Meet BFF Ambassador Cary Adgate

In 1966, a thirteen-year-old from northern Michigan walked into the Boyne Mountain Ski School and met Austrian Martin Burger, a retired world-class ski racer who would become his first and most formative mentor. What happened next is the kind of story Boyne was built to tell.

Within four years, Cary had won the overall U.S. Junior National Championship. By 1972, he had earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Colorado, skied on their NCAA Championship team, and been named to the U.S. Ski Team. He was nineteen years old.

Michigan's most decorated ski racer had found his calling on a slope in Boyne Falls — and he has never really left.

"My Boyne mentor inspired me to great success, just as I am trying to do with the current generations." — Cary Adgate

The Full Circle of a Boyne Life

Cary Adgate has always been a part of the Boyne story. He learned here, competed for the world, and came home. Today, he coaches the next generation on the same slopes that once shaped him — and the most meaningful notes he receives aren't from families of champions. They're from parents of kids who never stood on a podium, but who found confidence, grit, and a sense of themselves on a northern Michigan mountain.

That is the Boyne Forever Foundation's mission made real. As Cary puts it: "The road to skiing excellence goes directly through towns called Effort, Dedication, Persistence, Confidence, Trust, Maturity, and Friendship." It's why we are proud and honored to welcome him as a BFF Ambassador — not as a figure to celebrate, but as a living example of what Boyne makes possible across generations.

"Cary Adgate represents the very best of what Boyne stands for. From his Olympic career to the countless young racers he's mentored through Team Boyne, Cary has spent a lifetime giving back to the sport and the community that shaped him. We're honored to have him join the Boyne Forever Foundation as an ambassador." — Michelle Wein, BFF Director

Beyond the Slopes

After retiring from professional racing, Cary settled in Boyne Falls — drawn back by the lakes, rivers, and landscapes of northern Michigan he has always called home. He married Petoskey native Jody Rudolph in 1989, and the couple have raised two children, Sterling and Ireland. In 2025, they welcomed their first grandchild, Canon.

A skier for life, Cary's identity extends well beyond the mountain. He is an avid fly fisherman, water-skier, hiker, and mountain biker — forever connected to the natural world that surrounds Boyne country.

After stepping away from skiing through the 1990s, Cary rediscovered the sport in 2003 with fresh enthusiasm. Named Boyne Resorts Ski Ambassador in 2004, he went on to win the U.S. Masters National Championship in 2005 and was named Ski Racing Magazine's Masters Ski Racer of the Year.

The most important chapter of Cary's story may be the one still being written. As Team Boyne Alpine Head Coach, his legacy is measured not in podiums but in the athletes he has shaped — and the parents who write to say the mountain gave their child something they couldn't find anywhere else.

He also brings something more personal to this role: a belief that the experiences Boyne made possible for him shouldn't be out of reach for the next generation. "I hate the thought that financial considerations might make it impossible for some of today's kids to have the opportunities that I enjoyed."

Boyne Forever Foundation Building on the mountain. Giving back forever.