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Show 'Lighted man' honored at Steamboat carnival r 1 A 72 year-old man who has formerly served as a chief of police for 21 years may have been expected at one time to' direct traffic at an event like the Steamboat Steam-boat Winter Carnival in Steamboat Springs, Spr-ings, Colo., but Claudius Hanks, of Ver-luil, Ver-luil, means more to the community of Steamboat than that. They made him a grand marshal at this year's 63th winter carnival there Feb. 8 through H. And besides promoting that community, com-munity, he promotes its skiing by spending spen-ding about six days there every other week. And most of that time is spent on the slopes. "I've skied for over 50 years," Hanks said. "By the time I was 65 there were very few skiers who could get by me Th en my ki is started to pass me up." Banks began skiing as a University of I'tah student w hen he w as 19. "I had to go to three different stores to get a whole outfit." he remembers. "I wouldn't go back to that." Another difference he noted in his skiing ski-ing is the lack of tows in use when he started the sport. "We skied at Alta and Brighton, but we had to walk via Park City." His interest in the sport didn't change as he grew older. In fact, he installed three rope tows in the Steinaker Draw on BLM land he leased so he could teach his children to ski at an early age. The area called Skiers Park later became known as Banks Hill. "1 cleaned clean-ed most of it off myself, lots of rocks and cedar trees," he said. Now it's a popular tubing hill. But perhaps his greatest skiing memories include his Steamboat ex- periences as the "Lighted Man." An act 1 Banks performed for 42 years, the lighted man is famous not only in the Steamboat area but around the world. "I don't even see all of the magazines I've been in," he said. "Nobody else has it, so it gives the place prestige." The lighted man costume Banks developed consists of 125 miniature lights plus skis, poles and a helmet that shoots rockets. It weighs about 100 pounds. In the last seven years of his act, his son Jon also performed with him in the night event on Howelson Hill at the Steamboat Carnival For the past ; ? n f -C- S ' ' " . .' ' ' 1 ' .: 'X- i :x i : J ! - d A -i . - v. , '.jtl. I i three years, 33-year-old Jon has done it alone. "Because of a heart condition, I can't carry the weight any more," Banks said. "But I can pace myself skiing, ski-ing, and I get by pretty good." Although he says there w ere no other tracks when he started skiing in the 1930s, Banks enjoys meeting people wherever he skis. "I visit with people from all over," he said "And I boost the Steamboat area when I talk to people peo-ple in the lift lines. I took a liking to them, and they took a liking to me." Banks likes it there so much he has a home there as well as one in Vernal. And his kids, now adults, often meet him there to ski instead of to watch him as the lighted man "I don't know whether any Banks' will carry on the tradition," he said, "but I'd like to do the act one more time with my boys." The people of Steamboat Springs, Colo, would like that too. The "Lighted Man" act Claudius Banks performed for 42 years is famous all over the world. Re- I ccntly, his son Jon has taken over ' the act at the annual Steamboat ' Winter Carnival in Steamboat j Springs, Colo, (right) Banks a part-time part-time employee for John Smith, Basin Auto, spends most of his time skiing. He now owns a plaque pla-que from the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club showing their appreciation for his efforts in promoting the community, (above) ' i S ( 1 ' j j 1 - - I - f i 1 i i t i i , i , i 1 1 'V IT' rlfl |