Lives

Marc Hodler, longtime FIS president

Marc Hodler
Passing Date:

President of FIS from 1951 to 1998 For almost the entire last half of the 20th Century, a quiet-spoken Swiss lawyer and lover of the sport, Marc Hodler served as international skiing’s leader. A multi-linguist who could make a compelling speech in at least eight languages, Hodler was the President...

Barney McLean, Hall-of-Famer

Barney McLean
Passing Date:

Barney McLean, national champion in jumping and alpine Born July 13, 1917 in Lander, Wyoming, Robert Lloyd McLean grew up in Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo., and began ski jumping at age six. He won his first regional title at 13, on the 70-meter Ecker Hill jump near Salt Lake City. Mentored by Thor...

Maria Bogner and the stretch pant

Maria Bogner
Passing Date:

Maria Bogner introduces sex to skiing By Seth Masia It was fifty years ago. Maria Bogner spent the summer of 1952 figuring out how to cut the maddeningly stretchy new Helanca material to make sexy ski pants. Bogner was already an established skiwear brand with a reputation for quality and...

Paul Robbins, Ski racing journalist, US Ski Team publicist

Paul Robbins
Passing Date:

Ski racing journalist, US Ski Team publicist  - Internationally recognized ski and travel journalist Paul Robbins, a wordsmith and historian for the U.S. Ski Team for 30 years, died at his home in Vermont in February 2007. Robbins, whose wit, humor and vast knowledge was legendary, was 68.  Always...

Greg Athans, Freestyle champ

Greg Athans
Passing Date:

Champion waterskier, freestyler astonished ski world and dominated early World Cup circuit. Greg Athans, World Cup champion in moguls in 1980, four-time world champion in freestyle events, and 15-time Canadian national waterskiing champion, died  of complications due to diabetes. He was 51. Athans...

Jimmy Johnston, PSIA co-founder

Jimmy Johnston
Passing Date:

Minneapolis judge was an influential founder of PSIA. Jimmy Johnston, one of the founders of the Professional Ski Instructors of America, died August 10, 2006 at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 78, and had recently suffered a heart attack. Johnston was a renaissance man, and a giant, to boot. At 6’...

Don Metivier, ski writer

Don Metivier
Passing Date:

Don Metivier, newsman Donald A. Metivier, 70, died  in Glen Falls, N.Y. after a long illness. A life-long resident of Glens Falls, Don joined the local paper in 1961, where he worked his way up from police reporter to sports editor and editorial page editor -- while broadcasting on the local radio...

Corey Engen, Alta hall-of-famer

Corey Engen
Passing Date:

Corey Engen, 90 Last of the legendary Engen brothers Corey Engen, was the youngest of three Norwegian Engen brothers. After a successful career as a nordic competitor in Norway, Engen brought his widowed mother to Utah in 1932, following his brothers Alf and Sverre. He quickly mastered alpine...

Jack Kurlander, New Jersey ski resort builder

Jack Kurlander
Passing Date:

Jack Kurlander, 76 New Jersey’s resort pioneer Jack Kurlander, 76, founder of the Great Gorge and Hidden Valley resorts in New Jersey, suffered a fatal heart attack on April 24, 2006. Kurlander, a successful real estate developer, also launched several golf courses and the Crystal Springs Spa. His...

Doug Coombs, 1st extreme skiing champion

Doug Coombs
Passing Date:

Extreme skiing pioneer and mountain guide killed in a cliff fall in France. Doug Coombs, 48, was killed in a cliff fall while guiding in France on April 3, 2006. Coombs was a hero of the extreme skiing movement. He first came to national prominence in 1991, as winner of the first US Extreme Skiing...