COEUR d'ALENE — Denny Burt loves to help people, and the fact that it's in the mountains he enjoys makes his volunteerism all downhill.

"Everybody needs to give of themselves to something," he said.

For Burt, who owns Burt's Music in Coeur d'Alene, that means being volunteer director of the Lookout Pass Ski Patrol and the Hiawatha Bike Patrol.

He has helped take those groups to new heights and was recently named Outstanding Patrol Representative of the Year for the National Ski Patrol's Pacific Northwest Division, which consists of 87 ski mountain patrols and directors in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

"I was completely caught off guard and very humbled in that large group to receive the award," said Burt, who was honored at the group's convention in Portland. "I was speechless."

The Hiawatha Trail Bike Patrol near Lookout Pass, which started in May, recently became the first group of its type in the country to be sanctioned by the National Ski Patrol.

The sanctioning means the patrollers will receive a high level of outdoors medical training to patrol the popular trail, which set a monthly visitation record in July with 15,663 riders.

"It guarantees a higher level of care," Burt said.

The 2016 summer had 44,008 riders on the Hiawatha and this year's number has topped a record 48,000. The trail will be open daily through Sept. 24.

Burt said the sanctioning is a huge accomplishment, considering NSP has 28,000 members and 640 patrols nationwide.

Patrollers of the trail will go through four months of medical training starting in September, two nights a week. They will be tested and perform hands-on skills. If patrollers pass the course, they will receive Outdoor Emergency Care certification.

"Patrollers assist with injuries ranging from scraped knees to helicopter extractions," Burt said, adding they carry medical equipment and radios while on patrol.

Patrol training is funded by proceeds from the NSP's annual Winter Swap fundraiser at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. This year's fundraiser is Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are 86 members of Lookout Pass Ski Patrol and 32 on the Hiawatha Trail Bike Patrol.

This will be Burt's fourth year as director of the Lookout Pass group. He's been a patroller for more than 25 years.