Stories from the Road

Stories from the Road

Snowmass Village, CO.

January 29/30, 2016

I can hear the snowcats churning up and down the slope by my window at 6:00 AM on this Saturday morning. Snow is either here or on the way, and we’ll decide soon whether to go ahead with our plan for an off day or to make a few runs.

Last night we went to the Stew Pot on the mall for supper, but hey were having an electrical problem, so we ordered take out from a walk in spot on the mall. Vicki got a Caesar’s salad, and I ordered an Italian sub. We took our food back to the room, ate, and turned in early.

I was remembering the Rodman Ski Club annual race at the Balsams in Dixville Notch, N.H. Years ago I ran a ski club in Northern New Hampshire. Once a year we had a race at the Balsams, an hour north. The prize was a lobster dinner. It was a relay race with Kevin and Cynthia O’Grady and Vicki and me in the finals.

Kevin learned to ski later in life, but he was a good athlete, who was strong and bold. As we raced down the slope neck and neck, civilians were diving off the narrow trail. We were equal, when we reached the women. They took off side by side, until Cynthia fell near the bottom and broke her leg. We took her to the hospital in Littleton, N.H., and that was our last race.

Oscar Garcia works in the kitchen here at the Mountain Chalet. A charismatic, jovial man, whom one trusts instantly, Oscar is fun and interactive. He worked at the Ambassador in Washington, D.C. for fifteen years, before eventually joining some family on the Western Slope. He now lives within the hotel and also works part time at Venga Venga, the restaurant, and club one block north. He told me he loved his job, which keeps him interacting with people all day, and he wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

Have a good day.