Every year on the night before Ski to Sea, car-free teams make a pit stop at Silver Fir Campground as they pedal toward Mount Baker. They’re here to fuel up at a neighborhood-style cookout, offered to passersby free of charge. The event isn’t massive, attracting anywhere from 15 to 40 team members depending on the year — but no matter the size of the group, it’s always a party.
At the center of the hubbub is Robert Ney, clad in elbow-length welder’s glove and tending to a bed of red-hot rocks. He uses them to stuff chicken portions, which are then wrapped in foil and newspaper to cook the meat from the inside out. Hot Rocks Chicken is a tradition in Ney’s family; as he puts it, “the whole process is a spectacle.”
Ney is no stranger to group cookouts. He’s been helping continue this Ski to Sea tradition since 2013. The idea came about when he and his sister, Crystal Barrett, went camping on a particularly dreary Memorial Day weekend. The siblings were warm, dry and well-fed — but it was clear the campers at an adjacent site weren’t having a good time.
“They were eating beans and weenies, and they looked absolutely miserable,” Ney said. “My sister looks at me, she goes, ‘We have so much leftovers. Let’s invite them for dinner.’”
Ney and Barrett did just that, and in the process, they learned the campers were competing on a car-free Ski to Sea team. According to Ski to Sea rules, car-free racers and support members must haul supplies and equipment up Mount Baker by bike. At mealtime, transportability is prioritized over taste — hence the beans and weenies.
“We had a warm fire going and we fed them,” Ney said. “‘We said, ‘This is cool.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, we think this is cool, too, because now we have full bellies to compete.’”
Despite their wildly different approaches to camping, Ney, Barrett and the racers became fast friends. Ney even volunteered to cook again the following year; thus, a tradition was born.
Now Ney and his wife, Gina, volunteer alongside three other couples — Barney and Rachel Smith, Nate and Rebecca Champagne, and Jody and Ted Malinowski — to ensure car-free racers don’t go hungry. The couples’ children are also in attendance, with Ney’s son Collin, 23, even taking off work for the occasion.
The families provide everything from salads to vegetables, sauces and a variety of beverages (including Fireball whiskey for toasts). The undisputed star of the show, however, is the Hot Rocks Chicken. Ney said the recipe results in “the most delicious chicken you’ve ever had in your life,” with the meat practically falling off the bone.
And the Hot Rocks method works with more than just meat: “One guy that’s been there for several years said, ‘You know, I’m a vegetarian,’” Ney recounted. “He did a tofu thing, and we put a rock in there, some sauces and a bunch of vegetables, and wrapped it up … just like the chickens. And he said it was phenomenal.”
What’s more, Ney is enthusiastic about the camaraderie that results from sharing a meal with strangers. He’s created “phenomenally good friendships” thanks to Ski to Sea, noting how the cookout brings people together from vastly different walks of life.
After 11 years of cookouts, Ney has no plans of taking a year off (though he suspects his own kids might take it over one day). Diners throughout the years have even offered to sponsor the meal, but he always politely refuses. For the organizers, the event isn’t an obligation, it’s a tradition — and one that he continues to take pride in.
“It costs us four chickens, a couple of salads and some drinks,” Ney said. “It’s not a question of if we’re going to do it. We’re just going to do it.”
