More Than Just a ‘Good Dog’

We are sad to report that Ellie, the little yellow Labrador retriever who appeared on our winter 2009-10 Telluride Magazine cover (photo by Ben Knight) riding a chairlift with handler Kim Richard, has passed on. At age 9, Ellie was at the peak of her career as an avalanche search and rescue dog for the Telluride Ski Patrol when cancer took her down. Owned and trained by Gary and Kim Richard, Ellie came from a long line of respected search dogs. Her great aunt, Jane Watenpaw (who appeared on a 1997 cover of Telluride Magazine) was the ski area’s first official avi-dog.

Ellie—named for one of Telluride’s respected octogenarians, Elvira Wunderlich—had been on the mountain since she was just a few months old. The ski patrol uses the dogs to search for avalanche victims on the occasion of a slide, but the dogs do more than just work; they are also a source of companionship and comfort. Gary and Ellie participated in several avalanche searches over the years, for the ski resort and San Miguel Search and Rescue. Ellie was a quick learner, with a solid search drive and keen nose. The job is tough on dogs, requiring them to negotiate deep snow, steep slopes, ride on snowmobiles and in helicopters, and load on moving chairlifts. Days can be extremely cold and long, often working into the dark. The physicality of the job takes its toll over the years. But the dogs seem to love it, and are often unable to contain their excitement for the day to begin, barking at their handlers and spinning in anticipation as they wait to load the chairlift in the dim light of dawn. Ellie was no exception and she touched many a patroller’s heart with her catlike display of affection by rubbing against their legs. She often participated in educational demonstrations for the ski area and at area schools, and was a big hit with the kids. At the end of the day, she went home to be a family dog, beloved by the Richard’s two children, Belle and Mattheau.

Ellie and Jane hold a special place in my heart, since both dogs were donated to the Telluride Ski Patrol by my parents. They have since retired from raising labs, but Dulce, Ellie’s sister, still plies the trade for the Telluride Ski Patrol, as the last of a great line of working dogs.

—MDuffy

“BIT” of Telluride history gone up in smoke

Photo courtesy of Ben Knight

Jerry Greene’s Brooklyn-inspired “Baked in Telluride” or BIT went up in flames Tuesday night (February 9, 2010). Greene opened the bakery on Fir Street in 1977, making it the oldest dining establishment in Telluride. Initially a New York style bakery that served up homemade bagels, pizza and bread; pastries and foods with a Latino influence were added in the 1990s.

BIT was operated out of the historic Tomboy Warehouse that Greene leased from the Zoline family. Joe Zoline, the founder of the Telluride ski area, purchased the building from the Western Colorado Power Company in the early 1970s, about the same time he acquired the Telluride Transfer, Stronghouse and other buildings in that neighborhood. According to Billy “Senior” Mahoney, when the power company owned it, you could drive a truck into the front of the building. Parts of the structure were possibly over 100 years old. Dry wood beneath an old oven was determined to be the fire’s cause.

Greene and his bakery were profiled in Telluride Magazine’s 20th Anniversary Issue, winter 2001-02.—MDuffy

Telluride skier Travis Wolfe wins freeskiing event

Extreme sports enthusiasts have a saying: “Go big or go home.” This weekend Telluride skiers did both, stomping the competition on their home turf and qualifying for Subaru Freeskiing World Tour, the competitive circuit for the relatively new sport of extreme, big mountain or “freeskiing.”

Telluride’s own Travis Wolfe won the male division, and Chason Russell took fourth. Local Kelli Russell took fourth for the women. Placing first for the women was Claudia Bouvier, a skier from Vail, Colorado. The top four women and the top six men of the field of more than 100 athletes qualified to compete in the world tour.

Highlights From Day 1 Of The Freeskiing World Tour In Telluride from Subaru Freeskiing World Tour on Vimeo.

Dear Jock:

My daughter wants to participate in a youth hockey program this winter. As much as I love her, the economic downturn prevents me from buying her all new gear. I’ve found an old pair of hand-me-down skates that should fit her fine. But I’ve heard hockey skates need to be sharp. I know how to sharpen a knife. Can I put an edge on her skates at home?
—Cheapskate

Dear Cheapie,

I hate to shut down a doting father’s handyman efforts, but I’ll be blunt: Do not attempt to sharpen your daughter’s hockey skates at home. Sadly, sharpening a skate blade is not anything like sharpening a knife. The sharp edge of a knife is a finely ground wedge. Sharp skate blades are actually two parallel edges separated by a precisely milled concavity. Sharpening skates requires specialized equipment and skill attained only through years of practice. Call The Telluride Nordic Center at 728-1144. Midnite Scholtes and his crew will hone your daughter’s skates to perfection. Tell her to play nice on the ice, —Jock

Dear Jock:

I work in a restaurant, so I have to schedule my days off one week in advance. Last winter I kept guessing wrong and missed all the powder. Where do I get a reliable weather forecast for the San Juans?
—Frustrated and Bitter

Dear Bitter,

Before I address your question, let me share a favorite quote from an old miner named “Whispering” Jim Dalpez who lived and worked in the Telluride area for many decades. In his golden years, Whispering Jim spent most of his time on a bench in front of the Floradora where he would exchange pleasantries with friends as they passed. Because of his longevity in the region, people would often ask him to forecast the weather. “Only fools and newcomers predict the weather,” was his booming response. “And I ain’t neither!” Whispering Jim passed away some years back, so your best bet for a weather forecast now resides somewhere in cyberspace. An obvious site to consult is www.weather.com, which is the online version of the Weather Channel. Another standby is the National Weather Service’s website at www.forecast.weather.gov. An excellent third option is www. weather.unisys.com. Of the three listed, Unisys provides the most technical maps of scientific-based information, so if you want the data to make your own decisions, start there. However, if you are trying to predict snowfall in the San Juan Mountains, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at www.avalanche.state.co.us always seems to be accurate. Don’t forget to send them a donation to help fund their important mission of keeping Colorado’s backcountry skiers abreast of current avalanche conditions. A final snippet of weather advice passed on to me by my dear departed grandfather: “We’ll weather the weather whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.”

—Jock