Lives

Pascal Heuga

Pascal “Pete” Heuga
Passing Date: April 17, 2011

Pete Heuga, father of Jimmie Heuga and a fixture at Squaw Valley from its opening day until his retirement in 1985, died on April 17, 2011. He was 102. Pascal Heuga was born to an impoverished single mother on April 15, 1909, in St.-Jean-Pied-le-Port, on the French side of the Basque Pyrennées....

Ralph Walton, Crested Butte

Ralph Walton
Passing Date: April 17, 2011

Ralph Outlaw Walton, Jr., died April 17, 2011 in LaGrange, Ga. After earning a degree in electrical engineering at Auburn Universityin 1951, Walton served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and then did classified work in nuclear weapons. He then held management positions at Westinghouse Electric for...

Richard Spademan, binding inventor

Richard G. Spademan
Passing Date: December 9, 2010

Richard Spademan was a true believer, a man who found a better way and shared it with the world. Born in 1933 in Detroit, he skied as a teenager at Boyne and attended college and medical school at the University of Michigan. As an intern, he designed and patented a successful vascular catheter (it’...

Rigo Thurmer, architect, writer, ISHA benefactor

Rigo Thurmer
Passing Date: November 8, 2010

Rigo Thurmer, lifelong skier, influential architect and ISHA benefactor, died Nov. 8, 2010 after a long illness. He was 80. Rigomar Thurmer was born in 1930 and raised in Bad Reichenhall, a picturesque town dating to Roman times. The town sits just ten miles and a couple of valleys southwest of...

Georges Joubert, technique author

Georges Joubert
Passing Date: November 1, 2010

The Man Who Taught Us Modern Skiing Georges Joubert studied world-class skiers and translated their winning techniquesinto lessons that recreational skiers could learn By Ron LeMaster Georges Joubert, a giant in the world of ski coaching and instruction, passed away on November 1, 2010. From the...

Merrill Ford, Aspen

Merrill Ford
Passing Date: October 24, 2010

Aspen arts and culture advocate One of the strongest links to the Paepcke era in Aspen ended  with the death of Merrill Ford on October 24, 2010. A close friend of Elizabeth and Walter Paepcke, Merrill was involved in all of the institutions they started here. She participated on committees for the...

Georges Salomon, Legendary equipment manufacturer

Georges Salomon
Passing Date: October 5, 2010

Legendary equipment manufacturer Georges Salomon, arguably the most influential figure in the ski manufacturing world during the second half of the 20th century, passed away October 5, 2010, at his lakeside home in Annecy, France. He was 85. The company that still bears his family name began in...

Martie Sterling, Aspen lodge owner, author

Martie Sterling
Passing Date: September 29, 2010

Lodge Owner, Ski Humorist Martie Sterling, owner and operator (with husband Ken) of the Heatherbed Lodge in Aspen, Colorado, and one of skiing’s most prolific writers and humorists, died September 29, 2010, at her home in Aspen. She was 85. Born Martha Whitcomb, Martie was the daughter of a...

Erwin Stricker, Italian Ski Racer

Erwin Stricker
Passing Date: September 28, 2010

Erwin Stricker, a former member of the Italian ski team known for his aggressive style and bigger than life persona, died September 28, 2010, in Bolzano, Italy, at the age of 60. Born August 15, 1950, Stricker raced on the Italian team from 1969 to 1977 and was known as the ”Crazy Horse.” After...

Ivar Halvorsen, Nordic wooden ski maker

Ivar Halvorsen
Passing Date: August 25, 2010

Nordic wooden ski maker Ivar Halvorsen, the last of the Nordic wooden ski makers, died at age 93 on August 25, 2010, in Nittedal, Norway. He was born July 17, 1917, to his calling. As a boy, athletic and strong from having worked with his carpenter father, he began cross-country ski racing. But his...