Meet the Boys

Jerry got the name Happy because he's always quick with a smile and makes those around him, happy. Jerry is not the most graceful skier in the world, but in the nasty stuff he is more in control of his skis than any of us. He also makes sure that we have a hearty breakfast in the morning. His biscuits and sausage gravy are the best!  Jerry has retired from the Add A Man club, but, as a founding member deserves to be memorialized here.

Mike earned the nickname Mo Ron after skiing the Moran Face at Jackson Hole. Moran turned into moron and then to Mo' Ron. Mo' Ron is one of the better skiers in the group, and will tackle any terrain in front of him. However, he has a problem falling out of trees once he has landed up in them. Mike starts thinking about next years trip in June, and makes weekly calls to the trip coordinator, until reservations are made.

Piet earned the nickname Flaps because of the stupid hats that he wears. Actually they are quite practical; 'You can put the flaps up on a nice day and put them down on a cold day', according to Flaps. He is one of the smoothest skiers in our group. He will pound his way through the bumps, with his knees bouncing up to his chin, but his upper body is perfectly still. We all hate him.

Read Bubba's account of Piet does Score-O

Brian will ski anything, any time. He uses a combination of yoga, Diet Coke and big balls to ski with the best of them. Brian earned the nickname Cowboy Tex when he put on a bowline tie and little silver studs on his lapels, to go to a bar in Jackson Hole.  Brian has been on injured reserve for the last 5 years.  If he misses 5 more trips, he will be deleted.

And here's the answer to the age old question, Where's Brian?

Dave has earned the title of most improved skier on three separate occasions. Nobody falls better, or more often than Dave. This has earned him the nickname, Blowout. Dave could also be called Thumbs, because he has destroyed his thumbs skiing. One trip to Alta, Blowout survived by duct taping a stick to his thumb and arm to immobilize the thumb while skiing. His ski pole was permanently attached to his arm until the end of the day.

Doctor Air earned his name because he loves to take the big air. He has crushed is teeth with his knees on more than one occasion. He is our resident doctor and our resident leader. If it weren't for Mark we would all be standing around the top of the mountain saying, 'I dunno, where do you want to ski?' Doc Air has made the decision and is off, even before all of us are off the lift. Mo' Ron doesn't like this, one little bit.

Blue Run Cooper got his name because of the runs that he skis. Blue Run sticks mostly to the blue runs, but occasionally we get him into some nasty terrain. He is appreciative of this and usually thanks us for the experience (NOT!). Dale is our legal council and has saved us from many unscrupulous car rental agency and airline ticket agent. Their response is usually 'Oooo, like I'm scared!'

Gary is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Pretty good skier, too. He can ski the bumps as well as through the trees. Gary's problem is that he never learned how to jump. When we find a good spot to jump, we will all take turns, gettin' air, but Gary's tails never leave the ground. In one memorable jump off a large rock, Gary earned his nickname, Face Plant. Gary landed face first, rolled over, and came up smiling. Good thing it was deep, soft snow.

Tim dropped out of the group years ago, but deserves a place here for two reasons. First, he coined the phrase, 'Ski British Columbia, pee British Columbia', after we watched the water gush out of the mountains, all the way back from Whistler. Second, in his rookie year, he lathered his own eyebrows for the initiation.

Smitty hails from the flatlands of Indiana and so only gets to vertical land mass during these annual flings to the mountains with Add A Man. He specializes in chasing the real skiers down the hill, holding the video camera during the aerial maneuvers (cause he 's an air wimp!) and sliding the car through stop signs. A member since 1993, he 's been known to skip cancer treatments to go skiing with the gang, and is the perennial winner in the 'let 's see who can stay awake past 9:30 pm' contests.

Ted Ray is also known as the Bump Meister. His thighs are so buff, that he can ski the moguls all day long. We think it is because he doesn't eat dairy products. He can't, or he'll bloat like a blowfish. We can't wait to see that! Actually, the only reason Ted is in the group is because his family owns a condo across the street from Keystone. How conveeenient!

JR! is known as the real man's skier. Any wimp can buy equipment which works, real men duct tape together crap from 1970 something and ski it till it falls apart. JR! can ski on anything, over anyplace, at anytime, faster than anyone. He also bruises in spectacular grandeur, just ask him to show you sometime.

Jimo Garner, noted satirist. He skis sarcastically. Really.

If Steve could only ski as cool as his name looks. Steve is the most friendly guy in the Add A Man club, in fact he paid for the 1997 trip entirely and never asked for money. What a guy, we love you man. He also has the same bad taste in sweaters as Flaps (see photo). What's up with that?

As replacement counsel to the AAM Club, replacing Blue Run Cooper as the lawyer for the group, we can proudly say that no AAM member has ever been arrested during a trip.  Under Bubba's watchful eye, we have never paid for extra insurance on a rental car either.  Bubba became a permanent member when he offered to drive us all up the hill at Beaver Creek for fresh power runs before they opened the lifts.  What a guy!

Mitch is so smooth, we sometimes don't notice him zipping down ahead of us.  Now that he has two fake hips, he isn't so smooth at airport security.  But, he sure can ski on them titanium alloy bionic super hips!  Mitch also has been known to take a lot of money from Ron-Mike, anytime, anywhere, he'll bet on anything.

Ode really likes to type e-mail.  If he could ski like he e-mails, we'd be talking gold medal stuff.  Ode is on double secret probation after canceling out on the 2007 trip because his new job took precedence....like we care about his job!