Mike Lonergan
Events
- First year at Meany: 1960
Roles
Known For
- Drafted layout of the Lodge
- Replaced the gas engines in Mach with electric motors.
- Built the Zoo
History
1991
Mike Lonergan ran Tows (Weber ill)
1993
Led construction of the Zoo.
2003
I started coming in 1960 and have enjoyed my time here since.75th
2021
When I started going to meany in 1960, there was barely room to park the snowcat in front of the lodge and take the tracks off.
Where the tunnel is now, there used to be logs buried and a cesspool. Removed the first cesspool with the Ox, winched out the logs, so around 1969. Removed the 2nd cesspool in the 1980s when the septic tank was put in. The voids you found in the soil were logs that rotted away.
In the 90’s, we jacked up the lodge and jackhammered out most of the rock.
The lodge addition has very litte room under it and rock so its very hard to work under there. The second waste line is likely from the kitchen when it got rerouted to the front of the building due to mice eating out of the water drain near the kitchen.
Harvey Malako set the record for 56,000’ of vertical skied in one day. He would ride down the Lane, cut a wide circle to ski up and catch Mach, ride to the top and jump off to the right (before Top Hut existed) and ski down with almost no turns.
In the ‘90’s we had a girl, Cindy Torzinski (Geologist), who helped splice the rope one yarn at a time. It took about 12 hours but that splice wasn’t touched again until the rope was replaced. Cindy was riding the Mach tow on skinny skis to get into the backcountry. She went up to Muir on them one year and skied down to Paradise where she was noticed and offered a job as a ski instructor.
2023
That differential housing (Mach) has two fill plugs. One above and one below the center line. The axle can be inverted in the original military application. The correct oil level is to the top fill plug so the oil gets out and lubricates the wheel bearings. Last time I changed the oil is 15+ years ago and I used Amsoil 75W-90 marine gear lube. I have no idea how much the system takes. If the oil gets low, the wheel bearings and seals will fail. I guarantee they are no longer available as I had trouble finding a set for repairs back in the 1960’s.