Ski Patrol

When the Boyne Ski Club first started, Midwesterners were just learning how to ski. There was no one to form a ski patrol, so Everett developed a program for Boyne City High School kids to become proficient. They received lessons and were integrated into the workforce of Boyne. “Learning to ski and be on the patrol for a kid from Boyne City opened up the world and was a great change in our lives,” said Boo Litzenburger in the book Boyne: People History Memories. Many of these kids went on to become local entrepreneurs or higher-ups at Boyne. One of the responsibilities of the Ski Patrol was to pack down the snow, as this was before snow-making or groomers. The patrollers would line up on a hill and step it all the way down to compress the snow and make it last longer. The other main responsibility for Ski Patrol was to monitor the skiers and help with any injuries. Due to the primitive design of the skis and bindings in the 1950s and 60s, there were an incredible number of fractures on a daily basis. On average, if you had 300 people out skiing, approximately 30 would end the day with a fracture.

💡Want to learn more about the National Ski Patrol here in Northern Michigan? Check out NSPNMR.

📸 Attached Media:

-"Torchlight Parade Inaugurates Petoskey Ski Hill" photo of Boyne Mountain Ski Patrol from the Petoskey News Review on February 25, 1953

-"Ski Safety Program Set" article from the Emmet County Graphic on December 3, 1959

-Article about Jim Dilworth, one of the first Boyne Mountain Ski Patrollers in the 1950s, "Nubs Snowmaker Helps Mother Nature Along" from The Graphic on December 11, 1986

🔗Links in Text:

-National Ski Patrol Northern Michigan Region www.nspnmr.org/

🏃Continue walking behind the Ski Patrol building and across the grassy area towards the Meadows Lift building with the blue roof. Please be aware you are walking across a disc golf fairway. If players are on your right when you’re facing downhill, they could be teeing off. Please communicate with the players to prevent any injuries or delay of play.

📚 Bibliography: β Δ ♥