1979 – Vail, CO

In 1979, we once again returned to Denver in mid-December for year- end planning and sales training, and another Vail trip was scheduled to follow the close of the meeting. There were nine participants on the 2nd trip:

• Sam Hawkins
• Frank Rottier
• Don Bogle
• Lee Williams
• Butch Wells
• Jack Lobingier
• Jack Punzak
• Boris Pavichevich
• John Fogarty

We have one picture from the 1979 trip. That picture showcases the sophisticated sense for high fashion ski wear that we all had, particularly Wells and me.

John Fogarty was based in Denver and quickly assumed the planning role for what became an annual event in Vail following the mid-December year-end sales planning meeting. Fogarty had little to plan early on other than finding a place for us to stay and looking for discount ski tickets in Denver, however he maintained his position in Denver for many years because of his connection to sales managers who were HFSC skiers.

Fogarty hooked us up with the Kiandra Lodge which became our HQ’s for several years. At the Kiandra, many of us slept (or tried to sleep) dormitory style with guys constantly belching, farting and snoring. I remember Jim Jenkins and Paul Brinkmann being the loudest snorers I have ever heard. The Kiandra Lodge was torn down years ago and a parking garage is now located on the site.

Looking back on those days, it is amazing how cheap the trip was for us. Our air travel to the planning meeting was paid by Honeywell so we had rental cars, food, lodging, and lift tickets to pay for. Lee remembers spending $75 on his first trip for food and lodging at the Kiandra, and lift tickets in Vail were about $20. We always bought a full day ticket for Sunday; skied half a day; sold the ticket to someone else at noon and still made connections at Stapleton Airport to get home in the early evening. The old airport saved at least one hour of travel time each way as compared to DIA.

In the early 80’s the number of skiers began to grow, so we decided to buy food and drinks for the group in Denver rather than in Vail to save money. I remember 3 cars pulling into the last major supermarket outside Denver and 9 or 10 guys fanning out in the store to buy supplies. We ended up with all cheese, chips, and beer as a result. That trip gave rise to the pre-determined menu and shopping list. Bill Hubbert and Ken Lawrence brought some order to the purchasing process….. and to the meal preparation process.

After trying to sleep in the Kiandra dormitory, we soon agreed upon some minimum requirements for our future condo accommodations:

• No shared beds
• On-site hot tub, within a short walking distance
• Ski in and ski out
• Larger unit to use as a central gathering point
• Kitchen facilities to cook-in some nights
• Gas grill on site

Our trips became more organized and settled into a routine: Wed night arrival, ski three days, and leave on Sunday. We had breakfast in the condo and lunch on the mountain. After skiing, we hit the hot tub for beer and soaking sore muscles. We prepared dinner in the condo every night except Saturday night when we had our end of trip celebration. Word of our trip spread and toward the end of the 80’s we had to set a limit of 25 participants, first come, first served.

The HFSC trip continued successfully into the 90’s and went global when Leopold Plattner, Horst Amueller, and Bernd Meier joined us on several trips. The Austrian-German participation brought a new level of downhill speed, upgraded ski fashions, and 24-7 Apres Ski activities!

• Over the years, a number of traditions have taken hold:
  New HFSC members are initiated by jumping out of the hot tub and rolling in the snow. Most elect to quickly jump back into the hot tub.
• If a member misses a year, he has to be re-initiated by again rolling in the snow on the next trip.
• Gorilla boogers and Dove bars are HFSC food staples. Along with beer and wine, they make up the HFSC basic food groups.
• Chris Reid introduced in-condo ski hot wax and tune-ups.
• The location of the next trip and the trip leader are discussed and decided upon at the Saturday night dinner.
• Lee introduced liars dice and eventually got the HFSC on the wrong side of the Colorado Gaming Commission and certain members of the Mafia.
• Rob Crain was an early adopter of video cam technology and began videoing the group skiing in the late 80’s.
• Chris Reid introduced poker pool in Jackson Hole.
• Chris also introduced the daily tracking of vertical skied using his digital watch/altimeter.

For the first years of the HFSC, all trips were to Vail, then the HFSC decided to ski at other Colorado resorts. Typically, a condo location was selected to permit easy access to multiple ski resorts. Over the following years, the HFSC skied Beaver Creek, Aspen, Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain, Winter Park, and Steamboat Springs.

Chris Reid finally convinced the HFSC to break tradition and schedule a trip outside Colorado. A trip to Utah was scheduled with Park City the HQ condo location. The group skied Park City and drove over to Cottonwood Canyon to ski Alta and Snowbird. On subsequent Utah trips, the HFSC also skied Brighton and Solitude in Cottonwood Canyon. Some of the HFSC did a one day trip over to Deer Valley but got busted for skiing too fast, and no one has gone back to Deer Valley.

The mid 90’s brought some complications to the HFSC. As the reputation of the HFSC grew, and as members of the HFSC rose in the Honeywell organization, women co-workers began to ask about participating in the HFSC trips. This obviously presented a problem of having single women on a ski trip with a combination of single and married men. How would the wives of the married HFSC men react to women participating? Not well, you can be assured! The women co-workers argued the annual ski trip gave men an opportunity to mix and mingle with Honeywell executives and other managers, thus providing career opportunities denied to the women. The most vocal women were three of the Division’s staff lawyers, and they hinted strongly at discrimination.

The question of women participation came to a head during the December, 1996 Breckenridge trip. The three female attorneys came on the trip after Markos Tambakeras mandated that women should have the right to attend. Tambakeras was VP/GM of Industrial Automation at the time so almost all the HFSC members and the women wanting to attend worked for Tambakeras. Tensions were high in the group and emotions came to a head in the giant hot tub at Beaver Run Resort where the group was staying. John Kaminsky, a fourth member of the Division staff lawyers, was a long time HFSC member and also on the trip. John and other senior members of HFSC privately met to discuss the situation. John advised the group that it would be best to disband the HFSC rather than risk legal action by the three women attorneys. So, the HFSC shut down the annual trips after the 1996 Breckenridge trip.

Over the following eight years, no HFSC trips were held, however during that time, Honeywell was acquired by Allied Signal resulting in many people leaving Honeywell, including HFSC members. Several members also retired during this time. So, in late 2003, the time was right to re-load and re-start the HFSC trips. A trip to Vail was scheduled in Jan, 2004 and 11 HFSC members attended.

Fortunately, no one has ever been seriously injured. Lowell Stein did break a finger on his only trip, but that was the worst injury. However, we have sadly lost Butch Wells and John Kaminsky. We have had several sons of HFSC members on the trips, including Todd Lawrence, Randy Hawkins, Kevin Bogle, and Jon Rottier. Kevin came on the Telluride trip after a long absence, and showed he could run with the big dogs. Jon Rottier will attend the 35th Anniversary trip after a long absence, and I’m sure we will have trouble keeping up with Jon. That’s quite a change from when Jon participated in the 10th Anniversary trip when he was about 14 years old.