Well its now official, BBI has transcended to becoming, much like the Beatles, BIGGER THAN JESUS! He's broken contract with ServiceCourse and been picked up by some sub par ski blog- hope they treat you as well as we did - Pussy....Contrary to the impression left by a "Memorial Bridge" sign -- complete with skull and crossbones --that recently appeared next to a trail at Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center in Truckee, Jonathan Laine is not dead (after seeing the posting, one acquaintance of his went home and Googled "Jonathan Laine death" and "Jonathan Laine obit" thinking she had missed media reports of a fatal accident in Truckee).
No, Laine, a 50-something ER doctor, is alive and well -- despite his best efforts, it seems, to hurt himself through various misadventures...his friends like to remind him (..after the bridge incident last year, he took a tumble on his mountain bike and broke his back... perhaps more on that at another time). The sign appears to be an attempt by his buddies not to memorialize Laine, but his epic ski.
The bridge in question stretches across a creek that meanders through the heart of Euer Valley, a favored trail system at TDXC (although the bridge is wide enough to accommodate a logging truck, it has no side railings). Laine had dropped into the Valley one evening last year, intending to glide off the stress of the day, when his tussle with the bridge began.
The snow was rutted along the edges of the ski track, he said, and half way across the bridge, his ski got caught in a rut and it pulled his leg over the edge of the bridge. He teetered there for a nanosecond before plunging over the edge, into the ice-covered creek.
Cutting his lip, Laine broke through the ice and dropped, skis, poles and all, into the water and was completely submerged in the creek -- which is 2 to 3 feet deep. He just missed becoming impaled on a piece of rusty pipe sticking up from the side of the bridge (you can see it in the photo -- it comes out from the side and shoots straight up). Laine said he came up fo
r a breath, but had to dunk back under to reach down and unlatch his binding and take off his skis. Once released, he crawled his way up the side of the snowbank and stood -- dripping wet, with no help in sight.
Laine said he stripped down naked, and began wringing out his clothes, boots, gloves and hat, while shivering violently. He redressed, and started skiing up the trail that leads out of Euer Valley and back to his car. The physical effort helped warm him a bit, he said, but his hands were so frozen, that he could not move his fingers. It took some work to reach into his pocket, pull out his keys and open his car door.
So the good news is he survived -- but now must suffer the fallout from the Memorial sign. The teasing may be as sharp as the ice.
No, Laine, a 50-something ER doctor, is alive and well -- despite his best efforts, it seems, to hurt himself through various misadventures...his friends like to remind him (..after the bridge incident last year, he took a tumble on his mountain bike and broke his back... perhaps more on that at another time). The sign appears to be an attempt by his buddies not to memorialize Laine, but his epic ski.
The bridge in question stretches across a creek that meanders through the heart of Euer Valley, a favored trail system at TDXC (although the bridge is wide enough to accommodate a logging truck, it has no side railings). Laine had dropped into the Valley one evening last year, intending to glide off the stress of the day, when his tussle with the bridge began.
The snow was rutted along the edges of the ski track, he said, and half way across the bridge, his ski got caught in a rut and it pulled his leg over the edge of the bridge. He teetered there for a nanosecond before plunging over the edge, into the ice-covered creek.
Cutting his lip, Laine broke through the ice and dropped, skis, poles and all, into the water and was completely submerged in the creek -- which is 2 to 3 feet deep. He just missed becoming impaled on a piece of rusty pipe sticking up from the side of the bridge (you can see it in the photo -- it comes out from the side and shoots straight up). Laine said he came up fo
r a breath, but had to dunk back under to reach down and unlatch his binding and take off his skis. Once released, he crawled his way up the side of the snowbank and stood -- dripping wet, with no help in sight.Laine said he stripped down naked, and began wringing out his clothes, boots, gloves and hat, while shivering violently. He redressed, and started skiing up the trail that leads out of Euer Valley and back to his car. The physical effort helped warm him a bit, he said, but his hands were so frozen, that he could not move his fingers. It took some work to reach into his pocket, pull out his keys and open his car door.
So the good news is he survived -- but now must suffer the fallout from the Memorial sign. The teasing may be as sharp as the ice.
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