Tag Archive for: chad mitchell trio

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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A few bizarre developments from ski country:

Source: American Museum of Natural History

Did you see the recent article about the frozen fish blizzard in the Altai Mountain region of China? It’s the same region where for thousands of years, indigenous people have been navigating winter on homemade skis. Apparently, a tornado-like waterspout touched down in Kanas Lake, picked up a large school of 5” – 7” fish and deposited them across several small villages in the region.

A naturally occurring avalanche in a remote section of the Dolomite region of Italy, uncovered the remains of a German bi-plane that crashed there during World War I. Inside was the preserved body of the pilot, as well as a partially eaten loaf of bread and an unopened bottle of beer.

Source: American Museum of Natural History

Park City chiropractor, Ben Dover, was repairing a plumbing leak in the basement of his 100+ year old home when he noticed cool air blowing through the wood paneled wall. Curious, he carefully removed a few boards and found the entrance to an old mine. Flashlight in hand, he walked into the space where he saw something hanging on a wall. It was a calendar from 1909 with a date circled in red: April 1!

Happy April Fools Day!!!

It’s part of the human condition that, regardless of our age, every one of us has an unknown expiration date. I believe we should be aware of the news of the day and have empathy for those who suffer. Among the ways we can help is through volunteering and financial and other forms of support. We can also make an extra effort to be kind to ourselves and to each other. Next time you’re being jostled in lift line or cut off before you pull into that ideal parking space, give the other person a smile. When you get to the chair, thank the liftee. On the trail, do what you can to avoid a collision. There’s a lot wrong with the world of skiing: the crowds, reckless people, etc., etc. But there’s a lot right with it, too. Otherwise we wouldn’t go to the effort.

Spring has arrived. Delicious warm days await us on the hill. Soon we’ll be hanging up our boards and thinking about next season.

Enjoy April Fools Day. Enjoy the pond skim. Enjoy the live band and the cold beer. Enoy it all. It’s skiing.

Fashion Statement?

Tommy Hilfinger’s ski-in/ski-out home sold for a $19 million profit after three months of ownership.

Fashion Designer/manufacturer, Tommy Hilfiger, sold his Aspen ski in/ski out home last week for $50 million. He purchased in in December for $31 million. Yes, you read that correctly. He made a $19 million profit in three months…reflecting the current hot mountain town real estate market.

The Future of XC Skiing

If you’re associated with a XC ski club or facility, be sure to set aside time April 5 and 6 to attend (by Zoom) the Cross Country Ski Areas Association 2022 Spring Conference. Topics will cover current trends and events impacting the XC industry and maintaining growth and optimizing the guest experience. Cost:$45; https://ccsaa.org/annual-conference-2021/.

OR Returns to Salt Lake City

Five years ago, the twice-yearly Outdoor Retailer trade show decamped from Salt Lake City to Denver. Among the numerous reasons for the move was the State of Utah’s resistance to protecting its wilderness lands from development by extraction industries and from continued illegal use by ATVs and other motorized vehicles. Given that the outdoor recreational industry is based, in large part, on use of public lands, numerous big brands threatened to withdraw from the trade show if it continued in the state. Now, with support from the mayor of Salt Lake City, the twice-annual show will return to its roots. The past five years has seen unprecedented growth in Salt Lake City and the surrounding area. The new international airport, a $5.5 billion investment, is the first major hub airport replacement built in the 21st century.

Telltale Signs of Stroke

This valuable information arrived in my inbox along with the story of a woman who died after the signs of her stroke went undetected. If treated within three hours of onset, chance of recovery is increased. To determine if someone is experiencing a stroke ask the person to 1) smile; 2) talk and speak a simple sentence; 3) raise both arms. If there is difficulty performing any of these, immediately call 911 and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. An additional sign of stroke: Ask the person to stick out the tongue. If it goes to one side or the other, the person may have had a stroke.

Ski Mo

Lauren (l), Tom, and Liz costumed-up for the last Park City SkiMo event of the season.

If you’re not already familiar with this soon-to-be Olympic event, chances are, you soon will be. SkiMo (short for Ski Mountaineering) is a competitive event in which participants race up the hill on skins and/or carrying their boards, then clicking in and skiing down. It has many variations, including the one I witnessed one evening last week at Olympic Park in Park City. There, participants tried to make as many laps of the 300′ vertical as they could in an hour. One person clocked six or seven laps.

Remembering “Super Skier”

Remember the song, Super Skier, from the Chad Mitchell Trio? Released in 1963, it tells the amusing tale of of a guy  whose sense of his skiing self far exceeds his skiing skills. Click on the above image and listen with fresh ears.

Important Notice

The annual fundraiser is over. Again, I want to thank all who provided support for the site. Your gifts help defray the cost of publication. The majority of posters, stickers and thank you notes have been mailed, but I’m a few weeks behind completing the chore. Too many doctors visits and our move to a new (for us) home have complicated matters. Also, several mailings to reader-provided addresses were returned. Thanks for your patience. 

mikemaginn

Super Skier: Skiing Songs of the Sixties

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[Editor Note: Here’s an archive article that will bring back some memories.  Back in the Sixties, there was a host of songs devoted to the relatively new and growing sport of skiing.  This article from SeniorsSkiing.com August, 2014 highlights some of the songs and the singers.]

Well, they called him Super Skier
As he sat around the sun deck,
For he swore that he would never take a spill.
When they finally brought him down
They had to use three toboggans
To carry all the pieces down the hill.
Bob Gibson, Super Skier

In the late 50s and early 60s, three cultural threads knit together simultaneously—folk singing, the comedy album and the sport of skiing.  Inspired by the Kingston Trio, Smothers Brothers and the comedy records of Bob Newhart, Woody Allen, Shelly Berman, and Lenny Bruce, a small band of singers created a niche art form: The Stand Up Comic As Skiing Folk Singer.

A pioneer on the scene was Chicago-based Bob Gibson, a 50s folksinger, who, among other things, wrote novelty songs, especially about skiing.  One of those, Super Skier, later recorded by the Chad Mitchell Trio*, became the genre’s archetype.  Here’s a version:

The novelty ski song had a pattern. A naïf—nerdy office worker, country hick, cowboy—goes skiing because it’s macho, ladies find skiers attractive, and it’s cool.  His goal is showing off, joining the Jet Set, finding the girl and having “the look”.  But, misadventures and slapstick outcomes ensue.  All of this is often to a familiar folk tune: Sweet Betsy From Pike, Turkey In the Straw, Railroad Bill and the like, with simple acoustic string-band accompaniment.

Utah skier and resident Ray Conrad is a prime example of this novelty genre.  He was a topical folk singer back in the 60s.  Here’s his song The Big Downhill Skis about a “hard-butt” cowboy who is challenged to go skiing by a city slicker.  Pretty funny.

Ray also has a serious side.  Here’s the opening lyric of his song, “A Skier’s Daydream”.

In the fall of the year, when the summer grows old
When the air has a chill, and the green hills turn cold
It’s then I grow restless and feel at my ease
I yearn for the mountains and the snow in the trees

Then there’s his song Two Cubes and A Slug of VO that compares the joys of skiing with the benefits of “drinking gin with a touch of vermouth, yo-ho.”

The genre went in a different direction when Oscar Brand issued an entire album of ribald ski songs. Brand, a contemporary of Pete Seeger and the Weavers, had an uncanny knack for writing and collecting off-color songs.  His discography (about 100 albums) includes bawdy sea shanties, army ditties, navy songs, and hearty drinking carousers.

Oscar Brand's 1961 collection of ribald ski songs are still funny today.

Oscar Brand’s 1961 collection of ribald ski songs are still funny today.

Ray Conrad was in the mix in those days and contributed two songs to Brand’s 1963 “A Snow Job For Skiers”.  Here are some lyrics from The Ski Instructor from that album.  The rest of the songs range from clever and witty all the way to silly.  Discretion prohibits adding an actual audio track.

Impress her with your ability, don’t let her answer no
Remind her that skiing with no sex involved is nothing but cold, cold snow.

We haven’t noticed après-ski lounge singers embracing these songs or even making up their own in our recent travels.  Google “ski songs,” and you get rock music for your skiing playlist, not the topical send-ups of yesteryear.

Do you have a ski song you remember?

Now the moral of my story
Though my story’s kinda gory
For all you sundeck Charlies, there’s still hope
You buy the fastest clothes you can
Then talk skiing like a man
But don’t let people catch you on the slope…And Get Charlie Off The MTA

_____________________

*By sheer happenstance, the author was present at Brooklyn College in May 1961, when the Chad Mitchell Trio first performed “Super Skier” on stage and made the recording you can hear on the Youtube link.  They raised the roof on that one.  Here’s the admission (autographed on the back) ticket to prove it.

Chad Mitchell Trio Concert Ticket