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Gretchen Rous Besser - Patroller, historian, Hall of Famer

Gretchen Rous Besser
Passing Date

Pioneering ski patroller, historian, Hall of Famer

Dr. Gretchen Rous Besser, a pioneering ski patroller, historian and lifelong ambassador for winter sports, passed away on June 7, 2026. She was 98. 

 

A Fulbright Scholar, Columbia University Ph.D., accomplished linguist and an influential member of the National Ski Patrol (NSP), Besser’s accomplishments reached beyond the slopes. 

 

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gretchen Rous first skied as a student at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. After serving as a volunteer patroller at Milton Snow Bowl in New Jersey, in 1966 she joined the NSP at Smuggler’s Notch Resort, Vermont.

 

The NSP Board named her National Historian and her book “The National Ski Patrol: Samaritans of the Snow” debuted in 1983. She wrote an updated version for the Patrol’s 75th anniversary in 2013, the same year she was inducted to the inaugural class of the National Ski Patrol Hall of Fame. 

 

Speaking five languages, Besser helped represent U.S. skiing’s interests in numerous international projects and programs. Besser has been honored by a wide range of organizations. She won International Skiing History Association’s Ullr award in 1997. She was inducted into the Vermont Ski Hall of Fame in 2016 and was into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame the following year.