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SANDY -- For Sandy's Marv Melville, life doesn't get much better than a day spent putting on the skis and heading down the slopes.
"Oh, I just think it's being in the mountains, the fresh air, and [I've] done it for a lot of years," he says.
I'll ski until the body breaks down. I should be good for another 10 years.
–Marv Melville
For many years, and still to this day, Melville loves to be the first one on the hill. It's a love that started at age 10.
"My father and I went down to the Army and Navy surplus store and bought two pair of army skis, boots and poles, came up here in our Levis and jumped on the rope tow," Melville recalls.
"The worst memories are falling down a lot," he says, "but the best memories are being in the mountains and enjoying it."
Several falls and lessons learned later, Melville became a junior racer at age 14. He went on to ski for Granite High School, and then on to the Junior National Championships. He became an All-American for the University of Utah, and in 1955 won the Snow Cup at Alta. That helped propel him to his ultimate goal: a spot on the U.S. Olympic downhilll team in 1956.
"Sometimes it's unrealistic, but it was a goal, and fortunately I was lucky and made it," Melville says.
Melville also made the 1960 Olympic team, where he finished 22nd. Back then, the downhill course was run on ungroomed hills.
"Back then, we were probably going 50 miles an hour. Now they're probably going 75 [mph]," he says.
Now age 76, Melville still has a passion for powder. He skis five days a week and owns five season passes and a dozen pair of skis.
"I probably ski better now than when I was competing," Mellville says.
After competing internationally, Melville joined the Masters Class ski racing circuit where he dominated his age group in alpine and cross-country through 2002.
Melville stays in top shape. He had a knee replacement last summer, but that didn't stop him from being the first one on the hill last November.
"I'll ski until the body breaks down. I should be good for another 10 years," he says.
Melville was inducted into Utah's Crimson Club Hall of fame in 1992. These days he loves to ski with his five daughters, 29 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
E-mail: kaiken@ksl.com
