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Romance in the CMC

Tying the Knot in the Nineties

by Sherry Richardson and Linda Grey

What does a passion for mountains, an appreciation of the wild, and a sense of adventure have to do with love? According to the following five couples who were married in the nineties, everything. The following vignettes show how these characteristics wove their way through the meeting, courtship, and “tying the knot” (figure eight, of course) of ten CMC members.

Vicki & Bob

It was January 10, 1988, at the CMC Telemark School. It was the day after Vicki Copeland’s birthday and she was riding the chair lift with another student in her class whose face mask was covered with snow. Sure enough! It was Telemark Bob (a.k.a. Bob Kuryvial). As the Telemark School continued, Vicki and Bob became friends and helped each other endure many face plants.

Vicki joined the CMC in 1985 after moving from Michigan (she is a native of North Carolina.) She had begun climbing the fourteeners and wanted to learn skills necessary to climb them all. Bob, originally from Michigan, joined the Club in 1987. He wanted to meet new people and try some new activities.

After Telemark School was over, Bob asked Vicki out on a date. They did a lot of activities with CMC members during their courtship, mostly climbing many high peaks. By this time, Vicki was trying to complete climbing the Centennials, for she had finished climbing all the fourteeners in 1988. (Vicki completed the Centennials in 1993.) Four days after the couple’s marriage in 1992, Telemark Bob, a petro-geologist, went to Saudi Arabia for seven months.

Vicki and Bob have been on many adventures. They climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with CMC buddies, participated in the Ride the Rockies and other bicycle tours, and enjoy canyoneering and back-country hut trips. Vicki has completed the HAMS School, IRSC, and has been as assistant instructor for BMS five times. They still enjoy outdoor activities with their many wonderful CMC friends.

The CMC has been a positive influence in their lives. Vicki says, “It’s been the best experience for me since moving to Colorado.”

“So, Vicki, Bob must be a great telemark skier to earn the title of Telemark Bob.”

Vicki responded, “Oh, no! He got that name to distinguish him from former Bobs in my life!” Vicki and Bob have taken the Telemark School twice; however; they are still doing mostly face plants.

Marilyn & Jonathon

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than Lynn Hill. Who was that beautiful woman with the long braids and yellow rubber-ducky rain gear flying down the trail with such acumen and grace? Luckily, Jonathon Walters didn’t have to wonder very long. Senior instructor Marilyn Choske had already used her detective skills to find out the phone number of this fledgling WTS student. That was May 13, 1990. After their first date at Packard’s, their courtship began.

Marilyn and Jonathon joined the CMC within a year of each other in the late ’80s. Marilyn had been hiking with friends but discovered that they weren’t very dependable when it came to early morning get-ups on frosty weekends. She was looking for people to hike with who had her same “determination.” (Other adjectives have been applied.) Jonathon was especially interested in the training that the club offered in backpacking and hiking.

Mt. Princeton was the first fourteener that Marilyn and Jonathon climbed together. Marilyn proudly remembers how Jonathan survived the climb, despite the little surprises like a hailstorm and a rock slide.

As with many CMC couples, the club was and is a focal point in their relationship. Early on, Marilyn learned of Jonathon’ s love of fly fishing and supported his efforts to form the CMC Flyfishing section. They also do ski hut trips together “when Marilyn thinks I can keep up.” Jonathon, with Marilyn’s input and ideas, is the artist who creates the trophy for the Denver Group “Volunteer of the Year” award.

The CMC has affected their lives both separately and together. They encourage and support each other in their club endeavors. They have received much from the Club and enjoy “giving back” by contributing their time and energy. The CMC also acts as a great cover-up. Marilyn hostessed a Flyfishing potluck, which in reality, was a surprise 40th birthday party for Jonathon.

Sherri & Craig

Country Western joints? Talkin’ about “looking for love in all the wrong places.” It’s true. After trying many country western hangouts, Craig Patterson joined the CMC to meet women. He found just the right one at a ski clinic for CMC cross country instructors. Unfor tunately, the one he had his eye on, Sherri Durman, was dating someone else. Craig resigned himself to a platonic friendship. Sherri liked Craig so much that she tried fixing him up with her girl friends. Fortunately, she says now, nothing worked out.

Sherri and Craig were friends for a couple of years before she broke up with the “other guy.” At this point she became interested in Craig. She also wanted to finish climbing the highest one hundred peaks in Colorado. She asked Craig to join her on some of the climbs on her list. She also suggested that they start dating! Craig was eager! In fact, he even climbed some of the highest hundred for a second time so he could climb them with Sherri.

Sometimes there are signs that a person is “the right one.” In a tent, the night before climbing Cathedral Peak, a thunder storm blew through. It was so powerful that the ground shook. Sherri slept through the whole storm. It was a sign.... Sherri was told by several other friends that she’d be a fool not to marry Craig. That, too, was a sign!

Craig and Sherri were married in September, 1995.

Currently, Sherri and Craig instruct in the Cross Country Ski School. They also co-lead trips. Sherri helps plan Craig’s international CMC trips. Craig is the co-director of the Avalanche School and instructs in the HAMS School. Sherri, who joined the CMC in 1979, is the chairperson of the Annual Dinner Committee, and she schedules Information Hikes for the Activity Schedule.

The CMC has changed both of their lives. They love the activities and the resources. “It has been a wonderful place to meet great friends.”

Jane & Rolf

Talk about romantic, Rolf Asphaug proposed to Jane Smyth on Valentine’s Day weekend in 1998 on a ski tour in Rocky Mountain National Park! What a perfect setting for two people who love the Colorado out-of-doors.

The recommendation of her aunt and the possession of an unreliable car prompted Jane to join the CMC in 1993 to do some backcountry skiing. (The “rider” status in a CMC group was appealing.) Rolf was a lone stranger in Colorado in 1988 when he moved here. He saw a CMC pamphlet at REI and joined to make friends and to improve his skills.

Rolf eventually became an instructor in the Telemark Ski School. During his January 1997 class, not even Gore-Tex and fleece armor could conceal Jane from Rolf! It was Jane, however, who curiously inquired, “Who are you?” Later, Rolf found out her name from school director, Marilyn Choske.

After Jane joined Rolf on his multi-day CMC trip to Utah, and a few more friendly get-togethers, they decided that they were interested in each other. In addition to CMC activities, they discovered other similar interests such as bluegrass music, world travel, old-time dancing, and an interest in family history.

“Even though we had other common interests, I doubt we’d have ever met if it hadn’t been for the CMC,” reflected Rolf.

Mutual CMC friends were supportive of their courtship, but not pushy.

Early on, the countryside around Breckenridge became one of their favorite mountain spots. It was there that they went for their first camping trip as a couple, Jane skied her first fourteener, Quandary Peak, and memories of hiking and skiing in that area were etched.

Both Rolf and Jane agree that CMC has affected their lives.

Jane says, “The CMC brought Rolf and me together, of course, but I’ve also learned so much through the club: telemark skiing, survival skills, and safety tips.”

And Rolf, “Even if I’d never met Jane—and I’m so thankful I did!—the CMC had already really changed my life. Other than meeting Jane, I think the things I’ve enjoyed most are learning how to be a better trip leader and how to run a meeting. I know it sounds kind of corny, but the skills I’ve learned at the CMC have really helped me in all areas of my life.”

Ann & Jim

It all started with a sock…. Not the standard left hook, but the soggy kind; as when a slip off a log submerges one’s entire boot in the stream. That’s what happened in 1991 to WTS instructor Ann Nye on the graduation climb of Mt. Bethel. Chivalry does exist in the mountains, however. Student Jim West came to her aid and shared his extra pair of socks with Ann, who had left hers at home. Ann returned the sock during the following fall session, where Jim was now an assistant instructor. During that fall and winter, they hiked and skied with the WTS class where they met. Although they didn’t plan to be together (Jim was dating someone else), they just kept winding up in the same CMC classes, first Avalanche and then Cross Country Ski School. That winter, they began skiing and hiking as a twosome and became fast friends. In the fall of 1992, they again worked together in WTS, this time as co-instructors. A year and a half after they met, they had their first date. (Is this really the nineties?) Not ones to rush into anything, their courtship took another two and a half years and in November, 1995, they were married.

The mountains were a large part of both their lives even before they joined the CMC. Ann joined DWK in 1978 to hike with her son; she became active in the Denver Group in 1990 to learn more skills in backpacking and skiing. In 1991, Jim was going through a divorce. Having always enjoyed the mountains, he was looking for new friends with whom to share his love of Colorado out-of- doors activities.

The CMC is a significant part of their lives now. They teach together, hike together, scout trips together, and have conducted membership meetings together. Currently they teach in the Cross Country Ski School and WTS, co-lead CMC trips, and attend programs at the AMC. Jim served on Denver Group Council, and Ann is currently a member of the Cross Country Ski School Committee. They have hiked in the Andes and the Austrian Alps.

When asked, “How has the CMC affected you lives?” both answer unequivocally, “The people we have met. Our best friends are fellow CMCers.”

Ann says the CMC has opened new worlds for her. “The CMC has given me confidence to do things I’ve never done before. My experiences have increased my confidence in every area of my life.”

The CMC offers many trails for all of its members. Some paths unite members in the energy, interest, and knowledge of the mountains of Colorado. Some journeys are educational; inspiring art, literature, and science. All outings encourage the preservation of forest, flowers, fauna, and natural scenery. Being a “singles club” is definitely not a goal of the CMC. However, as evidenced by the stories above, common interests draw people together. Whether or not one meets his/her soulmate at a CMC activity, members enrich their lives with new friends and fun activities ... and sometimes ... love!

(In gathering these five stories, we learned of many more CMC romances. Please let us know if you would like to see “Romance in the CMC” periodically in T&T.)

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