I just wanted to write that my wife and daughter and I were privileged to attend the championship game at the ASU Desert Classic in Glendale, AZ on the 10th of January. We drove to the game from our home in Overgaard, AZ to Glendale, a distance of some 170 miles. Don’t bother to look up Overgaard, it doesn’t appear on most maps. The game was played in the arena the Phoenix Coyotes play in, which was probably a little much for a first attempt because there were very few in attendance, other than Michigan Tech fans, who largely filled the section reserved for them. I had asked for seats near the top of the section because I am getting old and decrepit and was fearful that I couldn’t handle the stairs down to our seats, which turned out to be just three rows up from the ice. Some kind soul at the Alumni office thought that they were doing us a favor by placing us so far down and, as it turned out they did. I managed to get down and then up again at the end of the game and didn’t have to go to the bathroom once, a real concern for us Golden M folks.
The game against Yale was exceptional hockey and the Tech team was definitely the equal of 12th ranked Yale. Yale had some bigger and more aggressive players who tried to intimidate the Tech men, but it seemingly had no impact (if you’ll pardon the pun) although It caused me some pain to watch. Tech swarmed all over ice in the first period and most of that period was played down in the far end of the arena from us. The Yale coach must have reamed them in the locker room pretty good between the first and second periods because they were much more active the next time out. We got to see more of them than we needed, but Jamie kept them at bay. Part way through the third period it looked as though it would be a scoreless tie, but Yale got a goal on a shot that Phillips stopped. Somehow the puck managed to roll up his arm and fell behind him into the goal. We were sitting only a few feet away so we got a good look at what happened. Jamie should get credit for half a save anyway. Just a minute or so later Tech tied it up and they finished at 1-1. In the overtime they continued to be scoreless so they went to a shootout. Alex Petan was first up and he very confidently skated in and placed a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net like there was no goalie in front of him at all and the rest is history. I haven’t seen a game like this in many years. The most impressive game that I remember prior to this was a playoff game against Michigan in Ann Arbor when Gary Begg rode herd on Red Berenson for three periods and embarrassed him in front of his home crowd. I can’t even recall who won the game, but I am assuming Tech did. My mother cautioned my dad not to get carried away and get too excited, but she was probably the loudest person there.
David Elack ‘60
Glad you were able to make a game close to home, David. Sounds as if you saw a great one. Thanks for the play-by-play. Made me feel as if I was there too! -SB
I was on a tuition scholarship and needed some PE credits, so my season pass and lessons were free. Can’t get any better than that! I also was dating someone on the ski patrol so I got constant “advice” from all guys on the patrol. I’ll never forget that steep part at the top that always stopped my heart, especially given how hard it was to turn the with the old style skis.
After graduation I lived in California for 20 years and only skied once. But then I moved to the Lake Tahoe area and started up again. Now I live in Sun Valley, Idaho where many residents ski well into their 90′s. What a way to stay young! I can only hope for such a long ski “career”, but I’ll never forget my roots at Mt. Ripley.
Cindi Anderson
BSEE 1985
- Great memories, Cindi! Thanks for checking in from Sun Valley. Truly a beautiful place. -SB
My husband and I were married our last year and a half of school, and lived in Daniell Heights, not far from the Nordic ski trails. During one winter visit from my parents (during Winter Carnival, perhaps?), my father and I skied on the trails. My father loves Houghton and the Copper Country. He is an Engineer, and although he did not attend MTU, he had 3 daughters that did. Visits from him and my mother hold a very special place in all our lives. Today, my father turned 91, and because I am thinking of him today, this memory is especially dear to me.
Pamela (Hiatt) Hollingsworth, BSCE ‘86
- Hi Pamela. Glad we could be part of such a special memory! -SB
Hi,
I love the Tech Trails. I skied them every day I could when I was up there for school from 2001 to 2005. It was so peaceful and there were so many trails/options. It helped to clear my head from the grind of school and work. I truly miss them every day!
I also remember getting passed by super skier Dr. Dave Watkins on the cemetery loop. That was killer!
Raine (Wanner) Gardner
BS ’05 Civil Eng.
- A little peace and quiet on the Tech Trails is a nice break from the grind. Thanks for sharing! -SB
I picked up snowboarding while at Tech. As I saw it I was paying for a lift ticket as part of my tuition and I’d be silly not to use it. I’ve make it a point to hit the slopes at least a couple times each winter since graduation. I am particularly pleased that there aren’t too many places down-state with T-bar lifts. The dreaded T-bar at Ripley nearly ended my snowboarding career before it ever started. I often tell my story about my first day out, getting knocked down, thrown off, bowled over, and laughed at repeatedly by that monster. After giving up, a friend coerced me into taking the chair lift instead. Getting on wasn’t much trouble, but when asked how I was to get back off my friend responded “we’ll figure something out that when you get up there.” It wasn’t pretty.
Jared Julien
B.S. Electrical Engineering
Class of 2011
- Thanks for the laughs, Jared. This year was my first experience with the T-bar, and I echo your thoughts—it can be a tricky beast for the uninitiated. -SB
I grew up enjoying and loving the outdoors, but my only experience with skiing prior to going to Tech was water skiing. My freshman year I rented cross country skis and hit the Tech trails. It was fantastic and got my own skis for Christmas that year (1979). It opened me up to a whole new set of experiences that I will never forget. My most favorite memory was one of those first adventures on the Tech trails and trying to navigate a gully. I went down one side and didn’t make it up the other. I fell over and the snow was so deep that my skis were above my head as I lay there in the snow. As time went on I mastered that part of the trail as well as venturing out to other trails around the Copper Country. I didn’t try downhill skiing until my last winter of Grad school. A bunch of us went to the Porkies which had much friendlier runs. It was a lot of fun, but being a more costly sport than cross-country and you can get some good downhill runs there too I stuck to the long skis.
Thank you for re-kindling those fond memories,
Keith Knickerbocker
Class of BSME ’83 and MSEM ‘85
- Thanks Keith. Those cross country skies a just a bit too narrow for my liking. Plus I’m a fan of letting gravity do most of the work. -SB
Tech Alumni Newsletter,
I just wanted to share my memories of cross country skiing on the tech trails. I grew up on Mackinac Island and only had a graduating class of 5. As you can imagine, there are many times that you would have to entertain yourself during the slow winter months. I always enjoyed getting a good long ski in on the weekends when we had a break from basketball games and practice. When I started at Michigan Tech there were many times that I would get a little homesick and be missing friends who go to college elsewhere. I found myself taking to the Tech trails to help clear my mind and when you’re all alone on the trails there’s nothing else to think about but good memories. It’s an excellent feeling to be skiing through the woods and shaking off the stress of classes. Now that I live in an area where I don’t have trails in my back yard I’m now realizing how privileged I was to live my entire life on Mackinac Island and go to college at Michigan Tech. It’s a one of a kind experience at Tech that you can’t get anywhere else.
What I would do to have those trails in my back yard once again….
Woodward W. Beardsley ‘13, EIT
- Woodward, thank you for sharing. I grew up in Mackinaw City, just a (long) stone’s throw away. Mackinac Island and Tech are indeed special places. -SB
Hi,
I’m not a skier but have a pleasant (now) memory of doing a level survey up the ski slope for my summer 1964 field surveying class. Sun pounding on the south facing hill and 90 degrees.
More pleasant is watching the first snow melt in the spring, if the sun came out.
Glenn Scott. Geology ’66
- Hi Glenn! We’ll be starting that sun watch soon. -SB
I’ve told this story in various MTU forums but I enjoy repeating it, so here goes:
In 9th grade I was a (mediocre) intramural swimmer. Another swimmer was also a skier (much better than me) who I had raced against a few times through our local ski club. He had missed a few swim training sessions because he was away at a CUSSA ski regional being held at Mont Ripley. When he got back to the swim practice I asked him how the skiing was in Houghton and he said “Great – it was like skiing in the mountains.” Not quite true of course but I took his comment to heart and MTU was the only college I applied to.
I skied 60 days per season (in a 10 week season) at Mont Ripley while this other guy went to a downstate university. Needless to say I came out of Tech a much better skier than him. Not to mention that I met my wife, got a great education, and had a great time. I can safely say that my entire life’s course was set from that poolside 60 second conversation when I was in 9th grade.
My favorite Mont Ripley memory came on Valentine’s Day, 1969. We’d had well over a foot of fresh snow and it was 5 degrees F. We got to the hill when the lifts open to get some powder skiing. In those days the open area below the Plunge was just weeds but on this cloudless day it was a field of diamonds, flowing up over our shoulders as we whooped and hollered through the powder.
Kerry Irons, ’72
- Kerry, thanks for sharing those good memories. Amazing how little things can make such a big difference in our lives. It was a pleasure to meet you during Winter Carnival. -SB
Lot’s of good memories as I was on the ski team when it was a sport under Fred Lonsdorf. We had four Americans, a Norwegian and two Canadians and we rarely lost. Still remember the old Quonset hut which is now at the Houghton county garage next to the highway going to Lake Linden.
Gary Tallon ’62
- Sounds like a tough team to beat for sure, Gary. Thanks! -SB
I never was the world’s best skier but I enjoyed spending as much time on Mont Ripley as I could, this was 1948-1952. One day I was resting just below the break in the hill where the tow rope was really hard to hold down.
One guy came along, lost his balance and fell in the middle of the trail.
Next guy came along. With the middle blocked he decided to take the rope to the left around the guy on the ground. He didn’t quite make it. Then there were two.
Next guy came along. With the middle and left side of the trail he decided to go to the right. Yep, then there were three.
Next was a little kid. Kids couldn’t hold the rope down under the best of conditions so he decided he’d just let the rope carry him over the blockage. If he had kept the tips of his skis up he would have made it. Unfortunately, he didn’t so he didn’t. Then there were four.
With four bodies blocking the trail, the next guy didn’t have any way to get past so he just plowed straight into the pile. Make it five.
After that, the people got off the rope and let the pile sort itself out.
The rope was pretty fast so the little drama didn’t take long but it was a blast while it lasted.
Don Wacker
ME ’52
- A five-skier pileup—what a picture, Don. Thanks for checking in with that good memory! -SB
I worked at Mount Ripley during winter weekends in 1979-80. I was stationed halfway up the T-bar so if anyone fell I would throw a big switch to stop the lift, and prevent the people behind them from causing a big pile-up. I sat in a little 4′ X 4′ shack, looking uphill and downhill every 15 seconds for 8 hours, making a measly $3.10 per hour. It was exceedingly boring, and most of the time I had been out late the night before so it was an epic struggle to stay awake. The worst part was the coffee can in the corner for bathroom breaks…with big windows on 3 sides of the shack and skiers going by on the T-bar right in front of me (hi, folks!). The best part was sliding down the hill sitting on a scoop shovel at the end of my shift, going out-of-control fast. I hitchhiked to and from the ski hill each day, and rarely had to walk very far.
Bob Wright ‘82
- The shack is still there, Bob, but I haven’t noticed anyone in it heeding nature’s call. Thanks for sharing. -SB
I learned how to downhill ski while I was at Tech. My most memorable downhill experience was my first time skiing. There was a special at Mt. Ripley, “Dorm Day.” $5 lift ticket, $5 rental, $5 lesson; I went with a few other girls from my hall. Things were going pretty well, I had even managed to make it all the way down from the top with minimal mishaps. We were feeling quite confident in our skills so my friend and I decided to make one more run and as we got on the T-Bar, I somehow got dumped off of it, landing on the bar and ending up with a nasty painful bruise on my leg that lasted for several weeks. On the other hand, my cross country skiing adventures were much less exciting. It was on the Tech Trails that I really became proficient and learned to love the sport of cross country skiing. One of the things I miss the most from my MTU days is the easy access to all of the fun winter sports.
Jen Byle ’05
- Seems you’re not alone in being bucked off the T-bar, Jen. I think it’s a Ripley right of passage. -SB
(Kevin P. Shortell)
TechAlum,
I was a ski patroller at Mont Ripley from 1990-1995. I continued patrolling in North Carolina and Illinois until 1999, when I moved back East and joined the USCG Auxiliary. I graduated with a B.S. in Mining Engineering, one of four to take the Spring commencement walk in 1995. I’m glad to see the B.S. MG make a comeback; now I won’t have to be a dinosaur!
Many great things happened for the very first time during my stint at Mont Ripley. We built the deck on top of the chairlift, replaced the Tucker Sno-Cat with the Kässbohrer PistenBully, installed lights for night skiing, and cut a new run we named Banzai. Yes, those were heady days indeed! The first aid and skiing skills I perfected in my patrolling days stick with me to this very day. I still cherish the sense of camaraderie we had within the Mont Ripley Ski Patrol. It truly was a family.
Sincerely,
Kevin P. Shortell, P.E.
MTU B.S. MG, 1995
- Ski patrollers are still there working hard, Kevin. Thanks for the memories, and the photo! -SB
May ’64, my fifth year at Tech things were “slow” and did I have spring fever! It was an incredible sunny, Copper Country spring day and I decided to do something I had lusted for my first four years but never had the time for. The hill was shut down for the year but there was enough snow to get to the top where I headed east along the drift on the lip of the Quincy plain; always calling to me every spring till the leaves came out in late May and hid it from view. I had gone some distance just sucking up the glory of the day and hadn’t noticed that my skis were settling deeper into the snow as I went along. Suddenly there was a thunderous boom and I was falling into darkness, skis over my head, a yawning slice of daylight and snow dust above. I fell about 12′ and landed surprisingly gently on a narrow shelf on my back, I’m guessing I more slid down the crack as it opened. I was too shook to move at first but could see the cornice that I’d slabbed off sliding down the hill below me snapping off small trees, one maybe 4″ dia. The slab was about 100′ long and about 10′ thick. I hadn’t a clue that little Mt. Ripley had such a trick up her sleeve!
Mike Hradel ‘63
- The “avalanche” headline is in your honor, Mike. Glad you lived to tell the tale! -SB
I learned to ski at the old Sugar Loaf rope tow area near Glen Arbor three years before I attended Tech in 1957. Being required to have 6 Physical Education credits for graduation, I was surprised to see that, even though Tech had a ski hill, there was no Skiing PE class. So I went to Ski Team Coach Fred Lonsdorf and asked if he would teach a Skiing PE course. He quickly said yes, and I went to the Dean and asked if we could have such a course. He said yes, and I completed Skiing 101 for a PE credit. I still have my Season Pass which is a fiber token on a beaded chain and which cost about $15.00. The next year I followed the same track to institute Skiing 201 to receive another PE credit.
Given the sometimes frigid temperatures (and relatively primitive clothing available at the time) there was a standing rule that, if the temperature displayed at the Houghton Bank was zero degrees or colder (I would stand corrected on the number), class was cancelled for that day.
That second year, Fred told us we were going to learn all the ways there were to make a turn. He taught us up unweighting and down unweighting; rotation and counter rotation. He said that being able to do all these turns would allow us to initiate and complete a turn no matter what position we found our bodies in. It was perhaps the most valuable series of lessons I have ever completed and they contributed greatly to my skills in the sport I still enjoy today. This year I celebrate 50 years as a Volunteer National Ski Patrol member at Boyne Highlands having patrolled there nearly every weekend during that time.
My son graduated from Tech and Patrolled at Mont Ripley where he was Ski Patrol Director for two years. He now patrols with me at Boyne Highlands. Our wives and my three grandsons all enjoy skiing. I have fond memories of skiing at Tech which fostered ongoing family enjoyment of the sport.
Dick Taylor ‘62
- Great story, Dick. Glad that you’ve made a lifetime of memories skiing with your family. Those are special times. -SB
I learned how to ski on Ripley in December of 1963. A season pass for Tech students only cost $20.
Most memorable are the two old hemp tow ropes. One went from the parking lot to the bottom of the bowl, the bunny hill. The other went to the top of the hill. The fast rope burned the heck out of my new nylon gloves and ski jacket after two days on the hill. Leather gloves and jackets were required. Many of us found out that welding gloves were best.
There were no intermediate runs because the T-bar had not been added yet. We advanced from novice to expert skiers in short order. We only had the icy bowl down the middle or the brush down the southwest side to navigate to the bottom.
The warming house was an old tin Quonset hut with a wood burning stove. We could store our skis in back, which made it easier hitch hiking back to campus-a common mode of transportation back then.
Jerry Myers ‘68
- Not sure I’ve seen anyone with welding gloves on the slopes lately, Jerry, but sounds as if they were a good call then! – SB
I graduated from Tech in 1958. I remember a year, maybe ’56 or ’57, when there was hardly any snow on the ground at the end of January and we eagerly waited to see how we could build statues. Fortunately that year there had been plenty snow earlier so there were huge mounds of it dumped on the banks of the canal just west of the bridge. We had lots of that hauled in to make the beginnings of the statues. Then it started to snow a lot in time to build the rest of the statues. This was fortunate because the hauled in snow was black from the stamp sand off the streets. In the spring we had lots of that ugly black snow slowly melting. A messy lawn cleanup when it was all gone.
Dick Bayerl ‘58
- Hi Dick. We were getting a little nervous about the snow this year, but it finally started in mid-January, and hasn’t let up much since. Thanks for sharing! -SB
I learned to cross country ski at Tech. As a freshman during the winter quarter of 1973-74 I took Ranger Training 02. It was a winter PE class offered through ROTC but you didn’t have to be a member of that program (I wasn’t). We learned to snow shoe and cross country ski.
As a Yooper I had spent time on snowshoes but never cross country skis. The skis were wooden with spring binders that fit (well sort of fit) your regular winter boots. We skied on the Tech trails (same general area but much different than present I am sure!). As I recall we could also rent the skis and poles after finishing the class. The following year I bought my own skis. I bought them at a sports shop in Houghton – don’t recall the name – they were wood base which required tar preparation but they also had a 3 pin binding for a special cross country ski boot.
After graduation and before kids and living in Northern Wisconsin my wife (Melanie class of 1978) and I spent lots time on the cross country ski trails. We both skied in the Birkebeiner race a few years. A move to South East Texas for a couple years and the addition of children interrupted our cross country skiing.
Moving back to Wisconsin we skied occasionally but had not done much for many years. About 4 years ago I picked up a pair of no-wax skis at a thrift store and gave it a try and got hooked again. No plans for anymore Birkes but I am enjoying getting out on the trails again – now in central Wisconsin as time and weather permit. I always credit my time at Tech for learning to cross country ski.
John R. Wiltse ’77
- Hi John. You’ll need to come back sometime and enjoy the Tech Trails again! – SB