Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Have you ever been in a big new group where everyone has to go around and tell something interesting about themselves? For a while, my go-to-story was that I was in a train crash. That actually didn’t work very well. It was too serious and usually brought down the fun mood. But it’s a true story, and here’s how I remember it…

On January 18, 1993, our family decided to head to Chicago for the day to see the Shedd Aquarium. I had never been there before (and still haven’t.) There’s a little commuter train that runs back and forth from Chicago to South Bend and this was going to be the first time that I had been on the train. At 13 years old, I was pretty excited about the whole day.

When we got to the train station, I immediately headed to the front of the train. I had heard Dad tell stories about how the conductor would sometimes let you come up and see the controls and that seemed like prime seating to me. I wasn’t too happy when Dad insisted that we sit in the second of the three cars. For years I never knew why he did that, but I recently found out it’s because the front train sometimes gets unhooked part way along the journey and you have to move.

The train finally left the station and we were zooming off across the northern Indiana countryside. All of a sudden, I remember our train hitting the brakes extremely hard. We all slid forward, felt a rumble, and saw a big black mass fly past the windows. Whispers of “Did we just crash?” filled the cabin. Pretty soon a hysterical conductor came running back through the cabin in a panic shouting, “Is everyone ok!?” There were no injuries in our car so he continued back to the third car. We still didn’t know what had happened though so nobody was too concerned. One of the adults walked forward to the front car and came back with a white face, “No one goes in the front car. No one.” That was my first clue that this was more than a quick stop.

We sat on the train for over an hour (maybe two?) only knowing that we had crashed. For the first time in my life, I saw body bags in person. They contained bodies and were zipped up. Apparently the time spent waiting on the train was so that they could clean up the mess before we got off the train.

Only when they finally let us off did we see the extent of the damage. We had hit another train almost head on. It split our front car down the middle, bounced off the tracks around the middle car and bumped into the rear car on our train. The front car was quite bloody despite there efforts to clean. We later found out that seven people in that car had died and most of them were by decapitation.

They led us down a snowy slope to waiting buses and shipped us back to the train station we departed from. News crews were just showing up as we got there. Since we were the first ones off the bus, I was excited to be interviewed and get on TV. “We’re going home” was all my parents said to the reporters as we walked by.

I’m pretty sure it made the national news for a bit, but the local news covered it for quite a while. About six years later in college, I ordered the NTSB’s final report on the incident which is available through the Freedom of Information Act. The wreck occurred just as our westbound train was exiting a bridge. The parallel tracks converged for the length of that bridge. I’m oversimplifying, but basically the two conductors were playing chicken and they both lost. Our conductor thought he could make it in time but was clearly wrong. Both conductors were fired.

It’s difficult to find news articles about this online since it was pre-Internet boom, but here’s one blurb I found:

In the first passenger fatal accident since 1909, Train 7 from Chicago runs a red signal on the western approach to the Gauntlet Bridge, goes into emergency stop, and pauses for 5 to 30 seconds before being hit by Train 12 from South Bend. The lead cars, Car 27 Eastbound and Car 36 Westbound, slice into each other killing 7 passengers in Car 36, including a 10 year old boy. Most of the victims were decapitated. There were initial reports of 70 or 65 injured. (A 1998 TV report claimed 150 injured in a story about a lawsuit, as well as reporting an eighth passenger death from injuries sustained in the crash, but this report is not supported by other media.) A signal prior to the signal run had been reported defective in prior weeks, however the Gauntlet signals were working properly. A second bridge has now been added at the site and the Gauntlet is no longer in operation. The engineer of Train 7 was the dispatcher in the 1985 accident. NO CRIMINAL CHARGES WERE FILED, but both engineers were fired. (Car 36 apparently has been replaced by another car, or repaired, as it has been seen in operation. Based on video of the accident it would seem that Car 36 received the largest amount of damage.) [source]

UPDATE: You can download the NTSB report here.

I start off every Year in Review post by reading what I wrote last year. My first thought was, "Wow, I was busy!" For 2008, I requested more of what 2007 had brought. It turns out, something better was in store, but more on that later.

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed already, and the rate at which time seems to pass has been occupying a lot of my thoughts. At some point, I need to accept that when "time flies" that’s just normal. I don’t suspect it will ever slow down so I might as well get used to it. Besides, who’s to say it’s a bad thing?

I only stepped on a plane four times this year which must be a new record for me. The first flight sent me out to Vermont for a weekend of skiing with Andy, Lauren, Jay and Mike. It was my first extended trip to Vermont and the whole area really impressed me. I had considered moving there when I was looking to get out of Jersey, and I could easily see myself living there some day. That weekend will long be remembered for skiing off a roof.

The second trip was a surprise visit home for Mom’s birthday. Thanks to the rest of the family for helping me to pull it off. It turned out even better than I had hoped. I’ll never forget the look on her face when she pulled that door open!

Trip #3 was a weekend trip to Syracuse for no particular reason other than to catch up with the Abendroths. I met Trevor and Connor, grew an ugly mustache for the mustache party and had a great weekend.

The last trip was Thanksgiving in Indiana. It’s the first time I’ve been home for Thanksgiving in a while. We decided that I would fly home for Thanksgiving instead of Christmas since the family is flying out here soon after Christmas for Tim and Chelsea’s wedding. That spreads out the visits a little nicer. While I ended up missing my 10 year high school reunion, it was great to see David again. It’s kind of sad that I only get to see him a couple of times a year.

Notably absent from the trip list is a visit to Maine. I broke my streak of 5 consecutive years up there. I suppose it makes sense that trips are harder to come by with my new location, but I don’t think I’ve had my last drink in Robinston.

While it felt like I kept the flights to a minimum, that didn’t keep me from taking a number of fun trips locally. I missed out on the Tulip Ride last year, but I didn’t miss it this year. It really was interesting to see, but I think I enjoyed riding the huge pack of motorcycles more than the fields of tulips. Our pack of bikes stretched out for about a mile and created quite a stir as we rolled through the small towns.

The first half of the year saw me out on a lot of hiking trails. There were even weekends when I’d do a hike both Saturday and Sunday. By mid-summer, I was in pretty good shape and was clicking off very long hikes at a strong pace. It was invigorating and the hikes rarely disappointed. There are so many amazing views in this area if you’re just willing to go find them. For every hike I crossed off the list, I added two more. It would take a lifetime to explore all these mountains. Good thing I’m only 28.

We broke out the tent for trips to Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, Fort Flagler State Park, and The Gorge. We’re finally getting the hang of easy camping. There are very few dishes to wash, lots of cornhole to play, and all the camping gear is all stored in one place in preparation for a quick trip.

The end of camping at the Gorge was the start of my first overnight motorcycle trip. I still think back to that trip quite often and I hope we can do another one next year! It was very liberating to be on the bike and know that my night’s destination was not my morning’s origin.

The other local trip that springs to mind was Whistler over Labor Day with my parents. It was my first time at Whistler in the summer. While it was odd being there with no snow, we still had a great time and even got snowed on a bit. We hiked around Whistler Peak, ziplined across Fitzsimmons Creek, and enjoyed the nightlife in the village. I’m happy that I got to give my parents a little glimpse of what Whistler is all about. Hopefully they’ll see some sights that they recognize while watching the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

I already mentioned the ski trip to Vermont, but those were just a few of the 29 days I spent on skis. That’s more than double what I’ve done in any previous year. The craziest ski adventure was backcountry skiing on Rainier with MikeD in a blizzard in June. If I hadn’t missed out on March, I would have skied at least one day for 8 consecutive months!

Jay and Andy flew out in February to see what Seattle skiing is all about. The first day at Crystal was one of the best days we’ve ever had on the snow, and it was made even better by the presence of a photographer. Bernard made us look much better than we were and it was an absolute blast. The second time we headed back to Crystal produced much worse conditions, but we made the best of it. It took us over half an hour to make it down Exterminator while we played a game to see who could make the most consecutive turns without falling. Six was the high water mark for a long time until somebody strung eight turns together. Considering the unpredictable Seattle winter weather, I’m extremely thankful that it all came together so nicely for this trip.

I also joined a ski racing team from work. It’s a fairly low key league, but it was an absolute blast to cut loose and ski as fast as I could without fear of ski patrol hunting me down. I improved dramatically over the year and made a solid contribution to the team. It will be interesting to see what I can do next season now that I have some experience to build on.

Hope on the Slopes is an event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I missed it the previous year due to surgery. I racked up over 60,000 feet in a single day and more importantly, raised a lot of money for the American Cancer Society. Thanks for your support! It was much more of a mental struggle than I thought it would be. I’d like to say that I’ll definitely do it again next year, but I’ll have to see if I can work myself up to it.

I came close to joining the ski patrol at Summit Central. I spent a couple days tagging along with them and learning what it was all about. While I’d love to get all that medical training and be able to help people out on the slopes, I couldn’t stomach the time commitment at this point in my life. Tim and I decided to take an outdoor first aid class instead and that somewhat satisfied my desire for a little medical training. I still hope to be a ski patroller at some point in my life, but it’s not a good fit for me right now.

I made a concerted effort to attend more concerts this year. Pun intended. The ticket stubs sitting on my dresser make for an impressive list: Matt Costa, Ben Folds, The Senate, American Chopper, Jack Johnson, Matt Nathanson, Jason Mraz, and Phantom of the Opera. They are all memorable for different reasons, but I would jump at the chance to go to another Ben Folds concert.

Tim moved out a couple months ago. He was a great roommate, but sorry buddy, I’ve been enjoying having the house to myself again. I’m very happy to be part of the wedding in January and wish you two nothing but the best!

I was very goal oriented when I wrote the last year in review. I set tangible goals like climbing Mt. Si, getting up to Camp Muir, tailgating, and riding along the Washington coast. While I accomplished many of my goals for the year, the ones I just mentioned haven’t happened yet. Goals like that are easy to plan for, but the thing I really wanted, I couldn’t plan for. Thankfully, around the middle of the year, I met Tyla, and the rest of my oh so important goals happily took a bit of a back seat. A few hours before she met me, she got a fortune cookie that said, "Your love life will change for the better." That cookie got half the story right, but it failed to mention how mine would improve too!

Over the last half year, we’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time together, gone on countless adventures, and she still hasn’t run away screaming. We enjoy a lot of the same activities and had some great adventures including kayaking in the San Juan’s, a couple camping trips and concerts, lots of motorcycle rides, various Christmas oriented activities and too many fun random weekends to count. You know I’ve been hesitant to blog too much about personal relationships, but I’m losing that inhibition. Tyla might have ended up at the end of this post, but she is by far the best thing that happened to me this year.

And so 2008 is in the book and 2009 is beginning. What lies ahead? I’ve never been more excited to find out! May God bless your coming year!

Previous Year In Review Posts: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

The year is drawing to a close and that means it's time for another Year In Review post. Here are links to 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 if you want to read posts from the past.

How can I begin to sum up the last 365 days? This was the first full year that I spent in Seattle, but I've been out here for 18 months. On one hand, it feels like forever since I said goodbye to my friends in Jersey, but on the other hand, it feels like time has been flying by out here.

The winter months at the start of the year were filled with skiing. Jay and I made our first trip up to Whistler Blackcomb for skiing on a mountain so big it boggled our minds. The snow wasn't great for those three days, but we had a blast hanging out on the mountain and in Whistler Village.

Right at the end of February, I flew to Philadelphia and rode up to Maine with Jay and Juliet for another round of skiing at Sunday River. I'll have to check my records, but I'm pretty sure that means I have been at Camp Ticawa at least once every year for the past 5 years! It's getting more and more difficult to keep that streak alive which just makes me more grateful for every opportunity.

Winter activities were cut short when the doc said I needed surgery. Recovery took longer than we had hoped so I was fairly bored for about three months. The surgery brought a host of new experiences for me. I had never been under complete anesthesia before, but that turned out to be a magical little experience. Poof! It's done! It was also the first time I can remember being under such restrictive orders about resting. That was pretty tough, but thankfully that stage didn't last too long. As the warm weather fired up and the softball team stepped onto to the field, I had to watch from the sidelines for the whole season. The motorcycle was also neglected until the middle of summer. At the time, I felt like I was missing out on so many activities, but I made it through and grew in the process. It has helped me appreciate good health and the time that I'm able to spend hiking, camping, riding a motorcycle, skiing, or hanging out with friends.

Other trips included Jay and Juliet's housewarming party, almost a full week during August in Maine with the Abendroths, an October weekend trip to Indiana to visit the family, and another October trip to Philadelphia for Microsoft recruiting as well as a quick visit with the Jersey crew. Thanksgiving was spent with three days of skiing in Whistler. I finished off the year with a week in Indiana and Illinois for Christmas. It was a special trip which included Grandpa Martens's 90th birthday party. Over 160 people signed the guest register at the American Legion building in the tiny town (~800 people) of Reynolds, IL. Happy Birthday Grandpa!

When I moved to Washington, I thought I was done having roommates. I was looking forward to having a place to myself, but that all changed when the opportunity to live with Tim arose. He moved in around Thanksgiving last year and quickly became one of the best roommates I've ever had. Now that he's getting married next January, there's a deadline set for him moving out. Who knows how I'll feel then, but right now I know that I get bored quickly when he's not around. It will be interesting to see how I feel when the next Year in Review post rolls around.

This year brought some more failed attempts at dating. Some took longer to fail than others, but they were all pretty quick. I suppose it's part of the journey. When you think about it, every one of your relationships will get broken off except for one (if there is one.) Maybe that's a dismal way to look at things, but it makes the recovery a little easier. I'm much less worried about this than everyone else seems to be. God has his plan for me and either I'll meet her some day or I won't. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" [Matt 6:27] … or a wedding ring to his finger?

In late September and early October, I started focusing all of my free time around CascadeSkier.com. I was convinced that there was a market for a Seattle specific ski website. For two months, I worked countless hours digging up new content and trying to get more eyeballs to visit the site. Around the beginning of December, I called it quits. I still think the idea is solid, but I need to adjust my plan of attack. Maybe it will be resurrected some day, but for now I'm satisfied that I gave it a good try.

There are a seemingly endless supply of activities that I want to do in Washington. Activities this year included motorcycle rides to Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and Leavenworth, a trip with the parents to Mt. St. Helens and Cannon Beach, and camping trips to Penrose Point State Park, Deception Pass, and Ocean Shores. Tim bought a book showing great hikes in our area, but we really only crossed one off the list: Tiger Mountain. Arye invited me out on his sailboat on the Puget Sound, and I got to watch the Blue Angels fly at SeaFair. I'm sure I've leaving plenty of things off the list, but even with all these busy days, I feel like the To Do list is growing.

That brings us to my goals for the coming year. First of all, I'd like to cross a lot more of the aforementioned activities off the list. It's difficult to explore new areas, because the activities I've already done are so fun that I'd like to repeat them. I'm hoping to find time to hike and camp around Rainier including a possible day hike to Camp Muir (basecamp for Rainier summit trips), ride my motorcycle along the Washington and Oregon coast, visit the Olympic Mountains, kayak, tailgate at a sporting event, ride my motorcycle up through the annual Tulip Festival, take a ferry ride, visit the Grand Coulee Dam, and generally do even more hiking and camping. Can it all be done in one year?

I've been tossing around two even bigger trip ideas. They may not happen in the next 12 months, but they are on my short term radar. I want to go heli-skiing with Jay and I've also been looking into a climb to the top of Rainier. That's part of the reason for wanting to climb to the base camp on Rainier: it's a tough hike and it marks the half way point on the summit trip. It would be a good workout and would help me evaluate my chances of making it to the peak. When I moved to Seattle, I was all set to climb Rainier. I still remember the first time I was driving south on 405 and the clouds parted so I could see Rainier. It's HUGE. At that point I realized that hiking to the top was going to be much much harder than I had anticipated. It's still something I'd like to accomplish and maybe my hiking this summer will bring me closer to that goal.

While I have plenty of words to fill up this post, I still don't feel like I've communicated a single life-changing event or overriding theme. There was no single topic that drove my thoughts each morning, and that's a very relaxing situation. Sure there were very stressful periods, but overall, I feel like this was a great year. Now that I've had a little time to reflect on my decisions to move out to Seattle and buy a house, I'm still completely happy with both of them. Maybe in the future I'll be ready for a change, but right now I hope that 2008 brings a lot more of what 2007 had to offer.

A few weeks ago, I ordered some official cornhole bags, and Saturday I finally got around to building the boards. Since I helped Jay build his back in Jersey, I knew what I was getting into and was able to modify the design a bit. This time I used MDF for the surface boards and put hinges on the legs for easier transporting. Unfortunately it was pretty rainy so we didn't get to try them out, but I'm sure we'll get to play some night this week.