2008 Ski Hall of Fame

Bruce Gavett was born and grew up in Vermont. He quit school in the mid-forties to work in the Texas oilfields, then joined the Marines at age 17. After WWII, he graduated from night school, then went on to Western State College in Colorado where some friends on the ski team got him ski equipment and gave him ski lessons.

Later, Bruce moved back east to New Jersey where he did tree work, then moved to Vermont and bought an old building which he renovated. He earned his ski instructor certification and worked at the Mount Snow Ski School for 10 years. He was hired to work at Haystack Mountain which was just being built in 1964. He was asked to supervise the ski area construction based on his previous building experience and went on to serve as General Manager and Ski School Director for several years. Haystack Mountain eventually went bankrupt in poorly planned real estate ventures.

Bruce then moved to Gore Mountain in New York as General Manager. Gore Mountain boasted the only gondola installation in the state at the time. Then, in 1980, and wanting to strike out anew, he applied for a position at Pajarito Ski Area at Los Alamos, New Mexico. There was an old lodge with no running water and outhouses. He became the General Manager at Pajarito and was the driving force to upgrade the area with a new lodge and restrooms and some new lifts. He helped fight the Cerro Grande forest fire in Los Alamos in 2000 and helped keep the fire from burning the whole ski area.

Bruce is quoted as saying “I’m a Vermonter, but I love New Mexico.” Bruce retired as GM in 2004 and continued to live and ski in Los Alamos. Bruce passed away in October, 2018.