Getting to know you
As many of you know I live in , BC Canada. Rossland is a mountain town. First and foremost it is a skiing town. Like all small towns we have our own local eccentric or two that everyone knows. is one of those. During the winter Gary lives in a cave somewhere on and in the summer camps outdoors. Sometimes when the weather is really bad he stays in town at a relative’s house but mostly he lives outdoors year round. You can always tell when he’s close by, if you’re downwind that is. He did own a house here but it was condemned by the city, a topic on which Gary will lecture you incessantly given half a chance. While he is crazy as a loon (there is an apocryphal story of him climbing to the top of Red Mountain one winter night, dropping a lot of acid, removing all his clothes and doing a straight as an arrow high speed ski run down the face of Red ( used for world cup ski events) believing himself to be an eagle in flight until he wiped out.
Now Gary is a good skier from what I’ve heard but he’s not world class like he thinks by any stretch of the imagination. Here he is being interviewed - a glimpse into the mind of someone who took one trip too many as the person filming this makes clear with his cut aways 
One thing to note about Gary - he is a master stonemason when it comes to building rock walls. Seriously he builds walls that will never come down and does it with no mortar. It’s just that it takes him a very long time what with hand picking out each rock, a very long time. He is also quite well read.
Part I
Part II
[tags]crazy as a loon,[/tags]
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Comments
Comment from Will Skaley
Time: 8/28/2008, 11:04 am
Is he crazy, or are the rest of us crazy?. I knew Gary well over 30 years ago and am happy to learn he hasn’t changed much. He taught me much. How to survive in the mountains, how to respect your gear, How to respect the mountain. He had a colorful way of saying things, but it all made a lot of sense. He once told me that before I put my life in the hands of a mountain by trying to conquer it I need to say a prayer to it. What he meant was, Its ok to be confident, but never cocky, because it can hurt you. As far as taking acid and skiing down the mountain naked, I really don’t think he needs acid to do something like that. We used to do a lot of crazy stuff together. His sense of adventure was as insatiable as mine. I will say one thing, if you ever see him, ask him to cook you up a pot of Italian pasta. Best in the world. But you will need only natural whole ingredients. He hates canned or packaged food. I would love to see him again. I guess he doesn’t have email. My best bet would be to stand up on top of Old Glory and call his name.
Comment from Doug Alder
Time: 8/28/2008, 1:13 pm
A lot has happened to Gary over the last 3 decades that I think have “unbalanced” him somewhat, startiing when the city condemned his house and he became homeless. When I lived in Rossland I would see him and talk to him occassionaly but I can’t say he made much sense. Every small town needs a “character” and Gary certainl;y fits that bill 
- from what I hear he’s living in a cave/mine entrance off of Miner’s path somewhere on Red.
Comment from LMCamozzi
Time: 8/15/2007, 7:44 pm
Just thought ud be interested… but hes a relative of mine…he is as “crazy as a loon” as u say but he also knows a hell of alot.. my uncles have had some pretty insain conversations with him… hes pretty interesting ta talk to! Im never doing LSD though… lol *LMC*