memories of not being able to ski,” she said. Now a young adult, her life was shaped by these men in these mountains. “Benny (Wilson), Steve (Haas), Jimmy and Jeff (Zell), and Bryan (Rutter) were like uncles,” Alex said. Dave Muccino’s daughter, 12-year-old Sarah, wrote in her diary when she was nine, “My dad’s Dave ‘The Wave’ Muccino, but I’m ‘The Wavelet.’ I plan to be as great a skier as my dad. But for now I’m happy to be able to ski and just be myself, ‘The Wavelet!’” Some of these kids have grown up to surpass their father’s skiing prowess. Brittany Miller, 2008 Wyoming Slalom Champion and today a University of Wyoming student, grew up skiing with her dad, Dave, and his Jackson Hole Air Force buddies. Jimmy Zell throws an iron cross into S&S, circa 1980s. “Tom Bartlett’s kids are read about in Sports Illustrated. Imagine you and good skiers,” said Howard, “and the kids seeing Tommy Moe at the grocery store, Adam McCool’s kids. And Charlie Dave the Wave Mucinno, Wave Point, 1990 and he asks them “How’s your skiing coming Leveroni, raised right on the hill, A Skier’s Dream along?” Or running into Steven Koch on a hike he’s really good. John Beatty’s son Risto was the by Shelley Simonton and talking about his experiences snowboarding Wyoming Junior Varsity champion in slalom and 2003/04 Jackson Hole Skier on Mount Everest. Or learning that the older gent GS, and Johanis, in college now, has been skiing I have an all-American life – a husband, a regin line at the post office is Bill Briggs, the first since he was two. ular job, two cars, a house, two dogs, gear, and person to ski the Grand Teton. Benny’s brother, Mike Wilson, has two sons, These guys are our friends and neighbors. Sam and Colby. Sam carries the Air Force torch. life insurance – with a Jackson Hole twist: our struggles lie with those random, during-theBut we’ve got plenty of good role models who “Sam has all the JHAF memorabilia in his work-week, only-a-few-times-in-a-lifetime powaren’t famous. Many former ski bums have room,” said Mike. “He and his friends watch ski der days. On those days, driving to work instead joined the ‘new economy’ and are raising our films, read the Jackson Hole Skier and Powder families in Jackson, passing along a passion for magazines, and become energized to push the of driving to Teton Village hurts as bad as impaling yourself on an elk antler. So we invoke the winter sports as part of our family values. limits.” Powder Clause, call in “not-sick” and take the And so it continues. Benny Wilson said of his day off to go skiing. and Jo Ann’s son Mattias, age three, “He loves it We had lots of those mornings last winter, The Next Generation Of the when it snows. We were skiing Eagles Rest and and though we sometimes wound up with stomJackson Hole Air Force he kept saying, ‘I want to go there,’ pointing to achaches (see previous sentence), the frequent by Wade McKoy the jump at the Terrain Park. Somebody standing snows seemed like an old friend come back to 2009/10 Jackson Hole Skier next to us said, ‘Like father, like son.’” visit. Rusty Scotti, a season-pass holder since They had kids. These renegade skiers of the 1978, keeps a journal of ‘70s and ‘80s who ducked ropes, dodged the temperatures, snow condisheriff and ski patrol, and risked getting their ski tions, runs, and other notepass clipped. Twenty, thirty years later, they are worthy information. “The married with children. And, no big surprise, they Village had their busiest raised and are raising them on skis. day ever on Saturday, FebRick Hunt’s first-born, 15-year-old James, ruary 9,” said Rusty. “The rode on his father’s back in a pickle barrel at 10 Friday before was a blizmonths of age. Howard Henderson’s daughter zard, and the tram blew Garnet, was a smiling one-year-old riding herd down (closed due to high in Howie’s backpack. And witness the scene in winds) at 1 p.m. We skied the movie Steep, where Doug Coombs skis all day, mainly lower faces home with his two-year-old son David in a backoff Thunder. A bunch of us pack, playing their number-counting game: “Fifmet at the Hobacks at 4 teen, sixteen, seventeen,” son repeating after p.m. and they were still unfather. tracked.” Theo Meiners’ daughter Alex had her first ski One stormy Saturday, pass at three months, rode in the baby backpack Sublette blew down and with her dad, and was standing on skis in her my girlfriends and I spent backyard before she could walk. “I have no Benny Wilson celebrates April Fools Day with a Royal Christie, 1987. the afternoon doing laps
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Bob Woodall photos; Wade McKoy (top left, Stiegler)
“Some of these kids have grown up to surpass their father’s skiing prowess.” — The Next Generation Of the Jackson Hole Air Force