No snow, no problem

LITTLE ROCK — Snows eventually melt, but not necessarily the friendships first formed by ski buffs.

So it's proven for the Little Rock Snow Ski Club, which recently marked its 40th anniversary.

Since Little Rock and the rest of Arkansas are not known for snow skiing opportunities, what must an organization devoted to a shared love of such an activity do? The snow skiing fans would likely make at least a couple of trips each year to enjoy frigid slopes somewhere, but what about the rest of the year?

It turns out that the Little Rock Snow Ski Club has thrived as much by its non-snowy activities as by those that involve the powdery precipitation.

A quick look at the club's Web site reveals a pair of social activities this month: a Razorback tailgate party Oct. 6 in Little Rock, before the Hogs' game against non-conference foe the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; and a lobster boil Oct. 20 in Reservoir Park. The club also joined the crowd in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure earlier this month. In November, the club will travel to Branson to see that city's Festival of Lights Christmas display and several shows, and, as winter finally takes over, there are ski trips to Lake Tahoe in January and to Aspen in February.

"Our ski trips are already full," says club president Patti Brady-Prince. "And we had our first Caribbean cruise back in the spring. We'll also have our annual Christmas dance, plus raise money for several families selected from the [Salvation Army] Angel Tree."

Brady-Prince says the club counts 175 members, who hail from not just central Arkansas, but even other states. Back when she joined, she had recently divorced. Several of her friends were ski club members, and she noticed that they wereenjoying many social events, one of which was a Buffalo River float trip. They'd also made a fishing trip to Jack's Resort on the White River.

"They just had a lot of activities was why I became a member," she says, "and I've made some of my best and lifelong friends there, both male and female.

"We have avid snow skiers in the club, some very experienced who have been skiing forever, plus new members, and when there's no snow in the air, they all enjoy going to these other venues we go to. The member who puts a lot of our ski trips together is retired from the military. Right now, he's in Australia, scuba diving.

"We're a very close-knit group of friends, which is why we do so many extra social activities throughout the year. Besides our meetings, we usually do an event once a month."

When the club goes on ski trips, some nonskiers tag along with a spouse who skis. The nonskiing spouse goes for the fellowship or the enjoyment of visiting a new place, perhaps to shop or enjoy spectacular scenery.

One founding member, Dave Gruenewald, has been active 40 years. Here's how he remembers the genesis of the club.

He took to skiing after a college friend moved to Denver, took up the hobby and then invited Gruenewald to visit and hit the slopes. "I said I didn't know how, and he said I could learn," Gruenewald says. "So I did. I started skiing at a time when almost nobody I knew in Little Rock skied.

"I had gotten turned on by it, and somehow I learned there was a place called Tan-Tar-A on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, and it had a little slope where they made artificial snow. I'd organize little trips up there with friends of mine, and a friend of mine, Bob Peters, ran a little travel agency in Hillcrest, and he'd arrange some of our trips, get the airline tickets and lodging for us in places like Aspen.

"He said, 'Why don't you guys start a ski club?' and I said, 'That sounds like a neat idea!'"

As the club developed, there were overnight bus trips to New Mexico to ski at Santa Fe, Taos and Angel Fire. By 1973, members would travel to Memphis to catch the direct flights to Denver that Braniff Airlines offered in its heyday. One of the trips was especially memorable for Gruenewald.

"We got on the plane and noticed that Elvis Presley was sitting in the first-class section," he says, "and I think of the 45 passengers, most of them were our club members, and they were of course rushing up to say hello. The captain said we'd have to return to our seats and that after we took off, Elvis would visit with us.

"Well, he got up later and came back and visited with every single one of us. Then he sang 'Love Me Tender' on the intercom."

Gruenewald, 68, hasn't been a member continuously, having gone out of state to earn a graduate degree and having worked for Southwestern Bell in St. Louis for a time before transferring back to Little Rock.

COST CLOUT

"Skiing has gotten so expensive that it's kind of crested," Gruenewald reflects. "Our biggest problem is that we'd likemore young people in the club. Unless you're in a ski club, it's hard for a young person these days to afford to ski."

"We do get a group discount on all of our bookings, rooms and flights," Brady-Prince explains. "That's part of the duties of the group leader, working with the agent from airlines, hotels and so on."

Some of the recent prices ski club members have been offered:

A five-day, four-night January package at Harrah's Casino & Resort, with two-day lift tickets to Heavenly Resort, Lake Tahoe, for $927 ($828 for nonskiers) per person, double occupancy; included round-trip airfare and ground transportation.

An eight-day, seven-night January package at Harrah's Casino & Resort, with three-day lift ticket at Heavenly Resort for $1,173 ($1,053 for nonskiers).

A seven-day February package with five-day lift ticket at Silverglo condominiums in Aspen, Colo., for $1,599 ($1,375 for non-skiers) per person, double occupancy; included round-trip airfare and ground transportation.

A seven-day Caribbean cruise in May for 45 members cost each member $650.

OFF THE SLOPES

Some members have given up the actual skiing but remain in the club. Jeff Whitby, a Realtor specializing in commercial real estate, separated from skiing when he separated his shoulder.

"My wife, Beverly, has been a member for 15 years and I've been one for 12," Whitby says. "We've done the lobster boils, floating the Buffalo and the Caribbean cruise in May, but never been on a ski trip with them. We'll do two or three dances a year, so it's pretty much our social life. Of the 150 or so members, we probably know about 50, and are good friends withabout 25 of those.

"About 90 percent of the members have probably belonged for 10 years or more, so longevity or continuity is definitely one of the club's strong points. Every year, it seems like there's more and more teamwork in the activities."

Another longtime member, Clarence Imler, belongs despite having had his left leg amputated above the knee.

"I joined back when I was single, about 12 years ago, and never really skied that much," Imler says. "I don't ski at all now, as I'd have to have special equipment, and most places don't have that.

"It's a nice organization and a good group of people to be around."

Ben Thomson, a CPA with Windstream, learned to ski and then found the Ski Club and joined, some 15 years ago. At 66, he values the fun times the group has, both on the slopes and off.

"I hurt my shoulder once, tripped on some ice," he recalls, "but I've had more trouble riding a motorcycle. My big philosophy is to have fun. That's the main thing we try to do. Some members are in their 70s, maybe in their 80s. Some quit at 50, some keep on going.

"We just have a great social group."

Club dues are $30 a year for singles, $40 for a family. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.

More information is on the club's Web site at www.lr snowski.com.