Frozen Chicken Heads Newsletter

FROZEN CHICKEN HEADS

Fall 2000 The Unofficial Newsletter of the Detroit Mountain Ski Patrol Vol.1 Num.3

Fundraiser Thanks

P.R. BABBLE

Welcome to the season! It seems strange after the last two years to get such an early start. I hope that this is a sign of a good long season. So get your quiver tuned up and get out and see if the legs still work.
     Congratulations to Keith Gordon and Patrick Zimmerman. they passed their OEC exams on November 18th. Now they just have to prepare for the skiing skills and tobaggan handling hill test. I hope everyone will help them out. Thanks also goes out to David and the rest of the patrollers that helped out with the OEC class. Job well done. I hope next year that we can have ten candidates instead of two. Everyone keep a lookout for potential patrollers. They could start this winter with the hill portion of the training.
     Patrollers don't forget to look at the schedule and fill in any remaining shifts you need to cover, if you don't, I will fill them in for you. Also if anyone is interested in a basic avalanche or mountaineering class, let Dave or myself know. We are also looking into having an advanced mountaineering class if there is enough interest (must have the basic class and avalanche first).
     In other news we hope to have our own web site up and running soon. Currently it just has a "Welcome" page and soon the "Frozen Chicken Heads" should be up. A calender of region events and shift schedule is also planned. Please let me know what else you want.....Q

Thank you to all who are participating in the County Market and Evans receipts program. Remember it's a great fundraiser with very little work. I would sure like to see more receipts coming in. Ask your parents if they are in the area, ask your friends, ask your co-workers, don't be shy, this is our fundraiser. I would like to pay special thanks to Gloria Schattschneider for her work. She takes the time to organize and total the receipts. Think bunches of snow....DON

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Bridger Bowl Photo by Joe S.

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Tim O'Leary
Managing Member

Brewers of
"Olde Bong Water"
The official beer of the
Montana Assault Team

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Skier Convicted

After more than seventeen hours of deliberation, a Colorado jury found Nathan Hall guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Alan Cobb. Hall could be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison. The jury found him guilty of a lesser charge. The state had wanted reckless manslaughter, a charge which carries a sentence of up to 16 years. A civil case involving Vail Resorts has already been settled for an undisclosed amount. The case is a result of an incident on April 20th, 1997. Hall, then 18 years old, was a lift operator for Vail Resort. The lifts were closed and Hall was returning to the base when he collided with Alan Cobb. Cobb was reportedly killed almost instantly while Hall was knocked unconscious. Witnesses reported that Hall was skiing fast and out of control. Said National Ski Area Association President Michael Berry of the verdict: "This clearly raises the stakes for reckless behavior on the slopes. These cases used to be resolved in civil court between individuals, but there is a new societal trend out there that is becoming increasingly intolerant of dangerous behavior."

Ratboy, What's in your quiver?
    Ratboy says: I have a pair of 130cm K2 Merlin IV's for all-mountain use, a 120cm Oxygen XE-20 snowboard, and a pair of 100cm Dynamic rock skis.
Ratboy, What are your goals for this season?
Ratboy says: Try not to get pink slips in school so I can go to Montana. Carve better turns, and learn to snowboard much better. Oh, and jump more.
Ratboy, Are chicks easier to pick up on skies or snowboard?
     Ratboy says: How would I know? I'm only 8 years old...Girls are yucky!
Ratboy, Goggles or sunglasses?
     Ratboy says: Both, I wear sunglasses on sunny days and goggles on the snowy days. I always carry both.

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The Official Telenews Site of the FCH Staff

May Your Tracks Be Long

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Pinhead

Meaningless Drivel

The season is finally here and I have a lot of hope for this season. We had the earliest opening day in several years and a good turnout of patrollers and skiers / boarders. TV 11 was even out on Sunday and put together a nice report for the ten o'clock news. I hope it's a sign of the season to come. The area deserves a good winter. I personally had a good opening weekend. Except for a couple hours on my snowboard I spent the weekend on my new tele skis. The weather was great but I hope it gets cold and we get more natural snow. Two runs were better than none but the more the merrier.
     The goons (Ratboy and Spike) had good weekends too. Aside from both of them almost falling out of the chairlift (good thing Dad's strong and quick) they both skiied well and Ratboy made progress on his snowboard. Skiing with the goons is the main reason I'm still excited for the new season for the thirty third time. God, I'm getting old. I'm following Schatt's lead and raising my own replacements. Maybe someday they will take me out west skiing.
     Another reason I keep skiing is for the trip out west. This year there seems to be more interest than ever. Our Assault Team could be over twenty in number. Dates are not yet set, so let me know what works for everyone.
     Now about the new tele lifestyle. I made lots of progress on my skills (I think), and had a lot of fun. I have never started a season off on something other than my alpine gear until this year. I plan on spending the majority of my time on the teles and taking the hill test on them this year. I think I'm hooked on the free heels. My hair is almost long enough for the dreds, and I have started to crave granola.

     See everyone on the hill.....Q

    The snow has fallen upon the hill we call 'home' and once again the seasons change, winter arrives and the "Three Amigos" dig their quivers out of the basement to do battle against the forces of nature. Detroit Mountain opened, so it was only 3 runs, but we still had fun. After doing a million deep knee bends and trying not to look like I was 'snowplowing', I finally hooked a few nice turns together and had a real good feeling about everything, the comraderie, fresh air, brats on the grill, my friends and fellow patrollers, you get the picture. So you ask me, WHY?. It's not the exercise, and I'm not going to grow a ponytail, eat granola and wear clogs. It's something new to do and a challenge that can be shared with others, something that is self evident when you look around and see how many are tele skiing.

     Enough of the long talk, it's time to get out and tear up the hills. With all the tele gear we have acquired we need to take a serious look at TOAD MOUNTAIN and plan an ascent to its lofty peak.

     For those who haven't freed your heel, here are a few thoughts to ponder:

     *The soul is connected to the heel.
     *Telemarkers don't "smoke"....they "rip"!
     *Respect snow, go down on a bended knee.
     *If telemarking was easy they'd call it snowboarding.

Have fun this winter and don't take everything so seriously.....David

P S - Broaden your horizons. If it's not teleskiing, take a class - Mountaineering, Avalanche, Nordic - ask me if you have any questions.

Gary, Q(wearing tele boots), and Dave apres ski at Bridger Bowl. March 2000 Photo by Ratboy

Montana Assault Team, Bridger Bowl March 2000
Photo by Joe

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