“I have not retired: I have just rewired!” So says Wally Dobbs with a half smile and a glint in his eye.
A member of the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame, Wally is as close to an “icon” as it gets, a long-time resident and enthusiastic supporter of all things Red River. For now, he is only a gnat’s eyelash away from being a genuine high country legend. While Wally might scoff at that designation, the use of the term is pretty close to the truth.
Ask any of the thousands of people that he’s met at an LSU football game or in a Lafayette travel agent’s office or at the Red River display booth at the Texas and Oklahoma state fairs. He’s better known as Mr. Wally.
You may have met him at the Red River Ski Area where he headed up the Ski School for years, ready and willing to teach skiing to anyone who wanted to learn. You also may have seen him driving his Willys Woody during his travels as a representative of the New Mexico ski industry.
When “Walter” decided to write something for this Red River Miner Winter Guide, he chose to contribute a piece entitled “Did You Know… On page 14, it is a series of tidbits and factoids that only someone who has been around Red River for 50 years could share with friends.
When he talks about Red River and the Ski Area, his energy level rises and fills the entire room, even a large room the size of the RRSA Day Lodge. He first came to Red River in 1962, the year before he graduated from high school. He remembers the Old Pass was the way to town.
He made a memorable trip in 1968. He was a Navy Air Reservist and had been activated. He and a friend decided to head for Red River.
“It was kinda my goal to break my leg,” he remembers solemnly. “I heard that skiing broke legs. The only thing that happened was I fell in love with skiing. I’d already fallen in love with Red River.”
After Nam, Wally returned to Dallas and found a career in graphics and printing, but the lure of Red River was too strong. He wanted to be a ski instructor “because they have the greatest job in the world!” Following a divorce, Wally left the corporate life to teach skiing and enjoy living.
He’s not sure how many years he headed the Ski School, something he enjoys. He also enjoyed the years on the road in the Willys preaching the joys of skiing in New Mexico. He remembers, too, the enjoyment of bringing Mardi Gras to Red River, inviting Louisiana friends to the mountains.
Wally enjoys a lot of things. “Life’s been great.”