Patroller enjoys meeting other skiers on job

Steven Bilte, 78, has been a National Ski Patroller at Lookout Mountain for 53 years, earning him status as one of the most-senior patrollers in the country.

Often the first and last skier on Lookout the days of his patrol, Bilte loves skiing and helping others on the hill. A recent day was especially busy on the mountain.

“Three young men on snowboards all broke their arms,” Bilte said.

After stabilizing and transporting the snowboarders, Bilte tackled the “pile of paperwork,” and took the chairlift back to duty – a great day’s work for someone of any age.

Bilte is part of a volunteer organization that was founded in 1938. The National Ski Patrol ensures safety and provides emergency medical needs on all of the approximately 600 ski areas in the United States.

Patrollers are required to attend 80 hours of first-aid training, eight hours of CPR and eight or more hours of training on the hill with the rescue toboggan and chairlift evacuation, Bilte said. When he joined in 1953, only eight hours of first aid and four hours on the hill were required.

Graduating from Wallace High School and attending Eastern Washington University on a football scholarship helped Bilte prepare for a career as an oil distributor in the Silver Valley, but skiing to school as a child prepared him for his lifelong love of the sport. Looking younger – and certainly skiing better – than most in his age group, Bilte keeps in shape by skiing in the winter and golfing, fishing and doing yard work in the summer.

What is your job title? “Volunteer national ski patroller.”

How long have you been doing this? “Fifty-three years.”

How did you choose this line of work? “I was an EMT (emergency medical technician) and I like to ski, so I joined the Lookout Ski Patrol.”

Are you paid: (a) well; (b) more than you are worth; (c) slave wages, (d) could be better? “The pay we get is free skiing, meals at half price, free skiing for our family after so many years on the patrol.”

What is the best thing about your job? “The best thing I like about being on the patrol is I get to meet so many nice skiers. You are free to ski all day long and ski wherever you want to ski. The patrollers you ski with are from all over the Northwest.”

What is the worst thing about your job? “When I am riding on the chairlift when the weather is minus 10 and we have a 20-mile-an-hour wind. It’s cold!”

Do you plan on doing this job (a) until retirement; (b) until something better comes along? “I believe this will be my last year, but I have said that before and as long as my health holds up and I can still ski, who knows?”

Do you have any on-the-job funny stories? In 1953, a pretty young lady had taken a fall at Lookout Mountain, and Bilte, wearing wool ski attire and skinny wooden skis, responded to the scene. “I wasn’t on the ski patrol then, but I was the only man they could find.” Bilte and Mary Lou were married soon after and recently celebrated their 55th anniversary.

Any bad experiences? “The worst thing about patrolling is when someone you know dies on the hill. We have had two – Glenn Strand and John Horning – both friends of mine, who had heart attacks while skiing.”

If there was a movie made about you and your job, what actor should play you and why? “Robert Redford, because he was good in ‘Downhill Racer.’ “