Last winter's huge snowstorms are a misty memory for Howard County highway workers like Joe Upman, despite the seemingly endless workdays he and 200 co-workers spent clearing roads, but they're getting ready for another season now and having fun doing it.
On an appropriately chilly, cloudy Tuesday at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, about 70 snowplow and construction equipment drivers showed up to compete in the county's 23rd annual Snow Rodeo. Participants drove plow-equipped trucks through obstacle courses for prizes and tried their hand at activities like using an excavating bucket to move an egg — without breaking it — to a perch atop a traffic cone.
"It's our winter kickoff. We try to get everyone in the mood," said Sonny Harrison, 56, a fourth-generation county highways official who is one of three bureau superintendents. The event also serves to check out all the snow-removal equipment and make sure all is ready for frozen precipitation that might seem far off but could be just weeks away.
"These guys know every dip in the roads and every spot that needs a little more salt," County Executive Ken Ulman said as he arrived. Ulman became a believer during his round-the-clock experience in the county's emergency operations center during the twin February storms. "We have good people who work really hard."
The drivers worked 16-hour shifts, with four hours off in between to eat and sleep. Several said they pulled over and got out to stomp around and let the cold revive them if they grew fatigued.
Upman, a 36-year veteran at the county's Mayfield yard in Elkridge, said he looks forward to the annual rodeo. "It's a fun day for everybody."
He recalled the long hours and days of work last winter. "After a while, it wears you down," he said. "You forget about it after a while. You get used to it.
"It was unbelievable," he said. "I never saw so much snow before." He said drivers used their two-way radios to keep in touch — and awake — as they dug the county out.
In case the drivers couldn't clearly recall the big storms, a huge screen inside the exhibition hall flashed photos of last winter's snow piled above traffic signs, barely cleared roadways and around a few crushed cable television protrusions that had been buried and hidden from the drivers. The 4-ton snowblower used to move huge drifts in the rural western county was on display, along with a massive V-shaped plow blade with the name "Lil Alaska" painted on it like World War II bombers were often labeled.
The events, which carry three cash prizes and four trophies, were mostly designed to simulate conditions that plow and equipment operators found on the roads. A driver must maneuver a dump truck and plow through an S-shaped curve, for example, or past traffic cones simulating a parked car, and then back up without crushing anything.
"It's a pride thing, showing off their skills," said James Irvin, the county public works director. "We don't celebrate very much what these people do. It's remarkable."
Another event requires drivers to move a hollow log into a tight, U-shaped space without hitting a cone, or use an excavator bucket to place a small rubber tire around a tall metal pole. The egg test was for fun. A spoon was welded onto one tong of a mechanical shovel, and the driver had five to seven minutes, depending on skill level, to pick up the egg from a sandy pile and move it unbroken to the open top of a traffic cone. Many could pick up the egg but few could get it off the spoon onto the new perch intact.
Each event was worth points, and each mistake cost points.
Kim Dillard, 47, of Woodlawn, an 11-year Bureau of Utilities worker, patiently worked the controls of a small excavator to pick up the egg and tried over and over to get the delicate cargo off the spoon and onto the cone. But in the end, he watched it fall and break on the ground.
"It's just the focus," he said. "It's basically hydraulic Nintendo."
After a final tiebreaker for plow drivers, Pete Miller of the Mayfield yard won the top prize of $300. Chuck Garrett of the Bureau of Utilities finished second and won $200. Robby Ecton of the Cooksville yard was third and took home $100. The champion egg mover was Duane Bozzell from Utilities, who did the trick in 65 seconds, with Wesley Warren from Utilities second. Kjamie Baran of Dayton was best at placing the tire on a pole, with Danny Miller of Mayfield coming in second.
As he looked back on the storms, Craig Cantafio, 28, a three-year driver, recalled getting an adrenaline rush from the work.
"It was actually fun, but it was challenging, too" he said. "You get exhausted, but you work with what you've got."
Rodney Miller, 27, a seven-year highways employee, crushed a few cones backing up on an S-shaped curve Tuesday. He said he couldn't see a mirror because of a news photographer in the passenger seat. He wasn't upset, though.
During the storms, he plowed in East Columbia, where some residents were angry about snow pushed into their freshly shoveled driveways.
"It was tough," Miller said. "We try our best not to," but the amount of snow made it impossible to avoid.
The father of two said the overtime pay was welcome amid furloughs for county workers. "The money really helps," he said.
What will this winter bring? The workers don't spend much time obsessing about things they can't control, several said, though no one expects as much snow.
"I take a Zen approach," highways chief Bill Malone said. "You take what comes."
larry.carson@baltsun.com