 Good morning and welcome to Moments with Melinda. I am Melinda Moulton and I'm your host today and I have two extraordinary guests. I'm so excited. I can't stand it. I have with me Bobby Cochran and Barbara Ann Cochran. Hi guys, how are you? Hi, I'm great. I'm good. I am so glad that you agreed to be on my show. Now, let me just share with my viewers if they don't know about you whatever everybody knows about you. You are both icons, locally, nationally and internationally for your accomplishments in ski sport. And it's really an honor to have you today because all of the Cochrans in the family have won a total of 19 national champions. What a family, what a legacy, right? So now I start, when I talked to you before I started this show, I said, I know that you're both, your family members are very humble and understated. And I love that so much about your humility. I think it makes you very special, but today, I want you to sing your praises for who you are and the legacy that you leave all of us here in Vermont and around the world. So first off, and your brother and sister, I should tell you that. Now, Barbara Ann, where do you land in the family? Are you the oldest? No, I'm next to the oldest. You're second and then Bobby's third and then Lindy's last, right? Right. So tell us about growing up in the Cochran family and being the children of Mickey and Ginny Cochran. Tell us about your parents who raised four kids who all went on to be ski prodigies. You, Bobby, you, Barbara Ann, and then there's Marilyn and Linda. Tell us about that growing up with your parents. Well, I feel like for me, when we were little, it was like the three older ones, because Marilyn, myself and Bobby, I feel like I'm an Irish triplet because I'm 11 months younger than Marilyn and 11 months older than Bobby. And Bobby and I, actually Bobby and I were born in the same year, I was born in January, he was born in December. And so in skiing, every time we moved up to a new age group, we moved up together because it was done by the year rather than, than, you know, by your actual age. And, but it was just, I just felt like my mom was a stay at home mom. It's like, growing up, we, we had a wonderful childhood. We, we ended up, you know, my parents were really, they love sports. So, and my mom, I think she survived being a stay at home mom by making sure that we played outside all the time. I don't know, Bob, add in here. You can take us a little bit more. You know, it, it felt like we grew up together. There was certainly a hierarchy. My father was the boss. He was definitely the boss. Even though my mom truly was the boss, even though my father didn't know it, but then of course the real boss from our perspective, especially Barbara and myself was my sister Marilyn. So she was sort of like the drill sergeant. And you couldn't say no to Marilyn, but, but truthfully, I, I think we grew up in a special time, in a special way. And we're always doing stuff together that was outside and it was active. And, and unfortunately my sister, Linda got dragged along, but I think she doesn't regret a second of it either. Yeah, the beautiful family. So in, in 1972, all four of the Cochrane children were on the US ski team at the 1972 Olympics. Tell us about that. Now competing with your siblings all together. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, so, so all of us had the chance to possibly make the, the Olympic team in 1972. Lindy was the youngest and, and unfortunately she had had some injuries. So she, she actually didn't make the team. So the three of us actually made the team. We all competed in 1972 at Sapporo Japan and Marilyn, Bobby and I, like, so anyway, so I don't know, can I brag right here? Yes, and you, and you won, well I was going to say, and you won the gold. Yeah, and I won the gold medal. Let's go for it. This is a, this is a brag fest. I expect you to share all your important accomplishments with mine. Yeah. I feel like the 72 Olympics it was like, Marilyn just carried the weight on her shoulders with, she just felt like she, she should be, she should win. I think she felt like she should win every race that she was in and she was in all three, the downhill, the John Solomon, the slalom. And, and she, she was capable of doing that, you know, but I think that she, she became kind of a head case too at the same time that, that was really difficult for, I think being the oldest in the family, being a perfectionist, you know, she felt like, like she should, she had to, to do well for, for the US keeps team, for Vermont, for the family, for, for, you know, just everybody. And she kind of fell apart at the Olympics. And, and I kind of just went along and, and was there, you know, like I was used to being second best growing up to Marilyn in, in our races. And, and so I got used to not, not winning. And in 1972, like the thing I remember about 1972 was I actually only did win two races that year. And the, the first was the Olympics slalom. And then the second one was the sugar slalom at Stowe, which was really, you know, just this fun race and stuff. And so it's going, well, my record, you know, if you look at my record, it's not that great. But I think it's terrific. So Bobby, what about you being at the, being in the 72, in the skiing with your siblings? Well, for me, the thing I would really like to say is, you know, being a ski racer, especially back then, you know, which is ancient history when we were racing, but we spent the whole vast majority of the time racing in Europe. And so, and we did not have Skype or cell phones or we didn't have any contact with the colonies. So we're on our own. And I was so blessed to have my three sisters nearby. It seemed like back then we, we would have races that were within, at least within an hour of each other. So I really relied on my sisters for support because it's a very lonely existence. The Olympics, for me, were such a blur. I raced all three races. So it feels like I showed up and immediately had to start downhill training. We had a day off for the opening ceremonies, which was incredibly moving, I have to say. And then just went through and raced the downhill and then trained a day and raced the Giant Slalom and trained and did a qualifying race and then raced the Slalom. But of course, the highlight for me, I was, we had trained in the morning on the day of Barbarian's Slalom race. And, but then my, her boyfriend at the time, Rick Taffy and I went to the finish of the Slalom and it was a miserable day. It was a horrible day and it was foggy and snowing. And you could see about, I don't know, three and a half feet in front of you. You couldn't see it all. So we knew BA was on the course for her second run. She had, we knew she had won the first run and we knew it was very close. And so we were standing there, watching the clock, knowing and the clock's ticking, but we didn't know anything. We didn't know what was going on. We didn't know if BA had fallen. We didn't know anything. And then all of a sudden- And then BA is Barbarian. BA is- Barbarian, I'm sorry. That's okay. I don't know, go ahead. We've always called her BA, but Barbarian was on the course. And then like a miracle, she came out of this fog and snow and made a couple of turns and went through the finish. And we looked at each other and we sort of didn't know if she'd won, but we knew she was either first or second. And so we decided, well, we're gonna just jump the fence. So we jumped the fence, ran over, put her up on our shoulders. And she was pretty tidy. So we could manage it. We didn't drop her or anything, but Barbarian said that that's when she realized she had won. Even though we had no idea whether she won or not, but we were just so excited that she came through the snow and through the finish that we had to do it. That's standing, what a beautiful story. Now, Barbarian, your son, Ryan Cochran Siegel, just won the silver in the 2022 Olympics and was the first Cochran of this generation to win the World Cup. Can you talk about this and your feelings about that? I know this was just an extraordinary experience. Yeah, it's like, you know, I tried to, it was his second Olympics. And at the first Olympics in 2018, when he went to Pyeongchang, like I wanted to let him know that there are so many people that can get on the podium. And I said, including him, you know, and he didn't do that at those Olympics. But it's like, so I felt like the same thing for him going to these Olympics. And that he actually had had some results in ski racing and had come in first, had come in second. So he actually had been on the podium in World Cup races. And I wanted him to understand that just even going to the Olympics is such a special thing that it's not all about winning the medals or anything. If you win a medal, then it's acing on the cake. But you've got to be so proud of just being one of the few people that make your country's team that that's such an honor in itself. And so, I mean, I was like, there was a lot of attention on Ryan because he was one of the US skiers that had been kind of, the media had felt that he was capable of winning a medal. And, you know, but NBC, like they thought they were kind of pinning it on the downhill and they had it all set up for viewing party at Cochrane's and then that day it got canceled for the next day. So, but they wanted my input as well. And they weren't really expecting it for the Super G. And then they, so I was, I mean, it was in China. So it was like the timing was, it was, you know, past my bedtime when he was racing. So I would get into bed and then have my laptop and watch him. And then, so for the Super G, like I started screaming and I woke my daughter up because she doesn't like to watch him live. And I was going, go Ryan, go Ryan, go Ryan. I was just so excited. And I just, I felt like he was capable of doing that. That didn't surprise me that he got a medal, but just so proud. And it just, I mean, it makes me cry. Every time I think about it, it just makes me cry. Well, congratulations to your beautiful son. And I think it made all of us very, very proud. So Bobby, back to you, my friend. Between 1970 and 1973, you won the prestigious Hanahom Downhill in Kitsbueel, Austria, which is the toughest and most famous downhill races in the world. Can you share with us a little bit about that accomplishment? Yeah, I, well, I didn't win the downhill. I won the Hanakan Combine. Combine. Which is sort of used to be the premier trophy that you could win. It's sort of like winning the Masters or Wimbledon or something. I mean, in Austria, skiing is a religion and Kitsbueel is hard to describe. It's one of those places where you really have to go. I went back because my son Jim was racing in the slalom at the Hanakan. Thank God he was not racing the downhill because I don't think my heart would have taken it. It is so scary. And the thing I would add about Ryan is, the year before his Olympic silver medal in Super G, he had fallen in Kitsbueel and broken his neck. It was so scary watching. But anyways, sorry, B.A. to bring up that. And then made that come back. But it's just one of those things that, I don't know if it seems real still, but I'm very proud of it. And I don't know if I appreciated it. In fact, I do know that I didn't appreciate it at the time. You're a kid and you're racing and you're doing your best. I remember, in the downhill, I came in third. I came in third. The first and the second places were Roland Colombe and Bernard Russi, who are arguably two of the greatest downhill races ever. And the person in fourth was an Austrian racer by the name of Franz Klammer, who is probably not arguably, who is the greatest downhill racer ever. So that's one of the things I'm the most proud of. What a legacy, my friend. What a legacy. Now, Barbara, you wrote a book, Skeen for Women. And I assume that it's still in publication, right? And I actually didn't write it. There's a chapter about me and about you in it. Okay. And then also you wrote for the Washington Post and you have a business, golden opportunities in sports, business and life. Are you still? That was like a title that I started with, but now I just call it Barbarian Cochran Coaching, B.A. Cochran Coaching. B.A. Cochran Coaching, and people can find you on the web. So and you probably coach on sports, business and life, right? Well, mostly what it's evolved as is coaching the mental side of competition for athletes. I mean, I talk to parents, I talk to teams, I talk, but I, and I haven't really, my idea when I first started doing it was, that I would do it for businesses and really as it's evolved, it's really, I talk to mostly athletes. Athletes are a mentor for how to help them how to help them in competition. Well, I think that's what your family's done throughout their whole, the legacy of the Cochran family. So share with my viewers a little bit about the Cochran ski area, which is family owned and operated. I think, I think Bobby, your son is the general manager. And what does it mean to you all as a family, to the community and to the sport of skiing? Talk about the Cochran ski area. Well, I think the ski area, yeah, when you mentioned the ski area, you mean really you're talking about my dad because he's the one that really started it all. It was his dream. And, you know, now it's a nonprofit ski area, although I tell everyone that it's always been a nonprofit. My parents never made profits. They lived off depreciation. But it's just, I think it's a little gem. And the best part to me, the best part of the ski area is to see all the young and old racers and the families that go there. It's just a community meeting places where you just make memories. Well, it's, you know, one of the things that like over the years, there's been kids that have, you know, learned to ski at Cochran's. And one, like it amazes me, like there was somebody out in, I think it was San Diego or out West someplace that was at this big conference. I think it was like a technical engineering conference or something like that. And there was somebody that was giving a speaker that had learned how to ski at Cochran's and actually had race at Cochran's. And somebody in the back said, did you just ski at Cochran's? He yelled out. And I just think our reach is, you know, so much more than we realized. But I think it's like, I just, there's another parent that when he says he comes up to the, goes up the hill and to the upper parking lot and he makes that crest of getting to the parking lot. He calls it Prozac Mountain. And he says, there's just such a piece about it, you know, that it's just very comforting and very, you know, and it's not elaborate. It's not, it's fair. It is, it's very comforting to go there and to bring your family and to ski in. And it's a very community-based. I think that there's a lot of community for Cochran. And it's very different than what we're seeing today in the ski industry. And one of my questions was that this Cochran ski area has created some of Vermont's finest skiers. And I wanted you to talk a little bit about the mythology, which you did just now, and about the magic. And so you just shared with us a little bit about the magic around the area. It hasn't really changed that much. And since your dad, you know, and mom first bought the land and created the ski areas, some snow making. And, but the magic is peace and community and the fact that you're opening your hearts to the community to come into your family. And it's like opening your home to, so they're surrounded by your energy and who you are as a family and as human beings. And you're letting people come into that. And that's the magic. Would I be correct, Bobby? I think, yeah, it's interesting. You said your home, I always, I think we want it to be home for a bunch of people. And it's interesting, the original lodge, I think this is one of the advances because the original lodge used to be my mother's kitchen and she would make a batch of brownies or something. And that would be nourishment for the skiers. So now we have a separate lodge from my mother's kitchen. So that's one of the major advances. She would make brownies for us for dessert and they'd be smelling, they'd be out on the counter and then there was some skiers that like came in some kids came in to try in and they couldn't stand just the smell of the brownies. They tried one and then before they were done they had eaten the whole pan, but that wasn't for them. She never made them for them. It was like, not until we get the old lodge was that we provided nourishment. Well, it's interesting that you both have these two different views. So Bobby, I wanna ask you that you went into medicine. I don't know how many people out there know that you are a physician and you became a family practitioner in New Hampshire and you have since retired and I know that you were the ski coach at Rice High School because my granddaughter tailer skis for your teen. So I don't think a lot of people knew that you were a practicing physician. Did you ever practice in Vermont or? Well, I practice in a little town called Walpole, New Hampshire which is right on the Connecticut River. So I would make, I would take care of a lot of Vermont patients that lived across the river. Across the river. Well, so I felt like I was always a part of Vermont. Dr. Cochran, I didn't know that and I love running into you at Rice when I'm picking up. So I wanna share with you a little bit. I have a question for you and that today's world is complicated and our youth are living during a time of climate change, pandemics and a shaky political system where democracy is at risk. What do you tell your own children and your grandchildren to steady them to face the world that they live in? What's the Cochran message to our youth about getting through what children are facing today? I mean, I think I learned a lot. It's been a real treat for me coaching the Rice High School. Not only coaching your granddaughter, Taylor, but anyways, the thing I realize is getting outside and moving and using all this energy that kids have, that's where it's at. Well, they have interviewed students across the country and they said the number one issue for high school students and middle school students too, is their mental health. And so getting outside, and nowadays a lot of kids just, they're sitting on their phone, they're in their bedrooms, tick-talking or whatever they do. So the word of wisdom from you, Bobby, is you need to get outside and you need to feel the air and you need to feel the wind in your hair and get out and enjoy nature. That's your words of wisdom. That's a good message and I'm gonna put that up on Twitter today. What about you, Marilyn? What's your message for the youth today? Barbrain. Barbrain, I'm sorry, Barbrain. Yeah, that's it. Barbrain. Yeah, yeah. I think I totally agree that, like I think that it is, there's a huge part of just getting outside and enjoying the fresh air and being part of that. And I think it's like, when you get overwhelmed with life, it's like breaking it down and taking it little steps at a time, like just taking one day at a time. And if it has to be one minute at a time, then you do one minute at a time, but breaking it down into the smaller steps and any problems that arise, you go, okay, yeah, I can handle it. If I do the first step, just take that first step. Great advice, Barbrain. So now I wanna talk briefly, we're coming down to the end of the show. I can't believe it. I could talk to you for hours. What about the youngest generation of Cochran's? Because this legacy that your parents began in 1961, when they instilled in the Rope Toe and the Hillside Enrichment, it still lives on in your grandchildren. So, and I certainly have seen, I believe it's Charlie who is that, as all the racism like, I mean, he's just blowing everybody off the hill. And so talk to us a little bit about your beloved grandchildren and the legacy that you've left for them and what they're all up to over there at the Cochran's ski hill. You wanna go, Bob? Yeah, I just, I love watching every single one of my grandchildren. I have five grandchildren within five miles and the three oldest are my son Tommy's children and they're the three boys that are very active and they haven't raced to speak of, although I'm grooming them to be part of the rice alpine ski team. So we'll see about that. But the thing I always love about any kid that I think that grows up at Cochran's or grows up skiing in Vermont is they can go anywhere in the world and they'll be one of the best skiers on the mountain. So no matter their skiing success or failure or whatever, they can always enjoy this sport. And, you know, I'm hoping that climate change doesn't make, doesn't take away our great sport. I, every fall the first snow, I was like, please, please let it snow. So, and when you see the white stuff, life is good. Yeah. And for me, like I think that this next generation are our kids' children, like our grandchildren, is, you know, some of them just love to ski. Like I have a grandson that really took to skiing last year at the age of four. And like I was telling Bob the other day, I said, you know, I don't think that he's gonna really want, I don't see him as getting into ski racing, but he loves to ski. And I think that's interesting with that generation is that there are some that just love ski racing and then others that just love the skiing part. And I think that's what, you know, is important to us is just that, again, they're outside, they're enjoying the nature. They have that experience and that in itself is just, it's enough for us that they enjoy being outside and being in nature. And there's this whole new extreme skiing now that is actually very common in all the areas of, you know, flips and jumping off of, you know, I mean, it's a, and skiing is changing. I mean, the skis have changed, it's very different. And so the future of skiing is changing but there is that concern about snow. Now, I believe because of the lake that we'll always have good snow in Vermont, but that's a big wish. Yeah. I'm gonna hold you to it. Well, I think we're lucky to have the lake and that lake effect that comes over the Great Mountains and drops its snow. And you have installed some snow making at Crockins, right? Because now the ski areas are open until May. I mean, Killington and Jay, and I mean, people are skiing in May and that was unheard of back in our generation, right? Oh, absolutely. You know, I remember if you had any snow and by the end of March, you were happy and now at Crockins, I remember a couple of years ago looking over and there was a really decent patch of snow in May. Yeah. Well, there you have it. There's great hope and future, not only in the future of skiing, but also the future of the Crockins with this incredible legacy of young up and comings, whether they're gonna race or not, they're always gonna be the best skiers on the mountain. And to the two of you who are just so rich in all the beauty of humanity and all that you do and look at how strong and healthy you are. So it's a testimony to all of us to get out and to enjoy the nature and to put on those skis and get out there as soon as we can. So I wanna thank you both, Barbara Ann, B.A., Cochran and Bob Cochran. And Bobby, I'll see you at Rice and we'll certainly see you on the mountain when the girls are racing down for G.U.L. Addison's with GMVS this year. So you'll see her racing up the mountain. And stay in touch. And I wanna thank you for your time. I could talk to you for hours. And I love your little, what's the name of your cat that's behind you, B.A.? What's the, who is that beautiful creature? Kingsland. Kingsland. Kingsland. Well, and he's been sitting there behind your back this whole time. So he's been looking over your right shoulder. So, yeah. So I wanna thank you for your time and for everything that you do for our community. You really are a legacy and you're so important to Vermont and nationally. So on that note, I'm gonna wish you well and wish you a beautiful day and I will see you on the mountain. And to my viewers, thank you for joining me and I will see you all very soon.