1958
Complete exhaustion—the result of a very successful first annual Dartmouth Alumni Ski Weekend in Hanover, from which Jane and I have just returned tonight. We sweated out the ski conditions right up until this past Wednesday when the sky opened up and white manna flowed covering over ice and bare spots and providing some of the best skiing of the season. Ninety one people participated with us, representing 21 classes going all the way back to the class of '33. '58 and '59 were tied for most people with six couples from each. In addition there were about fifteen children involved at various times. Longest trip trophy goes to Tony andCarol Gittes who came in all the way from Ecuador, combining a little business and pleasure. Second longest was a family of five from McLean, Va. Representing '58 were Bob and Leslie Abbott, Caek andJo Anne Bittner, Tony and Carol Gittes,Ted and Mary Ann Harris, Tryg and C.J. Myhren, and Jane and me.
Friday night we combined with the Dartmouth Club of Hanover for a fine dinner at Alumni Hall in Hopkins Center. The food was great, the Injunaires sang, Jake Crouthamel set our minds at ease about the future of football at Dartmouth, and we watched the 1970 football films. There was a very short trip to the bar at the Inn since all were in training for the race on Saturday. Saturday dawned bright and sunny and despite reports of clanging Pipes and lack of showers in the old wing of the Inn all were in good spirits.
The skiing was superb and the Skiway is a fine, first-class ski area. At It 30 the racers assembled at the bottom of the Worden's racing trail for racing bibs and running order. The race, a giant slalom, was set by George Ostler of the Ski School and was broken down into three categories: a long course for men consisting of about forty gates; a short course for men, women, and children consisting of about twenty eight gates. Forty four ski weekenders raced and we also had some local people. Excitement and enthusiasm ran high and despite the tact that the course got icy toward the end there were no accidents. '58 fared very well m the competition. On the men's short course Ted Harris walked away with first place, a full 10 seconds faster than the next finisher. Dave Bradley, who was an ex-officio participant, had the fastest time of the day, one second faster than Ted's time. Cack Bittner was disqualified, but should be recognized for the most spectacular fall m this his first active competition. On the long course, the best we could do was my tie with a '59 for third place. That race was won by a '54 with a '59 in second place. J.ony Crtttes, resplendant in his fire engine red racing suit, finished a respectable thirteenth. We _ did well in the women's event too. Leslie Abbott finished in a tie for first place with the Austrian wife of a 11 should be noted that Leslie's time was one second better than that of Ted Warns, covering the very same course My wile, Jane, running at the end over a very icy course met with disaster about half way down, came out of her binding, but managed to get back in and finish, dead last however. She vows a comeback next
In the children's event Ned (son of Ted) Harris, finished in a tie for first with the son of a '44. Dave Bradley's son finished in third place. Ann Abbott, definitely a comer, finished fourth and Lee Abbott, looks like she will be holding up the honors in the future. It was a fine race and all involved had a fine time. You can find some pictures of the event in another section of this MAGAZINE. Just to set the record straight Tryg Myhren, a very strong gold medal candidate for the long course, came up with a bad back at the beginning of the season and has been unable to ski competitively. He imparted much of his great knowledge to me and thus enabled me to win a bronze.
Saturday night we had cocktails and a fine dinner for over 100 at the DOC house on Occum Pond. Howie Chivers, manager of the Skiway, presented the trophies to the winners and then Andy Harvard '71 showed slides and spoke about his trip with two other undergraduates to Peru. Besides helping earthquake victims, they climbed two previously unclimbed peaks and then built rafts out of balsa trees and rafted down a tributary of the Amazon. The spectacular pictures and Andy's dry humor added much to a fine evening. After the formal festivities many of us wandered over to the Bradleys' and kept them up for a while. In addition to his great competitive racing, Dave is practicing law and has been elected a representative from Hanover to the New Hampshire legislature. Despite a very impressive license plate, Dave tells us that legislators are only paid $200 per year for meeting three times a week, six months a year. Even with those Coolie wages the state is on the brink of insolvency. Jane and C.J. then led Tryg and me to Tony's for some fine pizza although the 2 a.m bedtime didn't help our ski legs too much.
Sunday morning looked like the middle of January with snow falling heavily We wandered up to the Skiway and found some of the best snow conditions I've seen this winter. The driving back was a little bad but we now rest in the glow of a weekend well spent. All agreed it was a fine weekend and hope that we will run it again next year. As a '58 class project it was a huge success and for an encore we are planning a golf and tennis weekend over July 4 so watch this MAGAZINE for further information. We hope more '58's will take advantage of this package.
I promise to get back to alumni news in the May issue, but the hour is growing late, and this column is long overdue.
Secretary, 43 Cornell Rd. Wellesley, Mass. 02181
Class Agent, Varnum, Riddering, Wierengo & Christenson 666 Old Kent Bldg. Grand Rapids, Mich. 49502
