The Skiyente Ski Club honored 90-year-old Mount Hood regular Henry “Hank” Bendinelli as King Winter Saturday night with an evening of dining, dancing, celebrating and story-telling.

Bendinelli has been skiing for 78 years and has taught skiing for 75 of those years, primarily at Timberline. In addition to teaching at Timberline, he has also worked in the ski shop, loaded chair lifts and free-skied all over the mountain.

“I may be 90, but when I ski I feel 53,” Bendinelli told Shred Hood guest reporter Melina Jacklet at the King Winter festivities.

Bendinelli is a founding member of the Mt. Hood SkiKats ski club and founder of the Snow Sportsmanship Program, which rewards high school students in the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association for observed civility and congeniality on the slopes.

He served in two wars as an aerial navigator, in WW II and Korea, then became a stockbroker in civilian life. He was known to leave the office after the markets closed back East and head straight to the mountain, saving time by putting his ski clothing on over his suit to get on the slopes quicker.

Bendinelli and his wife raised 4 children, all of them skiers taught by the dad. And as the women of Skiyente learned Saturday night, he still has some smooth moves out on the dance floor.

The King Winter tradition of honoring individuals who have done good deeds for skiing and Mount Hood has been going on since 1956. It is organized each year by Skiyente, the longest-running all-women’s ski and snow sports club in the nation.

Past winners include Buzz Bowman, Fred Noble, Lee Perry and many other great Mount Hood characters.

Skiyente hosted a dinner in Bendinelli’s honor at the Mount Hood Cultural Museum Saturday night and then threw a coronation party for him over at Charlie’s Mountain View Restaurant.

Many past kings were on hand for the festivities, including Dale and Sheri Parshall, John Wilberding and Jeannie Hummel.

Here is a royal group portrait of past honorees at the Museum, photo by the Shred Hood Editor’s amazing daughter and journalist in training, Melina Jacklet. Good job, Melina, and great smiles everyone! See you for next year’s King Winter Festivities.

Last modified: February 23, 2015