SALT LAKE CITY — The contributions given by the four new inductees into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame were said to be immeasurable, in both time and effort.
On that note, Dean Roberts, Picabo Street, Harry Baxter and Dick Mitchell joined an elite group of skiing notables who, over the years, contributed to the development of skiing in the intermountain area.
The Hall of Fame was first introduced the same year as the 2002 Utah Winter Olympics. The first inductees were Junior Bounous, Zane A. Doyle, Alf Engen, Sverre Engen, Karre "Corey" Engen, Gretchen Fraser, Averill Harriman and Joe Quinney.
There are 71 past inductees that include Stein Eriksen, Neil Rafferty, Jim Gaddis, Marv Melville, Dick Bass, Alan Engen, Mike Korologos, Karen Korfanta, Phil Jones, Alan Schoenberger, Spencer Eccles, Meeche White and Ron Steele.
The late Roberts was a member of both Weber State and the University of Utah ski teams and won downhill, slalom and ski jumping events.
He became a certified ski instructor, eventually becoming owner and director of the Solitude Ski School in 1970 and director of skiing in 1994.
Over the years, under his direction, the Solitude program introduced thousands of skiers to the sport.
Street is well-known through ski racing in the intermountain area. She was born in Triumph, Idaho, raced as a junior in the intermountain circuit and honed her skiing skills at the Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City and Sun Valley, Idaho.
At the age of 17 she joined the U.S. Ski Team and made her World Cup debut at 21. In the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway she won a silver medal in the downhill and in the 1998 Olympics in Japan she won a gold medal in the downhill. After recovering from a devastating injury that kept her off the slopes for two years, she returned to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.
During her career she won three World Championship medals, two Olympic medals and nine World Cup titles.
Street continues to inspire young racers through the Street of Dreams Foundation and the Picabo Street Academy.
Baxter was for many years the driving force behind the development of Jackson Hole Resort in Teton Village, Wyoming.
He was a member of the U.S. Professional Demonstration team and was the ski school director at Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine.
In 1974, he moved to Wyoming to become director of marketing and vice president of public relations at Jackson Hole. Under his direction, the resort moved from a fledging ski area to being named “America’s Best Ski Resort’’ by Forbes Magazine.
He was one of the country's top masters ski racers over the years and at the age of 84 won first in his age class 80-84 in a race in 2013.
Mitchell, who passed away in 2015, began his skiing career at Snowbasin and went on to be captain of the University of Utah ski team, winning the 1953 downhill championship and finishing third in the slalom.
He became an Air Force fighter pilot in the Vietnam War and left for a time during his service to compete for the United States in the 1956 Winter Olympics in Italy. He flew 149 combat missions, which earned him a number of military awards. He also helped in the evacuation of Vietnam in 1975.
He was an avid skier and ski racer and remained so for most of his life.
Each honoree received a framed plaque. A duplicate plaque will be placed in the Alf Engen Ski Museum.