Photo Memory - First ski trip to Utah

As I continue my project of scanning all my non-digital photographs, I have been sharing a few on Facebook, but a lot of these pictures are bringing back fond memories of times past. I wanted to reminisce on these pictures of my earlier life, and keep some kind of record of the stories behind the snapshots. What better place to do this but in this blog. I can share and I can have a record, of what I am calling a Photo Memory.

Most posts from the last few years have been using photos from my digital camera or phone camera. Only recently did I do a post using scanned photos from my first ski trip out west.  This post is about my second trip to ski out West, this time in Utah.

Park City Utah Library

It was January 1988, our ski group had grown from four people to seven.  At the time, I was getting two different ski magazines and I was really inspired by the first trip to Breckenridge Colorado.  I had read that Utah had what was called "Champagne Powder".  I have learned this was a term trademarked by Steamboat Springs Ski area in Colorado, but it is representative of most snow in Rocky Mountain skiing. I like champagne, I like skiing, so why wouldn't I want to go there.

At this time, it was common to use a Travel Agent. These were people who would help to plan out the trips and make the reservations and other arrangements. What a concept! I think they still exist and people are slowly realizing that it is much easier to plan a trip this way. And it is less stressful.

Park City Utah was the destination, the end of January was the time frame, and we were expecting 6-8 people. Everyone was coming from Florida except my brother Tom, he was going to be coming from Vermont. I was using A&L Travel, which was owned by my boss and his wife. We would be staying in a nice condo in Park City, a short distance to the slopes. Our flight was into Salt Lake City, and then we use a car rental to get to Park City, about 32 miles east of the Airport, just off I-80.

Our condominium in Park City Utah

The view of the ski area from outside our condo in Park City Utah

The ski passes were part of the package and a pass was good for 5 days of skiing in 6 (or maybe 7)  days.  That meant everyone could take a rest day during the week that we were there. You wore the pass around your neck and each new day a hole would be punched for the day of the week skied. Five holes punched, the pass was completed.

BJ at the base of Park City Ski Area (now Mountain Resort)

As you can see, after that first year skiing out West, I was very excited to try a new place. I would say I looked happy in the above picture.

Other than my brother Tom, most of the people on the trip were my co-workers at Ensco, the place I worked for 34 years. The next picture shows Gaylen Drape, a great friend and more recently, a golfer in my foursome. That is me next and then my old room-mate Ron Cunfer. Ron and I shared a house in the early 1980s for two years, then I got married and bought a house. Ron is currently working in a Research Lab at Penn State.  The next person is Cricket Leonard (now Holshey), also an Ensco employee. Tom was next in the line...

Gaylen, BJ, Ron, Cricket & Tom at Park City Utah

Park City is a large ski area with multiple mountains with runs going down all sides. There are black diamond bowls and nice long blue runs. The US Ski team headquarters is here and the team does training on these slopes.  I think that was another reason I wanted to go here.

The other two people in our group was Tod Wiley, an Ensco employee and Jim Roskind. Jim was working as a consultant at Harris and Cricket knew him through a volleyball league they both played in.  Jim would become our negotiator on some future trips.

Ron, Tom, Jim, Gaylen, Cricket & BJ on top of one of the many mountains at Park City

Tod was taking some of the photos that I am sharing and is why he is not in them. Ron, Tom & Gaylen were also taking pictures. My camera had been stolen in a home robbery, and I had not replaced it. Back then, we used film and would not see the photos until you got back, sent the film to be developed, and wait a week for the photos to be picked up...

The Rocky Mountains are both beautiful and expansive...they look like they go on forever.  Photos never show the real beauty of a place, but you can see I was eager to get down the first run of the trip...

BJ trying to get the group going down the run at Park City Utah

Cricket had her pink jacket, but we all liked her banana suit the best. We could spot her anywhere on the mountain. Here she is zooming down to the camera.  That is Tod and Ron on the slope above her, checking the hardness of the snow, while Jim follows behind them. Tom and I were the most experienced skiers with Cricket near us in ability.  The rest were all intermediates but through the years we trained them well. Actually, Tom was a great teacher and had the patience. I just wanted to zoom, zoom, zoom...

Cricket in the lead with Ron, Jim & Tod behind

I had mentioned the passes were worn around our necks, on a very thin elastic string.  Some of our group felled more than others and the string could fray and break.  I think this happen to Jim and there is no record of how many days you have used.  Tom went with Jim all the way to I think the director of the ski area. He had lost his pass and not used every day. I am not sure of the whole story, Tom may remember, but they would replace the pass but assume all days had been punched. I think Jim was going to lose a day and he was going to fight it to the Supreme Court. Anyway, I think it was resolved...there are no pictures.

Our condo was comfortable and it had a hot tub. This was a pleasant thing to do after six hours of skiing. It was outside so the air temperatures was below freezing, but I braved the elements for a great photo...

A BJ pose in the Hot Tub at The Condo in Park City Utah

Back in 1988, the laws in Utah were kind of strange concerning alcohol.  I knew the Mormons were centered in Salt Lake City and the state followed the rules of the religion.  Eating out would require you to join a club which would allow you to bring alcohol to dinner but they would have to serve it to you. Bars were drinking clubs that you became a member of to drink, for a fee of course.  We did find that you could buy a case of Budweiser pretty cheap and we were always too tired to go out after a long day of skiing.

The whole group enjoying a beer in the hot tub; Ron, Tod, Cricket, BJ, Jim, Tom, Gaylen

Rule #4 on the sign says no food or drinks in the spa.  I guessed we miss that one.  One night as we were relaxing in the spa, it started to snow.  Within an hour there was probably six inches of new champagne powder. We would jump out of the spa and sit on the benches to leave butt prints in the snow.  My brother, being the angel he is, showed us how to make a snow angel in the snow, right from the spa. All he had on was his trunks....we did catch a picture for all eternity!

Tom making a snow angel at Park City Utah

I think we went out to dinner one night.  The place was busy because some festival was going on and most places were booked. I think it was called the Sundance Film Festival. What did we know, I am not the Sundance Kid, although Redford was probably in town.

We liked to make our own dinners. Usually we needed to carb up for another long day of skiing. One particular night we were having beef tacos with all the trimmings. And some Buds and wine and milk too!

Taco night at the condo with Ron, Cricket, Tod, Jim, BJ, & Tom

Utah was a beautiful place. We loved it so much, we went back to Utah in 1989, but this time we stayed in the canyon where Alta and Snowbird are. But that will be a future Photo Memory....