Bonus: Volunteers Created America's First Adaptive Ski Program (S2-Skiers2) at Hyak. S1:Bonus...

Shirley Cummings explains how "S2 Skiers2" began at Hyak Ski Area in the PNWD and its amazing efforts between various ski resorts in helping those needing a bit more assistance in learning how to ski.  Pioneering well before the ADA was established. Note: Recorded at a previous convention, please disregard background noises. (2023)

The PNWD History Project:  Shirley Cummings, the official history project coordinator, (& all around fabulous lady), has been on a mission: Collect and assemble an archive of stories and pictures from the different ski patrols within the Pacific Northwest Division. Hence, Patroller Chats was born! 

Welcome back to Patroller Chats- where we dive into the people & history of the PNW Division of the National Ski Patrol. We’re off to the slopes to ride the chairlift with volunteers working to keep the patrol running, the mountain safe, rescue guests & help operations run smoothly, often in difficult conditions. Learn what inspired them, unforgettable moments, & what keeps them coming back. Grab your gear, sit back, lower that bar if you have one, & let’s Chat.

Chapters

• 1:42 First US adaptive ski school
• 2:27 Volunteer instructors and students
• 3:33 Seeking recognition as "Skiers 2"
• 5:14 Need for ski patrol museum space
• 6:50 Discussion about museum management

Transcript

Shirley: 0:52

for academically handicapped people. It was the first ski school in the United States for any kind of if you had any kind of handicap Any like adaptive in world. Where did that adaptive school was that? At Hayek. It was at Hayek. However, we had people from White Pass, snoqualmie, summit, central Crystal. Where else did they come from?

Shirley: 1:20

I think there were six patrols who sent on Wednesdays and the area gave us a free ticket for each one of us, and so we had a patroller instructor with a child, and the children came from Pacific School in Seattle. So they had a mental age of like, oh, seven to maybe 15. Chronological age was up to 35. And Earl Papick got a National Guard bus that would give them free transportation. We were able, between all the people who were volunteering their time, to instruct. We got enough equipment to outfit all these kids, so they came up every Wednesday for I don't know several years and we have one. I remember I had Charlene, who must have weighed 400 pounds on the rope tow and she sat down on me. Oh no, oh God, I think Steve Nancy Hastings was there. Steve Hastings was just a kid and he came by a couple of times, I think, when we were there, but sometimes the kids came if they were out of school, but it was wonderful. So, anyway, we did that until the area was, I think, sold one of the bankruptcies. But who did you do that with you? And who started? Well, no, there were a whole choice Joyce Hill, joyce Hill and you from high high, yeah, hiac, yeah, and what was it called? Skiers 2, s2, and the pin that the burglars stole from me, but it was an S with a 2. I think it's on my jacket in there. And so our division director hand-carried this proposal to the national board, asking for us to be recognized. Now, if that happened, we didn't know. We didn't know if it did. Kurt Beam was the division director Okay, I've heard that name and he said it wasn't a ski patrol function, so he didn't think that it should probably get auspices, but nevertheless, it was the first ski school in the whole United States that helped handicapped people. Wow, that is awesome. Yeah, it's all over the place now. Yeah, it's good.

Shirley: 4:24

And I talked to Deb Armstrong's mother, who died recently, but that's the other thing I wanted to tell you about history. Her mother had the whatever the thing is. The museum, oh, the ski museum up in Suquamish, the ski museum and Dave Moffitt, and Dave Moffitt. Anyway, I said to her, holly, you know ski instructors, skiers, racers, everybody in this museum, you've got it big, but there's nothing about ski patrol. And I said, would that be possible for us to have a section, a corner? And we were getting some good talks.

Shirley: 5:14

Anyway, she died, so I never did finalize this thing, but she did say that it would have to be professionally done. The artwork would have to be professional, the photographs. You couldn't just take a couple of photographs that you had, because they've gone out of their way to make this museum. You know kind of quality, museum quality. Anyway, that's something that I think the Ski Patrol should pursue, and I haven't been able to find out if Oregon or Idaho has any kind of a museum. So there is Mount Hood at Government Camp, so the museum there does have an area on ski patrol. Good, well then we're at least somewhat represented, somewhat. So who's now running the ski museum? Dave Moffitt, oh, so he's running it. Well, I don't know. I mean, I think he's the one that sends out requests for donations. So I assume that he is still running it. I don't know. Thank you, shirley, thank you.