CHRIS Wilson grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood.
He was a member of the local Boy Scouts, and then later the local Rovers.
The Rover leader was Jack Allender and he had a passion for the snow.
In 1953 Jack announced that as a summer activity, each member of the Rover Crew was going to make a set of skis for themselves.
The plan was to then use the skis up at Mt Buller in the winter.
It was exciting times and the boys embraced the ambitious plan with great enthusiasm, despite knowing little of the sport of skiing.
As a group the Rovers visited a local timberyard to purchase the base material being wood.
They were following a ‘ski making plan’ and Spotted Gum was the supplied wood.
The timberyard cut the wood in the appropriate width and length specifications.
Once the boys had shaped the skis, they returned to the timberyard where the skis were steamed in order to provide the camber and also create the tip.
It was a slow arduous process.
Next the skis had to have the edges added.
There was a step down planed into each ski where the brass edge would slot in.
Each section of edge was approximately 10cm long with three predrilled holes for the small screws.
And the finally, the skis had to be painted with Dulux paint.
The boys attached cable bindings, and were able to buy second hand ex-army boots to complete their set up.
Come winter, the Rover leader organised the trips to Mt Buller.
The crew would travel in an old Ford Pilot on Friday night to the base of Sawmill Settlement, just near the base of Mt Buller.
They would stay in the timber worker’s huts which were made available for the Scouts, other various youth groups and school groups.
It was basic with four wire bunks, one pot belly stove and fire wood.
It was all they needed for a wonderful adventure.
On the Saturday Jack would drive the group up to the Cow Camp area, and from there they would go skiing.
There was the new rope tow up the left side of the main ski area, called Bourke Street, built by the Ski Club of Victoria in 1949. For the next few years they would do multiple trips each year as a group.
Chris was also a keen sailor and through the Sandringham Yacht Club met Peter Bolton and John Aitken.
They were also keen skiers and invited Chris on many trips to Mt Buller.
John joined Gliss Ski Club and Chris was welcomed as a guest at Gliss on many occasions.
He married Barbara and they had Matthew and Julia and soon the entire family had embraced the alpine environment with great passion.
This extended to exploring Falls Creek with extended family and friends.
It was in the mid 1970s that son Matthew read in the paper about a new ski club being formed at Mt Buller.
He observed the contact number was from Glen Waverley, the same suburb where the Wilsons lived.
Behind the concept was the Polish community.
They were well organised, supported by good numbers and had a well-documented plan.
The initial membership was 120 and the club was to be known as Pol-ski.
Around the same time, Yurredla Ski Club had a site on The Avenue.
Peter Dyson headed their committee.
They had decided to re-build and intended to build a structure that accommodated four ski clubs in the one building.
Eltham, Star Alpine and Pol-ski were the clubs that became part of the project.
It was completed in around 1979-80.
Despite not having any Polish heritage, it worked out extremely well for all four clubs and Chris became Pol-ski president for 14 years.
Today Chris’s daughter Julia has taken over his Pol-ski membership.
Chris’s contribution to the Mt Buller community extended far beyond Pol-ski.
It was through his friendship with Peter Dyson that the opportunity presented to join the Mt Buller Rate Payers Association ( MBRA) during the mid 1980s.
This contribution to the MBRA extended until mid 2024, including the role of secretary for more than 15 years.
Chris also played a significant role with the Mt Buller Resort Management Board under then Chairman Michael Coldham, fellow board members Barry Cooper, Bruce Dowding, Kevin Newton, Felicity Moss and CEO Sandie Jeffcoat.
Alongside the board role, Chris was also heavily involved in the marketing of the Mt Buller resort and for a period, the resort was a client of Chris’s advertising agency.
Chris has skied all over the world, enjoying trips to Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, Park City Utah and Zermatt Switzerland.
He also has a love for Mt Hotham and in the mid 1980s joined the Shepparton Alpine Club.
There, he also became a committee member and later president, with a few of his friends from Pol-ski also joining the Shepparton Alpine Club.
From time to time he also skied Falls Creek as close family member had an apartment in the Falls village.
He truly had a toe in all three mountains.
Chris still loves the Victorian high country.
It has been a part of his life since he was a teenager and at age 85 years last season he skied Hotham with daughter Julia in ‘appalling conditions’ consisting of hail and snow that had him feeling as though he was ‘skiing on marbles’.
