Dr. Douglas Firth was a young Toronto osteopath. In the late 1930s, he spent a few seasons hauling injured skiers from the trails of the Toronto Ski Club.

Dr Douglas Firth CM, B.Sc., D.O. 1911- 2001

In 1940, he was asked by the Canadian Amateur Ski Association to organize and train a first aid and rescue group to patrol the ski hills. So, wherever there was skiing, he mobilized people to provide rescue service to injured skiers -- thus forming the Canadian Ski Patrol System (CSPS).

Dr. Firth was President of the CSPS for ten years, and during that time he helped the system solve many challenges. He was honoured in numerous ways by the skiing community and beyond for his contribution to ski safety including: 

• CSPS Life Member #1

• Induction into the Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame in 1983.

• A run at Blue Mountain Resort, Ontario, was named “The Dr. Doug” in 1990

• He became a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997

Source: “May I Help You: The First Fifty Years of the Canadian Ski Patrol System” (1994), a book chronicling the first fifty years of the CSPS, by John and Carole Laffoon. For purchase, contact info@skipatrol.ca

For more detail about the history of the Canadian Ski Patrol System: click here, CSPS History and Dr Doug