Editor’s Note: Last year, Western Appalachian YAP Advisor Anna Hermann was awarded the Women’s Program Scholarship in Memory of Deborah Stitt. She used the scholarship to attend the February Patroller School at Killington. Deb was a dear friend of Anna’s so receiving the scholarship was very personal. The following is Anna’s tribute to Deb Stitt.
I finally sat down after the patroller school event at Killington, February 2026 and had a Miller Lite, Deb’s favorite. While I was writing this article I spent time reminiscing about the great times we had and wishing we could have had more time together.
I was honored to receive the Women’s Scholarship in Deb’s honor. It was incredible to spend the weekend working on patroller skills, something my Deb Stitt would absolutely be pushing me to do. But in all honesty, much of the time was spent thinking about my dear friend, whom I have been grieving for the past few years.
I was in my early 20s when I met Deb. I was already a patroller when she joined, but she quickly became both a mentor and a close friend. Deb taught me many things, the last being how to grieve.
Deb took me under her wing, not just as a patroller, but as a young woman. She gifted me a ski patrol neck gaiter, spent time teaching me how to be a confident woman, a strong female patroller, and gave me a crash course in golf when a group was short a member for our annual Blue Knob fundraiser. Deb founded that fundraiser, and the tradition faded after she passed. She empowered young women to be confident and to become the best versions of themselves.
I consider the opportunity to grieve a friend this deeply to be an honor. They say grief is love with nowhere to go. I take my grief to the slopes.
The ski patrol community has gifted me many friendships. With a larger community comes more loss. We learn and evolve from our mentors and friends within ski patrol, and we also learn how to navigate the loss when that time comes.
Ski patrol shapeshifts as the years go on, but we remember the greats, most importantly, our greats. Who taught you to be the patroller you are today? Who taught them?
We think of our greats as we carve beautiful turns on a bluebird day, or after working a difficult accident. I wear that neck gaiter she gifted me every time I hit the slopes, never daring to swap it out for a warmer one – even in sub zero temperatures at Killington. Deb was right there with me at patroller school making turns and running sleds. We remember and we honor.
To Deb and to all the other fallen greats, we raise a glass and carve a turn.
