Priority List member honored in Colorado Ski Hall of Fame
By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Future Wind Crest resident and Colorado Ski Hall of Fame member Harold Horiuchi speaks about the sport he loves with a gleam in his eye and unrelenting passion in his voice.
“It’s a sanctuary, really. In the powder—setting your own tracks. You are doing the same moves— but every run is different. Every run is new.”
Getting started
Skiing has been Horiuchi’s passion since he returned home from honorably serving in World War II. “It was really a fluke how I got into it,” he said. “It started at a prom, years ago. I won a door prize—some skis, boots, and poles. I guess you can say I fell into it by chance. I never knew it would have gone this far.”
Horiuchi cut his teeth in the wet snow of Steven’s Pass in Northern Washington. A couple years later he traveled to Colorado. “I first came to Colorado in 1949—the snow conditions were just so great, better than anywhere,” he said. “The ultimate experience is powder skiing.” Two years later Horiuchi began giving back to the sport when he joined the Ski Patrol at Colorado’s Winter Park resort as a weekend volunteer.
Advanced courses
Skiing has taken him all over the world, chasing the powder. One of the most notable trips he said, included being helicoptered, and left on top of uninhabited mountains in the British Northwest, with nothing but his skis to get him down.
“I was only caught in a (snow) slide once, but luckily I was able to ski out of it. Being in the ski patrol, you learn to be aware of those things, and look for the signs.” He continued, “Have you ever heard the big ‘thump’ before a slide? In avalanche class…you learn to be aware and you learn to be very respectful of those steeper slopes.”