|
January 27, 2012 - by Pat Goggin
eNewsletter 10
Caberfae Ski Club
CABERFAE SKI CLUB eNEWSLETTER, Vol. V, #10 January 27, 2012
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
1. LATEST WEATHER AND SNOW CONDITIONS
2. WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND?
3. DESPERATELY SEEKING CABERFAE’S HISTORY - Jim Neff
4. WADDY’S NO BAD NEWS REPORT
COMMENTS, CONTRIBUTIONS & SUGGESTIONS
1. GET THE LATEST WEATHER AND SNOW CONDITIONS at the Caberfae Ski Club Weather page by clicking http://www.caberfaeskiclub.org/WEATHER.html
2. WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND?
FRIDAY
The Clubhouse Grille opens for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. with full service all day.
The lifts open at 10 a.m.
Ticket Agent is available until 11:15.
Fish Fry at 6 p.m. Please make reservations dinnerreservations@caberfaeskiclub.org but if you forget: First, PLEASE
call Sue 231-920-6769… even if you’re in the car on your way out to the clubhouse; Second, come anyway… but let
those who remembered to make reservation go first.
Stag’s Head Lounge is open until 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
The Clubhouse Grille opens for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. with full service until 4 p.m.
Lifts open at 9 a.m.
Ticket Agent available until 11:15 a.m.
Stag’s Head Lounge is open until 9:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
The Clubhouse Grille opens for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. with full service until 3 p.m.
Lifts open at 9 a.m.
Ticket Agent available until 11:15 a.m.
The bar in the Stag’s Head Lounge opens at noon on Sunday.
The Clubhouse Grille is open until 3 p.m.
The barn door gets pulled at 4 p.m., closing off the Clubhouse Grille and Stag’s Head Lounge.
3. DESPERATELY SEEKING CABERFAE’S HISTORY
A LETTER FROM JIM NEFF
I'm trying to put together a history of Caberfae Ski Resort. As it turns out, very little of the resort's history
has been written down (in one spot). I've uncovered material for the 1930s through about the mid-1950s, but the
1960s-1970s are a tough go. My thought is to create a timeline and then put it online. At that point, people can
add to the story. To begin, could anyone help me nail down (whether specific or in general) the following
dates:
1. Opening of the Edelweiss hotel (now the MacKenzie)
2. Opening of the Skyview
3. Opening of the day lodge/upper deck (now the site of the Blackmer)
4. When the T-Bar lifts were put in: Tournament, West Ridge, #1 T, Bullnose, and I think there was one on the
western reaches near Stagshead Bowl. Others?
5. The dates and story of the ill-fated double chair that only lasted one or two seasons and then had to be
dismantled.
6. Opening of the #1 double.
7. Opening of the Bo Buck double.
I did a Part One of the story, which you can read at http://voices.yahoo.com/caberfae-peaks-75-years-michigan-ski-history-10770817.html.
Please feel free to give me any corrections or additions.
If you could jot down your thoughts/information in an e-mail or even give it to me in a hard copy written form it
would be helpful. Feel free to pass this request along to other Caberfae veterans too.
Thanks,
Jim Neff
4. WADDY’S NO BAD NEWS REPORT - Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
I'm a 'bachelor' for 2.35 days (Robin's in Ann Arbor), watching UM play Purdue, and have just had a stir fry dinner
compliments of Robin's nurturing instincts. I'm going to gamble tonight, and take my writing in a different
direction- I'm going to include an excerpt from my 2008 solo motorcycle ride from Ann Arbor to Prudhoe Bay, AK and
the Arctic Ocean. I thought you might like a totally different read. If not, I tried, and can easily return to a
safe status quo.
But first- skiing. Darryl Staskowski groomed our x-country trails for first time this season on Friday eve, and the
results were fantastic. The skiing was so good that we over-did it. Harrydippel and Steve Elenbaas had similar
looks on their faces as we arrived back at my house. My 'Italian Stallion' cousin from Ontario actually had hair
out of place and sweat dripping in a most un-stylish manner. Do we know how to have fun or what? My hips finally
recovered enough today that I went out for a downhill ski. Typically, the hill maintenance crew had the hill nicely
groomed, so much so that it was difficult to tell that we had rain and warm yesterday. They were assisted by a
couple of inches of fresh snow last night. Temps look promising for the coming week, so come on in, the water's
great!
Now, for something new. Below is an excerpt from one of my journal entries in early June 2008. I had left from Tok,
AK and ended up doing a non-stop ride all the way up to Prudhoe Bay. This is what I wrote the day after:
I left Tok yesterday morning after breakfast with the Cris Dippels (father and son). They were to commence their
drive to Colorado, and I decided tire management would allow me a run to Fairbanks, then head toward the Dalton
Hwy, the road to Prudhoe Bay and the ocean. From Fairbanks I called to arrange a room at the halfway point,
Wiseman, and submit passport number for oil field security clearance and schedule a tour. The Dalton Hwy is not....
a highway. It starts about 45 miles north of Fairbanks and runs for just shy of 500 miles to here. That’s 500 miles
of dirt, gravel, and mud road.... there are sections that are paved, but I soon found that those can lull one into
a false sense of security. Because of earthquakes, frost heave, and who knows what else (heavy truck traffic?), the
paved sections can be broken, and just when you think the going will be smooth, there's a break in the road.
Anything from a crack, to a hole, or a section under re-construction.
At least on the dirt section I can set my concentration to the required level and just 'dial-in' to the road
conditions for that given section. The first couple of miles of the Dalton had me wondering if I was up to this...
I stopped, reduced tire pressures, locked down anything I was carrying that might 'jiggle', and decided to give it
a try. I soon realized how amazing my bike is. I also came to realize that my preparations, especially super
suspension system, were paying off. As the miles started to accumulate, I found that I gained my confidence in my
abilities and found more and more trust in the bike. Soon found that I could maintain about 50 mph anywhere except
mud. I re-set my bike's computer so that I could monitor average speed. By the time I got here that number was
about mid-40s. I had originally planned to stop for the day at the 175 mile point, Coldfoot. Last services (read
gas) until Prudhoe. I talked to a truck drive who had just come down from the
north, and he said they had been wetting the road (calcium chloride? which sets-up eventually to a hard surface,
for a while. They keep doing it over and over) and that travelling late in the day was best due to reduced truck
traffic and that the mud would have started to set-up and be less slick. I took him at his word and bashed on. I
heard a talk by Heinrich Messner once upon a time in the early 90s. Mr. Messner was the world's foremost explorer
and achiever of super human feats (solo assent of Everest without oxygen, solo traverse of Antarctica on foot...).
What struck me most, other than the fact that he seemed very uncomfortable around humans, was that he talked of all
his accomplishments in terms of over-coming the mental obstacles perceived in his ordeals. As my night progressed,
I worked on Mr. Messner's message and turned anger and fear into sort of 'Sound of Music' appreciation. I found
that I could go on, even in the most remote, loneliest place I've ever
been. Spaces are huge here. Once over the very difficult Antigon Pass (steep, mud, scarey), about 80 of my 245
miles from Coldfoot to Prudhoe, the forests, lakes and rivers gave way to the very delicate Arctic tundra. I saw
one fox, and a few trucks in my 5 1/2 hrs Coldfoot to Prudhoe. The tundra appears to be about a foot thick mossy
surface laying on a bed of sand. Delicate. As the sun 'set', dipped to just below the horizon, on my left/west, the
weather turned colder and foggier. Now I'm back to visibility issues- trying to see through a visor that had been
made somewhat opaque by my constant scrapings during my snow storms earliest in the trip. Now, with sun glare, fog,
which makes my screen wet inside and out, I had a hell of a time trying to see the ever-changing road conditions in
front of me. This situation got progressively worse as I got further north (remember, I'm well north of the Arctic
Circle now...), and I achieved a slightly higher plateau. My the
rmometer read 34 degrees at lowest, but usually hovered around 40. My electric vest was on all the time, and I
alternated heated grips between high and low settings. My feet started to get cold (remember Coldfoot?), and I
don't think I've ever felt so alone. Thank God for my 'Waddy brain', which usually doesn't know any better. I
bashed on. At worst, the dirt road turned to a surface that had been scraped clear on a bed of rock. I had to slow
to 2nd gear and about 15-20 mph. That really bummed me. Would I ever manage the last 50 miles into Deadhorse (the
civilian 'town' at Prudhoe Bay)? For every down, there's an up- elevation dropped, fog lifted, temp went back up to
about 40, and out of nowhere.... pavement! That relief lasted about 20 miles. I could finally make out lights
across the vastness, and the sun, at least some light from the sun, was started to make its slow voyage in a
diagonal ascent. I finally got here. Deadhorse is not a town. Its more like the
industrial part of Gary, Ind. (Hi, Barb). Everything is oil field related. Did I mention that the Dalton Hwy
follows the pipeline? Or vice-versa. The pipeline is elevated about 8' off the ground most of the way to Valdez.
Sometimes it disappears underground for some reason. There are pumping stations that sustain flow and temperature
(140 degrees?) along the way. I'll show you photos, that's the only way to grok the ever-present pipeline that
seems to have a life of its own. All the while I was riding, there was a peripheral sense of someone else there, on
one side of me or the other. The pipeline likes both sides of the road equally. So there you have it. This note is
my supreme revelation of how my mind works on total exhaustion, a little sleep, caffeine, which I don't usually
ingest, and a need to fill you in. This message is also on a rented computer in the 'hotel', so I'm not sure I'll
have time to proof-read my efforts. So bear with me if I fail to edit
myself (Hi, Katie S.).
I've attempted, along the way, to take timer photos so you can see my condition. Eventually. Both my bike and I are
coated with the hardened, muddy goo created by the 'stuff' they put on the road. I'll find a car wash when I get
back to Fairbanks, and ask someone to hose me off, if possible. From there I'll proceed south towards Anchorage,
where I hope to get new tires (I've done the Dalton on my Metzler Tourances which had over 7k miles when I started,
so far so good...), and do an oil change. Then see Homer, Valdez, and then over to Haines to pick-up a ferry (if
they'll have me) to Prince Rupert, B.C., where the Canadian Yellowhead Hwy works it's way across most of Canada.
I'll take it as far as Jasper (have I told you this before? indulge me...).
As I'll be here the rest of today and tomorrow, I may write again. I may not. I'm old. Tomorrow's tour of the oil
fields starts at 5:00 pm. A film, some talk, then drive into the oil operations and to the water. After that I'll
repeat my 'night ride' for same reasons as the ride north.
Now to see how my laundry's doing, find something to eat, and maybe a nap. I understand Michigan is a tad warmish.
Bummer, but to be expected. I do stay in almost constant contact with Robin (as available... cell phone signal, not
Robin), so if you have questions or concerns, talk to her. Now I'm done.
I hope my efforts amuse, entertain, or inspire you. When I question myself on the sanity of this trip, I remember
that I'm building on my bank of experiences. Nothing, nor anyone, can take that away from me. With each experience
I believe I become more whole. Living within one's comfort zone is a form of sleep, to step out is life-giving, and
it's a pretty good weight-loss program...
That's me for this week. Hope I've entertained in some small way. See you on the hills.
Waddy
PS. "Just as a man who steps upon a serpent shudders in fear but then looks down and notices it is only a rope, so
it was that one day I realized that what I was calling "I" cannot be found, and all fear and anxiety vanished with
my mistake."
COMMENTS, CONTRIBUTIONS & SUGGESTIONS
This is your club and we would like to hear your ideas to continually improve the Caberfae Ski Club for the
enjoyment of you and your family. Let us hear your suggestions. Email us at: enewsletter@caberfaeskiclub.org if you
have a story or an article you’ve written that you’d like to share with club members in the eNewsletter, please
email or call the eNewsletter editor.
CLUB CONTACT INFORMATION
* Caberfae Ski Club web page: www.caberfaeskiclub.org
* Caberfae Ski Club mobile website: www.caberfaeskiclub.org/mobile
* Calendar of Events: www.caberfaeskiclub.org/calendar.html
* Dinner Reservation Hotline: dinnerreservations@caberfaeskiclub.org
* I Forgot to Make Dinner Reservation Phone Line… or
“I’m-so-ashamed-I-forgot-to-make-reservations-Please-Sue-may-I-come-anyway?-I-promise-I-won’t-do-it-again Phone
Number” (231) 920-6769 (Sue’s personal cell phone).
* General Caberfae Ski Club email address: caberfaeskiclub@caberfaeskiclub.org
* eNewsletter editor: enewsletter@caberfaeskiclub.org
* Caberfae Peaks Resort: http://www.caberfaepeaks.com
* Jeff Demek, president, jeffdemek@comcast.net
* Steve Elenbaas, first vice president, steve@elenbaassteel.com
* Paul Waug, second vice president, social chairman, waugelect@aol.com
* Jeff Tayler, past president, jefftayler@yahoo.com
* Pat Goggin, board member, newsletter editor, enewsletter@caberfaeskiclub.org
* Chad Knaggs, board member, cmknaggs@gmail.com
* Elisha Koenig, board member, ehkoenig@hotmail.com
* Joe Masvero, board member, jbmasvero@mac.com
* Marty Manley, secretary/treasurer, manleymarty@gmail.com
* Hugh Potter, board member, mr.potter@comcast.net
* David Reiser, assistant secretary/treasurer, dhr49601@yahoo.com
* Sue Egelus, club manager, seagle@charter.net
* Paul Williams, historical committee, paulskiing@grar.com
Pat Goggin, editor enewsletter@caberfaeskiclub.org (231)
920-8592
Source: http://www.caberfaeskiclub.org
|
