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There’s a hard wind a blowin’ |
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Thursday, 14 February 2008 |
Up Close and Personal
By Clint Hyde
Recently we have had more than the altitude to blame for our inability to find our car keys, difficulty remembering the kids’ names, or floundering on the way to work and ending up on the wrong street. This wind has blown our minds and played tricks and games on our mental state.
Where were you when the wind started blowing and did you like where you were when it stopped? Last week I drove to Bishop to have my eyes examined. I went in all happy with the sunny day I was experiencing at 4,000 feet. By the time I came out at 4:45 p.m., blinking like a mole in the morning light, I learned on KSRW Radio that our beloved highway up to Mammoth was closed. Since I wasn’t really seeing things too well, due to the dilation of my pupils, I decided to take in the Indian Restaurant down there and wait for the road to reopen. Pulling up to the door I could see a sign that this dining establishment is closed on Tuesdays. Things were going from bad to worse. I settled for Chinese and found comfort in the best Spicy Salt and Pepper Scallops I have ever eaten. Ever hopeful I drove to the Paiute Palace to gas up. You never know when you might have to sit at a roadblock for a while. At the gas station, I encountered an Inyo County Sheriff who told me it might take all night for the weather to allow the reopening of the highway. Ultimately I spent the night in a warm bed at the house of some newfound friends I was directed to, and drove home the next morning behind the CHP in brilliant sunshine.
Some people out there took a big chance. I don’t know if there is a monetary fine for driving past a sign that states the highway is closed. But the biggest price could be your life. The stories I have heard are hair raising, even when the wind is not blowing. Driving five miles and hour with no visibility beyond the headlights and not knowing if you will ram into something or be rammed from behind makes my palms sweat. One couple described the drive from the vicinity of the airport to their home in Mammoth as requiring an hour and a half, rather than the usual 15 minutes.
Last Sunday felt as if the Earth was taking off and leaving us. The entire town felt as if we all lived in Blow Creek with 100 plus mile-per-hour winds. Some windows were blown in, letting snow spread over the kitchen, dining area, rugs and living room furniture. Heavy tiles from the roof were found lodged in the snow and a downstairs window.
It’s made us all a little cranky. Just like the Santa Ana Winds down south, or the Foehn in Switzerland, all this sideways air has put us on edge. Certain winds have been known to cause an increase in crime, divorce, traffic accidents, etc. Some of us got argumentative at work and at home. Let’s hope this wind just caused people to spend more time together indoors and we can expect the birth rate at Mammoth Hospital to rise sharply in October or November.
We are entering into the sunnier part of the winter. The days are getting longer and the shadows on the Mountain are fewer. Hopefully we will get more snow so this past week of warm weather won’t shorten the season, but we can do without the mind-bending wind. We will be happy we live here and, although we might disagree with each other, remain agreeable. And we won’t play games or take chances on the wind.
Beyond the wind, a couple of corrections and/or comments on last week’s column, “10 Questions for Rusty Gregory.”
Because of a reference in a question to the Neighborhood at the Village, Executive Director Betsy Smith called me to correct any impression that she feels MMSA does not work well with the Village. On the contrary, she thinks the joint marketing efforts with MMSA are very successful and plans to do even more in the future. I apologize for the misunderstanding this has caused. On the broader issue of “marketing the four seasons and tying into efforts with the town and other marketing organizations,” Mr. Gregory has in fact turned down some excellent proposals and even refused to participate in some Intrastar sponsored marketing concepts.
At the same time he sidestepped completely the question regarding the purchase of all the retail space in the Village. Mr. Gregory has somehow missed the fact that Intrawest no longer owns the space. It was sold some time ago to CNL, a real estate investment trust. At the same time he continues to blame the developer of the Village for the lack of business, rather than address the question of how condominiumizing the spaces would improve the income for the individual businesses. There is a real concern out there that some current merchants would not be able to purchase their space and would ultimately have MMSA as a landlord. There is a conflict of interest there, since some small businesses compete with MMSA shops. With Intrawest slowly leaving the area Mr. Gregory can no longer portray this developer as a 900 pound gorilla, so that MMSA is only perceived as the 300 pound gorilla. Those are his own words to describe why he has been so critical of Intrawest over the years. It’s always convenient to blame everything on someone else without having to do anything yourself. Certainly not the kind of values we should expect of our community leaders.
Clint Hyde left home at an early age and lived in Europe before traveling the rest of the world, working in international marketing. He moved to Mammoth in 2002 to pursue mountain biking, snowboarding, backcountry and cross-country skiing, hiking and backpacking. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent policies and opinions of the staff or owners of the Mammoth Times. Reader response is encouraged.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 22 February 2008 )
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