50 years on uller
50 years on Uller. I sit and stare, not knowing where to start, how much to write and where to stop.
The Rangers threw a wonderful get together at the new cabin out on the trail. There was food, drink, smoke and a bunch of surprises. They celebrated me and it felt good; but I tried to make sure everyone there recognized that it wasn’t just me out there for the last five decades.
Yes, I’m the one who felt responsible to try to keep the trail open, packed, drained, groomed and tracked all those years. I’m the one who would wrangle up others to go with me, get the gas, try to conjure up what combination of gear to run and tow; but there’s a long list of people who came out and helped me through all those hours.
Uller wouldn’t be there without:
Larry K, who pioneered, cleared and skied the Krankkala Spur until his last day.
Carol, Margie, Mark who used to ski pack it at night after a shift at Whitecap. There were no snowmobiles back then, no drags or track sleds. Head lamps were weak and dim. Mark has passed on years ago, Margie is nowhere to be found.
Coach, Mary, Karl and Tim; quite a family. Skiers, motivators, fiduciary supporters, drivers, mechanics; big time helpers. Mary and Karl are gone. Coach is pushing 90. Tim continues to diagnose our break-downs and lends his support from San Jose. Both Karl and Tim spent years teaching me how to make an Alpine dance.
Ken and Mary, early volunteers. Ken was one of the early Alpine drivers.
Harold and Ross spent the late 80’s and 90’s running Alpines. They didn’t enjoy it; but we didn’t have to worry about them, they could handle themselves.
Gary and Rudy from the Upson Ranger Station. Innovators, back woods masters. They set a lot of track in the ‘90’s if we’d had a good rest of the week in the woods.
Mike Fauerbach, a long time Uller skier and eventually president of the Rangers, is sorely missed. He made the ski club solidify and focus on the community benefits the ski trails offer.
For the past 5 years or so it’s been great to have the Iron County Forestry and Parks Department as an active partner. They’ve spent time and money out on Uller. Everyone agrees it’s helped the trail big time. Ty, Tara, Eric, Tim, Grubs and Devon are the Department people who get out on Uller.
Then there are the current Rangers and Ranger auxiliaries out there now. Karl, Clint, Johnathon, Red Rod, Brian and Shane. When my old knees ache, my ankles are sore and I just don’t have the energy, they either take over or find sneaky ways to get me up and going. We wouldn’t have Uller without them.
At the cabin a couple of people asked me how and why. I don’t have a good answer. Somehow I was brought up getting satisfaction from doing something for the community. I don’t know where it came from. We didn’t do much of that as a family, we didn’t talk about it at the dinner table. I started out skiing when we had to prepare our own trails and tracks; I guess it just never left me. I did it at first for myself, later for my family and now because that’s what’s to do when we get our kind of snow. Somewhere along the way, I realized grooming winter trails is a good idea for our local economy. It is. Then came the pandemic and the importance of getting out of the house in the winter while keeping your distance from the herd became real serious.
So that’s why. How? There’s all the equipment we’ve built or bought over the years. I’ve been stuck so many times in so much snow and yet I’ve never missed a meal. It’s good to go along with the younger guys and help them realize that we might be a little sweaty afterwards; but we’re never stuck too long. Besides, I like snow. I can’t believe I’ve been given this miracle to work with. I like to see kids and their Moms and Dads out on the trail. I like to ski on it when it’s quiet and the blue wax is working. I like it until about the end of March. Then I start thinking about how to make setting track easier next winter.
Weird, huh.
