Tommy Tomasi had a lifelong passion for skiing, even celebrating his 100th birthday at Thredbo. Photo: Thredbo Alpine Museum/Facebook.
Tributes have flown for “a true legend” of Australia’s skiing community, who dedicated decades to keeping visitors to the slopes safe.
Tommy Tomasi was born in 1926 in Italy, but came to Australia after the Second World War and spent much of his life living and working in the Snowy Mountains.
In a statement released by Thredbo Alpine Resort, his family announced he had died earlier this month.
They described his loss as leaving them “with a hole in our lives” and said that he “truly loved you all and his beloved mountain”.
“[We] feel as did Dad that his 100th birthday [in July] was not only a celebration of his centenary but also a farewell to you all,” they said.
For director of Thredbo Ski Patrol David Kuhn, July’s celebration is a treasured memory.
“It’s going to be a different world without Tommy in it,” he told Region.
“Tommy was just a really warm person. He’s a classic old Italian – a warm, loving man.
“It was really easy to engage with Tommy. He was a great listener and full of stories … He’d always have a story.”
Mr Tomasi was a partisan during World War II, before being deported and held in a concentration camp.
Once released, he traded post-war Italy for a life on the other side of the world, finding a job in the West Australian mines.
“After the war, he managed to get to Perth,” Mr Kuhn said.
“He had no idea Australia even had snow … He realised we had snow and the next day, he bought a car and drove straight to Charlotte Pass.”
While in Charlotte Pass, he met his wife and became a ski instructor.
He worked on the original Snowy Hydro project as what he called a ‘powder monkey’ (a specialised worker who used explosives) and raised a family in Sydney.
He then worked as a hydrologist in Kosciuszko National Park.
But the slopes were never far from his mind, and he worked at a ski shop, importing skis.
One of Mr Tomasi’s most enduring legacies could be the Thredbo Ski Patrol, which he co-founded with Danny Coleman.
“When they started operating Thredbo, he said, ‘We’ve got to look after injured people,'” Mr Kuhn said.
“That’s when he started the ski patrol and went recruiting. He recruited some people that weren’t even great skiers, but they were paramedics, and they had to learn to ski.”
Even after he retired from the ski patrol, Mr Tomasi kept a close eye on his beloved mountain.
Mr Kuhn said he would often return to Thredbo for coffee, travelling in from his nearby home.
In the later years of his life, Mr Tomasi moved into a nursing home on the NSW Mid North Coast.
In a statement provided to Region, Thredbo Resort also paid tribute.
“It is with great sadness that Thredbo acknowledges the passing of Tommy Tomasi, founder of the Thredbo Ski Patrol and a true legend of the Australian alpine community, who shaped the safety and culture of this mountain for almost 70 years.
“We feel enormously privileged that we were able to celebrate his 100th birthday in resort this winter, surrounded by his friends and family.
“Tommy will be remembered by the greater Thredbo community as more than our ski patrol’s founder – as a mentor, storyteller and friend whose legacy lives on in every patroller and every person who calls Thredbo home.”
The Tomasi family have asked for privacy, with Mr Tomasi to be farewelled at a private event.
Original Article published by Claire Sams on About Regional.
