Bean Dip

Just heard that he's retiring. I have no details beyond that.

Any bets on who will succeed him as head of Gore Ski Patrol? I would have bet on Howie if he wasn't Assistant Mountain Manager.

End of an eon.......I mean an era.

I'm clueless but I'm told the smart money is on Dan or Mike.

witch hobble wrote

End of an eon.......I mean an era.

Or did you mean end of an error?

Ha!

In the patrolling-by-drone future you may wish for the imperfect humanity of Bean Dip.

The head of Patrol at gore was a pretty laid back guy with tons of people experience.  

^ I agree. I'm glad to say he was my boss and my friend.

His scatter shot management style didn't mesh with everybody, but I really respect the way he let people play to their own strengths.  The Gore patrol has some skiers who wouldn't have made it onto the patrol at other places I've worked and skied at.  Mark realizes that there is more to the job than being a pretty skier, so if someone was a strong communicator, good with logistics, or a top notch first aider, but lacked strong skiing skills, he could still see the value in having them on board.  And he was not afraid to surround himself with people who questioned him.

Edit to add: he is also a cool groover who (almost) never loses his sense of humor.