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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Walking tours take a trip back through time ... 'Teamsters and Turtles' concert Wednesday in Ashland helps Healthcare for All cause ... Truck crashes reported on I-5 at exits 30 and 6 ... Walking tours take a trip back through time ... 'Teamsters and Turtles' concert Wednesday in Ashland helps Healthcare for All cause ... Truck crashes reported on I-5 at exits 30 and 6 ... MT. ASHLAND Book chronicles ski patrol evolution at Mt. Ashland Comment By Tony Boom For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Tony Boom For the Tidings Posted Mar. 9, 2015 at 7:05 PM Updated Mar 9, 2015 at 7:09 PM By Tony Boom For the Tidings Posted Mar. 9, 2015 at 7:05 PM Updated Mar 9, 2015 at 7:09 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Mt. Ashland Ski Area to reopen some runs Friday » Social News “This is Our Mountain: The Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol” was more fun to write and research for author Ken Kempner than most of his works. A former Southern Oregon University dean who also taught at the University of Oregon and Portland State University, Kempner said he found a lot of freedom in chronicling and analyzing the development of the patrol from its formation in 1964 to the present day. “Nobody was looking over my shoulder at the references,” said Kempner, who has written more than 30 academic journal articles, four books and eight book chapters, all fully annotated. There are only five footnotes for the 60-page volume that is published by Amazon. Kempner has skied for 50 years, beginning in high school in Missoula, Mont. He also snowboards, starting eight years ago at the same time he joined the patrol. He heads the volunteer side of the patrol as the National Ski Patrol representative at Mt. Ashland. Anecdotes about the ski area and the patrol’s development abound, often told in long quotes from patrollers past and present. Kempner interviewed more than 25 people for the volume. Retired Southern Oregon State College professor Dan Bulkley relates how he spent a sabbatical year as a patroller at Mt. Baldy in Southern California. That made him the logical choice to head the patrol, which had “a couple days” training before the area opened in 1964. Early patroller Len Ramp tells of the time when a lost skier was found down a creek on the mountain’s south side. He asked, “How far am I from the bottom of the lift?” Lifts are on the north side. Alex Boutacoff started patrolling in 1982 and is still at it. Boutacoff became head of the volunteer patrol and made a change designed to make it less intimidating for women by having pinups removed from the patrol room. A few days later, he spotted them stuck to the ceiling of the Ariel lift upper control shack. Kempner, a social psychologist, couldn’t resist the temptation to chart the social changes in the patrol. He says the book is a story, not a history. The author sees three main patrol eras. The first was a family-friendly, social organization that emerged as the patrol developed with mostly volunteers. He refers to the period from the ’70s into the ’90s as the testosterone era, with mostly younger male patrollers, which was not as inviting to women. “You can’t have those same (male patrollers) now. That’s politically incorrect,” relates Rogue Ski Shop owner Bob Mathews in an interview. The volume also portrays tension between the paid patrollers and volunteers at that time. Issues included level of skills and skiing ability. In its third stage, women are now accepted on the patrol, as well as less-proficient skiers, and there’s more of an appreciation of a variety of skills that different skiers bring, according to patroller Don Keenan. The volunteers and paid staff work smoothly together, he says. Kempner’s academic bent comes through as the book concludes, according to one critic. “Dad, you did a really good job of staying out of it until the end,” Kempner’s son Brandon, an English professor at New Mexico Highlands University, told his father. The volume includes pictures of patrollers past and present doing their work. Amazon will donate $3.50 from each book to the patrol. The volume costs $16 and can be ordered through Amazon.com. The ski patrol holds its annual Bavarian Night fundraiser, including night skiing, a raffle, fireworks, beer, brats and live music from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Mt. Ashland. Tony Boom is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected] By Tony Boom For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Tony Boom For the Tidings Posted Mar. 9, 2015 at 7:05 PM Updated Mar 9, 2015 at 7:09 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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