Roger McCarthy - Resort executive, Canadian Ski Hall of Famer

Well-known and respected in the ski industry for his leadership style, diverse skill set and affable nature, Roger McCarthy impacted ski areas across North America for more than 50 years in resort management and development. McCarthy died January 4, 2025, from a suspected heart attack. He was 75.

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, McCarthy learned to ski at the age of 7 at the Tongariro Ski Club on Mount Ruapehu, on the North Island. Inspired by images he’d seen of British Columbia’s Whistler Mountain, he moved to Canada and worked his way onto the pro patrol after starting out as a lift operator.

McCarthy impressed those around him with his dedication, inquisitiveness and passion for the mountains. He took on other positions in mountain operations at Whistler and became a Canadian citizen in 1976, realizing that Whistler and Canada were where he wanted to be.

In 1990, he was hired by Blackcomb as director of human resources. (Whistler and Blackcomb merged in 1996.) When Intrawest, Blackcomb’s parent company, invested in the resurrection of Mont Tremblant in Quebec, McCarthy was tapped to transform the aging ski area into an award-winning destination resort.

In 1998, McCarthy was promoted to Intrawest’s senior vice president, Eastern Region, which included Blue Mountain, Ontario; Mont Ste.-Marie, Quebec; Mountain Creek, New Jersey; Snowshoe, West Virginia; and Stratton, Vermont. Eventually, his responsibilities were expanded to Europe, which included developing and operating a snowdome in Madrid.

In 2000, McCarthy joined Vail Resorts as chief operating officer at Breckenridge, Colorado, and two years later was put in charge of Keystone; they were two of the most visited ski resorts in the United States.

In 2007, McCarthy resigned from Vail Resorts to take on a new challenge brought to his attention by long-term friend and business colleague Paul Mathews, president and CEO of
Ecosign Mountain Planners. McCarthy’s role was to lead the development of a new resort in Russia, Rosa Khutor, in anticipation of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games at Sochi.

After his Russian adventure, McCarthy returned to Whistler. He served as a councilor for the Resort Municipality of Whistler from 2011 to 2014, participating in or chairing several municipal committees.

McCarthy was inducted into the Laurentian Ski Hall of Fame in 2016 and into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum in 2023. —Steven Threndyle