Maine finally has an official kickoff to its ski season, the next-to-last weekend in October.

No, there wasn’t a Maine ski area open. But the season got a boost Friday, Oct. 24 when the new Maine Ski Hall of Fame had its first induction banquet. Next year’s event already is scheduled for Oct. 23, 2004, again at Lost Valley.

More than 220 skiers turned out to enjoy a social hour and banquet and to give standing ovations when each member of the first class was introduced. Three members received their recognition in person. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame was formed too late for seven of these pioneers, and family members accepted their awards.

Some have already received considerable national recognition for their contributions to skiing, showing that Maine skiers have had an impact far beyond our borders. Chummy Broomhall, John Bower, Doc Des Roches and Al Merrill are all members of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame. Aurele Legere, Bunny Bass, Amos Winter, Otto Wallingford, Wes Marco and Russ Haggett round out the class of 2003.

Broomhall is known for being on the U.S. Cross Country team from 1947 to 1954 and competing in two Olympics. Since then, he has been a key figure in cross country competition around the world, serving as an official in Olympics and World Championships. He has donated over 300 acres to his Chisholm Ski Club for cross country trails, and can be found there working on the trails and with the kids.

Legere jumped 185 feet as a high school skier in 1938, a mark still recognized as the high school record. After the war, he jumped in Europe, winning the 3rd Army Championship in 1946. He kept jumping alive at Black Mountain, and several of his proteges went on to NCAA competition.

Bass combined his family business with skiing, producing Bass boots for alpine and cross country. As head of G. H. Bass footwear, he lent his business acumen to Sugarloaf in helping the ski club in its early days to secure financing for the fledgling area. He served as President and Chairman of the Board during those early years and was a key part of the growth.

Winter was the first to see Sugarloaf as a ski mountain. He and a group of high school kids had skied the backside of Bigelow, but Long Falls Dam cut off their access. So they switched to Sugarloaf and scoped out the first trail in 1948. Winter launched the Sugarloaf Ski Club in 1950 to get the ski area underway and stayed with the mountain through the first half of its life.

Bower won all four events for Edward Little High School in the 1959 state championships: slalom, downhill, cross country and jumping. After leading his team to three straight state titles and two New England titles, he joined the U.S. Ski Team and was the first American to win the prestigious Homenkollen Nordic combined crown.

Wallingford wasn’t satisfied with the conditions at Lost Valley and went to work on a solution. His invention of the “Powdermaker” went to ski areas around the world, and his other ideas led to much of the modern grooming equipment that provides us with such great skiing today.

Merrill’s first skiing accomplishments came as a four-event skier at Andover High and Hebron Academy. At the University of New Hampshire, he led his team to three straight Dartmouth Winter Carnival championships and later became the first U.S.-born head ski coach at Dartmouth. He contributed at every level of advanced competition as an official and coach.

When Pleasant Mountain was first developed, Marco became the state’s first ski instructor. In 1947, he founded a junior racing program at Titcomb and devoted 24 years to the young racers. He was certified by PSIA in 1960 and in 1988 was awarded a life membership in E-PSIA.

Des Roches started his ski career as member of the Stephens High team in Rumford.

He was a standout at UNH, and after the war went to Laurel Mountain in Pennsylvania, where he served as mountain manager, ski school director and ski shop operator. In 1963, he became Vice President and CEO of Ski Industries of America and built that organization into the trade powerhouse of skiing.

After his retirement, he teamed up with Tom Reynolds to create the UMF Ski Industries Program.

You can get information about the hall of fame on the Ski Maine web site, www.skimaine.com.

And don’t forget, it’s official. The ski season is underway.

Freelance writer Dave Irons lives in Westbrook.

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