Cheers!

By Kerry Kilgore

I grew up in Stockton and would go to Lake Alpine in the summers in the 1950s and 60s, before there was even a Bear Valley. In my mind, John Denver popularized the mountains in the late 1960s with his songs like Rocky Mountain High. Prior to that time and the development of the downhill resorts, the Sierra shut down in the winter. Everyone in Bear Valley went home when the road closed for the winter at Camp Connell.

In the early 1970s, cross country skiers were a subculture of sorts. Young people from all over were hanging out in the mountains, with no responsibilities, footloose and fancy free. Cross country skiing was their life. That’s what they did, ski and have fun! Penny and I were a bit different; we were a couple and about 10 years older than the others. Penny had her own career, and I worked in Yosemite. The winter of 1983/1984, we came up on our days off to ski with Paul Petersen and other friends. Paul, part of that early group of skiers, took over the cross country ski school and started to lay down tracks using a snowmobile at first. Paul and his wife Diane grew the business to the resort it is today. The Trail Head had no amenities -- no cash registers, no radios, no electricity -- nothing. One amenity Paul had was the use of the Warming Hut, which served as the tennis clubhouse in the summer.

In those days the Warming Hut was basic. You might argue that it is still basic, but back then it was really very basic. The small kitchen was even smaller than it is today and had a regular stove and homestyle refrigerator. We served homemade soups, chips, coffee, and cookies. There were always homemade cookies. More of a snack bar than a place to have lunch, but still homey where you could find movie stars and mountain folk on snowy and sunny days.

The instructors took turns working at the Warming Hut. One of the instructors, Amy, made the soups and cookies most of the time. I call the people who worked for Paul “instructors,” but we did everything from teaching lessons, laying down tracks, to working at the Warming Hut, to shoveling snow. One winter there was always snow to shovel. The snow was so high you had to throw it over your head when you shoveled the small deck of the Warming Hut. The snow was so deep you had to walk down snow steps to the Trail Head building to get your day passes. Some said the days that they worked at the Warming Hut was their punishment. More like the price they paid for being able to ski every day.

Penny and I stayed upstairs in the Warming Hut loft when I worked at Bear Valley. To get to the loft, you climbed a ladder that we nicknamed 5.3 for its level of difficulty. Climbing routes grade from 5.2 for beginner routes to 5.15 for difficult pro routes. It was a 5.3 move to carry anything up the ladder to the loft. I like to think of living at the Warming Hut as one step above snow camping. It was dry, had electricity and a bathroom, but it was so cold. The wood stove on the main floor could not keep the loft warm through the night, even when stoked. Because it was so cold we limited our time there at night.

After work, we would ski into town to keep warm. In those days, Bear Valley was a happening town, full of young people who skied hard during the day and bar hopped at night. The Red Dog Inn was a social hub, and for us a warm place to spend the evening. Skiing back at night was magical, especially when the moon was full, as we mentally prepared for Warming Hut camping.

After that winter we went back to Sonora, and I worked at Yosemite until I retired in 1995. It turns out, I’m a pretty cheap date. Paul called and took me to lunch to ask if I wanted to come back to Bear Valley and be his assistant manager. I said sure, I’llcome back up. At first, I did anything that Paul needed me to do, but as time went on, I found myself spending more of my time working at the Warming Hut. Paul had this vision of turning the Warming Hut into a Nordic Club where everyone was welcome. I liked to think of it as that old television show “Cheers.” Maybe you remember the theme song:

“Sometimes you want to go where everyone knows your name.

And they’re always glad you came.

You want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same.

You want to be where everybody knows your name.”

That’s the kind of place we wanted to create. To do that we made a simple menu featuring good quality soups, chili, burgers, and hotdogs. A menu that was easy to stock and serve even on the busiest days. We expanded the sun deck so that people could eat outside when the weather was good, played music, got a liquor license, and hired a few more people. We needed at least two and sometimes three staff to efficiently serve our customers, especially on the busiest days. Good, simple food served in a timely manner in a beautiful, friendly setting.

Over the years people have wanted to make improvements to the Warming Hut. I always advised Paul not to bother. He didn’t own the building and there were other priorities, such as fixing snowcats, developing the sledding and tubing hills, and on and on. People would ask, when are you going to fix the roof on the Warming Hut. I’d exclaim “NEVER. It works. it doesn’t leak!” That said, the new roof does look nice.

What I enjoyed most about the Warming Hut was the welcoming atmosphere. One story I like to tell is about this guy who used to cross country ski at Bear Valley. He was a quiet guy and kept to himself. One snowy day, he was sitting inside in the back corner of the Warming Hut and looked uncomfortable. The place was filled with a group of kids. Not sure if it was a classroom trip or Boy Scouts, but pure pandemonium. I invited him to sit with me in the kitchen. We got to talking and had a great time. From then on, every time he came to the Warming Hut, he flashed a big smile and had plenty to say.

I haven’t worked at the Warming Hut for years, but I still love it. Penny and I go skiing, and we see so many friends, so much so that socializing gets in the way of skiing. It is nice to be in a place where everybody knows your name. Cheers!

(Kerry’s story is based on his phone call with Penny Albin and Susan Carroll)