North Salem Skiers Honor Michael Robson

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. – A ski event at Vermont's Mount Snow to benefit the Michael C. Robson Scholarship Fund turned into a moving and memorable experience for the more than 200 people who attended. Michael Robson, a 13-year-old lover of skiing from North Salem, was one of the two boys killed by a falling tree during Hurricane Sandy.

A crowd of 200 North Salem residents ski at Vermont's Mount Snow in honor of Michael Robson.
Photo Credit: *Courtesy of Trish Mahoney*

by Katherine Pacchiana

03/13/2013 12:01 a.m.

“On Saturday at 6 p.m., there was a Torch Light ceremony, where the staff came down the mountain with torches as we stood silently watching,” said North Salem’s Trish Mahoney, a close friend of the Robson family. “Once they came down, they handed a torch to Mr. and Mrs. Robson and they all held them high chanting, 'To Michael,' then snuffed them out in the snow.

“Then everyone got together and formed a letter ‘M’ at the base of the mountain and held their flashlights/iPod lights up to the sky so that ‘Michael could see us from above,’ as local resident, Sean Davis, played ‘The River Is Wide’ on the bagpipes.”

Everyone received a discounted lift ticket Sunday, along with a bright green bandana to wear in honor of Michael. After lunch at the Grand Summit Lodge, all the green-bandana wearing skiers met at the Canyon Lift and “took two runs together, forming a giant snake and chanting Michael’s name,” said Mahoney. “It was a lovely tribute.”

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