Most interesting person you shared a lift with

[GoldMember]

I've skied with a number of people who would be considered celebrities but probably the most interesting guy I've encountered was playing golf in Bend a few years ago. My wife and I got hooked up with this old guy that was still walking the course, playing by himself most days. Turned out, he lived on the course, Widgi Creek, for those of you familiar with it. Anyway, in talking with him, it turned out he was an inventor who started his career at Livermore Labs and holds something like 50 patents. Really an interesting guy and fun to talk with. Here's a bio on him from the Livermore Labs Hall of Fame:

Robert Parker started at LLNL in 1958, and his early stockpile stewardship work included studying how materials respond to rapid heating and how those responses can reveal other information, such as tailoring sensors for rapid temperature rises. A prolific inventor, he has produced more than 50 patents. In 1972, Parker founded Robert Parker Research to commercialize liquid crystal technologies for temperature measurement. In 1975, a New York City businessman approached him about an application of Parker’s plastic-encased color-changing liquid crystals – the Mood Ring, which sold millions of units. Another application of Parker’s temperature-indicating materials is the printed battery tester, which was licensed for Duracell batteries in 1990 and re-introduced in 2008.

https://www.llnl.gov/sites/default/f...repreneurs.pdf

[TAFKALVS]

There's always an interesting cast of characters at BBI - engineers in various fields doing smart guy things, doctors, hoof trimmers, ex-army cold war bad asses, usps employees, lawyers, real estate moguls, entrepreneurs and even a retired landscaper. Oh, and Buster. Concur with Norseman.

Ski celebs, I have ridden the chair with/snuck a run with: Hoji, Pollard/Nimbus Crew. FTR, Hoji is impossible to keep up with if he decides to pin it. I met Plake once at a tradeshow, he was nice. Speaking of tradeshows, have met a lot of Climbing/Ski Celebs at tradeshows. They are generally pretty nice people who mostly seem baffled that people are surrounding them for autographs. It always felt awkward to me so I'd just keep my distance.

Celeb celebs? Nope.

Other interesting people? Not really, I don't talk much on the chairlift to strangers. Do remember riding the chair with a guy who was 85 and had been skiing at Stevens Pass for 50 years which was pretty inspiring.

[Viva]

Who is the most interesting person you shared a lift with?

Jo.

[whyturn]

Splat was a character for sure.
But for me it was patroller who said “that area won’t open this season” then it opened next day. Sandbagging for sure

[BobMc]

Not a chair lift but I once picked up Angel Collinson hitchhiking on the bypass road at Snowbird. She lives in the LCC near the bottom and hitchhikes to Snowbird to not be a part of the traffic problem. She's a sweetheart and we had a good conversation riding down the canyon.

[wyeaster]

There's always an interesting cast of characters at BBI - engineers in various fields doing smart guy things, doctors, hoof trimmers, ex-army cold war bad asses, usps employees, lawyers, real estate moguls, entrepreneurs and even a retired landscaper. Oh, and Buster. Concur with Norseman.

Ski celebs, I have ridden the chair with/snuck a run with: Hoji, Pollard/Nimbus Crew. FTR, Hoji is impossible to keep up with if he decides to pin it. I met Plake once at a tradeshow, he was nice. Speaking of tradeshows, have met a lot of Climbing/Ski Celebs at tradeshows. They are generally pretty nice people who mostly seem baffled that people are surrounding them for autographs. It always felt awkward to me so I'd just keep my distance.

Celeb celebs? Nope.

Other interesting people? Not really, I don't talk much on the chairlift to strangers. Do remember riding the chair with a guy who was 85 and had been skiing at Stevens Pass for 50 years which was pretty inspiring.

i was amazed at all the smart and interesting people at bbis.

[doebedoe]

To the world at large: Al Pacino.
Context: We were staying in a house owned by Bev D'Angelos parents who lent it to us a few times a year in W NY. We got delayed a day leaving cause of snow, Al / Bev showed up and skied the next day. I was pretty young and didn't really get how famous he was. I knew her from all the Vaction movies though.

To the skiing world: Mikaela Shiffrin.
Context: Spring training at Loveland.

To me at the time: The long-time patroller at Mary Jane when I was 14.
Context: My first time skiing out west. The friends-family I went with had no interest in going up to Parsen bowl in a snowstorm. I was nervous about getting on the double alone without a safety bar. Patroller offered to ride with me. Chatted with me about skiing the whole time, then led me down some freshies.

[lifelinksplit]

Deane Brandt.Attachment 247886

Who you ask????

Legend BB ski patroller.

He is 70+ now, still covers a 4 day work week and is hell to keep up with, skiing or hiking. He started patrolling at the tender age of around 26.

He has a library of awesome stories about all the places he patrolled before he found his home at Bridger or areas he has been to on patrol exchanges.

Some of our carpools are hilarious.

Have had the pleasure more than a few times. Bridger lift rides(or hikes) more often then not deliver good conversation or fun partners.

[schindlerpiste]

Neither very interesting, but I shared a chair with Chad Lowe once, and a line with Montell.

The most interesting may be the maggot who is/was a paraplegic and won The Canyons Ambassador award when the Waldorf opened and wrote a blog for the resort. I forget his name. Sitskier who rode a SuperBro, and did all kinds of adventurous things. His challenge was not holding him back. One of the fastest skiers I ever took laps with.

[elevens]

I have a few but the best had to be the day I got to ski w Doug Coombs.

It was my second or third year in Jackson and early season (pre holidays). The mountain got slammed that year (95 I think) and they opened top to bottom day one. So it’s like Dec 14th or something, mid week and there are maybe 40 people in line for first team. Doug is one of them. It snowed about 6” down low, w more up top. We chat it up a bit in the tram as he was good friends w my boss at the time. I clip in next to him at the top of the bowl and next thing I know, off he goes. I follow him (as best as I could) straight down the bowl, straight into the Hobacks, non stop. He kept looking back but never really acknowledged me. I had to stop about 500 ft before the bottom due to fatigue. I was panting like a dog. I finish the run a bit bummed that I couldn’t keep up, only to see Doug smiling from ear to ear waiting for me at the chair. He told me most can’t keep up and was impressed I made as far as I did before stopping. We spent the rest of the morning skiing together. He was the pure definition of soul on skis.

[old goat]

riding KT with 2 other singles, one new to Squaw--the other guy, obviously Italian, was talking so vigorously with his hands describing the area and pointing things out, that he had to take off his gloves to continue.

[old goat]

riding KT with 2 other singles, one new to Squaw--the other guy, obviously Italian, was talking so vigorously with his hands describing the area and pointing things out, that he had to take off his gloves to continue.

My wife in I shared a Funitel with Travis Ganong early season one year. He was lapping the mountain run, which forever changed my opinion of lapping the mountain run--I no longer consider it an enterprise for gapers only and now do it myself when there's nothing else worth skiing. (I still refuse to lap Gold Coast though.)

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

i used to drive the airport shuttle at the old ramada inn in bozeman;
every winter, jan stenerud would fly in to ski; he had a million stories
about the old days at MSU; had the good luck to make a few runs
with him, still have an autographed $1 .....

[lucknau]

What an awesome thread! I've read about half of them and am going to finish the rest shortly.

Most memorable lift partner for me was a guy I met last year on a night ski, who had skied a bit in the morning, hung out in the bar all day making friends (and plans) with the ski hill staff, took a big nap in the parking lot from 3pm to 6pm, woke up and hit the slopes again. I met him on his first ride up the lift and he told me all this and invited me along to play with him and all his new buddies.

Snow was coming down hard: free refills! We all converged at the warming shack, and frolicked like mad for the rest of the night. Most fun I've had solo resort skiing, ever. As the night rolled on we got spread thinner and thinner, indoctrinating new hooligans into the group on the rides back up. By the end it felt like everyone on the hill was partying together.

[new yabyum]

I had the great luck of Patrolling with Jack W, @ Park City 20+ years ago. Twice wounded 10th mountain Division. Taught OEC with him too. It didn't get any better than that.

[Meadow Skipper]

Buster Highman and/or Tri-U.

Jean Mayer sang Cry Me A River on one ride at Taos.

And I’ve hiked the Highline Ridge to Kachina Peak with Gary Johnson.

[Doremite]

I have a few but the best had to be the day I got to ski w Doug Coombs.

It was my second or third year in Jackson and early season (pre holidays). The mountain got slammed that year (95 I think) and they opened top to bottom day one. So it’s like Dec 14th or something, mid week and there are maybe 40 people in line for first team. Doug is one of them. It snowed about 6” down low, w more up top. We chat it up a bit in the tram as he was good friends w my boss at the time. I clip in next to him at the top of the bowl and next thing I know, off he goes. I follow him (as best as I could) straight down the bowl, straight into the Hobacks, non stop. He kept looking back but never really acknowledged me. I had to stop about 500 ft before the bottom due to fatigue. I was panting like a dog. I finish the run a bit bummed that I couldn’t keep up, only to see Doug smiling from ear to ear waiting for me at the chair. He told me most can’t keep up and was impressed I made as far as I did before stopping. We spent the rest of the morning skiing together. He was the pure definition of soul on skis.

Wow. Pretty rad.

[Doremite]

Myself? Half joking but I do enjoy the solo lift especially when everything is dead quiet and conditions are good. Like my little secret. That said, anyone who is over 70.

[Meadow Skipper]

Actually lift? prob the 2 attractive gals that joined up on a chair with a buddy and I at WP. Little chit chat, etc... Gal 1 pulls out some panties and tosses them onto the panty tree, My buddy tried to give her shit saying that the panties need to be a conquest, the other girl dead ass panned "those aint her panties."

dead silence and then mass laughter from all of us.

That was kind of a thread winner.

Old Goat! Where you been? Good to see you.

[AK47bp]

Shared a crab boat with Chris Benchetler on a bad weather day in Haines. Crazy captain Bruce gave us a bag of fireworks and we drank heavily, got a little out of control. I think Grant Gunderson photographed a good bit of it. Fun times.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Doremite]

Last season I shared a padded seat and a lap down l'Internationale with the one and only "Wild" Bill Bowen. You know, this fella:

This vid is awesome

[AK47bp]

Buster Highmen is indeed one of the most interesting folks I've had the pleasure of sharing a chairlift with. I'm not quite as dumb and uncultured as a rock, but he makes me feel so every time. In a good way... I think.

Since this is becoming the general Celebrity Slope Encounter thread...

About five years ago I was skiing the Northway chair at Crystal with a good bud. It was a couple days after the last storm, and we were poking around in the gnarlier areas of the Horseshoe Cliffs to find pockets of pow.

We were getting lined up to air into the Teddybear Chutes, aiming for the next drop skier's right into the apron... and a patroller quietly shuffled by, leading the unmistakable shaggy form of Sage Cattabriga-Alosa further along the ridgeline. My friend and I took a three-second pause to lock eyes, grin, and silently fall in behind the pair.

They dropped off the ridgeline into a narrow patch of trees that ends in an 70 foot cliff. I was three turns behind Sage and wasn't sure what to expect. Fuck, am I going to end up sending into Sage's bomb hole here?

No, fortunately. The patroller pulled up to a hidden entrance to a line through the lateral cliff band that I hadn't yet found! A 2 foot wide gash in the cliff that started with a ten foot air and widened into a side ramp to the apron we had eyed before. The patroller nodded and dropped, leaving Sage at the brink with his skis poking into space.

"Look smooth?" I asked, standing a ski length behind him.

"Yeaah, miann, think so!" he replied, and the three of us sent it rapid fire, Sage then me then my bud, arcing huge turns out into the apron.

We high-fived where the apron met the return groomer and went about our days.

Awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Doremite]

I went to Aspen in the early 90s. I saw Chevy Chase and Danny Devito in the same lodge at the same time. One was taller than I’d imagine the other much shorter. Didn’t get to shred bump lines with either unfortunately but occasionally fantasize about a full mountain assault with the two of them. Chair lift rides hilarious I’d assume.

[4matic]

Rode with Scot Schmidt at Squaw. Regular guy cruising the groomer in spring.


The most interesting was a Military Scout on leave from Afghanistan at Squaw where military skied free. Dude loved his job and said Afghanistan was a lot like Squaw. Told me stories about how they moved around on donkeys and basically it was an f’d up deal.

The weirdest was also military from Afghanistan. Dude was fucked up and crazy eyed.

[rideit]

Shawn Palmer...when he was like 13 or 14. It was at Mt. Snow, he was about to win something or another, and was mercilessly heckling the dude on the chair in front of us who was wearing a gold lame fartbag.
He hasn't changed...