Wes Marco

MAINE'S FIRST SKI INSTRUCTOR

Wes Marco was involved in the beginning of Maine skiing and stayed involved for fifty years, devoting most of those years to teaching the sport. He started skiing at Pleasant Mountain before the first lift went in and was part of the group that founded Maine's first commercial ski area. In 1937-38, when the first rope tow was installed, he attended a race camp conducted by Toni Matt and Benno Rybizka at Mount Cranmore and became the Pleasant Mt. and possibly Maine's first ski instructor.

From the start, he took advantage of every opportunity to improve and learn the latest techniques, and to pass them along to other skiers and instructors. Through the early forties he conducted the first Eastern sanctioned ski race at Pleasant Mt., taught skiing there and at Mount Cranmore, acted as examiner for the United States Eastern Amateur Proficiency Tests and along with Russ Haggett, Luke Evans and Ray Riley, bought property encompassing Pleasant Mountain.

In 1947 he switched his base to Titcomb Mountain in Farmington, where he set up a junior program that continues to this day. For 24 years Marco devoted every winter weekend and holiday to teaching skiing and racing, working with 200-300 young skiers, 5-14 years old. A key part of his activity was training coach¬es and instructors to handle such large groups, making the ski school at Titcomb the largest in the state at that time. The annual Wes Marco Slalom is still the big event of the season at this community area.

From 1950 to 1952, as president of the Maine Ski Council, he was instrumetal in the selection of Sugarloaf as a mountain to develop for skiing with the potential to host the kind of races that were reserved for Cannon and Stowe at the time. He joined the Bigelow Boys in cutting Winter's Way, the first run on Maine's second highest peak.

In 1960, Wes attained certification by the Professional Ski Instructors. of America and in 1988 was honored by PSIA-E with a lifetime member¬ship for his long service to that organization. His career also included many race related activities as he served as an active official for more than 30 years. His duties included course setter, technical delegate and referee in such competitions as the 1967 NCAA Championships, the 1971 World cup DH Tall Timber Classic, a World Junior Championship, a National Junior Championship and many other Eastern junior and senior championships.

For more than 50 years, Wes Marco was a key part of ski instruction in Maine, always devoting himself to a quest for better technique and ways to impart the newest technique to his students. Nearly all of Maine's top ski racers up until the eighties can refer to a time they came under the influence of this master teacher.