Fernie’s ‘Yellow Jackets’ celebrate milestone anniversary

Published 4:44 pm Friday, March 6, 2026

Fernie’s local ski hill has seen significant change over the decades, but one thing that’s remained the same is the group of dedicated volunteers that greet visitors at base with a big smile and welcoming wave every morning.

The Fernie Alpine Resort Host Program is celebrating 40 years at an event on Mar. 15. The program’s volunteers, known locally as “yellow jackets” for their distinctive brightly coloured coats, have welcomed generations of mountain adventurers and powder seekers to the snowy slopes.

Many residents and visitors will have seen the Yellow Jackets down at base welcoming visitors to the hill, answering questions, giving directions, and monitoring the ticket line; and stationed at sign boards at the top of the chair lifts. Volunteers are the friendly faces on the hill, assisting ski patrol by keeping an eye out for LLS (lost, lonely and scared) skiers and boarders.

“It’s a really good group of people. They love the outdoors, love skiing, love the mountains. They love Fernie,” said former program coordinator Bruce Elson.

Elson joined the program as a volunteer in 2009, after he retired from ski patrol at Lake Louise and Sunshine resorts. A few years later he became the Host Coordinator, a role that he held until 2022 when he passed the torch on to Jo-Anne Low.

Under the guidance of Phil Adrian and Tom Little, Elson helped grow the program. They added more hosts; and expanded host duties by adding extra volunteers on the mountain at Christmas and Family Day, and stationing volunteers on the shuttle buses running from the parking lots.

Elson said the program contract currently allows for a total of 46 hosts, enough to assemble a team each day.

Volunteers who serve for 25 years and have reached 65 years of age, get a lifetime pass to the hill. They also get vouchers, which they can collect to get food or a season pass.

A lucky few end up on the Wall of Honour at the hill, and get an award for an embarrassing moment on the slopes

“Whatever that [embarassing] incident was, they had to be able to ski down the hill on their own power. If anybody got hurt, then they didn’t qualify. Each year we created an original prize, a trophy of some sort,” said Elson.

Elson said one of the highlights of the job was meeting people from around the world. He recalled one moment when he rode up the Elk Chair with three Swedish men. The trio had flown to Canada for a three day ski trip because they had heard the local snow was so good. They hadn’t had any sleep on the flight, but that didn’t deter them from hitting the slopes right away.

“When you see it through the eyes of a visitor, you are reminded just how fortunate we are to be able to do what we do and live where we live,” said Elson.

Valerie Ward launched the Host Program in Fernie in the 80s, based on a similar group at Lake Louise called Ski Friends.

Muriel MacLeod was brought on board as the very first coordinator of the Host Program. She was studying a ski resort management course in Nelson at the time and was doing her practicum at the Fernie ski hill. She eventually took over when Ward left.

The volunteers weren’t Yellow Jackets when they started. MacLeod said the original uniform was grey and black with pink on the back. The group originally gave tours of the mountain, but this role was passed along to the ski patrol in recent years.

“Everyone really enjoyed it. We all love Fernie, so we would show people the mountain,” said MacLeod.

“People would come back year after year and look up the hosts, and they formed long-lasting relationships with many of them,” she added.

The Host Program is celebrating its 40th anniversary on Sunday, March 15 at Fernie Central from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. There will be a panel discussion with host coordinators and Elson will give a speech. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies will give a thank-you to the volunteers and there will be more than 40 door prizes generously donated from local businesses.