Widow Maker or Butt Bruiser?

Widow Maker or Butt Bruiser?

11 hours it took to get there. Grand Rapids, Cadillac, Petoskey, St Ignace, Marquette, Houghton, finally reaching Copper Harbor on a snowy night in late December. My friend Dean and I brought Tim (a Mountain Dew chugging high-schooler from our church) and his buddy Jake for an adventure at the top of Michigan, hugging the highest latitude line of the contiguous 48.

First item of business? Explore surroundings of the seemingly deserted hotel and town we had just arrived in. Hotel room patio door was just feet away from a frozen Lake Superior, and the harbor appeared frozen enough to walk across to the tip of the peninsula at the end of Copper Harbor. So, like any group of geniuses, we decided to walk to the peninsula and see what kind of trouble we could find.

What a view! What a place to be and feel like you are on the edge of the planet, a place of peaceful, quiet desolation. A place where if you looked down, you may see wolf tracks. “Hey guys, these are wolf tracks” said Dean. “That is funny Dean” I said.

“If one approaches, just look as big as you can and scream at it,” as if this happens to Dean all the time. Yes, this is a place where wolves and bears are common in the wilderness, and we were in their territory. “We would like to snowboard with two legs tomorrow guys, can we just go back to the hotel now?” said Tim. We walked back checking behind us every few seconds making sure we had not become prey.

The next morning we headed to the mountain. Mt Bohemia was originally a copper mine. It had only been a ski hill for a few years. Set up at the base of the mountain were a series of 3 connected yurts. There were warning signs that the mountain is for experts only. We were informed we must sign waivers in order to ski. We were advised to wear helmets, but I didn’t have one. There is no bunny hill at Mt Bohemia. You warm up on single black diamonds there.

Then, we find a run with a name and terrain that we decide to challenge. The Widow Maker is a double black diamond, meaning very steep, offering sudden drops, and large moguls through dense trees. At the top there is a small cliff jump. The two youth guinea-pig it, with entertaining wipeouts on landing. Then poor Dean takes the plunge, swiftly parking his bottom on top of a jagged snow covered stump, feeling the wrath of the notorious Widow Maker. I can still hear the agonizing “Ahhhhhh,” shrieking from Dean’s now violated vessel.

Concern transformed into laughter once we realized exactly what had happened. Even Dean, through his anguish, could not help but have a chuckle at what had transpired. I took the jump next, aimed far  from the hidden violator of winter sportsmen.