October 17, 2015 (Stowe, VT) – Mark your calendars and hold the date!  Plan to be in Stowe, Vermont on Saturday November 14^th to celebrate the organization’s great history when the Museum opens this new year-long exhibit. See artifacts from the rich history on display as the Museum dedicates its entire main floor to telling the story of the NSP. More details on the exhibit opening and Hall of Fame Induction will be coming soon, plan to be in Stowe November 14th for a weekend of fun around our shared commitment to the skiing and riding.

The Hall of Fame welcomes:

Craig Burt (1882-1965) – land owner, forester, early proponent of skiing in Stowe through developing Ranch Camp and through helping to form the Mount Mansfield Ski Club, which included the first patrol and instruction. He also organized Stowe’s first Winter Carnivals beginning in 1918.

Trina Hosmer – joined the first international Women’s US Ski Team competing in the Nordic World Championships in Vysocke Tatry, Czechoslovakia, in 1970, after first getting on cross country skis at UVM for the first time in 1966. She competed in the 1972 Sapporo Olympics, the first with women’s cross country events. Still a force on the World Master’s race circuit, Trina works with NENSA and Stowe Nordic to build a stronger base of women skiers and to advocate for Nordic skiing.

Edgar Holmes III, MD – orthopedic surgeon, of Mendon VT, travelled with the US Ski Team internationally, volunteering and supporting them with medical care and emotional support from 1976-2000. In 1980 Ed was US Olympic Team doctor, in Lake Placid. He was the official doctor for Killington Mountain School, Burke Mountain Academy, Stratton Mountain School, Okemo Mountain School. He started the Killington Medical Clinic sports medicine fellowship program in ski medicine, to teach sports medicine fellows how to treat ski injuries most effectively.

Charlie Lord (1902-1997), who in June 1933, came to Stowe after being laid off of the highway department as a civil engineer. He joined the CCC as a trail engineer and by 1938 he was working on the Lord Trail on Mansfield. Charlie stayed through the war as manager of the Mansfield Chairlift Company and worked on the mountain until 1974. He worked on mountains across Vermont with the CCC engineering trails and ski areas.

Gretchen Besser will receive the Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award. A longtime ski patroller, Dr. Gretchen R. Besser of Morrisville, was the first recipient of the National Ski Patrol chairman’s Excellence in Service Award to honor her 31 years as the National Ski Patrol historian. Her published book, The National Ski Patrol: Samaritans of the Snow, charts the history of the organization. Besser has been interviewed by a number of radio sportscasters, wrote hundreds of articles about ski patrol activities, and represented the organization at international conferences.

The stories of our inductees overlap with our new exhibit Service and Safety: National Ski Patrol Exhibit, 1938-1988. Founded in 1938, the National Ski Patrol’s motto, Service and Safety, describes the mission of its 26,000 dedicated members, over 90% of which are volunteers. For over 75 years, the NSP has provided alpine and Nordic mountain rescue and training in avalanche awareness, mountain travel, and emergency care.

The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, with support from the Eastern Division of the National Ski Patrol, will house a permanent NSP exhibit in Stowe, Vermont, the birthplace of the NSP. In March of 1938, Dole and a select group of Patrollers from Vermont and Massachusetts provided emergency care support for the national races on Mount Mansfield. This well organized operation attracted the attention the event organizing body and resulted in their requesting Dole to head up a national organization to provide mountain rescue services to skiers.

The exhibit will show 50 years of the NSP history with a progression of patrol parkas, packs, skis, and sleds; training films and manuals; written materials by Vermont NSP legends – Minnie Dole, Charlie Lord, Craig Burt, Gretchen Besser and other local and regional patrol leaders; profiles of Livingston Longfellow, architect of Stowe’s Octagon (see original blueprints); photos, and memorabilia. The exhibit will be previewed on November 14th and on view from November 27, 2015 through fall 2016.

New Exhibit: Service and Safety: National Ski Patrol, 1938-1988

Join us on November 14, 2015 for the opening of its new exhibit ‘Service and Safety: National Ski Patrol, 1938-1988’ and the 14th Annual Hall of Fame Induction.

The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum Celebrates the History of the National Ski Patrol!

Schedule of Events, Nov. 14, 2015

• 12-4:30 – visit the Museum for a sneak peak at the exhibit
• 2pm – Official Exhibit Opening featuring dignitaries from the national, regional, and local patrols
• 5:30-10 – Join us at Schuss: A Fundraising Celebration at the Stoweflake where NSP member Charlie Lord will be inducted and Dr. Gretchen Besser will receive the Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award.

Accommodations:
The Stoweflake has offered a room rate of $129 for 11/13 and/or 11/14; call for reservations 800-253-2232. For additional options, contact Stowe Area Association at 800-GOSTOWE.