Stone Ranger

by Bob Blanton

  “We had to help with the tots last time,” Matthew replied. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “Well last time you had a lot more help. The Stevensons had their nanny with them to watch after the girls.”

  “Oh man,” Matthew groaned, “I didn’t think about that.”

  “It won’t be that bad,” Mrs. Brandt tried to reassure Matthew.

  “Sorry to overhear,” Mrs. Winthrop said. “but I didn’t get a chance to tell you. We had Estella fly up yesterday. She’ll be able to watch the girls most of the time.”

  “Whew,” Matthew said.

  “You shouldn’t have,” Mrs. Brandt said.

  “Oh yes I should have,” Mrs. Winthrop said. “I want to get some skiing in and some relaxation, and watching two girls won’t be much harder than watching one for Estella, in fact it’ll probably be easier.

  When they arrived at Jackson Hole, they drove to the house the Winthrops had rented. Mrs. Winthrop handed out assignments like she did at Thanksgiving. The kids raced to the slopes at 11:00, looking to get as much skiing in as they could before it turned dark at 4:30.

  When the teenagers got back to the house at 5:00, Estella gave them a note from their parents saying that the adults had left for dinner at the lodge with some friends. Estella had fed the two girls, so the teenagers decided they’d just order pizza and watch a movie, the heck with cooking.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  The next morning everyone was up early to get ready for the slopes. The Winthrops agreed to take the girls skiing, and Mrs. Brandt had decided to take a lesson that morning to brush up on her skiing after almost two years off. Matthew borrowed Jason’s double-tip skis so he could work on his backward skiing. And after a quick breakfast, the teenagers headed for the lift.

  “Matt, how well does your mother ski?”

  “She’s an expert, I don’t know why she thinks she need a lesson.”

  “Maybe she met a cute ski instructor last night,” Emily suggested.

  “What!” Matthew yelled, almost hitting a tree when he turned to look at Emily.

  “Come on, dude,” Jason said. “Don’t you think your mom might like to date again?”

  “I guess so; I just never thought about it. It’s kinda weird.”

  “Well, you should hope she does, you want her to be happy, don’t you?” Alex said.

  “Sure I do.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Everyone kicked off their skis and lined up for the gondola, jostling with the others in lines to keep together.

  “You guys want to go down Ranger?” Jason asked.

  “I’m going to do Lupine Way,” Matthew answered. “I want to work on skiing backwards.”

  “I’ll keep watch for you,” Brianna said, “I’d like to take an easy run to start the day.”

  “Me too,” Emily and Alex added together.

  “Wimps.”

  “It’s your funeral.”

  By the time they got the top, Jason had isolated himself in the corner of the gondola and was scowling at his friends. As they worked their way off, he looked back.

  “Last chance to man up.”

  “We girls are going to ignore that.”

  “Come on, Jason, we’ll do a diamond run with you later.”

  “I’m outta here, see you wimps at the bottom.”

  Matthew could tell that Brianna was beside herself, not wanting to let her brother get away with challenging her. “Brea, go ahead. Show him what’s what.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, meet us back here; we’re going to take Amphitheater down then come back up on Marmot lift.”

  “All right!” Brea yelled, and raced off after Jason. “You and your big mouth are toast!”

  Matthew, Alex and Emily skied over to Lupine Way. “It’s almost deserted.”

  “I was hoping that it would be. Why come all the way to the top this early in the morning and ski on a blue run?”

  “Smart thinking. You want Alex and me to escort you?”

  “That would be nice. I want to try a few things, so having someone spot traffic would be a help.”

  “Okay, we’ll shadow you on each side.”

  By the time they got to the lift at the bottom of Amphitheater, Matthew was getting a good pace going backwards.

  “I’m going to make a quick stop in the loo,” Alex said as they reached the bottom. “You coming, Emily?”

  “I’m good, we’ll hold a spot for you in the lift line. Now, Matthew, how did you manage to go so fast, you were hardly looking over your shoulder?”

  “You guys were spotting, so I trusted you. In the middle there, I opened my portal up and used it. It took a while to get used to seeing things that way, but you can really open up when you’re not having to turn and look over your shoulder.”

  “That’s so cool. You’d better be careful that a ski patrol doesn’t see you not looking. They’ll yank your lift ticket.”

  “I know, that’s why having you and Alex spotting was so perfect. Will you guys do another run with me? I should be able to go pretty fast the whole way.”

  “Hi, guys, good you’re at the front of the queue,” Alex said as she skied up.

  “That was fast,” Matthew said.

  “Not fast enough. Some bugger tried to corner me while he gave me a bunch of bollocks about how pretty I was.”

  “Well, you are pretty!”

  “Yeah, but I don’t need some prat I don’t know trying to hit on me.”

  “Chair’s coming! Matthew, can you pair up with him? Alex and I’ll pair on the next chair.”

  “Sure,” Matthew said. The ride back to the top was quick. Jason and Brianna were waiting for them as they jumped off the lift.

  “Brea, how did your little sibling squabble go?” Emily asked.

  “Just fine! Mr. Smarty Britches fell, so I beat him,” Brianna chortled.

  “Well, I was beating you before then, I just turned to check on you and missed the mogul.”

  “Likely story, you probably turned to gloat and got what you deserved,” Alex laughed.

  “Okay, Alex and I are doing Ranger, who’s with us?”

  “I’m going down the easy way again,” Matthew said, “another practice run.”

  “I’ll spot for him this time, Emily, if you want to do Ranger,” Brianna said.

  “Thanks.”

  Matthew and Brianna made a couple of practice runs down Lupine to Amphitheater before Brianna persuaded Matthew he’d had enough practice. They took a run down Cascade for a bigger challenge, and then took Gros Ventre all the way down to the lodge to meet the others for lunch.

  “How did you guys score a table?” Matthew asked. “This place is swamped.”

  “The parents had it. They ate an early lunch and called me to see if we wanted the table,” Jason said. “We just have to pay their tab.”

  “All’s fair in lift lines and tables lines, right?”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Oh geez!” Alex exclaimed. “Can you believe that prat is back again?”

  “Who?” Matthew asked.

  “The guy who hit on me at the bathrooms earlier. Once he saw that I was with Jason, he started hitting on Emily and has been after her all morning.”

  “Damn,” Emily said. “We keep losing him on the runs. He’s not that great a snowboarder, but somehow he keeps showing up.”

  “He looks like a complete doofus,” Brianna said. “I can’t imagine you even giving him the time of day.”

  “I haven’t and I won’t. Brea, can I borrow Matt for a bit? Maybe if I parade out a boyfriend, he’ll give up and go find someone else to bother.”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “What do you mean, ‘borrow’ me?”

  “Don’t worry! It’s just temporary.”

  “Don’t I get a say?”

  “Not really. Emily, switch seats with me, that way you can snuggle with Matthew while Doofus is watching.”

  “Okay.” Emily and Brianna switched seats, and Emily
gave Matthew a kiss as she sat down.”

  After a long lunch where Emily doted on Matthew keeping his ears red from embarrassment, the teens headed back to the slopes. Emily’s unwanted admirer was still in line for a table as they left the lodge.

  “I hope that does it,” Emily said. “That guy gives me the creeps.”

  “Well if he shows up again, you can borrow Matthew to ward him off.”

  “Thanks, Brea, you’re a true friend.”

  “Guys, let’s take the Ariel Tram up to Rendezvous Mountain. There are lots of diamond runs off of it, and maybe it’s out of Doofus’s comfort zone.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “This is a great run,” Matthew said.

  “Love it,” Brianna replied. “Not too many people to compete with.”

  “Shadow me!”

  “What, you’re going too fast!” Matthew did a fast turn and was skiing backwards, waving at Briana. “Matt, you’re crazy!”

  Matthew did a couple of quick slaloms and then turned back around. “That was way cool!”

  “You scared me to death. Don’t do that again!” Brianna slugged Matthew on the shoulder as she skied by him.

  “What a move, Matt,” Jason yelled, as he raced by. “See you at Sublette Chair.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Matt, you’re insane, skiing switch on a black diamond,” Emily yelled as she skied up to Matthew in the chair line.

  “But you looked awesome doing it,” Alex said.

  “Thanks, it was a rush.”

  “I’m going to the restroom; anyone?” Brianna said.

  “I’m with you,” Alex said.

  “I’m good for another run or two,” Emily said. “See you here in a few?”

  “We’ll be waiting. Radio if anything comes up.”

  “Where’s Jason?”

  “I’ll bet he’s already at the top. He was really scorching when we turned down Bivouac.”

  “Matt, then it’s just us two for this run, race you to the chair,” Emily said as she skated off.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Now tell me, did you use the portal when you were skiing switch?”

  “Of course, way too much going on to try to see what’s up over my shoulders.”

  “What a nut.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Oh no!”

  “What?”

  “That doofus is back again.”

  “How did he find us?”

  “I don’t know, but he must be getting some help. See, he’s just waiting at the top of the lift with his two friends.”

  “We’ll deal with it. Now get ready to get off.”

  “Hey, beautiful, fancy meeting you here.”

  “Well you and your friends can just take a hike, we’re not giving ski lessons,” Emily retorted.

  “Ooh, mean. I like ‘em mean.”

  “Can you just let us be?” Matthew said.

  “Hey, the mountain is for everyone. We’re just here to have a little fun.”

  “Come on, Emily. We can just leave them in our dust on the way down. If they want to stay here until we get back on the chair, they’re welcome to freeze their asses off.”

  “No way you’re out-skiing us,” Doofus said.

  “Well, just watch us,” Matthew retorted. “I can probably ski faster than you backwards.”

  “Wanna put your money where your mouth is?”

  “Sure we will,” Emily said. “He can make it down to the bottom going backwards before you. Ski Dog Face all the way to Pepi's Run. How much do you have?”

  “Emily!” Matthew hissed.

  “Don’t worry, he can’t do a diamond without falling, you’ll beat him by a mile.”

  “Come on guys, how much do we have?”

  “I’ve got $500 here,” Doofus said.

  “Are you nuts! That’s our food money!”

  “Come on, you know I can beat him. Backwards, and just look at him.”

  “Is that all you have?” Emily asked. “I thought you guys were players.”

  “Jack, pony up.”

  “Not the money for our lift tickets, if we lose we’ll have to go home.”

  “Fork it over.”

  “You’d better win, that’s over $2000 of our money you’re betting.”

  “Don’t sweat it. Now, honey, can you cover it?”

  “Let me call my banker,” Emily said. She keyed the radio, “Alex, come in.”

  “Emily, is there something wrong?”

  “No, where are you?”

  “We’re by the lift waiting for you.”

  “Well come on up. The prat is back and he wants to lay some money down. I’m a bit short, so I need you to loan me some.”

  “We’ll be right there, cash in hand.”

  “Emily, are you sure?”

  “Don’t worry. If we win, they won’t be on the slopes tomorrow. So it’s worth it. If we lose, they’ll probably be partying tomorrow, so we win anyway.”

  “Okay.”

  “Money will be here in ten minutes. Let’s lay down some rules.”

  “Sure.”

  “We get the lift guy to hold the money.”

  “Fine.”

  “Matt gets one hundred yards before he has to turn around.”

  “Fine!”

  “He gets the right side, you have to stay on the left.”

  “Sure, sure.”

  “And each skier has two blockers to clear the course.”

  “Whatever.”

  “And here’s the rest of my money,” Emily said, as Alex and Brea hopped off the lift.

  “How much do you need?” Alex asked, pulling a small purse out of her pocket.

  “How much are you guys putting up?” Emily asked. “We’ve got $1500 plus $1000.”

  “What’s going on?” Brianna asked.

  “We’re betting these bozos that Matt can ski to the bottom of Pepi’s run faster than their snowboarding leader.”

  “My name is Zach,” Doofus said.

  “Can I get in on it?” Brianna asked, pulling her money out. “I’ve got $800 here.”

  “Come on guys, let’s max it out, they’ve got $3300 they want to give us.” The snowboarders gathered what they could out of their pockets. “We can cover $3200, that’s all.”

  “Okay. You count ours, and we’ll count yours,” Emily handed Doofus the money while she took their stack and counted.

  “You’ve got $3160 here,” Emily said.

  “Come on, Jack, cough up another $40.”

  “Okay, but we’re going to have to beg for gas money if you lose.”

  “I told you not to sweat it. I’m not going to have a problem beating that guy down on my board.”

  “Okay, money’s good. Alex, will you ride the lift down with the lift manager and keep tabs on the money?”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Brea and I will block for Matt, keep things clear while he burns up the course.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  The two boys lined up at the beginning of the top of Dog Face. The course was mostly clear.

  “Alex, you call the start. Blockers go on ready,” Emily called out.

  “Ready!”

  “Come on, Brea!”

  “Set!”

  “Go!”

  Matthew got a better start than Zach since he could skate at the start. He was 30 yards ahead when he switched over. Leaning back to pick up more speed, he watched Zach working to gather speed and catch up. Matthew kept his line almost straight, just a bit of side to side to keep his speed under control; he had his portal up and was watching Brea and Emily clearing the course.

  Zach started waving his arms like Matthew was going to run into something, but Matthew ignored him. The big turn onto Pepi’s Run was fast approaching; it ran through a blue run so there was a bit of a crowd to navigate. Matthew did a couple of slaloms to take off a bit of speed as he entered the blue run, Laramie Traverse. Brea and Emily had done their best
to clear skiers out of his way, but he had to make a few really hard turns to get around a few. As Matthew turned onto Pepi’s Run, Zach had taken the lead.

  Matthew set his line up straight downslope, and started to really gather speed. Checking ahead, he planned out how he was going to take the first big turn. Skiers along the slope were now lined up along the edge to watch the race. They were even cheering the two boys on. This turn was an advantage for Matthew since he could use the banked edge of the course to help make the turn. As Matthew leaned into the turn, he spilled a little speed; suddenly Zach’s board broke loose and he slid across Matthew’s path. To Matthew it looked like Zach was trying to stay in the path instead of letting just sliding across, so he dug his edge in hard and swung across to the far left of the slope before easing himself back on line. Then he eased his speed, and focused on not falling for the rest of the way down.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “All right!” Brianna shouted as Matthew skied up to the lift line at the bottom of Pepi’s Run. “Where’s Alex and our money?”

  Emily pounded Matthew on the back. “Way to avoid the sliding prat! I didn’t think you could pull that turn out with him using his board to slow down and stay in your way.”

  “I expected that as soon as I saw him fall.”

  “Man, what a wipe out!” Zach said as he pulled up next to Matthew. “Gnarly turn you pulled off there.”

  “Zach, what are you so happy about, you just lost all of our money!”

  “Yeah, but you gotta admit that was a showcase for skiing switch.”

  “Maybe, but what are we going to do for meals and gas on the way home?”

  “I’ll tell you what. We’ll give you back $500, if you guys head out tonight,” Emily said.

  “Really? That’s cool.”

  “I’m cool with that.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  That night it snowed ten inches, so in the morning everything was covered with fresh snow.

  “Wow, this is going to be a great day to ski,” Alex said.

  “And we won’t have to try and hide from those idiots either,” Emily added.

  “I’m going to do snowboarding,” Jason said. “There are some nice runs here for that. I might even try out the Half Pipe.”

  “Well, you’ll have to go alone,” Brianna said. “I didn’t bring my board, and I don’t think anyone else snowboards.”

  “Not me!”