Mountain People Episode 1

Since the opening of Boyne Mountain's slopes in 1948, countless stories have been told here. There's something about sitting side by side on a chairlift ride, shivering your way up to the top of the mountain that inspires complete strangers to open up. These stories make Boyne Mountain the place that it is - a place where families and friends, skiers and riders, and locals and travelers make memories - then retell those memorable stories for years to come. 

That's what inspired us to begin Mountain People - a series of stories from Boyne Mountain's slopes.There are countless stories told all around this place, and new ones form each day. Mountain People captures these tales and shares them as they were meant to be shared. Our first story comes from the first chair of the first day of the season. The first family to ski Boyne Mountain's slopes this season lined up patiently at 8:35am on Sunday morning. This is their story:

"My dad and his friends built a ski chalet in 1970. They had been skiing Boyne Mountain through the 60s, and finally bought a motor home. One night, in 1968, they were joy riding in the motor home until they pulled off the road to get some sleep - only to find a "For Sale" sign posted in the lot next to them when they woke up in the morning. They bought the lot on Lake Charlevoix to park the motor home on after skiing. My boys and I move in every summer to that ski shack.

The stories here are endless...My mother walked up Victor while she was 8 months pregnant in 1979 so that she could be at Carnival.

My sister and I grew up skiing here as kids. We would come flying down Ramshead and the lift operator would call out to tell us to "pizza!" He called us Speedy 1 and Speedy 2, inspiring quite a bit of competition - much to my mother's worry. I'll never forget how he made us laugh.

And now, my kids ski here and have Duane. I'm certain they won't forget the lift operator that helped them on the lift when their legs were too short and snuck candy into the hoods of their jackets.
We're very connected to the Mountain."

With their long history of skiing at Boyne Mountain and countless memories made both on and off the hill, the Raona family is a family of Mountain People. Stay tuned for more stories from Mountain People on Boyne Mountain's Facebook page.