First Tracks

February 20th - Thunderbolt Cafe, Team Montana, and Sven Torgensen Blair Mahar

Feb 23, 2010 @ 4:44 PM

Thunderbolt Cafe

February 20th was supposed to have been the long awaited and much anticipated 75th Anniversary Thunderbolt Ski Race.  Obviously snow conditions made the race impossible to hold.  But the trail was skiable, and TSR club members gathered on the mountain to at least celebrate the day and the trail with what has become know as the Thunderbolt Cafe.  We all brought food for the barbeque and our rock skis, and spent the day at the base of the Big Schuss enjoying some pretty decent skiing and some decent food.  We met some of the volunteers who were coming for the race and who came anyway.  Stanley Kopala showed up.  He was schussing the Thunderbolt before all of us were even born.  That was pretty cool.  And we had some Thunderbolt royalty with as as well.  Club member Robin Avery hung out for a while after taking a run.  Her father, Bill Linscott, won the 1942 Massachusetts State Downhill Championship race on the Thunderbolt.

   Team Montana                                              

Flying in From Bozeman Montana last week was one of our racers by the name of Andy Disanti.  Andy is a North Adams native and came back to test his skills against the other 119 racers.  He was locked into his plans to come back East for the week.  So, despite the fact that the race was postponed, he came anyway, and he even brought his own trophy to show the folks back in Bozeman how he did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy with his 1st place trophy on the summit of Mt. Greylock

   Sven Torgensen

Also flying in for the race was a guy we met by the name of Sven Torgensen.  Sven is a luge star back in Sweden, and came all the way to the U.S. just for the Thunderbolt race.  He brought his own gear with him and spent the day on the mountain enjoying the skiing, the food, and his new friends.  When asked why he came all the way over to ski the Thunderbolt he replied, "Well, when I heard that a Norwegian holds the record on the Thunderbolt, I just had to come over and see if I could break it.  Swedes and Norwegians don’t get along, and I wanted to break the record in the name of my country and all things Swedish….Saab, meatballs, and ABBA." 

 

 

   A happy Sven Torgensen at the base of the Big Schuss        

 

More pics from the Thunderbolt Cafe…                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR member Tim Herrmann hikes up the Schuss with Sven’s skis to "give ’em a try!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR member John Armstrong on his split-boards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR members Josh Chittenden and Aaron Girgenti ascend the Thunderbolt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR members Tim Herrmann and Blair Mahar before their run down the ’Bolt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR members Rich Adamczyk and Josh Chittenden ascend the Thunderbolt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR member Blair Mahar catches a little air on the Big Schuss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our new friend from Sweden, Sven Torgensen, on his 1940 era Flexible Flyer’s trying to break Per Klippgen’s 1948 record of 2 minutes and 8 seconds (editor’s note….he didn’t do it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSR member Rich Adamczyk and his new friend Sven share a laugh on the Thunderbolt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putting a Name to a Face (and a patch) - Dartmouth Skier Jack Tobin Blair Mahar

Jan 21, 2010 @ 12:58 PM

I recently came across an awesome picture of an anonymous downhill racer coming across the finish line of the Thunderbolt Ski Trail.  It was incorrectly identified as Greeny Guertin, famous Adams native skier and member of the Ski Runners of Adams.  One look at the face and body, and I knew it wasn’t Greeny.  Didn’t know who the heck it was?  But it wasn’t Greeny.  But as I looked at the sharp image closer, the history geek in me kicked in, and I thought maybe it was possible to figure out who this guy was and in what race he was competing.

 

   The patch on the skier’s arm shows a large D bordered by smaller letters S and T….Dartmouth Ski Team?  A quick e-mail to some friends and the New England Ski Museum confirmed that it was most likely some kind of a Dartmouth Ski Team patch.  The NESM had others in their collection that were similar.  With that, I began to scour through my files looking for any race in which #53 was a Dartmouth skier.  The only match was the 1940 Eastern Downhill Championship race on February 25th, 1940. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dartmouth Ski Team patch?

 

 

 

 

   

 The list of entrants lists #53 as Dartmouth skier Jack Tobin.  A quick check of the statistics of that race also shows #53 finished that day in 14th place.  So here at least I had a racer from Dartmouth with #53 who clearly finished the race.  Could this be Tobin?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    It sure seemed like a good bet that this unknown racer was Jack Tobin.  The nail in the coffin was when I came across an old grainy newspaper clip of the 1940 race and noticed that the finish line banner was folder over itself.  This same folded finish line banner can be seen in the race picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    O.K. I’ll admit, this is probably pretty boring stuff.  But for history buffs, and especially ski history buffs, this is what it’s all about….preserving the legacy of the Thunderbolt Ski Run and those who came to ski it.  What was once an incorrectly identified pic can now be traced to a particluar skier during a particular race.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack Tobin’s thoughts about the Thunderbolt from his book "The Fall Line: A Skier;s Journal", Meredith Press, New York, 1969:
 "By my second winter at Dartmouth I had at least established myself as the best downhill skier in the sophomore class. The last of the big names…had graduated the year before. …The weekend before Dartmouth Winter Carnival I went with the B team to the Williams Carnival, where we all were skiing as four-event men. The downhill race was held on Mt. Greylock’s Thunderbolt, a trail I had skied the three previous weekends, once in practice and twice in races. Because the course was icy that day, a half-dozen control gates made of heavy saplings had been strategically place to slow us down and keep us out of the woods. The gates, however, had the effect of tripping up many of the best runners, including the hotshot Bob Merservey, who as a freshman was skiing for our Dartmouth B squad. More than a few racers had bruises on the bodies as well as their egos. As for myself, my ego was sky-high since I was at home on the icy course, and I won my first victory on skis, 20 seconds ahead of the others."

 Other neat facts about the 1940 race:

  • 5,000 spectators
  • Won by Olympian Robert Livermore of Ski Club Hochgebirge (2 min. 19.4 secs.)
  • The Ski Runners of Adams beat their Dartmouth rivals in the team category, taking the 1st place trophy for the second time in two years.
  • Rudy Konieczny finished 8th
  • Greeny Guertin placed 36th
  • 1936 Mass. Downhill champ Jarvis Schauffler (Dartmouth Outing Club) placed 13th
  • 1938 Mass. Downhill champ Peter Garret (Yale Outing Club) came in 5th
  • 1939 Mass. Downhill champ Ted Hunter (Dartmouth Outing Club) placed in 6th

 And an article in the New York Times about Tobin winning a different Thunderbolt race….

Care-Takers of the Thunderbolt Blair Mahar

Nov 2, 2009 @ 3:15 AM


Rich Adamczyk, Sid, Matt Albert, and Lynn Avery on the Thunderbolt after the December 2008 ice storms.
The Thunderbolt was built in 1934 by a few dozen men of the 107th Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Major races ceased on the Thunderbolt by the late 40’s. Collegiate races went kaput by the late 50’s. And the Thunderbolt’s use a downhill ski racing trail last occurred in the mid 60’s during Williams College’s winter carnival. Throughout its decades of use, both official and unofficial, the Thunderbolt has always had its caretakers; groups of individuals who kept the legendary trail in race ready condition, or, in the post 1960’s, at least decent enough for a few wild and unsavory runs every year.


The original care takers: men of the 107th CCC Company.
But keeping the trail in decent condition and preparing it for its 75th anniversary downhill ski race are two very different things. Like an overweight baby-boomer who hadn’t exercised in 30 years, disuse had allowed the Thunderbolt to grow thick and heavy. And getting it back in race shape was going to take a long and arduous effort….and maybe even a little pain. But thanks to the back breaking work of our club members, the Thunderbolt is now starting to look like it did back in the 40’s. Dozens of members have showed up over the summer and fall during our various work efforts on the trail, and to these individuals we owe our thanks. But three men stand out in particular when it comes to dedicated and tireless work on the Thunderbolt. Josh Chittenden, Rich Adamczyk, and Conrad Sidway have spent more time maintaining the Thunderbolt than anybody I know. Josh and Rich, being of younger age and limber tendons, also ski the trail every winter more than anybody I know, to the tune of 30 to 40 runs per year. These guys are dedicated to the trail in ways that most can’t imagine. They know every tree, every turn, every rocky outcropping like the back of their pole-saws. These guys are good! They are the embodiment of that old-fashioned, sedulous work ethic and devotion that are retold in stories about “the good old days.” Because of their efforts in organizing and leading various work crews, the Thunderbolt was cleared last year after the December ice storms in a just a few weeks. Anybody who made even one run on the Thunderbolt last year did so because of a handful of Thunderbolt Ski Runners. And due to their continued diligence leading work parties onto the slopes of Greylock this past summer and fall, the Thunderbolt is now almost as fit and trim as it was in its prime. As the 2009-2010 ski seasons approaches, and as we make final preparations for the 2010 75th Anniversary Race on the Thunderbolt, I thought it would be nice to take a moment and acknowledge the work done by these modern care-takers of the Thunderbolt through this photo-essay.


John Armstrong, Rich Adamczyk, and Sid on the Thunderbolt’s Big Schuss.

Thunderbolt Ski Runners prepare a telephone pole for transport to the Thunderbolt.

Josh Chittenden pulls a pole up to the new bridge location.

Reattaching the pole after it slips off for the 5th time on its way up…

While the poles are en route the old bridge is prepped for removal.

Finally the poles arrive on location…

Using the truck’s winch to set the poles in position.

Using elbow grease and backbone to make final adjustments.

The PT decking is readied for shipment.

John Armstrong and Rich Adamczyk screw the decking in place.

The decking is complete.

Care takers of the Thunderbolt – Sid, Josh, and Rich put the finishing touches on the bridge.

Rich Adamczyk, John Armstrong, Josh Chittenden, and Chris Samson on the new bridge.

Sid on the Thunderbolt…exactly where he wants to be.

Remembering a Thunderbolt Legend - "Greeny" Guertin Blair Mahar

Feb 21, 2009 @ 2:28 AM

The last time I saw Greeny was the saddest. This was man I had to come to grow very fond of over the previous three years. During production of Purple Mountain Majesty, I interviewed him on film on two different occasions. I sat in his living room as a guest chatting with him about the Thunderbolt while his wife brought me cookies and milk. I learned about his life from his childhood in Adams to his days as a Boy Scout leader and finally to his golden years. At 83, he still had a boyish smile and a young man’s soul. Would we have been friends had I been born two generations earlier? I had grown very fond of Greeny. And now it was time to say good-bye. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Greeny with his first pair of skis

     I knocked on the door not really knowing what to expect. I was a little nervous. He was an 83 old ski legend. I was a 29 year Thunderbolt neophyte. I was there to meet Greeny and interview him for the first time during production of Purple Mountain Majesty. Maurice “Greeny” Guertin answered the door and warmly welcomed me into his home as eager to meet me as I was to meet him. I was relieved and suddenly at ease. His nicely combed pure white hair accented his handsome features. As he showed me around his home and introduced me to his wife, I took notice of his permanent smile and a twinkle in his eye. We sat down in the living room and while his wife sat and watched T.V. quietly I explained to him what I was doing. He then spent the next hour filling my head with amazing stories of his days skiing and racing on the Thunderbolt. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Greeny (left) with buddies

     As a history buff I was in awe. As an amateur film maker just starting production of a Thunderbolt documentary I wondered if I would ever be able to get him to tell those exact same stories on film. Instead of having him simply repeat everything he had just told me all over again on film that night, I decided to take a break and come back with the camera so it would feel more spontaneous. Greeny liked that idea and told me that he would retrieve his old pictures so I could film those as well. I said my thank you’s and walked out into the cold night air. From Greeny’s porch you can see Mt. Greylock. I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy and nostalgic about the man I had just met. The stories he shared about skiing on the Thunderbolt were priceless. I only hoped he shared the same ones when I returned with the camera.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The first interview, October 1998
 
     On my next visit we got down to business. We conducted the interview for about an hour, and indeed, he told the same exact stories and he told them exactly the same way. The interview went great and I couldn’t have been happier. I turned the camera off and we chatted for a while “off the record.” He pulled about two dozen old black and white pictures out of a shoebox and we went through them one at a time; twenty-four pictures that served as a testament to his days skiing and racing on the Thunderbolt. I saw grainy images of a time six decades earlier when young men devoted every waking second to perfecting runs on one of the first Class A downhill ski trails in the country. He pointed out his brother, his buddies, and he showed me one picture of him and Rudy Konieczny both on crutches. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rudy Konieczny and Greeny on crutches, always the daredevils
 
     Greeny allowed me to take his pictures home and get them on film. He then pulled out something that just about took my breath away; his weathered and tattered Ski Runners of Adams patch. The Ski Runners of Adams were a bunch of hometown boys who formed a ski club and who eventually went on to beat Dartmouth College in the team event two years in a row. He showed me a picture of him wearing the patch on his jacket and he was proud to point out that above the patch he wore a Captain tab. As captain of the team it was his job to organize all of the comings and goings of the team during practice and on race day. He also said I could take the patch home and get it on film. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Captain of the Ski Runners of Adams
 
     Within a few days of the interview I finally sat down and went through the pictures. I popped the VHS tape in my player and I was horrified to see a horizontal feedback line that ran through the entire screen and oscillated from top to bottom as the tape played. This would never do. I called Greeny and explained what happened and he graciously invited me back for a third interview. Just like the first and second, the interview was perfect. I got even better lighting conditions. But I think he was knapping just before I arrived because his normally well groomed hair was a little messed up. His wife told him to run a comb through it, but he didn’t care. He just smiled that permanent smile and got on with the interview. For the third time he told the same stories and in the exact same way. No details ever changed, and this time I got them on film flawlessly. This is the man you see today in Purple Mountain Majesty, complete with his boyish charm, his permanent smile, and his messed up hair.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The second interview
 
     The night Purple Mountain Majesty was shown in Adams to a standing room only audience, Greeny was the first one to show up, arriving a half hour early. I kept in touch with Greeny after PMM was released. I’d visit occasionally and have milk and cookies. We exchanged Christmas Cards. And there wasn’t a time that I wouldn’t bump into Greeny in the Greylock Glen. Every time I was there, no matter the month or time of day, I would invariably see him driving up for a visit in his big white buick, a Boy Scout leaders campaign hat sitting on the rear dash. He’d pull over and we’d chat for a while, always about the Thunderbolt. Then I’d shake his strong hand through the window, and off he’d go. One night he called and invited me down to his house. It was a little out of the ordinary, and he didn’t explain. When I arrived he welcomed me in and pulled that Ski Runners of Adams patch and his ski boots out of a bag. He wanted me to have them. I told him I couldn’t accept, but he insisted, and I added them proudly to my growing collection of Thunderbolt memorabilia.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greeny’s patch and ski boots
 
     I don’t know much about Greeny’s life outside of the Thunderbolt. He picked up his nickname as a child because he was the best in the neighborhood at catching green frogs or “greenies.” He worked for G.E. as a lineman. He was a well liked Boy Scout leader in Adams. He was a dedicated rabbit hunter and ran beagles on Mt. Greylock throughout the 50’s and 60’s. And he retired in the 80’s after working for 38 years. Greeny was from French-Canadian decent and his slight accent gave that away. He would pronounce Thunderbolt “tundabolt.” His broken leg in 1942 was bad enough that it kept him out of the war and this pained him. Nearly every buddy of his went to war and he had to stay back. Greeny was not the kind of guy who would’ve dodged the war. He tried every branch but the break to his leg was a bad one, and he couldn’t get in. Today joining the military is the last thing on the minds of most young men. In the 40’s, 20 young men from Adams volunteered for the 10th Mountain Division, a division especially created for men the likes of Greeny. Yet he couldn’t go. So, he sat out the war and heard the news, like everybody else in Adams, of the death of his best friend, Rudy Konieczny. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Ski Runners of Adams (l to r: Greeny Guertin, Rudy Konieczny,
Gerard Gardner, and Roy Deyle) win the 1940 team trophy
 
     During my interviews with Greeny, he didn’t talk much about Rudy and the war. When I opened up the subject, he was always quick to close it back up. Rudy, of course, was the coach of the Ski Runners of Adams and one of Adams’ finest skiers. Rudy and Greeny were inseparable. I sensed that even 60 years later at age 83, Greeny still missed his buddy.  I asked him about skiing on Greylock after the war and his answer surprised me. He never skied the Thunderbolt after Rudy died. For a man who cut his teeth skiing on the mountain, I think that’s a very revealing detail about Rudy’s death and how it affected Greeny.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rudy and Greeny, with broken legs, clean a shotgun
 
     There are no ski shelters named after Greeny. No books written about him. But I think he is a man who deserves to be remembered. He was a pioneer in a sport that was sweeping the nation. His athleticism, his devotion, and his leadership should be remembered. It was under his guidance that the Ski Runners of Adams beat the Dartmouth blue bloods in the team event in 1939 and 1940. Greeny’s skiing resume is filled with multiple top ten finishes and a notable first place finish in a 1939 time trial on the Thunderbolt. The man lived to ski, he skied hard, and he inspired others to do the same. The other veteran skiers had nothing but good things to say about Greeny during their  interviews. Indeed, just the mention of his name brought smiles to their faces. His joie de vivre was infectious. I can attest to that.  Jeddie Brooks said of Greeny, “Greeny was a good guy. You could tell just by looking at him that he was a good guy.” He was a good guy. And he was a great skier.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Practicing his signature "airball" sans skis
 
     The last time I saw Greeny was the saddest. I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect as I opened the door. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. As I entered the room all else seemed to lose focus. I could tell people were looking at me. I heard the slight din of noise and soft voices. I got a kind of tunnel vision as my eyes fell upon Greeny lying peacefully in his casket across the room. I couldn’t believe it. Greeny was gone. Of course, I knew he had died. My Gram called me and told me the morning after. I read his obituary in the newspaper. But seeing him lying in state was the final act. This man that I had come to know and grow so fondly of was now gone.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Greeny hamming it up on the summit of Greylock
 
     It’s a strange thing to meet somebody for the first time when they are in their 80’s, learn about and grow fond of this person through pictures, stories, and old film, and then lose this person within a few short years. How could Greeny be dead? In my mind’s eye, Greeny was a 20 year old daredevil skier and captain of the Ski Runners. I wanted more time with Greeny. I wanted more chats, more stories, and more chance meetings in the Glen. But I wouldn’t get them.  Nobody would. Greeny was gone. Adams, and the entire ski community, was worse off for losing him. Adams lost one of the last remaining veteran skiers able to tell the tales of the early days of skiing in America, and what is was like to take on guys like Dick Durance and Toni Matt and other Olympic skiers who came to Adams to race. He was a legend. And he will be missed. But his legend will never die unless we fail to remember. The next time you ski or hike the Thunderbolt, take a moment to stop and listen and take it all in. Think of Greeny and what he did and who he was. Pause to remember this man and his accomplishments. And you will feel it. His spirit remains on that mountain. Greeny is not that far away after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The author spending some time with Greeny

The Thunderbolt...Ski It Until Your Boots Explode! Blair Mahar

Jan 29, 2009 @ 2:04 PM

My buddies, Cosmo and Tim, and I made plans to ski the Thunderbolt yesterday. The three of us are teachers and we did the same thing our students do on snow days…we went out and played in the snow. We headed up right around 2 PM just as the snow was beginning to switch over from light powder to sleet. The snow was like sugar, and felt like zillions of little ball bearings under foot as we hiked and skinned up. Tim stopped just below the Big Schuss and decided he was going to ski the lower slopes for the afternoon. I gave him my truck keys in case he got cold, and Cosmo and I continued on. We ran into Heather Linscott just above the Needle’s Eye and 4 other guys on the Big Bend. The summit was howling and cold, but the fire somebody had left for us in the Thunderbolt Ski Shelter was a nice treat after our 2 hour climb. It was getting dark, so we didn’t stay long, just enough to warm up slightly, drink back some fluids, and have a snack. The skiing was fast! The sugar-like snow that made the ascent a little slippery made the descent a wild ride! You had to really drive the skis and with a lot of energy to make nice turns. But as always with skiing in powder, the faster you go, the more you float, and the more control you have. It’s counterintuitive if you haven’t skied powder, but skiing fast on the narrow and steep Thunderbolt actually gives you more control. 

 
 
I snapped a pic of Tim as we left him, just in case we never saw him again…
 
 
At the Big Bend we saw Josh and Rich skinning up on their rondonee gear. These 2 guys are becoming permanent fixtures on the mountain. We chatted a while and then headed down. Cosmo was making nice turns on his fat randonee skis. I was making fast, wide arching telemark turns. It was great skiing! It was just a great time to be out on the mountain. When we got back to the truck we saw our buddy Tim waiting for us. He had the truck warmed up and ready to go. Cosmo and I were getting spoiled; a warm shelter on the way up, and a warm truck on the way down. Tim asked us about our run and we asked him about his…and it was then that Tim pulled his shattered ski boot from the back of the pick-up and told us about his crash. It seems he got going pretty fast and took a spill. Good thing for Tim his boot took the brunt of the crash and not his ankle.
 
 
Cosmo skinning up on his randonee gear.
 
 
Some might bemoan the Thunderbolt’s popularity today. Not me. I love to see people up there enjoying the trail. There is always a community of skiers, riders, and mountaineers to be found on the slopes…just like in the old days. In total we saw at least a dozen skiers and riders on the mountain…on a weekday. One guy was heading UP at 4:45 just as we were coming down. He was going to spend a night in the shelter and ski down in the morning. Now I’m glad I decided to throw a few extra logs on the fire when we were up there. Greylock belongs to nobody. And at the same time, it belongs to everybody. Come enjoy the mountain, the camaraderie, and the history….and ski the Thunderbolt until your boots explode!      

There’s skiing the Thunderbolt…and then there’s skiing the Thunderbolt Herrmann style!

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