Glow in his soul: Turner Mountain becomes 2nd home for 79-year-old

He carves the familiar slopes as he has for nearly 30 years, gracefully meandering the mountain’s features and maintaining a youthful glow in his soul. 

Art Purdy, now 79, did not slap skis underfoot until his 50th birthday. But with a smile spreading across his wind-nipped checks, he lets balance and gravity guide his ride.

Turner Mountain Ski Area has become his winter home away from home, watching it annually evolve from a t-bar and powder to a chair lift with groomers.

“It was so unreal when the two-chair lift came. The changes and modernization, this mountain has come a long ways,” he said.

Born and raised in Eureka, Purdy did not relocate to Libby until 1959. As he recounts the years, Purdy’s slope-side friend Willie Schikora casually jokes, “We claim him now,” referring to Lincoln County’s North-South rivalry.

Logging most his life in the Kootenai forests, Purdy felt after spending his work week in the woods, gracing the slopes was far from his mind.

“I was a logger in the woods. Coming up to ski was the last thing I wanted to do after a week in the snow,” Purdy said.

As life progressed Purdy found himself on an ambulance, helping those in need before settling behind a desk as a dispatcher.

It was that transition to an indoor confinement that persuaded him to take to Turner’s alpine playground. He and his daughter took lessons, learning the winter waltz from longtime instructor Chan Trimble.

Trimble made a lasting impression on generations of skiers and Turner paid homage to his dedication by naming a trail, “Chan’s Run.”

“Learning to ski here was tough,” he said. “Without the patience of the old-timer (Trimble) to stick with me, I wouldn’t be up here today.”

With his outdoor and medical background he was primed for his next career as ski patrol, which he dedicated the hibernation months to for the next three decades.

“It makes the winter go by faster,” Purdy said about his days on the mountain.

It was two years ago that he hung up his red jacket with white cross, patrolling the slopes at an age with the elite across America.

 “I had to retire before they retired me,” Purdy said of that day.

With his children residing in Colorado and New Mexico, Purdy has had a taste of the Rockies to the south and all he can say to himself is, “I can’t wait to get back to Turner.”