BS - The lerrace Standard, Wednesday, December 4, 1996 DAVE TAYLOR _ SKEENA ANGLER | ROB BROWN Chimo he weather tured cold and bitter quickly. It was as if the motor in the furnace had hemorhaged and begun bleeding cold air into the vents. Winter was in a crouch, coiled and ready fo pounce. There is a smal! window in those situations: a time When steelhead slide into the river and lie agilated and irritable, ready to grab and tear at anything within evesbot /’ve got go fishing tomorrow, I thought. Then, when tomarrow ar- rived, cool and crisp and clear, I found an urgency and promised myself another tomorrow then — snep — the rivers were full of ice, the wind had leeth; this year’s moment was gone forever, I slipped through the portals of the orange bridge, headed for work and glanced at my watch. The river was spilling over frozen water- falls, swirling under ice anchors. Eagles hung high over Kitimat swamps, their fight made ar- hythmic by sudden gusts. I counted a dozen birds sideslipping over the flat lands, looking for red, dying fish in the creeks. Chimo, my purebred/mongrel cross was as- leep under a bush in the front yard when J ar- rived home. The familiar sound of the our car failed to rouse her, which was odd. When I passed her [ noticed she was shaking, which was even stranger fora sled dog that had always gotten more vigorous as the mercury dropped. It had been twelve winters and one fall since Pd taken Chimo from her original owners on the day When they Were on the way to the veto. “have her put down for eating their neighbours’ chickens. She was five then, handsome, proud, and, as I was soon to find out, unruly, “Don’t blow it?’ ber mistress commanded her as she handed me the leash. Chimo was distrustful of all men. It was a week before she warmed up ta me. When she did, I took her fishing. On our first outing she ale a rotting salmon and rolled in another, fore- ing me to drag her out into the Trapper’s run for a cold bath before pushing her back into he car. From that outing on, my emergence from the house, rod in hand, made Chimo unapproach- able. I did manage to fool her one more time. She panted uncomfortably as we drove to the Kalum. When the fishing was over even the Milkbones I'd brought in anticipation of her reluctance would not persuade her back into the truck. In the end | had to slowly drive down Highway 16, up the bench, past the college, and all the way home, Chime loping behind at a pace that would bave done the best sled dog proud, I realized that our dog had a wild indepen- dence coupled with a keen intelligence that made her virtually impossible to train. There were no more fishing trips for Chimo. She took over the end of the road, chased off other dogs, barked at everyone except for family and the neighbours, and bit no one. As she aged her hearing started to fail and her eyes clouded yet she still challenged the bears that came sbuf- fling down the mountainside in search of neglected fruit and rolting garbage. The last bruin took the starch out of her, I led her inside. She had trouble standing on the slippery wooden floor, When Karen awoke the next morning, Chimo’s head was listing to one side, It was all she cauld do to wag the very lip of her tail.l picked her up — something she’d never have let me do before — and packed her out to the car. She recognized the veterinary hospital and resisted with what little strength she had left. This was the same dog that dragged Mike Graham and I around the kitchen when we tried to: pull a porcupine quill from ber nose. Now T carried her as if she were a lap dog, "Oh yes,’’ said the nurse. ‘Chima, In to have her slitches aut.’ ‘No,”’ [ said. ““There’s no need, | think she’s dving."’ Quickly we were in an ante room. It looked bad: stroke, perhaps a brain tumour. [ couldn’t let her suffer any more. Her proud demeanor and fierce independence were a large part of why:] loved her. I watehed her blood curl into the syringe then walched the vapour from her breath against the bard metal table lessen as the lethal injection took effect. She was so much heavier when [ took her from the car in ber plastic shroud; it was as if the energy she exuded had retrealed within and congealed, There was garbage strewn about the front yard where the bear had come down the trail from the bush unopposed, : My arms ached. My heart ached. I cursed the bear and the hard, frozen ground; I thought about the cmel irony near the heart of tragedy that makes us fonder of those near us as-they, and we, get closer tothe time of departure. DON’T CALL them tobog- ganers, Members of the North- westers Luge Club proudly point out that toboggans don't go mearly as fast as luges. - And luges can steer, “This is the winter equiv- alent’ of skydiving,’’says Chris Ariold of the club. “It’s exhilarating,’* Amold -and- club co- founder Natasha Weitman hit the slopes of Shames Mountain every Sunday al] through the winter to prac- tice their speedy sport, This year will be especially big for luge in Terrace with the city hosting the Northem BC Winter Games. , The jugers ride on part of the Panhandler run at Shames, and they really bum up the snow, “We pass skiers all the time,’’ Arnold says, ‘‘It oniy takes between two and four minutes to go from top to bottom.” That kind of speed com- bined with close proximily lo the ground makes for one exciting sport , The Northwesters practice whal’s called Natural luge, as opposed to artificial luge — the Olympic style which lakes place on a refrigerated ice-track, Albletes ide lying down, feet first, using their legs and weight to steer the sled into warp speed, They stop by pulling up the front of ihe sled and digging their feet into the snow, ; "IE you're serious about it you should work your stomach muscles, because you have to hold up vour legs the whole time,” SaVS Natasha Weitman. ‘It's pretty tiring.’’ Hiking back up the hill is “TERRACE STANDARD SPORT What a bunch of 638-7283 *& ugers | NORTHWESTERS LUGE Club member Chris Amold de slopes at break-neck speeds. Arnold says that luging is s monstrates how to take a tum while flying down the afe and fun for adults and children, =~ also pretty tiring, bot Weit. man says it helps to kéep you warmed-up.. And it fuels the anticipation of the coming rush of speed. But in spite of aj! that speed, Arnold says the sport is very safe. Helmets are wom and beginners start out on the luging equivalent of a bunny hill. It's actually even safe enough for youngsters and the games will accept entrants as voung as eight. “They have no fear at that age,’ ‘Weitman says. ''The faster they go, the more they like it’? Weitman says that the club will have. about 10 members this year, but they hope to get-a-few more in- volved before the: games. She says there is a good network. between. Terrace, Smithers and Prince George - where there is a’ long Artificial luge wack — and plenty of tournaments ° all over the province. Amold actually says that it’s not unheard of to start the sport and then’ within two years be competing at some of.the major European tournaments where luging is . huge, | ; ‘You take big steps up in this sport,’” he says. 2 The Northern BC Winter Games should be a big step up'for the sport in Terrace. The. club is getting new fencing and a starling gate from the games, and Arnold says the event will be good for spectators too, “Is fun to watch,” he says. ‘'There were a lot of Spectators. at the last games.”’ Amold says the club will start luging as soon as there is enough snow on Shames, “They've been really good about letting us use the hill,’ he says, We hope ta get out on Sunday.’’ So if you're passed on the hill this winter by a group of prone athletes, they're not tobogganers — they’re a proud bunch of lugers, Bluebacks busy with tourneys WHILE THE snow has been falling outside, our Bluebacks Swim Club has been heating up the pool. The group joined forces with swimmers from Kitimat and Rupert recenly to swamp the Prince George Fall Invitational swim meet And last week they scored big at the Bulkley Valley Invita- tional, The swimmers, competing as Points North in Prince George, rocketed to the top of the points Standings to take the tournament with nearly 1,100 points. The Bar- Tacudas out of P.G, were second, with nearly 800 points. More than 30) swimmers com- peted at the invitational, including 25 Bluebacks who helped to make up the 70 Points North swimmers. Coach Mike Carlyle says that il was an excellent meet for his Squad. “Competing as part of a larger team gives the kids a chance to swim with people they don’t know,’’ he says. ‘‘They leamed team cheers and had team meet- ings, which don't usually occur at regional meets,'’ Points North won every relay they entered, and were contenders in all the age groups. In the boys’ 15-and-over group, Points North look three of the top five spots, and in the girls’ 15-and-over, they took four of the top five spots. “It was very exciting for the medal-winners,’’ Carlyle says, “Some of them might not get medals in the provincials, but it’s pretty neat to be the best in the north.’” Some of those medal-winners in- clude: Marina ‘Checkley and: Julie Vanderlee, Dylan: Evans, Chris Kerman, Garth Coxford and Seth Downs. © | co Nine-year-ald Kacla Cammidge did very well, posting almost. all best-times in ber events, including a second place -finish. Tamara Checkley, 12, also posted 100 per cenl best-times, as did Kaya Downs and Nicole Leblanc, The Blucbacks had another great performance at the Bulkley Valley Invitational last week. Several swimmers won medals, and many scored best-times, Outstanding per: ‘ farmances were had by Jill Haworth, Dayna Gerry, Cole Nystrom, Jeff Minhinnick, William Shack and Scott Vanderlee, The Bluebacks will be very busy for the next several weeks. They © had the Richmond Racers Swim Classic last weekend and have the Prince Rupert [nvitational next weekend. Wrestlers head to Hazelton eee) TERRACE WRESTLERS get a grip on the new season with a big tournament in Hazelton. That's Aaron Ferguson putting the moves on Brent Tremblay. TERRACE BOYS’ wres- Jing opens the grappling season this weekend with a big tournament in Hazelton. Termace will be sending 14 wrestlers to the annual Hazelton Invitational, which attracts competitors from Prince Rupert to Prince George. More than 150 wrestlers competed at the event last year, This season, most of the Terrace wrestlers are from Skeena Jr. Secondary, and most of the squad is quite young. “Overall we have a very young team this year witha number of novices,’’ says coach Joe Murphy, ‘This meet will give them a chance to see how they Slack up against others in the northwest’? Murphy says that some of the novices look very promising, but il’s too carly lo say just vel. . “'There’s nothing like. real competition,”’ he says, ''For the new kids It can be quite. traumatic. You're all alone out there and © evervone's watching. That pressure gets to some people.” There are also a few velerans returning this year, They include Agit Jaswal, a Grade 10 fourth-year com- petilor, along with second- year wrestlers Jesse Dusdal, Aaron Ferguson, = Andy McCleary, Jon Peltier and Brent Tromblay, Murphy says that year or two of experience makes a world of difference. “Experience really counts in wrestling and first years make a lot of mistakes,’ he says. ‘‘As they advance, Strategy and technique come more into play,” Murphy says when stu- dents gain experience and move up to a provincial level, there are fewer and fewer pins. The focus shifts to technique and winning on points, It becomes a battle of defense and. strategic of- fense,”’ says = Murphy. '‘Which brings conditioning into play — it nvust be su- perb lo compete ata pravin- cial level.’