Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol

Dedicated to a cause

Bryceson Tenold and Jackie Bratcher at the dedication ceremony for the Adaptive Snow Sports Chalet.

From the January 3, 2010 issue of The Spokesman-Review
Written by Sara Leaming
Photo by Dan Pelle

The green paint is peeling from the eaves of the Adaptive Snow Sports Chalet, worn by the weather on Mount Spokane.

Situated at the base of Chair 5 at the ski and snowboard park, the 12-by-20-foot Swiss-style hut has for the past nine years served as the center of a program for disabled snow riders.

It didn’t matter that nearly a decade has passed since the much-loved and much-needed ski chalet was just an idea on paper. As the snow fell at the base of the mountain Saturday, dozens of people gathered around the chalet for its official dedication.

Perhaps nobody was more eager for the celebration than Bryceson Tenold, who as a senior at Lewis and Clark High School in 2000 created the plans and pulled together thousands of dollars to build the chalet for his Eagle Scout project.

“I really wanted to do something for the mountain, on the mountain,” said Tenold, now 26. “The one regret I had is that I never formally dedicated the project.”

Since the ski shack was completed in 2001, Tenold graduated from Pepperdine University and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Now a captain, Tenold served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and is now stationed in Hawaii with his wife, Jenna. He is the son of Tyrus and Kathy Tenold, of Spokane.

Dangers of skiing after hours at Mt. Spokane

From the January 30, 2009 issue of The Spokesman-Review
Written by Rich Landers

It’s not uncommon for the occasional skier to drive into Mount Spokane State Park after work, attach climbing skins and trek up to the mountain summit for a night-time workout and moonlit run down the alpine ski area’s groomed slopes.

But even though he’s a regular after-hours slope poacher, Steve Reynolds of Spokane was surprised a few weeks ago to find a cable running hip-high down one of the slopes.

“They were winch-cat grooming on (a ski-run named) Hour Glass,” he said. “That’s where they run a cable between two groomers so they can winch one groomer up a hill that’s too steep to go up on its own power.

“But you cannot see the cable when the groomers are far apart. That can be dangerous.”

Reynolds said people have been hiking, skiing and snowshoeing to the top of the mountain and back after dark for decades.

“It’s an established use, but I don’t know whether many people know about this hazard,” he said.

Mt Spokane Prime Timers

Dave Ozuna, 88, heads out for a ski run with Prime Timers at Mt. Spokane

From the February 8, 2009 issue of The Spokesman-Review

“If this is what it means to be an old fart, sign me up,” a 40-something skier said. He’d been advised he was too young to join a boisterous group that had taken over the lodge lunchroom’s top floor during happy hour. But he left with a smile and something to look forward to – when he’s at least 55.

It was Prime Timers Wednesday at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park. The most active group on the mountain was celebrating the upside of going downhill.

Discounts on season passes and ski lessons plus cheap food and drink are part of the deal.

“Prime Timers have been all over this mountain,” said group founder, Donna Larson, noting the members’ skills range from novice to national-class. “Some of them stick to the groomed slopes and others will do the trees or go off the back side.”

“This is a very sociable group of great skiers,” said Sue Blatt, who described herself as “more of a spectator, rather than a skier, who just loves to be around such a healthy group of seniors. They’re very much in shape.”

Indeed, as many of them swooped down to the lower runs and put their skis in the racks outside the lodge, advancing age wasn’t apparent until they took off their helmets or caps.

Clearly there’s a lot of gray area for skiers between retirement and the rest home.

Just 11 years after the social skiing group was organized with 39 charter members, the Mt. Spokane Prime Timers’ roster has ballooned to nearly 600.

Community Feeling on Mt Spokane Ski Patrol

From the February 22, 2009 issue of The Spokesman-Review
Written by Bill Jennings

Training for the Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol takes serious commitment. I haven’t mustered the fortitude, but MSSP let me hang out with them for a day.

I was there to learn about MSSP’s candidate orientation at 8 a.m. Sunday. Skiers and riders interested in what it takes should plan on showing up at the ski patrol chalet bright and early.

After Sunday’s event on snow, candidates enroll in an Outdoor Emergency Care course starting April 7. The course parallels Emergency Medical Technician certification. They regroup in the fall for four weeks of practice and another test. Training then shifts to the mountain every weekend through December.

I lugged my gear into the locker room as MSSP’s morning meeting was in progress. Territories were assigned, radio protocols were reviewed and issues of the day were discussed.

Before customers catch the first chair, patrol rides up to open the mountain. I tagged along with Jill Hoff and MSSP Director Dan Edwards as they double-checked placement of emergency equipment.

We ripped freshly tilled corduroy in the morning sunshine. Nearby peaks were islands in a sea of fog. I asked Hoff about Sunday’s orientation.

“We look for people with the skills necessary to pull a toboggan,” she said. “But not being able to pull a toboggan doesn’t mean you can’t be on the patrol.”

Hoff said candidates who aren’t ready for the toboggan serve in an auxiliary status while they improve on the snow.

Former wrestling champion finds love on the slopes

From the Jan. 15, 2008 issue of The Spokesman-Review

Written by Mike Vlahovich
Photograph by Jesse Tinsley

It can now be revealed. All the while that Dan Hensley was adding to his wrestling legacy as a successful coach at Clover Park High and Pacific Lutheran University, he was sneaking off to pursue another winter passion on Crystal Mountain.

Hensley, Spokane’s first high school wrestling champion while at Mead more than four decades ago, fell in love with skiing, a season that runs concurrently with his other passion.

The 64-year-old Panthers graduate and Washington State University All-American discovered the snow sport in the early 1970s.

He said his daughters, Leigh and Daena, were on the mountain in backpacks as infants and can’t remember not skiing.

“When I was coaching at PLU, there were times when I’d get back from Southern Oregon at 3:30 in the morning,” he said. “Then we’d drive up to Crystal Mountain, and they’d sleep in the camper and get up when they wanted to.”

He spent 24 years ski patrolling there and continues to do so today since his return home to be closer to family. The mountain didn’t merely come to Hensley, you see. Hensley went to the mountain. Three years ago he bought a condominium at Snow Blaze on Mt. Spokane and now that he is in semi-retirement, Hensley spends as many days patrolling the ski runs as he can.

Wrestling was in its infancy here when Hensley became a star for Mead. Pullman had had a couple of state champions, but the sport was primarily the province of the state’s central basin and western Washington. Henley’s size, or lack thereof, was conducive to a stellar wrestling career as both a competitor and Hall of Fame coach.

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