Three years after the inception of the National Ski Patrol in 1938, the group dedicated to mountain “service & safety” welcomed its first female member, Dorothy McClung. A member of the San Diego Ski Club, Dorothy McClung was a natural athlete and was appointed to the Ski Patrol after just four years on skis. A formidable and powerful racer within the Southern California event circuit, Dorothy gained recognition and notoriety when she and five other men of the San Diego Ski Club skied into Cuymaca Peak to deliver 150 pounds of food and nourishment to stranded Rangers whose job it was to scan the skies for enemy aircraft during the height of World War II.
First a member of the San Diego Ski Patrol, the original organization of its kind in California, through her skiing prowess and exploits such as the one on Cuyamaca Peak, Dorothy was honored as female patroller #1 among an existing group of 500 men.