News

Crescent Spring Conference - April 28 through May 1, 2017

Mini-Golf Tournament – deadline for signup is April 12, 2017.  All registrations must be received in advance no later than April 12^th!!  Please send your registration form and check payable to Crescent Ski Council to Terri Tokaz at the address listed on the form.  Important – everyone must pre-register!!

Tennis Tournament – first-come basis.  Space is limited to the first 16 players.  Only those pre-registered can play in the tennis tournament.  Please complete the registration form and check for $18 to Cameron Andrews at the address on the form.  Deadline for signup is April 7, 2017.

Golf Tournament – deadline for signup is April 7, 2017.  Cost is $55, which includes greens fees, golf cart & cart attendant tip & lunch buffet.  Space is limited to the first 40 golfers.  Please complete and send your registration form and check to Dave Salisch at the address on the sign-up form.

Reminder: we also have a table decorating contest – one table per club.  The Saturday Night Party Theme as we advised previously is “Out of Africa” or “African Safari.”  Think Safari, Tarzan, Jungle, Serengeti, Drums, Tribal Dancers, Medicine Men, and we can’t leave out Indiana Jones!!  Rules as follows:

1. Any Club that wants to make a centerpiece can do one table per Club.
2. Please notify Faith Campbell at mpcampbsoup@outlok.com by April 1^st if you plan to enter the table decorating contest – Faith will need to determine the quantity of decorations for the remaining tables.  Prior years examples of tables are posted on Crescent’s website.

The deadline for website judging is past (March 13^th).  The video judging form is posted on Crescent’s website.  Deadline for the video entries is April 3^rd.

Contact Bobbi Witt, Crescent Coordinator, at moonsfrost@hotmail.com for more information or forms for these events.

 

Lack of snow was not the issue -- too much snow, wind, and rain turned our ski trip into a tourist trip.  South Lake Tahoe was as beautiful as we had heard it was.  On Sunday, we had great snow and great views of the lake from above.  Sadly, after we quit skiing for the day, Mother Nature came in with a vengeance and stayed all week.

We had five new members go with us: Alica Posey, Phyllis Scoggins, Carol Jackson, Emmie Avery, and Jane Frierson.  It was good to get to know these people. As far as the skiing was concerned,  there was not too much excitement, except Hilda going into a tree. No injuries though!

I would like to thank Larry Plemons for the VIP Super Bowl party, but don’t tell Ken Pilgrim the Falcons lost. We also had an expert slot machine teacher -- Carol Jackson.  I guess if you’re going to be stuck somewhere, it’s good to be surrounded by casinos.

I promise you, I will never mention El Nino again regarding a ski trip!

Mike Hood

HELLO EVERYONE,

Well, the ski season is almost over, and by the time anyone reads this column, some members, myself and Pat included, will be looking for junk cars, rebel flags, and Wet Willie CDs in all the nooks and crannies that Norway, Sweden, and Denmark care to offer.

This has been a great season for the ski club so far, and I want to thank all the members for supporting the trips and making everything happen this past ski season.

ELECTIONS, ELECTIONS, ELECTIONS……….

At the next club meeting in April, we will be having club officer elections for the upcoming year. Please try and attend and cast a ballot for the new officers. We will have other members appointed to board positions that will set our policy for the upcoming year.  Please let me know if you may be interested in serving on the ski club board. Other than Christmas, this is one meeting that you as a member should try to attend.

Remember, …  “if you do not vote, you can still cuss like a sailor!”

TRIPS FOR NEXT YEAR

Please, look at the new web site and notice we have already begun booking the ski trips for next year. Things are changing with how we book trips, and we have to book sooner rather than later to insure we get the lowest air fare possible. The trips are as following:

• Steamboat Springs, Colo.         December 2017 through Crescent Ski Club
• Snowmass Colo.                       January 2018 - Bob Trammel, TL
• Big Ski, Montana                      February 2018 - Roy Brunner, TL 
• Japan                                         March 2018 - Pat Ownby, TL     

We should have all the details of the Japan trip at the next meeting which will be a new type of adventure for the club. Japanese mountains get a very large amount of snow yearly, and this is something we are very excited about.

“A MOMENT FROM A SKI CLUB PAST…..”

This will probably be a little boring, but I wanted to tell everyone about a personal experience that has been on my mind nonstop recently. When you use “I” and “me” throughout something, it gets a little flat and really no one wants to hear personal stuff. But, if you think this post is a real snorer, read last month’s President’s Column again, or imagine in an unreasonable way about how great next month’s President’s Column will hopefully will be.

Alright, here we go……

In 1997, Pat and I were looking for a new sensation. We had been skiing with friends, I blew my knee out, and we were wanting to get started back skiing,  but doing it differently than when we started in the early 90’s. We definitely wanted to go someplace other than Winter Park, Colorado where we had been too many times. We were on the hunt for something new.

If my memory is correct, we attended an event at the Chattanooga Convention Center in October of that year which showcased winter events in the area with various retailers, hotels, and lodges having booths and giving out information.  It was a Saturday, and Pat and I decided make an afternoon of it. To our surprise, a booth was set up for the Chattanooga Ski Club. We had no idea there was such a thing as a ski club in the city.

The person working the ski club booth was Dan Paul. He did not know it, and we did not know it, but meeting him that afternoon and, to a certain degree in many years to come, he changed both of our lives and opened up a path to gaining many new friends  and having experiences from all over the world.

Now, getting back to Dan Paul, he introduced himself and I can safely say he had the most southern of southern accents I had ever heard.  He looked to me to be a skier about as much as Donald Trump was a manager of a South Georgia trailer park.  He did not have dashing looks or blond hair put back in a pony-tail that would remind you of a hard core snow skier. No, he was plain old Dan, kind of bald, and he did not appear to have any trouble being nice to us through all the  stupid questions we asked him.

At that time, Dan was in his mid 60’s, retired from TVA as an engineer, unassuming, and he was very quick to start a conversation. He gave us information for a trip he was leading with the club to Sun Valley, Idaho early in the year.  At that time, we were looking to go to Banff, and going somewhere else out west with the Atlanta Ski Club.  We talked, got the info, and told Dan we would get in touch.

Funny thing happened. We did not get back in touch with Dan. He got in touch with us.  The next week Dan started calling the house encouraging us once again to go on his trip.

Always so nice, and not pushy, he kept telling us he really, really wanted us to go skiing with the club.  He then began sending us post cards telling us about the trip to Idaho with a kind note, still encouraging us, and hopeful we would go skiing with him and the club.

Later on, still about once a week, he would leave a message saying how we really needed to go on his trip and just go ahead and make the commitment now.  He was not trolling us or harassing us in the least. One time, I remember feeling kind of sorry for him because I thought he kept contacting us because he was probably hurting to get people to go on his trip. People in Chattanooga do not ski!!!!!!!

Dan Paul was never married, had no children, and had been a member and leader with the ski club for years. He and Harry Brundage, another older member, would always room together, would take time on trips and teach newcomers with the club on the first day how to ski. He had limited family, and I understand he spent much of his time involved with ski club folk and ski club activities.

Well, the long and the short of the story was, we did go to Idaho with the club and had a ball.  Dan had more than enough people going on the trip because it was full of Chattanooga Ski Club bums.  John Rollins, Charlie Peak and Willis Jones were on the trip and we got to meet them and they are still friends with us today.  

Now, as for me and Pat, the rest is history with the club.

With Dan, he only took maybe one other ski trip. I guess everyone in the club knew, except us, that he had dealt with severe heart disease for some time. In the early 2000’s, he had serious heart surgery that was somewhat successful, but unfortunately he passed away shortly afterwards from a stroke. 

His brother came from New Jersey to care for him at the hospital prior to his death. While Dan’s brother went to the cafeteria to get a bite, he passed away quietly while members of the ski club were visiting him in his hospital room.

It was right and proper that ski club members were with him at his passing.

I have never understood why Dan continued to contact us time and time again to go on the Idaho trip. I am sure he did not know twenty years later it would be such a large part of our lives. I never had a long conversation with Dan, and only saw him two or three other times from a distance after the Sun Valley trip.  I think about him almost every time I go on a ski club trip or I am at a ski club function. He did not have to go as far as he did getting Pat and me to join the club but he did.

Looking back, maybe Dan understood and knew years ago, the day-to-day grind of living can be relatively easy, but sometimes enjoying life and grabbing its pleasures can be so difficult or almost impossible to do at times.

Maybe Dan thought if he got just one new person to go on a trip with the club, they just might enjoy the ski club. And if they enjoyed the ski club, maybe they might even take a leadership position and write stupid babblings for everyone to read monthly.   And, if that ever happened, then it just might be worth the telephone calls, post cards, hassles, and sitting at a lonely booth on a fall afternoon while living to a certain degree on borrowed time. “Yeah,” I bet he said, “get someone else to enjoy the club just as much as I do; that’s not too much of a stretch (you have got to be kidding me!!!!!).”

I would bet ten dollars, we were the only people Dan met that afternoon at the Convention Center who would later join the club, and definitely the only ones that went on his trip. Pat and I made a smart decision way back then, and we did not have the slightest idea what we were doing.

God bless you Dan Paul for giving me and Pat a great time in Idaho, and also letting both of us in on the special magic that goes on with the ski club and the friends we have enjoyed for almost twenty years.  You can do good works and live a decent life, but to help people have a more complete, a more full, and a more fun existence requires a “Go Straight to Heaven” card for the high rent condo side of the pearly gates.

You are missed Dan Paul, and not forgotten.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”  Shannon L. Alder

See you at the next meeting!

At the January Board meeting, a tentative slate of candidates was offered for the upcoming year.  They are as follows:

• Ashley Ownby - President
• Mike Hood - Vice President
• Tom DuBose - Treasurer
• Hilda Jones - Secretary

Jim Bates was named as Nominating Committee Chair for elections scheduled for the April membership meeting. If you are interested in running for one of these offices, please contact Jim Bates at: (706) 965-6331 or jimbates18@gmail.com. Election of officers will be held on April 4, 2017 at the Enclave.

The Premier Exhibition Center at Atlantic Station

Saturday May 13, 2017

For those of you that would like to see this Excellent Exhibit we will be meeting at 9:30am (meeting place TBA), carpool to Atlanta, have lunch, tour the museum and go home early.  The cost is very reasonable.  Adult at the door $24, online $22, Senior at the door $22, online $20. 

If we have enough interest I will contact the Center for the  “Group” Price.  At this time we have 14 that showed interest at the February meeting.  From what I can determine from the website a “Group” is 20 or more. 

Thanks to Bobbi Witt for suggesting this event.

If you would like to join us please contact:

Barb Wise

Special Trip Coordinator

barbwire@flash.net

423-902-6095 

Hello Everyone,

Well, here we are half way through the ski season and this period flies faster than time.

Other than the ski trips, it feels a little boring back at the “Ponderosa,” Chattanooga Ski Club Central. Maybe that is how it is supposed to be with everything really getting started when all the snow trips are over.  We all should be getting excited about big year for the club with future events and weekend travel.

Make sure, if you lead a trip that you write about it for the newsletter.  I believe that there is a special place in heaven for folks that tell good stories to others.  Write it down, send it to Susan DuBose, and she will pass it on to everyone.  Remember, stories are love, and like Lady Godiva said, "I like to give my love to anyone with sweet smelling breath and chocolate drops."

Chanson de club 

As everyone knows, we are blessed at the Chattanooga Ski Club with a history, non-profit status, a logo, and monthly meetings. But still, somehow recently, I felt that we were missing something with the club that would really add to the experience.

I could not put my finger on it, but, just felt we were missing something other than the almost fifty years of stories, travel all over the world, and precious memories of club members having too much gas in closed quarters overseas.

It took a little introspection, only three appointments of intense psychotherapy, and sitting in sack cloth and ash for three days to finally reach and answer - WE NEED A SKI CLUB SONG!!!!!!!

Yes, I do mean a Chattanooga Ski Club (CSC) song. A song that we can start monthly meetings with, sing on the bus rides to Atlanta or Nashville, and whenever we are drinking in a bar at a ski resort we can sing it and people will know immediately we are from Tennessee like everyone knows someone is from Australia when they sing “Waltzing Matilda.”

It cannot be a country song. Every club and university in this area has a country song associated with them like “Rocky Top.” Need I say more?

That is why we need a rap song. Yes, a good rap song. And yes, I know, rap music is kind of generational and myself along with others do not understand what is the big deal with its popularity across the board. However, everybody knows Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing” and Aerosmith’s  “Walk this Way.” There has to be something out there that even we could pirate, enjoy, and call our own.

Therefore I intend at the next monthly meeting to have a vote from all members present to have the following pirated, copied, and woefully composed rap song be designated as our official ski club song and I think this will really finally put us where we want to be as an organization.

I am sure you remember COOLIO’S “GANSTAS PARADISE,” from a few years back. It had a nice beat and when reading the verses below to the new club rap song, please put the music  “GANSTAS PARADISE,” to our own” SKIERS PARADISE,” and see what you think. 

Alright here we go:

“SKIERS PARADISE”

(Done to the tune of COOLIO’S “GANGSTAS PARADISE”)

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I wake from my dream, oh my god I am late

My skis are packed, I know have gotta be gone

Cause the bus at the church will not wait for me long

Goin from Tennessee to Colorado and I deserve it,

So I can ski like a John Claude Killy pervert

It’s three in the morning, I am having trouble driving

If I don’t run in the ditch I will be cookin

Just thinking of snow and all of the mountains,

Me going fast and legal marijuana smokin

I just the type of person all skiers want to be

No cartilage at all and worn tendons in both knees

 

Been dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

Been dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

Keep dreaming most our live wanting just a skier’s paradise

Keep dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

 

I look at the situation that I am facing

I am getting too old to go out and do ski racing

I can’t live w/NASCAR , 4 wheeling or fishing

But I gotta still be down with the monthly ski club meetings

Skied in Germany, Austria, Italy and France

I skied so hard in Switzerland I pooped in my pants

I’m southern fool w/ more money than good sense

Chasing my dreams in snow blizzard all in the present tense

I know on the ski slopes death is just so near,

But when I run into moguls fields I still  really can taste fear

I am 60 today will I see 61

If I don’t get out of this mogul field I just don’t know

 

Tell me why can’t we just always f..king ski

And why when we fall, we only hurt our knees

 

Been dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

Been dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

 Keep dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

Keep dreaming most our lives wanting just a skier’s paradise

 

Powder and Ice, Ice and Powder

I skied them both, to me it does not matter,

You may think you can ski fast and ski so well

I used to think that then I skied right off a big hill

I know I got to turn better get someone to teach me

I’m tired of skiing off cliffs, someday they won’t reach me

I know at best I can do is only blue groomers

But I am happy to say I am a Chattanooga Ski Club member

 

Tell me why can’t we just always f..king ski

And why when we fall, we only hurt our knees

 

See you at the next meeting!

The Chattanooga Ski Club Vail 2017 trip commenced on January 14, 2017. The lift tickets were good for Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapaho Basin for a total of over 14650 acres and 651 trails. No way to take advantage of all this in a week. May want to consider a two-week trip with this much to offer. Most folks would ski Vail alone however, some went to Beaver Creek for a day.

The conditions at Vail/ Beaver Creek were outstanding. Within a week and half of our arrival they received around 48” of fresh powder. This set us up for an outstanding week of skiing. Our first day we woke up to about an inch with an additional two inches on day two. Did not add a lot to the base but made for some nice ski conditions. The high temperatures remained in the mid 30’s to lower 40’s for the first two days. The balance of the week the high temperatures remained in the low to mid 30’s. The snow base was maintained throughout the week. We had three blue bird days in a row mid-week. I see now why they call it “Blue Sky Basin”. If you go, be sure to check out Cloud 9, Grand Review and The Star but my all-time favorite was Big Rock Park run. This was a glade run with patches of trees that made for what would seem like endless runs down the mountain. Needless to say, the conditions were exceptional. The last day we got 3” overnight with an additional 2” snow during the day for a total of 8” all week. The last day Rich Wilson and I dropped into China Bowl with it snowing and near white out conditions. Had to “feel” our way down the mountain. We felt like the back bowls and Blue Sky would have to wait for another day under those conditions.

This year we stayed at Vail Spa Condos. The accommodations were exceptional, conveniently located in the Lionshead section of Vail with a short five min walk to the Eagle Bahn Gondola or the Born Free Express Quad lift. The condo has hot tubs, indoor/ outdoor pools, sauna, and massage rooms. I took full advantage of the outdoor hot tub. Great way to cap off a full day of skiing with an adult beverage and friends. They also include a conference room which we used for our Tuesday night get together.

Some folks rented their gear from Charter Sports. We received 35% discount. They are knowledgeable and conducted business in a professional way. Even the folks who had their own skis/boots could store there gear overnight.

About two months prior to the trip I read in the paper where Moes Original BBQ from Vail Co was coming to town here in Chattanooga. Thinking this would be a great opportunity to reach out and get an advanced taste test on the new restaurant and perhaps a good deal. On Tuesday the 19th Moes Original BBQ catered pulled pork, smoked turkey, mac and cheese, baked beans, slaw, corn bread and desert. I got some real complements on the food. Moes will be opening up the week of February 27th and will be located at 221 Market Street. Ask for Laura Ryan and tell her you are with the Chattanooga Ski Club.

While most folks skied some decided to discover Vail, Minturn Co. (who knew – oh Faith), The 10th mountain museum or even go snow shoeing. From what hear Dave Flower is quite the ladies man and lead his “harem” on a snow shoe adventure. Go Dave!! I did not realize but the 10th mountain division trained near Vail during WWII. Our dough boys trained for mountain combat. Mullenix took a group to the 10th mountain restaurant near Mid Vail where they enjoyed culinary delights such as soda crackers and grits while perched upon a snow stump. J/K Apparently, they had a five-course meal at ski resort prices. Mid-week Jerry Hicks and I spent the day at Beaver Creek. We ate at the Ritz-Carrolton in Bachelors Gulch. Think $15 is pricy for a burger? Try $25. Well I settled for a loaded spud with bison chili which was actually very good and filling.

Overall this was a great trip. The weather cooperated, Vail Spa is an exceptional destination resort, Vail mountain and Beaver Creek has a challenge for most any skier skill level but most of all, the folks we went with were a lot of fun to be around – just a great group of people!

Twelve people drove to Gatlinburg for our novice and tune up ski trip.  The snow started about 6 p.m. after we were all there.  We had wine and cheese and snacks.  We went to our cabins and chalets a couple of hours later with a inch of snow.  By morning there was 3-6 inches on the mountaintop where we were staying.  Larry's rental units were first class in all ways.

Larry could not get out of his driveway the next day but all others got to the slopes. We had new snow but snowmaking was also in progress.  Children and adults had lessons or free skied.   We met for a party after skiing at a mountain top chalet with beautiful views. On the drive up, we saw many of the burned buildings along the way, but most of the area is untouched and open for business.

We returned to Ober Gatlinburg on Sunday for another half day on skis and lessons for the novices.  A beautiful setting with the new snow and an even better trip for three novices who all loved their lessons and skiing.  Thank you, Larry, for everything you furnished and your hospitality.

This trip was great for new and experienced skiers. Shall we start a new tradition? --from John Neblett, trip leader

Remember, folks, the Spring Conference at Myrtle Beach, SC is just around the corner: Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30, 2017. Those who are planning to go need to give Bobbi Witt their payment at the next meeting. Please make checks payable to the Chattanooga Ski Club. The total amount due is $158.00 per person. This includes two nights at the Brighton Towers and the parties on Friday and Saturday nights, hosted by Crescent.

Bobbi Witt will be at the next meeting selling 16 oz limited edition glass mugs as well as t-shirts - both have the club logo on them. Mugs are $10 each and tees are $15 each. Don't miss this rare opportunity.