|
|
|
Some
Archived News Stories of Note |
|
 4/27/05--
Rottefella breaks years of silence on their New Telemark Norm
(NTN) in this exclusive Telemarktips interview.
|
|
1/12/06-- Rottefella
officially announces its new NTN system (with photos):
|
|
1/13/06-- Black Diamond To Build Tele & AT Ski Boot Line..
(and maybe an "NTN" system of their own?).
|
|
2/2/06-- Torbjorn
Ragg fully reveals Rottefella's New Telemark Norm (NTN) binding
in this exclusive four part video:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last Chair With Walt
by Urmas Franosch
April 7, 2006-- Mitch and I pulled into the ski school
lane at chair 3 at Mammoth Mountain and slid up to Walt. The
craggy face and untrimmed eyebrows always offered up a challenge.
He was the kind of guy who would just sit quietly next to you
on the chair all the way to the top unless you drew him into
conversation. I could never let him sit there quietly. For better
or worse I always had to strike up some kind of conversation.
Sometimes I got a highly technical explanation of snow crystals
or sintering. It usually went over my head, but it was pure Walt
– delivered with a passionate seriousness that was charming
in its eccentricity.
Today he was smiling. He was clearly
enjoying the marvelous bluebird day, as we all were after so
much storm. He demurred as I introduced him to Mitch as the foremost
avalanche expert around here. Despite his modesty I could tell
he enjoyed the flattery. Then Mitch launched into a story of
a guy he knew who was, like Walt reluctant to accept being called
an “expert” because avalanche experts seemed never
to survive the experiences that established their expertise.
Then I asked him whether it would
be alright to go off the top to Hemlock Ridge. With chair 14
closed I wanted to be sure there were no restrictions to skiing
back there and traversing out to the saddle off chair 12. He
mentioned that it had slid pretty big, implying that the snow
might not be all that deep there. As we got off the chair I suggested
Sucker Bowl as a good alternative. His last words to me were,
“Just ‘X’ off your tracks so that someone doesn’t
follow you”. He didn’t want to go off having to rescue
somebody today.
As it turned out, that’s just
what he did minutes later – and it was the last thing he
did.
.
Editor's note: Charles Walter Rosenthal, a married father
in his 50s, president of the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center,
a researcher for UC Santa Barbara, and a fixture on the Mammoth
skiing and climbing scene for more than 20 years, died yesterday
while trying to rescue two fellow Mammoth Mountain ski patrollers.
The pair, Scott McAndrews and James Juarez, had fallen into a
gas-filled snow pit that had formed over a steam vent, or fumarole,
on the hill. Telemarktips.com joins the community of Mammoth
Lakes, and all who new Walt, Scott and James in mourning their
passing
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. |