get a little crazy at the beginning of the year- new equipment, frenzy to get out, and oftentimes out of control. Janet will only ski during the week, so we will take some days locally to get her ready for the west, but during the week, you pretty much have the areas to yourself. The weekend crowds are the killer- but again, get out early and make those early season turns, and then make like a tree and leave. Once you get your turn fix, you are good. Even if you are there for only a short time.

Dixon, Melissa and Jaime- the Laurel regulars
Tina, Shark and John. Mountain bike and ski pals
Porter and Hiller at Holimont. Have skied with these guys for years and we always make the treks to Western New York to ski the Lake Erie Fluff. Especially when it is not quite ready around here.

You know, the older I get, the more I appreciate the camaraderie of the local crowd at ski season time. It is great to see everybody again especially if you have not seen them all summer. Yes- climate change and global warming is a real thing. We don’t have the snow around here like we had as kids, but we all make the best of it. The skiing may be limited, but the apres’ is never limited with a beverage or two to celebrate the day. I talk about skiing year- round- even on mountain bike rides. You either are hooked or you are not. I have been hooked since I was seven years old and hammering the phone for the ski report. I couldn’t wait for Mr. Rose to call and tell me he was picking me up for the weekend. What a great way to grow up. On the floor of the Rich’s cabin, in sleeping bags, every weekend. I have always felt so fortunate to be able to ski and at least have some local options. People bad mouth local skiing but what the heck, it is better than sitting on the couch moaning about the weather. Ski local, ski in the shitty weather, and when you are finished, you will be glad you made the effort. Skiing is social also, so if nothing else, it is cool to hang with your buds and talk…………..skiing.

So, here we are. Anxiously awaiting another season. Hoping that the crowds are not as bad as the cartoon above, but so what!! I will be there – rain or shine, head on a swivel, happy to once again make those arcs in the snow. Thanks for reading and think snow.

Lets Goooooooooo!!!!!!!!

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The Solden Kickoff

Laura Gut Behrami from Switzerland wins the first Women’s World Cup GS on the Rettenbach Glacier

One of the cool things about watching ski racing on TV, especially the kickoff in Solden, Austria, is it gets you excited for the upcoming ski season. Now I don’t need much encouragement to get excited for ski season, but watching the races on TV definitely gets your amp meter up and running. However, the interesting thing about the coverage is that there is technically so much going on that enables you to see the turns in slow motion as well as from above with the new drone photography. The coverage has become so much better with the advances in broadcasting at race venues.

Drone photography of Mikaela Shiffrin’s run.

I like to watch the turns to see exactly how the World Cup racers do it. The slow motion definitely helps the visual but the new drone coverage from above the skier on the way down the course enables to you see their body position as well as the bending of both skis in the turn. Drone photography has been such an improvement. This fall, I spoke to the drone engineers at the World Cup Mountain Bike races in Snowshoe, West Virginia and they had some interesting things to say. First of all, they told me that they programmed the course GPS coordinates in the drone logic so that the drone has a definite path on the way down the course. It is also locked into the rider and the GPS course lock enables those great shots down the course in the middle of the woods. A little easier with skiing because the racecourse is open and the drone can fly unobstructed. They might not need the GPS technology but then again, they might. In any event, it has been a really good enhancement to the ski coverage.

Petra Vlhova from Slovakia in slow motion action

Peacock, the streaming platform for NBC, is contracted to broadcast all Austrian races as well as the World Cup races in the US. The women’s races at Killington are next on the docket Thanksgiving weekend. All other races are able to be viewed on www. skiandsnowboard.live This is a subscription based streaming platform which is not very expensive and enables the enthusiast to see basically all the other races. Kind of a shame that the mainstream sports broadcasting does not jump on board seeing that the winningest ski racer of all time is in her prime right now and is an American- Mikaela Shiffrin. But, I will log into Peacock and the subscription based platform because I am a fan.

Leader board is so tight.

One thing that you do notice when looking at the leader board is how close the races are. I mean, Federica Brignone of Italy lost the race by .02 seconds to Laura Gut Behrami. This was over two runs. It shows you that the slightest slip or loss of concentration can put you out of the win or out of the top ten. Technique is so important and for that matter, a little luck never hurts either. The men’s race was cancelled due to a winter storm that made it impossible to race. But watching the women is great because their technique is solid and their fitness is apparent.

Paula Moltzan of the US in slow motion.

You know, it is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. My friend Eric has been working with me on lowering my stance and using both skis in the turn. He wants me to ski a little wider, but I have to stand where it is comfortable and try to work both skis from a comfortable stance without the old “A Frame” technique. Tough to change after so many years of skiing “old school.” But watching the races and seeing the new technique, enabled by equipment that gives you a fighting chance……well, just maybe I can change. I won’t be able to do it like the World Cuppers, but I can at least improve my 62 year old technique. Yes- that is how long I have been skiing. Yikes! Thanks for reading and watch Paula and Mikaela. You will learn something.

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Time

Ocean City, NJ

So we visited Janet’s cousin and aunt last week at the “shore” as it is called. Looking out at the ocean and listening to my soundtrack on my new Shokz Open Fit earphones, I had some contemplative moments. The Open Fits are a great item that allow you to listen to music or podcasts but fit outside your ear canal so you can hear what is going on around you. Check them out. But anyhow, I was thinking about the end of summer and the beginning of fall coming and getting close to another lap around the sun for me which will be the end of a decade. Next year is the beginning of a new decade for me and sometimes I feel like I am running out of time. I feel like I am in a Ferrari at full speed, standing and holding the steering wheel, both feet slammed on the brakes to no avail. Thoughts like that are on one side of the mental checklist, but more positive thoughts are on the other side of that checklist. Things like good health with which I have been blessed. The plant based diet seems to be working as I have lowered cholesterol significantly and lost 13 pounds which was not really intended. I don’t need to lose weight, but I did and feel so much better. I have been riding my mountain bike better and feel lighter and stronger even though I am getting older.

I use a Garmin Fenix 6 X fitness watch which allows me to track a whole host of data, some which I use and others that are not used. But two of the interesting metrics are that is says my fitness age is 57 and my Vo2 Max is 43 which is in the top ten percent for my age group. Not sure how much stock I put into those metrics, but it makes you feel a little better. I am not afraid of getting older, but sometimes when you have time to think, like at the shore, thoughts creep into your head. I lost some friends this year and that is sobering. But as Dr. Peter Attia says, it is not that we are trying to live longer, but to enjoy the years we have with good health. He also says in his book “Outlive”, that if you want to roll around on the floor with your grandkids, and get up with no issues, you have to “backcast” to where you are now and start exercising with that in mind. A lot of that is genetics and good blessings, but exercise is definitely a contributor and something to which I have always subscribed.

The mountain bike has been a wonderful tool for me.
End of summer floral greetings on the trails.

As I move to this new decade in 2024, I do still have some fitness goals. I also want to continue to learn. My friend Eric is helping me to work on a more modern ski technique which I will practice this winter. I need to get lower, wider, and use both skis in a turn like the modern race turn which is facilitated by the new equipment available to us. You can always learn new things. Sure, I can stay with my A frame classic technique but why not continue to learn new things and make more dynamic turns on the slopes?

I can’t do it like Mikaela but it sure is a good mental image.

But other than exercise, there are more considerations about the topic of time. I am moving towards retirement, and I am beginning to think about the use of time for Janet and me in a world where I will not be employed anymore. Janet’s cousin Jeff had an interesting comment during our stay at the shore. He is retiring next year, and he is a surgeon. He told me he thought that the most important thing is not what you are retiring from, but what you are retiring to. He says the new chapter in your life should be filled with a purpose. In his case, he is going to be actively involved in the ministry of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He not only has a medical degree from Yale, but a Divinity degree as well. He is going to make good use of that in retirement. I also think that is a good mission statement for Janet and me. There are so many worthy causes to which we can give our time and we will make an effort to pray about it and see where this path will take us.

Time spent together is priceless.

But getting back to that mental checklist, the fear of running out of time is offset by being active and enjoying all that life has to offer. Time together, traveling, active lifestyles, continuing education. To be honest, I feel better now and more fit than I did ten years ago. How that is possible is beyond me, but I will continue with the exercise and the diet and see how things go. God has been good to us. I appreciate all the blessings we have, and the contemplative thoughts are usually overshadowed by an active and productive lifestyle. And as most older people have said – keep moving.

Bill McCollom was a former masters ski racer ,all American ski racer at Middlebury College and editor of Ski Racing. His famous line was, ” I want to go skidding across the finish line of life, missing parts, leaking oil, and screaming……..GERONIMO!!!” An interesting mantra from a very active guy. Thanks for reading and keep moving.

Now the time has come

There are things to realize

Time has come today

-The Chambers Brothers.

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Housekeeping

The one who started this whole thing. My wife Janet.

I am writing a little bit of a different post this week to kind of set straight my ideas about my blog. This is a hobby for me. I like to write but also, I like to share stories which my wife thinks should be written down and kept for our son and hopefully his family someday. In fact, I have used a company from Rochester, New York called Blog 2 Print that has published four volumes in a coffee table book format for me. Not that my stories are anything special. I have done nothing outstanding, but I do have some stories that have a purpose, are sometimes amusing and put forth a positive message for all of us seniors. Life is good and we can all be Younger Next Year.

Fall is coming

Most of my posts tend to focus on outdoor subjects like alpine skiing, hiking and mountain biking. These are my “go to ” activities and they all have something in common. They are enjoyed by all kinds of people from all walks of life. The cool thing about enjoying the great outdoors is that all the politics, personal biases, and differences are all left behind and everyone tends to enjoy each other’s company through these activities in the wild. People need to get away from the pressures of life and if they can enjoy it with an outdoor activity, especially with friends. That is something special.

Activities spawn lifetime friendships. The Flying Smittys.

So, as a bit of housekeeping, I have a favor to ask. Many of you follow the blog on Facebook and that is fine. But it would be good if you would go to http://www.chroniclesofmccloskey.com and look for the little white box in the column to the left, enter your email, and be a follower on the page. Or you can scroll down on your smart phone and the signup box is right below the post. You will get an email once per week or once every two weeks with no ads, and no subscription or bother. Be sure to click on the title to get all the pictures too. You can decline at anytime . I am trying to grow the blog a little bit only to perhaps spread my message a little more to an expanded audience. Again, I am nobody special. But I want to somehow reach some people to inspire them to get out of their comfort zone as a senior and perhaps try new things. I also like to verbalize my thoughts and would like to reach more people with some humor, perhaps some little inspiration, and maybe give them something to think about in a positive way- once a week or once every two weeks depending on my own inspiration.

Handling the shark took me a little bit out of my comfort zone too.

The blog will also get some potential sponsor advertising from some outdoor companies if I reach several thousand hits per month. Word Press will help me do that. I am close to that volume of hits and perhaps I can get to the goal line with expanding the follower base of the blog. I want to thank all of you who support this thing with your kind comments and friendships. Get outside, enjoy nature, and follow the blog. http://www.chroniclesofmccloskey.com Also spread the word to your friends and families. They can be followers too and help get this thing off the ground a little more. Thanks for reading.

Mammoth Mountain, Ca. One of my favorite places.
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Après

Après in the City
Après with the bride at Niagra on the Lake- Canada.

Recently I have been posting about the necessity to enjoy each day as we get older. Instead of always planning the next trip, adventure, or whatever, enjoy each day as it comes. You can’t get time back and it is important to grasp each moment of each day and enjoy it for what it is. Not that you can’t make plans or on the flip side, make everything spontaneous( I wish I could), but take the time to enjoy where you are and relish the good day at hand.

Après is a celebration of each day’s events. Usually accompanied by a beverage or two and involving all the folks with whom you did something with that day. These summer days, it is usually with my mountain biking group. We finish a ride, change clothes, grab our coolers and snacks, haul out the camp chair from our vehicles, and relax as the day winds down. The stories that come out are fun and relishing the day’s events with friends is truly the best part of the ride in my opinion.

Après is more famous in the ski setting as most people like to do the same thing after a great day of skiing. Sitting around a fire with a beverage or two and reliving the great conditions of the day, is a major part of the ski experience. The pictures below celebrate après and also our friend Tim Girone’s birthday up in Bend, Oregon this past winter. Janet asked me, ” we are going to sit around in the parking lot and drink beer and eat snacks in the cold?” She was the last one to leave. It was so much fun and an adaptation on the usual après ski venue.

Happy Birthday Tim- cold but fun.

I posted recently about one of my favorite après ski places- The Cottage up in Lake Placid. Another great venue for celebrating the day’s events.

Most often, one of the more humorous parts of après is how the day’s stories grow in size similar to the standard fishing stories. The size of the fish increases as the day wears on and the same with après. The stories get more spectacular the longer you sit in your chair. Like my dad always said,” The first liar never has a chance.” LOL! All part of the après scene.

Après is fun no matter what sport you participate in, and you should make it a part of your outing whenever you go riding a bike, playing golf, tennis, or whatever floats your boat. Celebrate the day and the friendships that you have made. They say if you go out of this world and can count your good friends on your right hand, you are fortunate. Kind of grim, but really drives home the point to take the time to enjoy each day on this planet, and enjoy the friends that make your days special. Après is like the icing on the cake to a great day. It is the signature of the outing, signed sealed and delivered. You always remember the great days of riding and skiing and equally, most of us remember the great après events that followed the days. They are etched in your mind forever when thinking about good friends. The memories, the pictures in your mind, will last a lifetime. Celebrate with après in whatever you do and most importantly savor each day as it comes. They go quickly. Thanks for reading.

Bob Kowalski – master provider of snacks for the post MTB rides.
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Ya Gadda Have a Laugh

I try to make Jan laugh every day. Usually, I am successful. LOL!!

Have you noticed how serious some people are today? Politics, the economy, and other daily stressors tend to make some people very agitated when really there is not much we can do about it other than try to be kind to each other daily. Part of that kindness is to get a laugh out of people and for a brief moment, they forget their troubles and laugh at the situation. In my case, I self- deprecate to elicit that laugh. Take last week for example. It was my nephew’s birthday. He was not happy about turning 31, but I told him I have socks older than him. That got a good laugh from him even though Richard tends to be fairly serious. For a brief moment, he realized that his Uncle Pat made him feel better. I enjoyed hearing him laugh.

In the last blog post, I talked about getting hit in the head with a chipped ham sandwich while riding my road bike. Not too funny at the time especially with what the driver had to say to me, but funny today thinking about it. And the best part- funny to all of you . Admit it. A chipped ham sandwich……..whack……right in the back of the helmet. With mayo!!!

Speaking of road riding- have any of you riders noticed how serious some road riders tend to be? I happen to be friendly on rides and when we pass a group of road riders, oftentimes they don’t say hello and kind of give you a scowl like they are in the Tour de France or something? I chuckle and think to myself, nobody is going to the Olympics on your ride…….lighten up.

Making Pete laugh is a daily occurrence.

I think the main reason a lot of people like to ride or ski with me is I make them laugh. We jokingly talk about mishaps on the ride or on the slopes. And I bring up some inane conversation that has nothing to do with the ride. I just try to make them laugh while we are killing each other up some hill. My friend Porter always laughs when he reminds me that I took out a whole PSIA clinic group one time on the ski slopes. They were all serious involved in a conversation about technique when I skied down to talk to them, crossed my tips, and took out the whole group like bowling pins including the examiner conducting the clinic. I was embarrassed at the time. But now……..it is one of the funny things Porter remembers. He always says” a level III certified guy cleans out the whole group!” You would think I would know better, but it gets a laugh every time Porter and Tim bring it up.

The makeshift meet and greet table at the World Cup in Snowshoe

I also like to create things to get a laugh. Like when Bob Anderson and the Shark and I visited Snowshoe, West Virginia for the World Cup Mountain Bike Races. Shark is a character and Bob and I saw a free table in the expo area. We set up a makeshift meet and greet so that the UCI mountain bike community could meet the Shark. People didn’t quite know what to make of it, but you would be amazed at the riders and their entourage who came over to meet the Shark. We had a lot of laughs about that. Especially since Bob A tends to be on the serious side……………until you get a big belly laugh from him. Doesn’t take much. LOL!!!

Specialized rider Haley Batten. She was anxious to meet the Shark. LOL!!!
Specialized rider Sina Frei didn’t quite know what to make of the Shark. LOL!!

I have a lot of fun riding mountain bikes and skiing because I don’t take things too seriously and a laugh on the chairlift or on the trail is well worth my effort. I like to brighten people’s day and getting a laugh out of them is always a fun pursuit.

There are so many funny things that occur during the day and if you take the time to capture them, have fun with them, and get a smile out of someone, you have done a good thing for people. I make my wife Janet laugh every day and even though my son Jack often doesn’t appreciate my humor, I like to get a laugh from him as well. Remember- dads are dorks and it is a challenge to overcome that. But oftentimes I relish my role as ………………the dork.

My buddy Dixon always gets me to laugh. He is a character. I have a lot of characters in my life.

Surround yourself with fun people and your life will be so enriched. Things are tough today. There is a lot of division, bitterness, and bad blood, but if you can make the best of it, look on the bright side of life, and don’t get hung up on the news, your life will be so much more fulfilling. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself either. So many people are insecure that they don’t like to make fun of themselves. I don’t know how secure I am, but I don’t have any trouble making fun of myself. It makes other people laugh, and for that………………I am happy. My mother always said, ” happiness is like a perfume…..you can’t sprinkle it on others without getting a little bit on yourself.” No truer words have been said and my mother was…………..a character. Thanks for reading.

I even had Greg Lemond laughing on some rides.
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Vertical

Summit Chair- Whiteface Lake Placid, New York

Vertical is a term that skiers and mountain bike riders use when describing their day on the hill or trail. Vertical drop is generally described as the measurement from the top of the mountain to the base lodge. Particular ski trails are listed with a certain vertical drop, and you can track these statistics on a number of apps today including the popular Slopes app. It gives you information like how many runs you made and what total vertical drop was achieved in your day of skiing. My friend Mark Hutchinson and I used an app called Alpine Replay which was the forerunner to Slopes to track our runs at Northstar at Tahoe one day. I have posted before that we achieved 57,000 vertical feet that day and the next day at Mt. Rose in Nevada, we achieved 52,000 vertical feet. It was kind of fun to track our runs and see how many we made and what the total vertical or vertical drop we had achieved skiing. Plus we totally honked off a French guy who held the record up to that point. A couple of old geezers took him down. The app developer loved it. LOL!!

Summit of Mammoth Mountain, California. 11,000 Feet

Another fun statistic is to see how high the summits are at different ski areas and to see the total vertical drop based on those summit elevations. When you ride the Summit Chair at Whiteface as seen above, you will see markers on the chairlift towers that show your elevation and also how it compares to similar resorts in Vermont and New Hampshire. The summit at Whiteface is actually higher than a lot of New England ski areas. So, elevation vertical and vertical drop are used a lot when describing your day on the slopes at any ski area. How much vertical did you ski and what is the vertical of the summit? Cool statistics that are apres ski conversation pieces.

Climbing for some vertical while riding a mountain bike.

Similarly, mountain bikers rack up vertical while climbing up a trail. We all have devices that track different statistics like heart rate, distance, time on the ride and vertical. In this case, vertical means what is achieved when we climb on our mountain bike. My Garmin Fenix watch tracks these efforts, and I can log how many miles I have ridden, on what trails, what was the distance and other metrics that are interesting to see at the end of a ride. I can compare them to my friends’ metrics and see how we do in comparison to each other’s efforts. Gaining vertical on a mountain bike ride takes some effort and it is what usually gets you in shape when you have to climb a hill on a bike. This time of year, the effort is making us stronger with each ride. No pain – no gain. When we climb hills on a mountain bike, we sweat, breathe hard, and fatigue our legs to the point of exhaustion. So vertical in this case is all uphill effort with trackable results.

The rocky trails and ascents at Rothrock State Forest in Central Pa.

So, thinking about this the other day while looking at my Garmin statistics, led me to some conclusions which will show you a little bit about how my mind works. This winter, I always thought about the vertical on the summits where I skied. I thought about how many vertical feet I had skied and how it felt to achieve those metrics. Usually, I work hard at making clean turns and I learn something new every year. But the effort is assisted by gravity and even though sometimes I am breathing heavy at times due to altitude, or working the turns, the effort is not as difficult as when I am riding uphill on a mountain bike to achieve vertical feet in climbing. It occurred to me that the two different efforts are really like what goes on in life. Some days we flow downhill through the day, with little effort and appreciate the beauty of the world similar to a ski run on a sunny, groomed slope. Gravity is our friend as we make our way through the day with no encumbrances. But then there are the other days where it is tough. Like climbing a steep hill on your mountain bike in 90 degree weather. The sweat is pouring, you are breathing heavy, and your legs sometimes feel like lead. Those days, while achieving vertical feet of climbing, can be tough. But here is the good news. The effort most of the time yields great rewards. You get in better shape and the adversity turns you into a stronger rider and the no pain no gain axiom is found to be true.

The Rock Garden at Seven Springs Resort, Pa.

There are those days when you think that there is no way you are going to make it. Like riding that mountain bike, you think you cannot make one more pedal stroke ……..but you eventually do. You don’t give up and you get to the top. You look back at the ride or the day, and you realize that life can be tough sometimes. But when you summon up some effort, learn to accept the pain and the adversity, you can achieve many things – a lot more than vertical feet. There are downhill days and uphill days, but when we learn to appreciate both efforts of gaining ……………..vertical………….we can see how it makes us a stronger, better person. Right? Thanks for reading.

Even World Champion Nino Schurter in his white championship jersey suffers on climbs. He has tough days too.

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Still At It

The Minarets as seen from the top of Mammoth Mountain, California

When I say still at it, yes! Just came back from some amazing skiing in Mammoth Mountain, California. A real treat and was still at it for the winter of 2022-2023. A bonus trip came my way with my good friend Eric Durfee. But “still at it” also means that I am still skiing with my friend Eric for over 45 years.

Yours truly and Eric Photo courtesy of Eric Durfee
Yours truly and Eric roughly 43 years ago at Tuckerman Ravine, New Hampshire

We have had great adventures skiing, and this week was another on our list. The skiing in Mammoth was incredible for May. Mid Winter conditions with so much snow that they believe they will ski until September. I took a 5:15 AM flight out of Pittsburgh last Monday and arrived in Reno at 9:20 AM and Eric picked me up at the airport and we drove the scenic RT.395 to Mammoth. We were in the chairlift by 1:40 after I changed in the parking lot. Boxer shorts flapping in the wind. The week gave us interesting weather as it was usually sunny in the morning and clouded up significantly in the afternoon which made the visibility late in a day a little challenging up top. But we made our way to the lower runs and did just fine.

Added bonus skiing with Bill Boucher at left( friend from Seven Springs, Pa) and Pat Feeney of San Francisco. Have not skied with Pat for 40 years. It was wonderful to see him. Both of these guys still ski well. Photo courtesy of Eric Durfee

The great thing about skiing with Eric is his enthusiasm for the sport. 121 days on the snow this year and would have had 14 more if he had not injured his thumb. But he is a student of the game of skiing, and has really worked hard on getting his turns to be more in line with modern technique instead of old school. I am old school too in that I ” A- Frame”, which basically means that I can have my weight on the downhill ski but the inside ski is rather docile. But we worked on a lower stance, a wider stance, and moving the inside knee actively into the turn like the racers do. Eric has it down pretty well and I am getting there. Nice to work on something new at 68 years of age. Generally speaking, Eric and I can ski anything, but working the new technique with the skis that work well with that kind of technique is really enjoyable. We had the wives with us in Oregon recently and that was a lot of fun skiing with Helen and Janet. But to have a bonus week with your friend of 45 years, ripping GS turns, and getting the added treat of some fresh snow was truly memorable.

Speaking of racers, the US Women’s Speed Team was there this week. We really got to see the edge angles and the inside knee move into the turns.
Dave’s Run off the top of the Gondola.
Our fresh tracks after a 9″ snowfall one night. Total accumulation at Mammoth summit this season is over 900 inches. A record. Photo courtesy of Eric Durfee

Groomers getting ready for a summer full of camps and park activity. Photo courtesy of Eric Durfee

But the really memorable thing about being “still at it” is that I can see Eric maybe a couple of times a year, but when we get together, it is as if I had never left. Isn’t that the way it always is with a good friend? We take up right where we left off and continue to tell our old stories and make new ones along the way. When you can drive for three hours each way, and stay for a week and not run out of any conversation, you know you have a great friend. We talk politics, skiing, and life in general and he always has some sage advice for me as well as a way to shed some light on topics in a different way than I hear most of the time. They say to have a friend is to be a friend and Eric definitely embodies that sentiment.

So yes- we are still at it. Skiing is a great sport and it gives us an excuse to get together and enjoy the mountains. We are getting older and we realize our limitations, but for the most part, we are in good shape and can still enjoy making turns and look forward to doing it for many years to come. I have made many friends through skiing, and am perhaps one of the only people around my neck of the woods that gets a little bummed out when winter is over. As I sharpened and waxed my skis for the last time this season, I was a little down. But I look forward to the next season and will enjoy the summer activities with the mountain bike crowd. But when those first flakes start to fall later this year, I will be ready for 2023-2024. Thanks Eric for always keeping me in the game. Thanks for reading.

Photo courtesy of Eric Durfee

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The Comeback

Disclaimer!!!!!- This is a guest post by Jeff Chetlin. Although his friends are kind of shy about the flatttering comments that Jeff has made here, he asked that he could write this as a testament to his amazing comeback from a stroke. He has a lot of friends and he has very complimentary things to say about us. But the real story is his comeback. So………here is Jeff’s guest post.

Julie and Jeff Chetlin hiking at Laurel Mountain, Pa

I spent a week in Central Oregon with my good friend Pat and his wife Janet. It was a week that was very eye opening, and made me want to write a little story that I have been wanting to tell to a lot of people. Most of you may already know this, but for those of you who don’t, I have been a very active person throughout my 30s , 40s, and 50s. I was a swimmer and a baseball player in high school and in college played many years of golf. I got into mountain biking prior to suspension and clipless pedals in the early 90s and was instantly hooked. That led me to learn how to ride a dirt bike and I have spent many years loving that as well. I also want to tell you that skiing has been in my blood since I have been a child, and I love it still to this day.

Jeff -fat biking at Bend, Oregon trails. March 2023.

Where the story gets interesting is in June, 2021, I experienced a stroke in my cerebellum and after many months in the hospital and in rehab, I was released to my house. There my wife took care of me 24/7. During that time, I went from a weight of 185 pounds down to 130 pounds and for six months I was basically on the couch or in my bed and unable to eat. As you can imagine, this changed my life considerably. But not as much as what happened in March of 2022.

My dear friend, Pat McCloskey, came to my house every Friday around noon whether I wanted him or not. He would bring these giant sandwiches, chips and drinks, and sit with me at my kitchen table. In the beginning, I could not even eat them, but he still came. As the weeks and months passed, one day he said that he and Pete Hilton and Mark “the Shark” Sauers were coming to my house and were going to take me on a bike ride. I was very unsure of that but they showed up at my house on a cold March day. Pat put my mountain bike in the back of his Jeep and drove it down to a flat grassy area in Frick Park. He and Pete and Shark ran beside me as I attempted to pedal my bike even though I was riding in circles. It was truly the beginning of my recovery and I think we all had tears in our eyes.

They were the first angels that came to my side and propelled me towards healing. The next person I want to mention is Dr. Syed Hyder. I was at his medical office in Mars, Pa and after a check up he walked out to the car with me and said,” you are good and must start moving yourself into uncomfortable situations.”

After I began to improve by riding my mountain bike, my good friend Jesse Seager would come to my house every day not knowing what I could or could not do. He didn’t care. We would ride our mountain bikes around the cemetery because there were no cars and he would tell me many funny stories along the way and the healing continued.

Jeff and Jesse at D’s.

The next people that I want to mention are Tim Girone and his lovely wife Barb. I spent most of the winter out in Bend, Oregon. On the second day I arrived there, he and some other couples were taking a snowmobile ride up to a high mountain hut with food and drinks to watch the sunset. Tim thought that we should attend. My awesome wife Julie said we are in. But I was not sure I could do that because I was still dizzy and did not see too well. But I continued to push through and be persistent, and face my fears. Not five minutes into the ride, Julie and I crashed and I reinjured my broken shoulder. The accident did more than hurt me physically it hurt me mentally because I knew that Pat and Janet were coming out to ski with me in March. I was confined to walking and laying around for six to eight weeks while my shoulder healed. Tim, Barb, and my wife Julie belong to an amazing gym in Bend called Embark. The owner of the gym is Dorian Adam. In undying friendship, Tim kept telling Dorian that Jeff needs to move again. I had been laying around very sedentary. In a subtle way, he orchestrated getting me back to the gym where Dorian would work with me twice a week for a half hour. It was very difficult mentally. I had some stomach issues but Tim said that would eventually go away and it did.

Tim and Barb Girone- extraordinary friends.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my amazing wife Julie. She is a pusher. And I mean that in an amazing, positive way. She said,” you are going to the gym.” “I don’t care how much it costs.” One day she woke up and said,” I warmed up your ski boots and we are going skiing today.” I was very afraid and could not sleep the night before. She said,” Pat and Janet are coming and they expect you to be able to ski with them.” So we went up a few beginner runs, and on the second run she skied right up to me with giant tears in her eyes and was crying how happy she was to see me doing this. The next day we went back again with Barb Girone. I skied four blue square runs and had stomach issues again. But that was the last time it happened and I kept pursuing it. Then Pat and Janet showed up for a week and on their last ski day we were celebrating Tim’s birthday. We all skied together and had a party in the parking lot. On the fourth run of the day, the clouds came in and you could not see a thing. Pat, who used to teach blind skiers, said,” I got this, I am going to lead you down the mountain like the blind skiers.” We all had a good laugh at that. Tim eventually got me back to the car after a couple of visually challenged runs.

Tim’s Parking Lot Birthday Party

What happened next will remain in my memory for a long time. About 15-20 people showed up at Tim’s van. Tim had a fire and we all laughed and sat in the freezing cold. It was snowing and windy. I kept thinking that there is no way I can sit out like this but it was so much fun with everybody laughing, and shaking and freezing. At one point I looked over at Pat’s wife Janet who was freezing. I kept thinking that Janet would want to leave soon and that I would leave with her. But she never did leave and was one of the last ones to go.

Jeff and his posse for Tim’s birthday

I have been back in Pittsburgh for about a week now and every day my coach Jesse picks me up on our bikes and we head to Frick Park. He is upping my game every day and tells me we will begin doing some single track. He has become an amazing recovery tool and I realize that in some ways, I am helpful to him.

The reason I wanted to write this is there are lessons to be learned here. As in most of Pat’s Chronicles, there seems to be always an underlying lesson. And here it is…..from Pat, to Shark, Jesse, Syed, Barb and Tim, and mostly to my wonderful wife Julie, they have all taught me what life is really about. It is connections. It is people, it is movement, it is laughter. It doesn’t have to be skiing or riding a mountain bike. It could be just sitting around in the freezing cold parking lot after skiing or sitting on the edge of an Oregon beach laughing and enjoying the beauty. If you know me well enough, you know I enjoy my friends. They have been invaluable in my recovery which will go on for years to come. So what I have to say to all of you is in order to have good friends, you have to be a good friend. My lesson to all of you is without my friends, I would not be here at all. Friendship is a gift.