Lenore Speaks; Ski Europe, the Early Years

SKI MASTERS EUROPE TRIPS – 1982 to the present.

Shall we call it a Movement, or a Dream that took on a life of its own? In the late 1970’s, as owner and Director of Ski Master Ski School I started to put together ski trips after ski school was over for the season in an effort to inspire my staff of instructors to ski other areas and get “really excited” about skiing, ergo, they will become more inspired and effective ski instructors. We went en masse to Sun Valley, Park City and Jackson Hole. Immediately, many students in the school got wind of our plans and wanted to join. Hooray, we had a viable project! We had so much fun and expanded our horizons.

The next year I was invited as the President of the Northwest Division of the Professional Ski Instructors of America to be part of a group that represented our Division of the National Organization at a Ski Instructors Exchange with Austria. At that time 65% of Austria’s gross national product was tourism. They had recently come off of hosting the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. They had devised this “Exchange” to promote skiing in Austria. It fell on very fertile ground! Besides having the privilege of being hosted in grand fashion to get acquainted with Austria and its wonderful people and its great variety of ski areas, it made me feel like I would be comfortable escorting a group to this friendly country and their fabulous skiing possibilities. I was able to make contacts with their travel bureau called the “Tirolerlandesreiseburo”. (If they could live with that name and be a success, they must be competent – and they were.)

Thus, our first ”Ski Masters European Ski Trip” evolved. “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread”. 108 people signed up for our first adventure! Our destination was St. Anton, Austria where we transferred our group in three buses and accommodated them in three hotels. Our second week was in Innsbruck, Austria where we took over an entire hotel, The Rotor Adler. It was like a European fraternity house! What memories we have of those two weeks! More to come.

Lenore Lyle, Owner and Director Emeritus of Ski Masters Ski School, Inc and Ski Masters Europe Trips

Ski Masters European Ski Magic

For nearly three decades the Lyle family has been leading groups of hardy skiers on European ski trips. The popularity of the trips is legend. Guests often sign up over a year in advance; often before the destination is even announced. When the trip begins they endure a nine hour flight in seats designed for children, long bus rides and languages and currencies they don’t understand for the privilege of skiing in a foreign country.

Why on earth would they do that? If they just wanted a foreign country Canada is just two hours away. Why would they send in checks to go on a tour to an unknown destination 14 months before the trip even begins? Why would they go at all? After all, there are plenty of wonderful ski areas in the USA that are easier to get to, have better snow and grooming and where they speak English.

This site has been created to answer that question. Ron, Lenore and Claudeen Lyle have created a travel experience that defies description. The trip is more than skiing. It’s about people, places, relationships, food, cultures, history and, oh yes, skiing. It’s about friends and fun.

This site is for those who have been on the trips in the past and those that might want to go in the future. We will explore the history of the trips; the why did Lyles do it in the first place. We will hear tales from those that have gone before. The veteran travelers will laugh and smile when they conjure up their memories of the trip. This is their site.

Have you been on the trip? Do you have a story to tell? Send it in and we will share it. Just e-mail your recollections to Steve Dennis at rosemont.partners@comcast.net and he will post them to the site. Then come back often and read the tales. They will likely trigger another memory for you and you will write again.

Read, enjoy and “think snow.”