STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

When the club first started it was open to an exclusive group—those who skied before World War II.

Now, 80 years later, the Ancient Skiers is still going strong, although the requirements for entry have been relaxed so that one need only be 55 or older to join.

Two hundred Ancient Skiers gathered on the River Run Plaza at the base of Bald Mountain on Wednesday for their annual photo amidst a whirlwind week of cocktail parties, banquets, lectures and even NASTAR races.

Sheldon Kay and Lynne Theriault had a few relaxing moments sitting in the antiquated two-seater at the Wood River Museum of Culture & History before others asked to move in.

“I’m going to race tomorrow,” said Sheldon Kay, still skiing at 85. “You get handicapped when you’re older so I don’t have to go so fast.”

The Ancient Skiers originated after World War II with ardent skiers from the Seattle and Portland areas who started flocking to Sun Valley Resort after it opened as America’s first destination ski resort in 1936. Some had been ski jumpers in the 1910s; others served in the 10th Mountain Division.

One of those taking part in a cocktail party at the Wood River Museum of History & Culture Wednesday was Monte “Montana” Steere. He and his brother Tex were the first to perform backflips, having done them at Stevens Pass, Wash., in March 1965.

Those flips achieved for him a level of notoriety, although the Norwegian Olympian Stein Eriksen was said to have been the first--a fete that earned him the title “The Father of Freestyle Skiing.”

Leland Rosenlund hobnobs with Ellen and Monte “Montana” Steere, who performed the first backflip on skis at Steven’s Pass.

“He was a gymnast as a youth and he taught at Sun Valley in 1951-52, and every Sunday he would perform flips at the bottom of Ridge—it was a big deal,” said John W. Lundin, author of “Sun Valley Skiing.” “He was particularly known for throwing front flips because he thought he could see the landing better when he was coming down.”

Sheldon Kay and Lynne Theriault live in Menlo Park, Calif., rather than the Pacific Northwest, as do most of the club members. But they were invited by friends to attend the annual gathering, which is held in late January every year, and have come ever since.

“I was a member of the ski patrol at Alpine Meadows for 28 years and I made a lot of lifetime friends being in the patrol because we spent so much time together and they were roughly the same age,” said Kay. “Back then there weren’t as many people on the hill—the lifts were slow and the lines were an hour long. Now, there’s definitely more people with the faster lifts.”

Carl Prothman has spent a lifetime capturing the Pacific Northwest and its skiing one mountain at a time through his camera lens. He grew up at Crystal Mountain outside Seattle where his parents worked as ski instructors and he recalls hour-long bus rides off the mountain to school.

Sun Valley ski Instructors Terri Smith and Julie Webb check out their fashion next to the vintage wear at the museum.

“I grew up on skis and so became easily bored when my parents stuck me in ski lessons. I remember getting in trouble when I took off one day and everyone was looking for me. But I love skiing--any time on the mountain is a good day.”

Terri Smith and Julie Webb said they love how members of the group have kept skiing into their 70s and 80s. Former Sun Valley Ski School Patrol Director Nelson Bennett, a longtime member of the Ancient Skiers, skied into his 90s.

“These people know how to have fun. We love how they have the confidence to keep skiing. So many younger friends stop skiing because they’re afraid of falling. If that’s the case, you always have the choice to go to Dollar Mountain—it’s white, it’s snow, it’s downhill.”

Dave Laster signs a copy of his new book for Carl Prothman.