Scouting, Volume 71, Number 5, October 1983 Page: 58
82 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Explorer Ski Week (from page 31)
Royster. "And then there are those who
are very advanced or expert skiers. Purga-
tory offers us a special ski school rate
which is reduced a couple of dollars and 1
think quite a few took the group lesson."
By lunchtime Monday nearly everyone
had cut some trails on the mountain's fresh
layer of powder snow. Clear blue skies and
temperatures in the upper thirties held the
promise of perfect spring skiing condi-
tions.
Skiing builds huge appetites and at
noon the Powderhouse restaurant was full
of Explorers chowing down on ham-
burgers, giant chocolate chip cookies, and
steaming cups of hot chocolate. The Pow-
derhouse stands adjacent to the Pitchfork
race course and is one of two mid-moun-
tain restaurants at Purgatory. The other,
Dante's, is located just off Lift No. 5 and
serves the intermediate and expert trails
for skiers on the far side of the mountain.
The first step of the week's alpine racing
program began with the qualifying heats
Monday afternoon. Each racer picked a
skiing category—novice, intermediate, or
advanced— and then made two runs down
a slalom course. The best time for each
skier was then compared to a pacesetter's
time in order to establish a handicap
system.
Thank goodness for the computer. Na-
tional Explorer Ski Association Chairman
Jerry Chase now packs his personal com-
puter right along with his skis and boots
for every trip to Purgatory.
"I remember the first year we sat
around for five hours every night cal-
culating the racing statistics by hand,"
Chase said. "Now with the computer we
can do the same thing in less than 20
minutes with breakdowns and stats that
were never before possible."
Chase also added that the same com-
puter program may be used to streamline
event registration as well as Explorer bus
and room assignments.
Getting fast and accurate race results is
important to the Explorers. "Probably 45
percent of all the kids at Ski Week race,"
said Steve Royster. "That shows that not
only were the race course conditions ex-
cellent, but the kids like the competition."
That was certainly true for Curtis
Campbell and his skiing buddy, Scott
Gardner. Besides being in the same Ex-
plorer post, the two boys race together on
their high school team.
"We made a pact before we came out
here," Curtis said. "We decided we were
going to take all the racing events."
When the qualifying results were posted
Monday night, those remarks proved to be
58
more than youthful boasts. Out of 20 boys
racing in the advanced division, Curtis and
Scott ranked No. 1 and No. 2.
Cindy Gardner, Scott's sister, made sure
the Explorer women weren't overlooked
on the race course. Cindy won the girls'
all-around honors including a first-place
finish in the downhill over Jodi Coughran
by an amazing one one-hundredth of a
second.
Alpine racing wasn't the only competi-
tion open to Explorers during Ski Week.
In a cooperative venture between Cros-
man Airguns and the Purgatory Nordic
Center, a modified biathlon was staged
during the middle of the week. The biath-
lon is a winter Olympic sport that combines
cross-country skiing with marksmanship.
Tony Forrest is the cross-country direc-
tor at Purgatory. "We've set up a course
that is 50 percent flat, 25 percent uphill,
and 25 percent downhill. We didn't want
to make it too difficult because most of
these people don't have a lot of cross-
country experience."
Frank Briggs, director of youth shooting
programs for Crosman, explained how the
biathlon worked. "The course is set for one
kilometer, or about six-tenths of a mile, in
length. The Explorers ski around the
course twice, come to a shooting station
and fire at five targets. Then they ski two
more laps and shoot again. After they ski
one more lap they're finished."
The Explorer's final score is calculated
by adding 30 seconds for every missed
target to their total skiing time. When the
tally was complete, two familiar names
were at the top of the list.
In the men's age 17 and under category,
Curtis Campbell won the gold medal with
a combined score of 33 minutes, 14
seconds. Scott Gardner claimed the top
prize for men age 18 and older with a total
time of 30 minutes, 19 seconds.
"This was only my second time to
cross-country ski," said Curtis after win-
ning the biathlon. "I think the fact that
both Scott and I run three or four miles
every day as part of our ski team training
helped build our stamina. We also took
some time during the evening hours to
practice shooting at the indoor range
Crosman set up at Tamarron."
As far as ski lodges go, it's hard to find
one with better facilities than Tamarron.
The Explorers sleep four to a room, each
of which includes a small kitchenette.
"I've been to some nice hotels," said
Royster, "but I've never been in con-
dominium structures that are as nice.
Compared to other hotels that we take our
groups to, the staff is very cooperative.
They do a good job of working with our
group and setting up the dances and the
movies. They pretty much make their
facility open to us at no extra charge
beyond the room rate."
Purgatory closes its lifts at four in the
afternoon and the last run on the moun-
tain is usually completed by 4:30. A day
during Ski Week, however, is far from
over. Ask any Explorer what the most
popular apres ski activity is in the late
afternoon, and he or she is sure to reply:
the hot tub. Great for easing those aching
calf and thigh muscles after a hard day of
skiing, Tamarron's hot-tub and jacuzzi are
the social gathering spots every afternoon
of the week.
Explorers prepare dinners in their
rooms with groceries bought in town.
Afterwards, Ski Week's evening programs
of dances, ski films, and videotape movies
round out the day.
Planning Ski Week requires strong sup-
"At last! This should win us the Nobel prize-
let 's celebrate with a drink. "
October 1983 Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 71, Number 5, October 1983, periodical, October 1983; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353543/m1/60/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.