Fritz Buser, principal owner of Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, was born in the small farming village of Hemmiken in the northern part of Switzerlandon April 29, 1921. He grew up with the daily hardships, surviving by milking cows and harvesting apples and potatoes. From these experiences his entrepreneurial spirit was ignited; at an early age he sought to break away from his humble beginnings.

After the obligatory eight years of schooling, during which he spent all eight grades in a single classroom with the same teacher, Fritz pursued an apprenticeship with a bank in a nearby small city called Liestal. Still in his teens, on the eve of World War II, he began his first business venture – trading sardines. Some of the start-up capital for this venture came from the money he saved by riding a bicycle 20 miles every day instead of taking the train.