Ski Inland Northwest Newsletter Article  --   2002
 

Schweitzer Mountain People

Schweitzer’s Prime Timers -- Their average age is over 60 and a handful are in their 80s. When Schweitzer’s Prime Timers gets together though, they don’t talk about aches and pains or bemoan their senior years. They’re too busy deciding which run to ski first.

Prime Timers is a group of seniors with a shared passion for skiing and a commitment to Schweitzer Mountain. Their simple, straightforward mission is to get together with fellow seniors who want to ski. You won’t hear any complaints about aching body parts. These folks are all about how great life is.

The Prime Timers was officially founded in 1991 with 24 members. In 1989, Phil and Millie Cole and a few other senior skiers were gathering casually every week to have lunch at The Babes, the restaurant in the original day lodge that overlooked the valley. Over bowls of steaming soup they discussed the idea of putting together a club with Bobbie Heuga. The Seniors Club was founded and soon after was renamed Prime Timers. Today the membership roster numbers 162.

Not only do they ski together, the Prime Timers have formed quite the social group. There are the all-important weekly meetings (complete with wine and cheese), a pizza day, Valentine’s Day chocolate party (which they tell us gets quite a good turnout) and picnics each spring, summer and fall. The September picnic raises money for the Jimmie Heuga Snow Express.

Most of the Prime Timers have been skiing all their lives and they manage an enviable 40 to 60 ski days a year. They share a commitment to Schweitzer Resort and many own homes on the mountain. They meet weekly with General Manager Tom Fortune to offer sage advice and to discuss what is happening at the resort as well as possible improvements. They are true mountain ambassadors.

Take Darrell Albert for example, the current president of the Prime Timers. He’s been skiing longer than some of us have been alive. Fifty-five years, to be exact. In 1947 Darrell started skiing at Big Mountain on wooden skis with strap bindings and leather boots. No chair lifts in those days, Darrell remembers hanging onto the rope tow or the t-bar and pushing through a foot of powder.

Jim Toomey is another Prime Timer. Name sound familiar? Maybe that’s because you have skied Toomey’s Run. Jim helped encourage Jack Fowler to start Schweitzer Mountain Resort and he and his wife purchased the first two lift tickets from Schweitzer in 1963.

When this group gets together to rub shoulders, a few are actually replacements shoulders.  One Prime Timer’s hat reads: “Replacement parts turn better.”  With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder they’re still on the mountain. Let’s just hope all of us are skiing like this into the prime of our lives.

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