Lynn and Karl Acker reflect on generations working in the ski industry
By Karen D. Lorentz
Sometimes you just have to wonder if some people are born with a ski gene. It certainly might seem that way for the family of Hank and Marge Huntoon whose three children all pursued different facets of the ski lifestyle.
Daughter Lynn Huntoon Acker recalls that her parents both became instructors at the High Pond Ski Area, which opened in 1951. They taught daughters Karen and Lynn to ski there when they were just 2. Son Robbie learned to ski at Killington at age 2.
“My father was one of the first two ski instructors hired at Killington along with John Southworth and instructed there part time for 61 years into his mid-80s. Mom was on the Otter Ski Patrol at Pico before teaching at High Pond,” Acker said.
Robbie Huntoon did freestyle at Killington and became a successful freestyle competitor and extreme skier. “He became a photographer for Warren Miller and as a freelance photographer won two Emmys for his work. He also skied in movies, including a James Bond film, Hot Dog the Movie, and was a stunt man in Back to the Future,” Acker said.
Growing up Karen Huntoon (Miller) took to the moguls at Killington and became a five-time world mogul champion. She helped elevate freestyle mogul skiing from its freewheeling 1970s “Hot Dog” status to serious World Cup and Olympic events.
Like her siblings, Lynn grew up in Rutland and Killington as her parents had a chalet there. She raced during high school, but after graduating in 1968, she studied retail and worked as a sales rep for a German cookware company and an art publisher in Connecticut.
“Loving the mountains, skiing, and Vermont and the opportunities for outdoor activities here brought me back to Vermont and are the reasons I stayed,” Acker said.
With a goal to become a snow hostess, she took a research trip to several western resorts when the idea occurred to start a host program at Killington, which led to being hired and implementing guest services for the 1981–82 season.
The original concept was to give information, aid, and guidance to skiers and make them feel welcome, Acker noted. However, guest services soon expanded to help other Killington departments in their contact with the public. Besides staffing the Ski School/Welcome Desk, Guest Services personnel conducted mountain tours, welcomed bus groups, and assisted other departments needing additional help — from parking cars to helping skiing services.
One memorable moment came from giving a mountain tour when she couldn’t help noticing a young man having some difficulty keeping up with the group. Asking where he had learned to ski, she was amazed to find out that he had “learned” from watching The Alpine Ski School, a movie filmed at Killington, and that it was his first time on skis!
“Those were the days when there would be 45 buses, and guest services employees started at $4 hour [$13.54 in today’s dollars]. We worked for a great team of leaders who were an inspiration to us, and our program grew to include the children’s center, vacation center, ski school sales, and the sign shop.
Ski lifestyle opportunities
Four years later, Acker followed her dream to have her own retail shop and opened Accents and Images on Killington Road. “I always had wanted to have a store and saw a need for a souvenir shop in Killington. I wanted to be in the souvenir business because people want to take something home from a trip, especially t-shirts and sweatshirts. I also carried toys and gifts. Retail is a hard field, but I had a good location next to the Killington Market and the shop was successful. It was rewarding to be my own boss and a joy continue to work with guests who came to Killington,” she said.
After 30 years, Acker sold the lease to owners of the Killington Shirt Company. Enjoying retail, keeping busy, and helping skiers, she returned to Killington (2015) and continues working weekends at Killington Sports at Snowshed.
Lynn had met Karl T. Acker, son of Pico owners June and Karl Acker, when they were growing up as their families knew each other. They re-met in 1987 and married in 1988. Karl was a racer turned coach, and Lynn readily notes that they share a passion for skiing and watching ski racing, adding, “It’s so exciting for people to be able to see a World Cup here.”
Carrying on the family ski tradition, they taught their daughter Karly to ski and she raced during high school. After college (UVM), Karly coached ski racers at Mt Mansfield Academy before moving to Germany, where she taught skiing at Garmisch. Returning to the states due to Covid she moved to Utah where she is a level three instructor at Deer Valley.
It was while riding a chairlift there that the granddaughter of Janet and Brad Mead — Pico’s founders — saw Karly’s name tag and met the granddaughter of Pico’s second owners Karl and June Acker. Coincidentally, it was Karly’s grandfather Karl who had coached Andrea Mead (Lawrence) who took two Golds in the 1952 Olympics.
Alluding to the serendipity and connections in skiing, Lynn noted, “We love winter. There’s a social ski community. I’ve skied with some local friends for more than 20 years as well as with a group of second-home owners. They all love to ski. Karl and I enjoy skiing together, and we often are on first chair on Superstar.”
Interestingly, Killington and Pico not only provided a way of life for three generations of Huntoon and Acker skiers, it also brought them together.
Submitted
Lynn and Karl Acker with third generation skier Karly Acker on the slopes of Killington circa 1996.
