It all started back in the winter of 1968, with men who loved to move money, take chances, and play as hard as they worked. Canadian investment banker Henri Moreault was in Aspen enjoying the slopes with his close friend from Oppenheimer, Rod White. As the story goes, Rod had wrenched his back skiing, so while at the bar watching the Masters on TV, the two began to wonder aloud, "why don't we have a Masters-style event in skiing? Why not bring the pros and amateurs together?" Why not!

Moreault said he knew Bob Beattie from college, and Beattie had just created a new World Pro Skiing Tour. Known as the Father of dual-format racing, Bob was the only one who gave the world's top amateurs a professional skiing alternative beyond the Olympics and World Cup events. With Rod's encouragement, Henri set up a meeting and the three of them began flushing out the details. Beattie suggested a head-to-head, Round Robin format. The Wall Street boys added the Calcutta. They wanted to create something their clients would never forget. And Beattie knew this could be a good fit for his tour: high profile networking with home court advantage. Henri also wanted to help pro skiers finally make some money...and view the world through a different set of sunglasses.

Through the summer, Rod's back wasn't getting much better. He'd just come off bed rest and another surgery when Moreault hauled him and a dozen other street traders off to Eastern Canada for a fly fishing retreat. Rod was appreciating the force of the falls when his canoe capsized. In a matter of minutes, he had drowned. Henri was devastated. His good, lasting friend. Gone. Henri vowed to make the Pro/Am skiing event they'd set into motion come alive.

Soon after Rod's death, Henri asked another Oppenheimer wizard, Will Weinstein, to be a director. Will remembers saying, "but I don't even ski!" Henri would not be deterred. He urged Will to take his honeymoon with his new wife Anna in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, to learn how to ski. Two months later, back in Aspen where the idea was born, Will was in the gates for the first race. A Board of Directors had been quickly assembled and though Henri did not want the event named after him, The Board prevailed. They each pitched in $500 and called it The Moreault Cup. It was late March, 1969. Same year as Woodstock and the First Step on the Moon. All three considered, at the time, Historical Feats.

'69 was also a banner year for pro skiing. Triple-gold medallist Jean Claude Killy had just retired after the Olympics in Grenoble and since FIS Amateur Racing was suffering, the pro ranks exploded. The Moreault Cup was timed to coincide with Beattie's final Pro races of the season, in late March or the first week of April. This insured the top ten pros in the world would justify staying in the States a few extra days to make some quick money and have an incredible time with some Wall Street wildmen. Some of the first pros to captain The Moreault Cup teams were Jean Claude Killy, Hugo Nindl, Pepi Steigler and Canadian Billy McKay. The first event was an unqualified triumph.

In 1971, celebrated Americans Spider Sabitch and Billy Kidd entered the standings. The next year, after the Sapporo Olympics, Tyler Palmer, Hank Kashiwa and Doug Woodcock captained our teams. 1973 brought in rookies Terry Palmer, Dan Mooney, Ken Corrock, Paul Carson, and Otto Tschudi. And the word spread. Clients from all corners of the business world wanted to come to the event just to play and carve turns with the absolute best skiers in the world.

The early races rotated out of Aspen to Vail and back, partly because of where Beattie's WPS Championships were hosted. Along with Moreault and Weinstein, The Board now included Chicago trader Denny Engelman (aka Count de la Binski) and Texas restaurant guru Johnny Walker.

1972 moved the Cup to Steamboat, home of football legend Doak Walker, who added some significant athletic skill to The Board. Doak was married to Olympian Buddy Werner's sister, the irrepressible Skeeter Walker. These were the days when skiing was sponsored by cigarettes and beer, Benson & Hedges and Budweiser. Fittingly in 1975, Jerry Blank visited The Moreault Cup, in his words, "just to watch". Jerry controlled the Bud distribution network in Florida, which gave Will a perfect excuse to throw him into his first race. The next year, Jerry was on The Board.

The mid-seventies also drew corporate counter culture to the Director's chairs including a maverick dealmaker publicly nicknamed the "Grave Dancer", Sam Zell. From the West Coast, Montgomery Securities founder Thom Weisel and International land developer David Stein came on board. All together, this group of corporate hellions began teaching the Pros that the competition doesn't end after the race! It was head-to-head challenges, day and night. More than one rookie learned the meaning of "reward for results." Suffice it to say that the incentives were seductive enough that certain Pros managed 8-0 records. Others just left with the greatest tip of their lives.

From the beginning there were countless side bets. The grudge matches and the Calcutta pots grew with each passing year. But there was also a great deal of giving. A charity, usually the local junior ski racing team, was chosen as beneficiary of the Moreault Cup. Bill Shaw is one product out of the Sun Valley Ski Club who will always be grateful for what Weinstein and Moreault contributed, personally and through the Cup. "My family didn't have the money so the assistance gave me the break to move up in racing. The friendships over the years sent me work - hell, redirected my thinking and my career choices." "Pretty great family of friends for me."

As Henri moved his investment operations to Sun Valley in the fall of 1976, the Moreault Cup made Sun Valley its new home base. Doug Woodcock, who had gone to work for Moreault, was instrumental in refocusing the board and moving the event to the next level. Just as Woody had retired from Pro life, one by one, his Pro buddies began moving on from ski careers to the real world. At the time, 6 Moreault Pros had been hired by attendees of the Cup. Without losing too much speed, the "old" Pro captains had graduated to form a new class of "Legends". The guest skiers, meanwhile, were getting faster.

Around 1986, market conditions began to change and Henri decided to return to Canada. Between Woody, the remaining board, and supporters of the Moreault, the event stayed Stateside and was renamed the "Directors' Invitational Ski Classic" in 1987. Girlfriends and wives now attended and raced. Bands were brought in, the parties got fancier, but underage kids and dogs were still off limits. Sponsorship underwriting was considered to cover the additional cost.

With women coming into the event and a full race category of Ex-Pro men, The Board decided in 1989 to have the first Pro Women captain our teams. What a great addition! Not only did they continue the tradition of quality racing; they could keep up with the boys at night. In 1996, the fit was right and Nasdaq (known today as NASDAQ) became the first ever underwriter of the Directors' Invitational Ski Classic.

Each year the Directors Invitational Ski Classic  partners with charitable organizations. This has included host resort ski clubs, National Ski Team Associations and Foundations and worldwide organizations including Right to Play. Today we are proud to support the U.S. Ski Team.

Henri Moreault and Rod White had quite a concept as they sat in Aspen watching that Masters Golf tournament in '68. Ski Hard, play hard, enjoy friendships and give something back.