By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
A sudden gust of December air fluttered two-dozen miniature plastic flags, adorned with the ski patrol symbol and the number 32—the radio number of legendary Big Sky ski patroller Phil Capy.
Jimbo Humphries looked left, looked right, and pushed forward down the slope.
Humphries, who patrolled Big Sky Resort from 1995 to 2017, held a larger version of the same flag, affixed to a poster of Capy’s face. A crowd of Big Sky Resort Ski Patrol staff and nostalgic retirees followed Humphries, with flags carried in hand and tucked into goggle straps, beginning a memorial lap down Mr. K on Dec. 10.
On Oct. 17, Capy passed away at 97 years young. He dedicated more than two decades to the safety of Big Sky skiers, working into his late eighties. But patrolling Big Sky was just one of his many chapters: a U.S. Air Force pilot, once shot down in enemy airspace in the Korean War; a jazz guitarist and singer producing records and touring with the Jimmy Clark Trio in the late 1950s and early ‘60s; a casual lumberjack; a handy maintenance worker; a world traveler; and a public safety leader who developed emergency plans for Gallatin County and Oregon’s Deschutes County.
Right: Jimbo Humphries. PHOTOS BY JACK REANEY
“Phil is absolutely legend, and lived the kind of life that everybody aspires to live,” Humphries said. He described Capy as interesting, unique and committed to his craft developing the Big Sky Resort Ski Patrol’s medical program.
Capy and Humphries both joined Big Sky patrol in 1995, the same year the resort opened the Lone Peak Tram and began expanding its ski terrain on a massive scale. Capy supported the fast-changing years when the number of skiers grew and complexity of rescues increased, and the medical plans needed updating.
“Phil helped us keep our bearing over the years,” said Steve Emerson, who spent 10 years on patrol with Capy and organized the Dec. 10 celebration of Capy’s long, full, inspiring life. Emerson started patrolling Big Sky in 2007, and took over the medical program where Phil worked. They worked closely together, with many after-hours conversations forging a close friendship.
Emerson was impressed by the number of people who joyfully told stories about Capy during a Wednesday evening dinner ceremony at Big Sky Resort’s Huntley Dining Room.
“Phil was a genuine friend to us all,” Emerson said. “His storytelling was way above par. And his recall—to be able to go back to the 1930s when he was a kid on his bike in central Texas, and the things he used to do—I mean, it’s a lifelong story… He was everyone’s friend.”
- Check out a two-minute video by Explore Big Sky’s sister publication, Mountain Outlaw, capturing Phil Capy toward the end of his career in Big Sky.
Tom Stetzner, who patrolled Big Sky Resort for 29 years, summed up what made Capy special.
“The way he skied. The way he operated the first-aid room. The way he would take the sleds down the hill,” Stetzner recalled. “The way he would gather wood in the backcountry. The way he would make yogurt in his cooler at home. The way he would dance when he’d have an organic vegetable beer. And the way he talked about his beautiful wife, Linda.”
In recent years, Emerson started recording Capy’s stories with a microphone and camera, creating an everlasting portfolio.
“He was just such a gentleman and a charming guy, that he was an easy person to spend time around,” Emerson said. “And he knew so much about life.”
After arcing leisurely turns down the iconic green trail, Humphries spotted Capy’s partner, Linda Herrick, waiting by the ski racks. With a hug, he handed her the seven-foot flag.
“By golly, we had a great turnout,” Humphries said. “So that’s the whole energy behind this, was just to get the family and friends of Phil together to take one good ski run for him.”
The crowd mingled quietly. One retired patroller exclaimed something straight out of an ‘80s locker room—funny, but not quite fit for print—and the group began clicking out of skis, offering hugs to Linda Herrick, and shuffling away with an hour to spare before bringing the memory of Capy to life, a night full of legends and laughter.
PHOTO GALLERY BY JACK REANEY AND JOSHUA CAPY
