Patrol Road Tripping
Escaping Mammoth and hitting the road with our Patrol friends was always a good time. Some of the memories and stories can be shared, others have faded away or got buried down so deep as not to embarrass or incriminate others. Either way, hitting the road for Certification, Gun School Training or just good old Tahoe Road Trips made you appreciate Mammoth more. Travel has a way of keeping things in perspective. Traveling to the Lake Tahoe region was a great escape and opened our eyes to a whole different world that existed outside of the Mammoth bubble.
The Gold Crest was our home away from home when we traveled to Tahoe. Ron Cummings family owned this classic lakeside lodge in the Kings Beach area. They were always great at extending a favorable rate, awesome hospitality and a home away from home. It didn’t matter whether we were traveling for work or play. The lakeside location was awesome and we always felt welcome at Ron’s place.
Gun School at Alpine Meadows, Far West Professional Ski Patrol Certification at Squaw, Ski Patrol night races at Homewood and a bunch of Tahoe pleasure trips are some of my fondest memories. They all had something in common. Staying at the Gold Crest and feeling so welcome. I wanted to share a couple of memories and thank Ron and his family for all the good times.
Homewood is a classic, funky, Sierra ski hill that has a lot of charm and reminds me a lot of a land that time forgot. They hosted a great annual night time race under the lights and a smokin fun party for Ski Patrol afterwards. It was quite the gathering of the tribe and a heck of a good time. The beer flowed, the vibe was awesome and the bragging rights were all time. The Tahoe guys did not like to be beat by Mammoth. We looked different because we had no facial hair and we skied better. Mammoth would send (2) Teams to compete. The Elite (fast guy team) was Team 1, Mammoth. Team 2 was not as fast, but did not lack any enthusiasm. Jim Stone organized the Teams and you had to pay bribes to even be considered. Team 1 was Jim Stone, Eric Diem, Chris Lizza and Matt Jennes, (the beast from the east). Team 2 was Mike Rufer, Joe Beauvis, myself and one other fun hog. Memory aint what it used to be. This was in the mid 80s and Me and Mike just can’t remember who the 4th team member was. Help my memory if you can? We arrived at sundown and enjoyed some free-flowing keg beer at the base lodge. We signed up and took a couple of runs under the lights to get used to our night vision. There were different levels of enthusiasm depending on where your priorities were. Drinking beer or inspecting the course. Matt never left the lodge until it was time to race. He not only smoked the course but beat everyone by 2 seconds with no inspection. He was on fire. A band played into the night and we made new friends, caught up with old ones and celebrated being Professional Ski Patrolman with each other. Mammoth Team 1 won the event. Kirkwood got second and Mammoth Team 2 got third. Not a bad showing for the out of towners. I think we were faster because we had no facial hair and less resistance! The next day some of us went skiing at Kirkwood on our way home. The Kirkwood guys gave us a great tour and tried to scare us in their chutes. They still couldn’t believe we beat them. The Gold Crest was a great place to wind down after the race and sitting in the hot tub melting after the race was a great end after another great night out in Tahoe.
The FWPSPA certification at Squaw Valley was another memorable Patrol Road Trip. Half the crew were examiners and judges and the other half were taking exams. Some people studied and stressed about the test. Others took it more lightly and figured Patrolling at Mammoth was a good enough standard to ace the tests. Both programs worked. Squaw was so different than Mammoth back then. Probably still is, even now during the time of Alterra. Either way the Gold Crest was our home base for the week. Some stuff went down that was hysterical. What happens in Tahoe stays in Tahoe. There was such a sense of pride and satisfaction for those of us that aced our exams. I certified in everything but rope rescue. I associated that test and searched out Oriol and Walter for better preparation next time. I guess studying and practicing isn’t all bad. Too much pride and confidence can get you or others hurt if you don’t know your sh!t. The hot tub at the Crest was overflowing and we laughed ourselves silly talking story and having fun.
Gun School at Alpine was sponsored by the Mountain. This was serious stuff and we behaved more better, most of the time. This was a pivotal year because quite a few of us were bumping up to Gunner status from Loader. This was also the fateful fall just prior to Alpine having an accident on their Gun. We were firing the same gun that caused the accident. Bill Erb was the Team Leader for our group. He was the perfect Cruise Director for the trip. He knew the best restaurants and bars on the North shore of the lake. We enjoyed some good meals, food, libations and entertainment. John McGrath and Danny Whitmore took a short cut home one night. That was one wild car ride we witnessed. They cheated death and made it through the woods with ease. Ask them about it some time. The Gold Crest took really good care of us again and the Mountain paid for all the expenses except for the detour out highway 50 East.
Laurie and I took a nice ski trip up to Tahoe to ski Alpine and Squaw. I remember this trip best because we figured out Laurie was pregnant with Morgan at the time. She put her toe in the hot tub and pulled it out. Said she “didn’t feel like soaking”. She figured out why, she was pregnant. We went out for margaritas and she took one sip. It didn’t taste good to her. I got to drink two margaritas and they tasted good. We had fun skiing and figured out that there was a major lifestyle change happening in her belly. The Gold Crest was warm and comfortable and most memorable for sure.
Thanks, for reading my ramblings. Patrolling at Mammoth was a special time for me and through the Alumni Association we have gotten re connected. Stay safe and keep sharing your pictures and stories. See you at SanO or on the slopes soon. Happy Trails and Happy Labor Day Weekend.
Bill Medove