The Dartmouth Winter CarniVAIL tm and 1965 Mini
Reunion Weekend, March 2-6, 2006, has passed successfully with much enjoyment.... We estimate over 150 Dartmouth
grads and friends took part in CarniVAIL as the legend of this new tradition grows....
The participants included 65s Aitken, Atkinson, Bloch, Christianson, Campbell, Hansen, Lobitz, Mays, McGruther,
Wallach, Waterhouse and Webster with words from Durrance, Morrison and Riley plus assorted adult children, wives and friends....
Over 30 folks played some role in our little adventure which may be a Class record for Out-of-Hanover Mini Reunions with the
exception of the first one some years ago in Washington, DC.....
Highlights included.....
- Thursday: a handful of early birds had dinner at the Sonnenalp's Bully
Pub, surrounded by some young, energetic and noisy Vail Mountain employees....
- Friday started off with a chaotic photo op session at the Vista
Bahn. The photo of roughly 100 CarniVAIL participants was sent in another email. Then we linked up with our 2
Ski Instructors Jerry ' 60 and Cat Huttrer) to see what interesting runs we could make on the mountain. We had
lunch with all the other CarniVAIL participants at Sarge's Shelter which is named after the Army ROTC Drill Instructor from
our undergrad days, Sgt. Bill Brown, who played a major role in getting Vail Mountain shipshape from the late 60ties onward.
Later, we had apres ski cocktails with 75 other Dartmouth folk at the Sonnenalp Hotel. And then we shared a marvelous
dinner at Ron Riley's outstanding restaurant, Russells, in Vail Village. Ron was off on a cruise with his young family, as
he could not ski due to some medical challenges and it was his children's holiday time, but he organized a great
evening for our group. If you are ever in Vail, give Ron a call and stop by at Russells or his other outstanding restaurant,
Los Amigos.
- Saturday began with another day of excellent skiing with our 2 Ski
Instructors. Although a few of us took the opportunity to get some useful instruction, the real advantage of having
our Instructors was to cut the long lift lines being experienced on Vail Mountain from the large crowds attracted by
the exceptional amount of snow Vail has received this year. Without their help, it would have been a slow day for skiing.
We had a delightful lunch at Vail's famed Game Creek Club, the leading such Ski Club in North America. The Game Creek
Club was recently highlighted in a Fortune Magazine article (Feb 20, 2006).
- The big event of Saturday was our dinner at the Vail Golf Club. We started with a very enjoyable sleigh
ride in the moonlight thru the nearby field and woods. This little trip included such high moments as an impromptu Robert
Frost poetry delivery by our own Tucky Mays..... yes, the one and the same! Then we had cocktails and a delicious
buffet dinner.
- The final phase of the evening was a surprise for the group put together by our world class magician, Rich Bloch, ably
assisted by wife, Sue, and Tucky's lovely wife, Gabrielle. Over the last couple of years, Linda and I have become frequent
visitors to a magic show at the Canoe Club in Hanover put on by another world class magician, Marko. We encourage you Hanover
locals to go see Marko on just about any Monday night!... And with Marko, we had numerous conversations about Rich's
remarkable magic... When Sue contacted me about their plans to attend this Reunion, I asked Rich if he would
be willing to spring a magical surprise at our Saturday night dinner.... The rest is history, but let it be said, all
of us agree that Rich is a magician of outstanding talent.... And any other activities he may undertake like pursuing
an outstanding career as an arbitration lawyer is just incidental to his true calling. If you ever have the opportunity
to attend one of his shows in Las Vegas or on a cruise ship somewhere in the world, grab it!
- Sunday morning began early as we were able to get on the Mountain
(7:20 AM) as the dawn was breaking, courtesy of Vail Resorts and the Game Creek Club. A few times each season, the Mountain
allows a few locals to take some ski runs before the general public is allowed to use the lifts. It is hard to explain
how delightful it is to ski down the mountain in the morning sunlight with no one else in sight. It is a unique experience
that the group thoroughly enjoyed. Our only skiing mishap was, perhaps, an expression of classmate closeness when
Messieurs. Hansen and Webster managed to collide while being the only 2 skiers on the slope.... Skiing was interrupted
by a wonderful brunch at the Game Creek Club before carrying on with many more runs before the day was done...
- The final event of the weekend was dinner at Kelly Likens outstanding Vail restaurant, nominated by locals as the best
new restaurant in the Vail region. Although the conversation was not quite as exotic as last year, Tom Campbell and
Sue Bloch managed to settle all the legal controversies of our time... Tom, of course, is a major player in one of the
largest law firms in the world, Baker & McKensey. And, Sue, besides being married to one of the world's greatest
magicians (who masquerades as an arbitration lawyer!) is a former law clerk of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, an
authority on constitutional law, and a professor at Georgetown Law School. A great time was had by all...
That is all folks! That is until next year..... March 1-5, 2007.... We don't know how long we will
be organizing these little excursions on Vail Mountain so if you want to experience one, mark down these dates now....
Our 7th Vail Mini-Reunion will take place at the same time as the newest tradition of Dartmouth, the 5th annual Dartmouth Winter CarniVAILtm !!!!!
Our Best,
Steve and Linda Waterhouse
