Hart Axley (1931-November 2, 2023)
With great sadness, we announce the passing of 1993 Colorado Snowsports Hall of Famer and long-time Board Member, Hartman Axley. Hart was a class A racer for the University of Wisconsin Hoofers Ski Club in four events. For his leadership, he was appointed as a National Ski Patrolman. He patrolled Arapahoe Basin for twenty-nine years and was awarded the NSPS Purple Star and ARC Award of Merit for saving human life. He was later appointed as NSPS Front Range Director. In 1988, he was honored as the 13th recipient of the Minnie Dole Award.
His was a life well lived. He will be greatly missed.
Starting in Madison, Wisconsin at age three on single toe-strap skis, Hart has been involved for more than a half-century with almost all facets of skiing. A Class A Racer for the University of Wisconsin Hoofers Ski Club in all four events, he was honored by the CUSSA for leadership as Intercollegiate Ski Chairman. For his leadership of the Badger Ski Patrol, the National Ski Patrol System (NSPS) appointed him National Ski Patrolman #1413.
Moving to Colorado in 1956, Hart patrolled Arapahoe Basin for twenty-nine years, and was a member of three Outstanding Ski Patrols: Denver Metropolitan Ski Patrol (1959), Olympic Ski Patrol (1960), and Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol (1977). In 1958, Hart and Kenneth Wright were awarded the NSPS Purple Star and ARC Award of Merit for saving a human life.
At the 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, at Squaw Valley, California, Hart was the Director of the flag ceremony at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.
As NSPS Front Range Director, Hart was responsible for the formation of Ski Patrols at Breckenridge, Squaw Pass, Ski Idlewild, Lake Eldora, Hidden Valley, Loveland Valley, Fun Valley, Indianhead (Geneva Basin), Meadow Mountain, and Vail. Hart was also involved with the Cloud Croft Ski Patrol in southern New Mexico. The only six-year Director of the Rocky Mountain Division of NSPS, he instituted Senior Testing and Life Evacuation Training in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, and supervised the formation of Ski Patrols at Purgatory, Sunlight, and Sierra Blanca. Hart served as a Director of the Rocky Mountain Division - USSA for nine years, NSPS for six years, Mile High ARC First Aid Committee for twenty-three years, and was a founding and fifteen-year member of the Colorado Search and Rescue Board.
Hart was the Awards Chair from 1975-1985. Furthermore, he was responsible for revamping the Awards Manual (first written in 1940) and recreating the awards to preserve early history.
In the 1970s, Hart was involved with area management as a member of the Board of Directors of A-Basin.
As Assistant National Director of the NSPS, he helped start Advanced Ski Patrol Technique Clinics, the Certified Ski Patroller Program, the NSAA-NSPS-USFS Lift Evacuation Committee (he authored the first Lift Evacuation Technical Manual in 1975) and was coach of the Ski Patrol Demonstration Team at the 8th InterSki in Aspen. Hart crusaded for Colorado skiing and safe skiing, addressing Ski Clubs throughout the Midwest, and appearing weekly on the Channel 2 Ski Show. At the 50th Anniversary Celebration of NSPS in 1988, Hart was honored as the 13th recipient of the Minnie Dole Award.
In 2018, Hart was inducted into the Ski Patrol Hall of Fame.
We send our deepest condolences to Hart's family and to all whom he touched through his love of skiing and his impact on museums, including our institution. Hart was one of the busiest people we knew and his passion and determination to help were felt by many.
Raise your glass for Hart Axley! As well as all the many accomplishments detailed above, Hart was also a talented singer. At special events, Hart always sang “Raise Your Glass” and “America the Beautiful.” The CSM staff, Board, and volunteers fondly recall these memories.
Memorial Service will be held Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 10:30am, Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3101 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood. Committal will follow that day at 2:30pm, Fort Logan National Cemetery, Staging Area C.
The service will be live-streamed and may be attended by clicking this link:
https://event.forgetmenotceremonies.com/ceremony?c=66407389-b5fa-4830-a91f-94cd3b21e558