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Michelle
Trad climber
El Frickin' Paso
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anyone ever ski Mono Lake? I have a bunch of old post-cards I gleaned many years ago of people doing this. I just looked it up and they run for about $13. I'll try to get a picture up later.
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tiki-jer
climber
fresno/clovis
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That is amazing. Thanks for posting the pix.
John Moosie, I did something similar in the Coachella Valley Aquaduct, pulled by a 4x4 down near the Chocolate Mtns.
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Talk about MASSIVE MAN-TOOL SHRINKAGE! Just thinking about the temp of that water makes my little man ache!
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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and the guy in the blue vest and beanie. Is that Mike (looks too short)?
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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From a former Meadows Ranger after seeing the photos:
"I did see a dog ice skating on Tenaya Lake one time. Did I tell you about when we reopened the Tioga Rd. for New Year's ? There were hockey games going on on Tenaya Lake and there was open water on one end. The favorite past time was to grab a friend and whip him or her across the ice toward the edge of the open water to see how close he or she would come to falling in and under the ice. What a good time that was! We had John Dill scurrying around the Valley SAR cache looking for an old confistacted rubber raft that he could send up to us for ice rescue!
Come to think of it, that was Y2K and we climbed up to the top of Puppy Dome and watched the distant fireworks in Mammoth Lakes. Reopening the road was the Park Service's idea of a Y2K present to the public - as your bumper sticker suggests, their best vacation was the Ranger's worst nightmare. Were we ever glad to see that mania end!"
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the Fet
Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
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What's the statute of limitations for that infraction?
Actually I wonder what the law is they could be breaking? It's not illegal if there's no applicable law!
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mastadon
Trad climber
Tahoe
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2008 - 01:58pm PT
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If the statute of limitations doesn't apply, the tool is going to have to take a long journey to persecute two of the three desperate criminals. I'd like to see that.
Nita: No, Yabo was never my roomie! He and his then girlfriend moved to Tahoe with Jane and I in 1980 and they lived next door to us but no, I didn't need the kind of pain that living with Yabo would have brought.
Yes, I do have a bunch of pictures from that era and they're only just starting to leak out of my scanner. Miss you darlin'.
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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I am sure they could come up with something what would stick - disorderly conduct and creating a hazardous situation come to mind. But as long as who ever was driving was on the right side of the road they are golden.
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S.Powers
Social climber
Jtree, now in Alaska
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CLASSIC!!!
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sling512
Trad climber
Chicago
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Dude has a serious 8-Pack!!!
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scuffy b
climber
On the dock in the dark
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Yeah, and he was the fat brother, too.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Dec 12, 2008 - 08:01pm PT
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Here is another contribution to mountain lore from Dennis the Millis ... there was no accounting for the limits to which Bard and Carter could push the needle on the funmeter
Skiing Tenaya Lake by Dennis Miller aka Millis
I'm not certain if it was '82 or '83, my memory is kind of foggy on dates farther back than last year, but it was early in the 80's. It was a Tuolumne Meadows wedding, and I was an invited guest.
The drive from Jackson Hole can be done in two very pleasant days or one very long, grueling ordeal, especially in an old van with a bad muffler and no tunes! I chose the latter. Nevada can be a boring place if Nevada isn't where one wants to be. I left the "Hole" at four in the morning and made it to Montgomery Pass just as the sun was setting over the Sierra Range. I managed to make it to the Tuolumne Meadows campground by midnight. I had no sooner got into my bag and fallen asleep when I was awakened by the crunch of pine needles. Something, or someone was creeping up on my campsite in the middle of the night. Bears, raccoons, perhaps park rangers looking for a midnight bust.
And then I beard a familiar voice, it was Tom Carter. "There he is A.B!” Allan answered, "How can you tell, it's so dark?" Tom replied, "Geez, look at that bag and that mop of hair, it’s Millis all right, no one else would be caught dead in that sleeping bag!"
True, I had a bad habit of keeping sleeping bags years past their dumpster due date. Taco sauce, burn holes, grease, pancake batter, poor patch jobs over even poorer patch jobs, and stains of unknown origins pretty much covered the outside and inside of my bags. Hey, it was my trademark! Anyway, Tom gently tugged on my hair, "Hey Millis, good to see you old pal, let's go skiing!"
"What the hell are you talking about pal, it's the middle of summer!" I could see Bardini's mischievous smile even in the pitch darkness. "No one said anything about snow Millis, get your ass up, now!"
We made our way down to the parking lot and found Allan's old faded-orange Opel hidden amongst all the shiny new pickups, sports cars, and yuppy mobiles lining the tightly packed lot. On top of the Opel was a single water ski strapped on with several lengths and widths of nylon webbing. "What the hell, you guys are nuts!", I mumbled.
"Right!" Allan replied, "and you're not!" We all laughed, it was going to be another epic adventure.
It was still quite dark when we got to the west end of Tenaya Lake. There were absolutely no cars on the road - the night was still and very chilly. Allan and Tom began getting dressed for the cold water while I tied the perlon ropes to the back of the Opel. Allan was first.
I drove while Tom hung out the window of the passenger side yelling reassuring words to Allan as he sat in the frigid water waiting for the rope to tighten up and snap him out of the near freezing water. After several near fatal headlong dives into the alpine water, Allan was up.
I watched the speedometer as Allan swung away from the shoreline. Ten, twenty, thirty miles an hour. When I hit thirty-two miles an
hour, Allan screamed and disappeared into the murky depths. Just as suddenly, his head popped up from the water and he burst loose with a thundering scream. "Yahoo, skiing the high country!"
Allan grabbed the ski and managed to get to the shoreline as Tom pulled in the rope and I coiled it. Allan dried off as best he could. He was coughing up enough water to brew coffee for ten people, but still smiling and laughing "Did you see that?" he yelled out. "The first water skiers on Tenaya Lake!" I said that it was probably illegal to ski on the lake, but Tom said it was probably forbidden to ski on the lake from a boat, but no one had said anything about using a car, right?
Tom was next. Once again I drove and, as Tom sat in the water waiting for the snap of the rope, all I could envision was me next. I don't think so, no way, Jose!
Now you must remember, Tom Carter was born with skis on his tiny little feet. His mother claims it was a difficult birth, but his innate
talent became evident the second the rope came tight. Tom was up and shooting a rooster tail twenty feet into the air. There was no going back into the water for Tom - not until his ride was over. Ten, twenty, thirty, then forty miles an hour. "Crank it Millisl" Allan yelled.
I finally hit forty-five miles an hour when just ahead, that old dead Lodgepole pine loomed out of dim morning light - you know the one that sticks out of the lake about four fifths of the way up from the south end of the lake."Damn, Tom's going to get creamed by that old tree!" I yelled.
By the time I stopped the car, just a few feet before the rope could tangle with the Lodgepole, Tom had let go of the tow line and
was already swimming toward shore, ski in hand.
Just as we were packing the ski and ropes away, an old pickup truck stacked high with furniture and an assortment of children passed by, and from the cab of the truck we could hear one of the kids yell out, "Hey dad, they got water skiing here, I love Yosemite!"
Sunlight was hitting the tops of the surrounding domes and we was decided the skiing was over for the day. I let out a great sigh of relief. Saved by the sun!
Breakfast at the Tuolumne grill was superb. Later that day, Park Ranger Paul Cowan cornered the three of us and asked us if we
had any idea who might have been waterskiing on Tenaya Lake using an orange Opel sedan as a ski boat. "Got no idea, Paul, you
know we're law abiding citizens just visiting this magnificent national park."
Yeah, like we would tell Ranger Cowan .....
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Dec 12, 2008 - 10:13pm PT
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tiny note here. Everyone in this tale is dead save for Tom C. Millis died of melanoma a few years back and Allan in a fall on the Grand back in the later 80s, for those that don't know the details here. Poignant story especially knowing this.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Dec 12, 2008 - 10:20pm PT
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Peter,
Allan's fatal fall occurred on July 5, 1997. We formed the Bardin Foundation the next day.
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WBraun
climber
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Dec 12, 2008 - 10:53pm PT
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skipt -- "In Yosemite, that's gotta be at least a $500 dollar ride if you get caught nowadays."
Now where in the hell you come up with such bullsh'it?
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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Dec 12, 2008 - 10:57pm PT
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So, for $500 bucks I can get someone to pull me around Tenaya...sounds like a deal to me....:D Grate Christmas present family if yo listening out there on the ethernet.
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WBraun
climber
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Dec 12, 2008 - 11:05pm PT
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Internet! Girl [Giving you my best Clint Eastwood impersonation]
Ethernet: A network technology for local area networks.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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Dec 12, 2008 - 11:28pm PT
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Oh, so funnny! I may ( pro not ) know the difference, but I just like that word....ethernet, so mysterious....like stuff you send floating out there in space, looking for a place to land.
And Thanks, Werner. I need people to keep me savvy !!
Say, mild drift here if you are still on this Thread on the internet, WBraun....or anyone. Found out today I have incredible anemia due to not eating red meat for @ 7 months. What can you eat for iron ????? No wonder I was worn out on the "deproach" when climbing with the Gordobots.
Need "soft" iron to eat as the braces on the teeth are always killing me.
Give Beautiful Merry a hug from Lynnie please. : D
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