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Tussey Mountain Ski Patrol By Michael Hermann; Lizard Tracks, Centre Daily Times, March 2000 It appears winter has left Centre County in a hurry. Almost overnight the warmth arrived, bringing with it rain and fog. Springtime in February was a winter reprieve that left most people rejoicing. Unless you’re a skier and snowboarder, that is. Tussey Mountain is one of Central Pennsylvania’s subculture retreats. Gravity sport people, like myself, congregate there every winter enjoying the lift ride up and the ski down. Tussey becomes our savior against inactivity and television re-runs. Like most seasonal businesses Tussey develops a rhythm. I got to know the familiar faces of regulars and locals, some out for long lunch breaks or blatantly playing hooky from the office. The clever ones came out to ski from noon to 3 PM. They enjoyed the resort during the warmest part of the day, and without crowds. After 3:00 PM the school busses arrive. Kids from all over the state come to experience skiing or snowboarding, often for the first time. They laugh, shout and generally fall on their butts until the chaperones call them back around 7:00 PM. They are replaced by the Penn State evening gym classes, who laugh and generally fall on their butts for a couple hours as well. Weekends bring out the families and we see the littlest people ski down the mountain followed by an encouraging parent. I asked a father how long his very little boy had been snowboarding, expecting an answer in months. “Third season”, he beamed. “He was skiing at age three, but when he turned five he decided he wanted to try snowboarding.” If you ski, there was no better place to be in Centre County this season than on top of Tussey Mountain on a blue sky day. The view is one of the very best. Mount Nittany rises above the urban sprawl and the Allegheny Plateau fills the northern horizon. After absorbing the view for a few minutes people drop into whatever slope suits them. About ten minutes later the chairlift drops them off at the top again. And again, and again... While others are retreating to their sofas and fireplaces, the ski crowd revels in a long day on the mountain. Those are recollections of the good days at Tussey, but the mountain has many moods. As a Ski Patrol candidate, I did not have the luxury of only visiting on fair weather days. I had a shift to fill and the clock does not care about weather. On nights when the Evening News threatened extreme wind chill and warned people to stay indoors, Tussey was open. My shift beckoned. On bitter nights the wind screamed across Penns Valley and accelerated upslope to the top of Tussey. The chairlift rocked and ice pellets stung my face. The slope became icy and hard. I questioned why in the world I’m doing this...but then I heard them laughing. Kids. Oblivious to the weather and not afraid of cold or ice. They were having a blast, unconcerned about bad weather and blissfully inexperienced. They were having so much fun learning to snowboard that it made me feel good watching them. I saw myself in them and I remembered the pure joy of riding a snowboard. As an adult snowboarder I think differently. I worry about getting hurt. I focus on my turns, my edge control and my style. I’m content to limit myself to smaller jumps. I perfect my flow and work on my form. It’s very serious; in fact sometimes I call it training. But then I hear the kids laughing and I forget all that as I slide down the mountain. I start grinning ear to ear and feel the pure energy release only a gravity sport can give. In those few precious moments I shed about 20 years. When talking about the winter of 1999-2000 in State College, people will comment on the ice storms and the cold snaps. But I’ll remember the few moments I stepped back in time, freed from responsibility, my inner child exposed and in control. Thanks, Tussey, for being there. Mike Hermann is the founder of Purple Lizard Maps and has been snowboarding since 1980. He can be reached at www.purplelizard.com
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