Facebook | chroniclesofmccloskey

Peter Duke helping out in his son’s ski shop.

Scrolling through Facebook last week, I came upon an ad for Point 6 socks. Really great socks that I use for skiing and mountain biking. The owner and founder is seen above helping out in his son’s ski shop in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I know this guy and was happy to see him again in a photo even though I have not seen him for many years. Peter Duke was a great influence in my life at the time that I met him and this is the story.

When I taught skiing at Sugarloaf, Maine back in the day as a young guy, I was working towards my certification for ski instruction through the Professional Ski Instructors of America. I took many clinics in New England and met Peter as one of my course conductors. As it turned out, I had Peter for several clinics and we got to know each other. He was tough. At the time, we had to do what they called final forms which are basically maneuvers on which we would be tested and Peter wanted to make sure that they were perfect. He was a taskmaster that made us all work hard to get the final forms correct and to make sure our teaching was up to snuff in order to pass the exam. He had no problem whacking me on the backs of my ski boots if my ankles and knees were not flexed and telling me that I needed to perform or I would not pass any test much less an evaluation for the clinic in which I found myself. It was my good fortune that Peter was hard on me. I needed the work and he was demanding but fair. I respected him and was happy that I was getting what I think was the best teaching at the time. At 21 years old and just out of college, the exam was important to me because it was a way to validate what I had invested in ski teaching up until that time. It was not a career but was a great avocation. You learn a lot about your own skiing while teaching and taking clinics with the best in the country. Peter was one of those people.

Fast forward, I was at my exam in Killington, Vermont and Peter was there He was not one of my examiners but took the time to talk to me and remind me of what I had learned with him. I passed the test and became” certified” and will always be grateful to Peter for his skills, his teaching and his demand for perfection. He even introduced me to the greatest rain gear at the time- Bukflex. It was a sailing outfit and when I saw Peter wearing the gear, I had to get it. I used it for many seasons skiing and teaching in the rain. Seems like Peter had it all going on and whatever I could glean from that guy- I took it.

Several years later I was skiing in Heavenly Ski Resort out in California and I remembered that Peter and Stu Campbell ( of Ski Magazine fame), were running the ski school out there at the time. I went to the ski school office and had a nice chat with the both of them and they gave me comp tickets for the week. Nice!!! We talked about the days when they were at Stowe. In those days, the guys from Stowe were the kings and kind of a fraternity of the best examiners and course conductors. Peter and Stu got the opportunity to run the ski school at Heavenly. I told Peter what a great influence he was on me as a young guy seeking my certification. He acknowledged and said it was a tough test that many people cannot pass. He was glad to be a part of my success.

Several years ago, I had heard that Peter had founded SmartWool socks and eventually sold the business. He was a savvy businessman and I was happy to see that he had founded a company with such great notoriety. At the same time, I was running in an off road team trail race out in Colorado called the “Colorado Relay”. Lots of fun with my Armada Supply Chain Solutions team mates and we were enjoying the expo associated with the event. I came upon a booth with the name Point 6 and went to investigate. They were giving away socks for the runners to try. I was talking to the rep in the booth when I heard him say that the founder of Point 6 was the same guy that had founded SmartWool. I looked at him and said.” Peter Duke?” He smiled and said yes and asked if I knew him. I said yes and he said, lets get him on the phone. I think he was kind of calling my bluff but when Peter answered, he said” Hello Pat. What are you doing these days? ” I think he actually was happy to reconnect and was also happy that I visited the Point 6 booth. We had nice chat and after all these years, it was nice to hear his voice again. A lot of time had passed and the exam process was a distant memory, but I always remembered his clinics and a lot of what he taught me is still ingrained in my skiing today. I still buy Point 6 socks because of the quality. But I also like the fact that I am supporting the company of a guy who had a lot of influence on me in my younger days.

Facebook takes a lot of criticism for many things- warranted and not so much. But the nice thing is that sometimes, you see these pictures of people who you have not seen in a while and they remind you of good times in the past and maybe how people have come and gone in your life but remain an influence. Peter is one of those people. He probably does not realize the impact he had, but when I saw his picture on Facebook under the Point 6 ad, I was happy to reflect on our past association. Point 6 is a great company that makes quality merino wool apparel. If you get the chance, check them out. You will not be disappointed and now you know a little bit more about them. Thanks for reading and think snow!!!

Anyone can write a blog. Word Press and other platforms make it easy for one to put out thoughts and musings about a myriad of subjects that may or may not interest the general public. It all started for me in January of 2013 when I was repeating one of my inane stories from the past to my wife, Janet. She was laughing and suggested that I start writing these stories down for posterity and to perhaps start a blog. I thought about it, looked up Word Press on the Internet, and began a journalistic adventure that has continued for 167 posts to date. Most of my drivel is about outdoor adventures and experiences that have been humorous as well as telling about how I view the world. My friend Eric from Nevada said to me when I started, that unless I have climbed Everest, saved sherpas and climbers from imminent death with my heroics, no one will really care about my blog except my friends who know me. In fact many of my friends laugh and say that they can hear me telling the stories by the way that I write. It is almost as if I am talking when they read the posts.

So here are some conclusions for you to review along with some suggestions for those who might consider writing a blog:

Anyone can write a blog. Millions of people do and most people will not be published in a magazine so this is the only way of scratching the writing itch.
Don’t expect to get rich. It takes thousands of hits on the blog to get advertisers interested. I currently have 567 followers -some faithful, some not, but it keeps growing incrementally and that is fine with me. I am happy that some people find my writing entertaining and informative.
Keep it specific to a genre. I chose to write about outdoor adventures with a touch of humor. I am not an international outdoor adventurer sponsored by magazines or equipment manufacturers. I am just Joe Blow who has had some funny times riding a bike, skiing, and running trails.
You have to be a shameless promoter. At the risk of being obnoxious, I have told people about my blog and asked them to be a follower. I have had business cards made, bumper stickers made( many of which have been plastered at ski areas all over the country). My wife Janet keeps me in line if I get out of control promoting. I just like to write and it is fun to see the blog grow.
Pay the hundred bucks to get the premium service from the platform provider. You can put a lot of pictures and video with the space that Word Press allows and they give you excellent support.
You have to be creative and selective with “tags”. If used properly, they can attract traffic to your blog. Tags like “cycling” , ” skiing” , “humor”, etc.
As the blog has grown, it is amazing to see where the hits come from. All over the world! Most of the followers now are people whom I have never met. Other bloggers, curiosity seekers who are interested in outdoor subjects, people trying to sell me on marketing my blog, Facebook followers who are friends of friends.
Facebook was instrumental in growing the blog. But as it has expanded, the Word Press followers have eclipsed the Facebook followers. It is easy on my blog- just hit the button to the left and be a follower. You will get an automatic email when I get creative- which is usually once per week. See- promoting again!!
The posts are archived monthly and as I review them, I think my writing style has improved from the early posts. I have learned what people like to read and what bombs as a post. This post will most likely bomb but I had to do it as a review of where I have been and where I want to go with this.
Re-blogs are good to do because a lot of folks will not read the archives( frankly they don’t have time). But the occasional re-blog will be timely and give me a chance to recharge the memory banks.
Personal stories and posts that expose feelings and stations in life can be interesting to some folks who are going through the same thing or thinking the same thoughts. I try not to get too serious but sometimes events inspire me to drop my drawers and expose my feelings for all to see. Sometimes I moon people, sometimes I expose my heart.
I write a lot of this to document my life for my son. He doesn’t read it. But maybe someday he will. Nothing malicious on his part. He is just not interested. And……………….that’s ok.
As I go forward, I am running out of material. My experiences and memory are waning. But I will continue to write about things that strike me as I continue what has been a very active and fun outdoor life. I will keep it humorous, somewhat educational, and easy to read in a couple of minutes because that is all the time people have time to give my blog.
I follow other people’s blogs to get ideas and to fan the flames of the kindred spirit. They follow mine as well and I have amassed some very fun blogging friends from all over the world. The Ouachita Shutterbug is a fun photo and musings blog. Single-Tracked Mind is another and we have threatened to do guest blog posts for each other. “To the nth degree ” is another one focused on outdoor life in Pennsylvania. Helena is a mountain biker and kayaker. My friends keep me grounded. So far, I have not” jumped the shark” and when I do, enough will be enough. But the challenge will continue to write inspiring, “if I can do it, you can do it” posts as well as funny stories from the past. Good photos will be included to round out the stories and if you have the chance to comment, please do so on Word Press or Facebook. If you wish to contact me, my email is on the cover page. Thanks for reading and I hope that I have not been too obnoxious or boring. Hopefully my self deprecation will make you laugh and be inspired.