MAVERICK MOUNTAIN — Maverick Mountain is not the biggest ski hill in Montana, nor does it have the longest runs. What it does have is a loyal following. Thousands of young people in Southwest Montana learned to ski at Maverick, including ski instructor Cory Birkenbuel.
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“This is my why. Why I teach, why I ski.” That’s how Birkenbuel talks about Maverick. He says his mom was teaching skiing on the hill while she was pregnant with him.
On August 1st, the Sand Creek Fire came to life near Maverick. Strong winds and dry conditions forced the flames to the top of the ski lift.
“When the cable snapped, it sent chairs flying hundreds of feet”. Birkenbuel says that’s what happened when the tower at the top of the hill burned. That lift was the only lift servicing Maverick Mountain.
Birkenbuel grew up on Maverick and now owns a home within sight of the hill. He sat and watched the night the fire crested the mountain.
“They dropped retardant right here all the way down," said Birkenbuel as he showed us the red streak across the nearby hillside. He says those firefighters saved the valley.
“It’s a miracle what these guys did for us. I mean we’re indebted to the firefighters”.
Birkenbuel has been sharing the story on social media, as has Maverick Mountain. He says he’s working with a Dillon bank to establish a non-profit opportunity for people to donate to help the hill recover. It’s called Friends of Maverick Mountain.
“We have hope, we have a future because we have a lift sitting on the ground. It cost a lot of money to put a lift up.” Birkenbuel says that includes engineering and installation of towers that have been damaged and the cable that snapped because of the fire.
Birkenbuel says the website and donation opportunity should be active sometime next week. In the meantime, he continues to monitor the fire and thank the firefighters.
“I was a firefighter; I feel that. People said thank you to me, and I now can actually feel that thank you.”
