THUNDER BAY - Every spring, Tyson Orr starts work at putting his dummies back together again, tinkering with weight distribution and aerodynamics. It’s tough work, but definitely worth it, even if the finished product just ends up scattered on a ski hill again.
“They kind of got destroyed last year, but I put them back together so we could do it again,” Orr said. “We add a little bit every year and try to improve our chances of winning.”
There are a lot of bragging rights on the line during the annual Dummy Downhill at Loch Lomond. More than a dozen dummies were shoved down the mountain on Sunday in the hopes of making it to the bottom in one piece.
“It looks like another good turnout, which is great,” said Jason Gerry, general manager of Loch Lomond Ski Area. “We have a couple jumps built up on the run this year, a big berm, we should see some dummy carnage on the way down.”
The Dummy Downhill has been a longstanding tradition at the local ski area and while it went on a hiatus in the late 90s, it returned to Loch Lomond five years ago.
“It was embraced with a lot of enthusiasm,” Gerry said. “It’s a great way for us to wrap up a season at the hill. We’ve had a great year this year, so I think a lot of people have really enjoyed themselves so they want to come out and celebrate the ski season.”
This year, Orr brought out Diamond Dale, Diamond Dave, and new to the challenge, Diamond Daryl, sitting atop his very own ski-doo.
“This year was a lot of reinforcement,” said Lucas Giardino, who helped Orr on the trio. “The lawnmower took a bit of a beating last year and fell apart on us. The ski-doo is new this year and designed more for stability. It has the longer base on it and a little more weight, so hopefully gravity takes over and we go from there.”
Most dummies tend to topple halfway down the hill or veer off into the trees and disappear. But making it to the bottom can be done; Orr and Diamond Dave did it two years ago.
“You got to have it wide enough so it’s not too tippy, it’s gotta be tall enough so it doesn’t plow, and you gotta have a little bit of weight behind it,” Orr said.
Whether or not a dummy makes it to the end doesn’t really matter, at least not to those watching. Some people just want to watch the dummies get smashed to pieces.
“I like it because all of the creations look really cool,” said 10-year-old Matthew Sacchetti. “I want them to take the giant jump.”
“I want everybody else to crash except my two friends,” added Chip White.
Unfortunately, Dave, Dale, or Daryl did not make it to the bottom of the hill this year, but that’s not a concern for Orr and Giardino. They’ll be back next year, with some reinforced dummies and a few new friends.
“We already have a couple more ideas slated for next year,” Giardino said.
