OCR Text |
Show Page 9 Wed"eSday,March2l977 Stay Tuned By Peter ajar Wolfe's Repair Shop I was skiing the Thaynes Chair the other day and both times I rode the lift I saw the same character ski down the mountain and come out of his bindings. The first time a shout of "ski" was heard and a ski came flying down the hill. The second time the ski luckily buried itself in the snow. There is no excuse for anyone skiing a mountain and not having a way to stop a released ski. The released ski can get lost in loose snow. It can also literally kill a bystander, or at least cause injury. To prevent that runaway ski, there are only two choices: safety straps or ski brakes. Both have their drawbacks and good points. The skier must evaluate the pros and cons of both and must choose one or the other. The safety strap is cheaper than a ski brake and usually comes with new bindings. It has been iround for a number of years, and it is effective -it does stop skis. However, during a fall those flailing sharp edges come awfully close to unprotected flesh. The safety strap is universally approved by all areas as a method of preventing : runaway skis. The ski brake has been a recent arrival on the American market. Like anything new, it has not met with universal approval. Not all ski areas approve ski brakes, so check with the areas that you normally ski. Most binding manufacturers offer ski brakes as an option. The matched ski brake and binding is probably the best because there is no problem as far as compatibility between ski brake and binding. When using unmatched ski brakes and , bindings make sure the ski brake does not impede binding function. ; Ski brakes do stop skis. Usually, the skier will end up farther down the hill than the ski. In ;. powder, they ajce. effective; the ski stops almost t imiTMBkiZillZbe : under, the snow wherever the ski track stops. With ski brakes one usually has to climb back up a hill to retrieve a released ski. It's not too bad on hard snow, but in powder it can be almost impossible on a very steep slope. Last year I had to dig down to dirt to climb up to reach my ski in powder. The choice should be one or the other. Please do use something to stop that released ski. ..before someone gets hurt. .-v f ; W ' 113 ;,1 ' j I jNC . ' I i I ISUSCRIBEAND YOU SHOULD TOO SUBSCRIPTION FORM $6.00 in stated one year $10.00 out of state. NAME ADDRESS Mall Subscription Form to: THE NEWSPAPER Box 738 Park City, Utah 84060 Miners Drop Another One The Park High basketball team travelled to Wendover Friday night to do what they have done so well at home-lose. home-lose. Despite a torrid first period in which the Miners couldn't miss and which produced a 16-8 lead, the local cagers were unable to stay in front. "We gave it to them," coach Ron Stepan said. ' Everything dropped in the first quarter but nothing would drop in the second quarter." Outscored 31-17 in the second and third periods, the Miners found themselves on the short end of a 39-33 score going into the final stanza. Managing to whittle only one point from the six point deficit, the Miners fell once more. 53-48. It there can be a bright spot m the tenth loss of an eleven-game season, it was the performance of sophomore sopho-more Howard Davidson. According Ac-cording to Stepan, Davidson played his best game of the year, sharing ParK City scoring honors with Mike Alvey at 16 points. With autumn hopes bolstered bolster-ed by a 6-2 preseason record and then demolished by poor , league play, the Miners : enter the Region Nine round i robin tournament Friday against South Summit. ,. "If there's a dark horse in the tournament, it has to be us." Stepan said withiaj half-hearted smile. ', ! In their previous meeting j this year, South Summit man-handled the Miners, : 67-35. and Stepan is banking : on more than a modest amount of over-confidence : on the part of the Kama's hoopsters. i "I'm sure South Summit thinks they have us in the bag and I hope they stay that way. The coach said this year's tournament shapes up to be one of the most exciting in recent memory due to the ; balance in the league. Stepan observed that the : Miners are "capable of beating anyone" but to do so they'll have to come up with that something extra that's needed to close those live point gaps that have bedeviled them all season. Odermatt Wins Dudu's Tour Lead Eroding Ell Josef Odermatt of Switzerland Switzer-land sped to a slalom victory at Boston Hills fast Thursday night following a' second-place second-place finish in the giant slalom Wednesday evening to earn $8,400 in the $40,000 Dodge Cup, co-sponsored by the Boston Metro Dodge dealers and Dynastar, and trimmed Frenchman Henri Duvillard's World Pro Skiing lead to a mere 30 points. Although it was Odermatt's best weekend of the season, it was not a bad weekend for Duvillard. The Frenchman's triumph in Wednesday night's slalom was his ninth victory of the season, his 34th career victory and made him pro racing's all-time money winner with $177,716, accumulated ac-cumulated in less than three seasons. Austrian Hugo Nindl, champ in 1974, is second with $175,094. The ' late Spider Sabich is third in total earnings with 4139,228. Asked if he thought Odermatt Oder-matt could overtake him in the two remaining races of the World Pro Skiing campaign, cam-paign, Duvillard snickered, "No. I am not worried about Josef catching me." And even Odermatt doubts the prospects. "Henri will be very tough," the 24-year-old Swiss admitted. "Perhaps with a little luck?" "When you're sick orhurt,Icangive you some old- fashioned attention!' r Tom Llgaro Silver King Bank 649-9161 See me for State Farm health insurance. Tales Telemark TXaL Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. STATt FARM INSURANCE I 1? . . mar ik-w by Frank Eriekson Ed Phelps skis alpine and Nordic, plays tennis, jogs and bicycles. Because he doesn't live in Park City I hadn't seen him around much this dry winter. But last Wednesday afternoon I spotted spot-ted him from the Prospector lift, searching for the patches of powder in the trees. When I saw him again Saturday he told me he'd made 20 runs at Park City and skied again Friday at Powder Mountain. Saturday he sported the skinny skis and won his class in the Citizens Cross-Country Race. Perhaps none of this would be noteworthy except ex-cept Saturday was Ed Phelp's birthday. He turned tur-ned 71. It was 1926 when the young Mormon convert from Virginia came to Utah and struck up an acquaintance with the Wasatch Mountains. Two years later he began skiing. "The first alpine turn I learned was the telemark. I didn't have an instructor but I picked it up from a book. The mistake I made was in only learning to turn "left," he recalls, then adds with a laugh, "and that's something you should never do. My advice is always learn to turn both ways!" The 20's and 30's were the days when Ecker Hill was the scene of national ski jump contests and Brighton serviced by a rope tow operated by the Wasatch Mountain Club. In those times skiers had neither the benefit of chairlifts or lightweight touring equipment. Ed remembers "one time in the early 30's when my cousin and I drove up Big Cottonwood as far as we could and parked the car. Then we hiked eight miles to Brighton. It was a week day and the rope tow wasn't running so we had to hike up the hill and ski down. At the end of the day we hiked the eight ' miles back to the car and slept in it. Next morning, mor-ning, we hiked back to Brighton, skied some ; more, and hiked back. By then we'd had enough fand were ready to go home." r White-haired and mustachioed Phelps is too 'distinguished in look and manner to be labeled a "ski bum." But for the past ten years he has con- vyeniently arranged his job to winter near such (places as Aspen, Breckenridge, Taos, South Tahoe, Reno, Heavenly Valley, Leadville, Vail and Copper Mountain. Ed is a salesman and on winter days when the skiing is poor, he sells waterless cookware. But after a new snowfall the pots and pans are put aside for a pair of Miller Soft skis and the powder runs. To keep in shape between good powder days, Ed has cross-country skied for four years. "After 47 years of alpine skiing, I don't ski unless it's powder," he flatly states. Ed wintered in Heber last year and I met him on a cross-country tour up the Little South Fork of the Provo. The tour was supposed to depart at 9 a.m. and when I got to the trailhead at 9:15 Ed was already out testing his wax. In true Park City fashion everyone else arrived at about 10 a.m. and we started up the creek. I broke trail through the new snow and the elder skier was always second or third in line while others in the party who were one-third his age lagged up to a half-mile behind. When we turned back, Ed demonstrated he had not forgotten a thing about the turn he learned in 1928 and telemarked down the mountain making both left and right turns with equal grace, in spite of his claim. About two weeks later I had the fortune of a second telemark lesson on the mine dump near Lake Flat. To get to the trailhead we had to walk past crowds of snowmobilers, and there was such a contrast between this vibrant man whose life had spanned most of this century striding up the road and the middle-aged bodies sagging over their smelly machines. Ed later told me, "I have no use for snowmobiles and their noise." nlBiill -s- - Ed Phelps going strong photo by Pam Rapplean Ed attributes his good physical and mental well-being to a strict diet and plenty of exercise. As a devout Mormon, he adheres to the Word of Wisdom, a code that advises against the use of coffee, tea, alcohol, and tabacco. Beyond this, he eats natural foods. "There is no place in the diet for white flour and sugar. I avoid refined foods and eat instead a lot of cheese, nuts, and whole wheat products." Ed jogs two miles or rides a bike ten miles daily four or five times a week. Semi-retired now, he lived this winter at home in Kaysville, He looks forward to racing in the Masters Division of the National Bicycle Race in Seattle next August, adding to the list of skiing, tennis and bicycling competitions he has participated par-ticipated in over the years. Ed's only lament is that there are not more older people with whom he can share his outdoor pursuits. "It would be more enjoyable for me if other older people would get out-of-doors. I'm going to try to get some older people who have given up alpine skiing to try cross-countrying." At 71 Ed Phelps still looks to the future. "It makes life a lot more interesting. When you start living in the past you might as well get out the rocking chair." Eriekson Brothers victorious In Citizens Cross-Country Race State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company Home Office Bloommgton. Illinois : The Eriekson Brothers, Steve and Frank, took top honors in their respective classes during the Citizens Cross-Country Races held on the Resort golf course Saturday. Satur-day. In the race for men aged 18 and a half to 25, Steve Eriekson posted a 45: 17 time for three laps around the 3.5 mile course. Eriekson was followed by Mark Taft with a 51:38 and John Winquist at 51:58. In 26 to 32 division for men, brother Frank led the pack with a three-lap time of 52:13. John Brutto was second at 52:16 followed by Ed Weeks' 52:4" The eleven-and-under boys were paced by Scott Williams Wil-liams who completed one lap (.: ! . - - g ,;!jK Af i V , ' J V ft - ft ' L m i Frank Eriekson in 23:02. Second among the youngsters was David Van Luven at 23:41. Third place honors went to Chris Bel lamy with a 25:22 clocking. Ed Fulton took first place in the men's 33 to 42 age bracket. Fulton's time of 39:00 for two laps was followed by a 40:45 posted by Frank Bird and Richard Williams' 40:56. The veterans 43 and over class was led by ; Dave Hanscom who completed two laps in 33:00. Hanscom was followed by Marv Melville's 35:22 and a 35:48 posted by Richard Groth. Ed Phelps, the only entrant in the men's 43 and over division finished one lap in 24:11. In the women's competition, competi-tion, all age groups were pitted against each other. Kristi Waller paced all the lady skinny ski enthusiasts with a 20:42 clocking over one lap. Connie Page was second at 23:10 and Shari Melville took third, with a time of 23:52. |