He’s been a fixture at the Red River Ski Area since 1963 and he has no idea of how many people have learned to enjoy skiing because of his efforts to share the joy and wonder of going downhill with skis strapped to their feet. He really wasn’t interested in keeping track, but long-time friends in the ski industry have estimated that as many as 10,000 people may have benefitted from his knowledge and passion for the sport.
Red River’s Sigi Klein was inducted into the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame by Ski New Mexico on October 24 during the Hall of Fame Banquet at the International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque.
Sigi and Benny Abruzzo, whose family has owned Sandia Peak and Ski Santa Fe for many years, were honored before a large crowd of New Mexico ski industry representatives. Abruzzo joins his father, Ben Abruzzo, who was inducted into the HoF in 2003.
Sigi takes his well-deserved place with Red River Hall of Famers Drew Judycki, owner of the Red River Ski Area, John and Judy Miller of Enchanted Forest X-Country Ski Area, who were inducted in 2008, and Wally Dobbs, long-time ski instructor, Ski School Director and public relations man for the ski industry of New Mexico, inducted in 2013.
Born in 1935, Sigi started skiing at age four in the Black Forest of his native Germany. In 1956 he moved to Canada and was a ski instructor at Mont-Tremblant before coming to the United States. After working in Colorado for a few years, he moved to New Mexico and began working at the Red River Ski School in 1963 with fellow NM Hall of Famer Jean Mayer, who later became a key figure in the Taos Ski Resort.
Sigi has been a major influence in the development of the Red River Ski School, as well as developing the teaching progression used in the USA. He was director until 1970.
Sigi has taught people of all ages to ski and enjoy the winter sport over his 60 plus years of teaching this passion and he skis the steep and the deep everyday he’s on the mountain before returning to the Main Chalet to coach his class.
“I enjoy meeting new people every day and watching them learn.”
A carpenter and builder most of his life, he founded his own construction company in 1989 and has built many houses and buildings in town. Following an accident this past summer, he has decided to shut down the building business.
How much has skiing changed over the years?
“The biggest change has been in the technology and in techniques,” he says, “but we started out with two skis and two poles. We still have two skis and two poles, so…”