The snow is starting to fall in the mountains and for one Banff senior the start of the ski season is a spiritual journey that he eagerly awaits each year.

Eddie Hunter, 91, has been skiing down the slopes at Mount Norquay for decades and he was one of the first people to pick up his pass for the upcoming season.

“As a Canadian, the wind can be blowing in my face, really hard, and I feel like its always at my back, it’s a Canadian gift. And I really believe that and I carry that in skiing and the older I get the more spiritual it becomes to me,” he said. “You just can’t help it but when you see fresh snow, powder and that, and you sort of feel it’s a romance.”

Hunter is a lifelong skier and moved to Banff with his family when he was eight years old.

He says skiing was a way of life for many families in the area and that there was a real sense of community on the slopes back then.

“That was the way my life started and in many families in Banff, every family came to Norquay on the weekend and if there was some kids that were left behind another family would pick them up and take them home. It’s the feeling of being looked after, I guess, and Norquay’s always felt that way”

He put his own kids on skis when they were still in diapers and says that he still enjoys a day on the slopes with family.

“Love of family and skiing with them is always there and I can still ski well enough that I’m skiing with them, it’s not as though they’re waiting too far for me so.”

Hunter says the first time he skied the 'Big Chair' was in 1948 and that he hopes to do it again this year.

“The older you get the more protection you need," he said. “I love it. If it'll happen for another year, I’ll do it."

“The Big Chair is an institution to anyone who’s grown up in Banff or anyone who’s skied it,” said Andre Quenneville, General Manager at Mount Norquay.

Hunter now lives in a retirement community after working in television and film for years and Quenneville says he is an inspiration to everyone at the resort.

“We all know Eddie and we love to see him out on the slopes. I think we can all thrive off of his excitement for the winter, like, we are all the same and it’s great to see that we can all be like that when we get older,” said Quenneville.

Mount Norquay is planning to open the first week of November, click HERE for more information.

(With files from Bill Macfarlane)