"When it comes to glove repairs, I like to think I can fix anything and everything. I haven't been proved wrong yet, but I guess there's always a first time," Doctor Glove laughed. "Over years I've been asked to fix just about every imaginable type of problem in a glove - but I'm careful to say that I haven't seen everything yet because every time I do, someone brings me a glove that's been 'critically injured' in some new way."

Doctor Glove has an almost cult-like following among his loyal client base in Southern California, but thanks to his website (http://www.DoctorGlove.com) he also gets gloves shipped to him from all around world.

Relacing, sometimes called re-stringing, is most common need, says Doctor, because rawhide laces used in gloves only last for a few seasons before weakening, stretching and breaking. He said, “Most of rips and tears I see in gloves happened because owner had worn-out, stretched laces and didn’t replace them when he should have.”

When asked about glove repairs, Doctor Glove said, "I fix a lot of routine problems like rips and tears, or maybe some stitching that's come undone, or maybe someone wants to replace original padding or put in additional padding. Some clients come to me complaining about their glove being limp or ‘floppy,’ and most of time that’s because plastic inserts that are in thumb and pinkie padding have broken. I make a new plastic insert and ‘bingo,’ that problem is solved – I’ve put ‘snap’ back in their old glove.”

"Many of my clients have been using their glove for 10, 20, 30 years or more and would not dream of buying a new one. Maybe it was a special gift, or maybe it was handed down from father to son, or maybe they wore that glove in a championship game, or it has some other special memory associated with it. People become attached to their glove same way some people become attached to their old cars - it would kill them to get rid of it," Doctor said.

The Story Behind The Slogan

Doctor Glove’s slogan is “The Best Friend Any Baseball Glove Ever Had,” and he told story behind slogan. The Doctor said, “I've fixed a lot of gloves that were chewed up or mauled by dogs, and I’ve been telling people for years that dogs may be man’s best friend, but they’re also his glove's worst enemy. Well, after I fixed a glove for a guy whose dog had eaten wrist strap and webbing of his favorite glove, guy said, “If a dog is a glove’s worst enemy, then you’re a glove’s best friend, in fact, you're absolute best friend any baseball glove ever had!”

Customizing Gloves: Strengthening and Additional Finger Lacing

The mountains of British Columbia offer untold opportunities for every kind of skiing, including backcountry touring, snowcat skiing and heli-skiing. There are many ski resorts and many backcountry lodges, mostly located near small interior towns, away from large population centers and international airports.

Getting to a backcountry skiing holiday can involve travel on roads that traverse narrow valleys and high passes. After heavy snowfalls, roads can sometimes be closed while crews clear away debris from slides.

At end of January 2004, a heavy snowfall caused overnight closures on some BC highways. Two days later, a second storm closed other roads, including Trans Canada highway. This is a tale of getting from Vancouver to Golden BC in midst of these storms.

The weather in Vancouver was mild. There had been a recent gaggle of small disturbances, but no big storms. The freezing level was too high. We prayed for snow. We watched forecasts, but things looked “iffy”.

After months of anticipation, our trip to Chatter Creek was nearing. In two days our annual powder-bash would begin. Four days of cat skiing in Rocky Mountain powder!

This year, we had a group of 24 old friends and regular ski buddies. Many had been to Chatter Creek before and knew what to expect. We were all anxiously counting down days.

Most of us live in Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler. Individually, we had made our arrangements for getting to Golden. Some would fly to Calgary, rent a car and drive together to Golden, a four-hour trip through Banff, Lake Louise and Kicking Horse Pass. They would arrive in Golden just in time for our 3:00 PM helicopter flight into lodge.

Others would drive from Vancouver or Whistler, at best a long nine-hour trip. With an early start on flight day, and with hard steady driving, they should easily reach Golden in time. I would leave a day early, stay with one of group in Kamloops, and have a leisurely drive to Golden next day.

Missing helicopter flight to lodge was to be avoided. No one’s budget covered an extra night in Golden and a private helicopter flight.

The flights don’t wait. They have to go on time. They would deliver us to lodge and bring out departing guests. The transfer starts in mid-afternoon (time varies as winter progresses) and has to be to be completed in daylight.

Two days to go and telephone rang. “Hi, it’s Merle.”

My heart sank. A call this late from Merle McKnight, Chatter Creek’s marvelous manager, could only mean trouble. What was wrong?

“We’ve had a 'dump'! The passes are closed in both directions. No one is getting through. Crews will work all night and roads should open sometime tomorrow. However, there is talk of yet more snow. Get here a day early. Come tomorrow!"

Good news and bad news! Lots of fresh snow at Chatter Creek, but getting there would be a challenge.

One always heeds Merle’s advice! As my group’s organizer, it was time to start phoning.

Hours later, everyone had been alerted. Most were changing their plans but some could not or decided to chance it. Not a good plan! Weather in Interior can be unpredictable.

I called Al in Kamloops. “We’ll be there by 10:00 AM tomorrow, let’s go right through. We can ski Kicking Horse in morning, before our flight”. “Fine”! Al would be ready.

A few hours later, a mate and I were on road. After days of drizzle, day dawned sunny and mild. It was like spring! The first mountain road is Coquihalla. It was bare and sky was clear. There was no hint of a storm. The roads ahead were reported open.

I thought to myself, “I’m never going to hear end of this! After getting all those people to change their plans, I’m going to get some rockets.”