Lives

Biathlete, Resort Founder

John Burritt
Passing Date: January 7, 2015

John Ray Burritt, Sr., 81, died peacefully at his home on January 7, 2015. He was born in Cedaredge, Colorado into a pioneering farming family on Redlands Mesa, where he learned to shoot and hunt. He graduated from Hotchkiss  High School in 1952, then completed his college education at Western...

Tahoe Skiing Pioneer

Fraser West
Passing Date: January 2, 2015

Fraser “Poke” West died January 2, 2015, at age 96. Born March 1, 1918, Fraser West grew up in Reno, and passed up an appointment to West Point to focus on agriculture, skiing and rodeo roping. He enrolled at the University of Nevada as an Agriculture and Animal Husbandry major, while competing in...

10th Mountain Division leader

Earl Clark
Passing Date: December 28, 2014

Earl Ervin Clark, who served in the 10th Mountain Division from its inception, died at home on Dec. 28, a day after attending a 10th Mountain reunion luncheon. He was 95. Clark was born in Londonderry, Vermont in 1913, and learned to ski while growing up in Wisconsin. After graduating high school...

Ski jumper, resort founder

Gus Raaum
Passing Date: December 28, 2014

Gustav (Gus) Raaum, the ski jumping champion who supervised construction of Big Sky Resort, died Dec. 28 at age 88.   Born in Brevik, Norway, Gus grew up in Lillehammer and in high school competed in soccer, track and speed skating -- and excelled in ski jumping. During the German occupation in...

Stratton Marketing VP

Michael Cobb
Passing Date: December 12, 2014

Michael Cobb, longtime vice president of sales and marketing at Stratton, died Dec. 12 of cancer. He was 63. Born in Garnerville, N.Y., Cobb discovered skiing at 14 and was immediately hooked. He became a junior patroller at Silvermine Ski Area, in Harriman, N.Y., in 1967. In time he succeeded at...

Racer, ski association officer

Rémi Cloutier
Passing Date: December 4, 2014

Rémi Cloutier, 84, a lifelong promoter of Canadian skiing, died Dec. 4 in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, his home town. In 1948, he won the Canadian Junior Downhill Championship at Mt. Norquay, Alberta, but broke a leg before the 1950 FIS championships. He went on to a successful career in the pulp-...

Idaho photographer

David Stoecklein
Passing Date: November 10, 2014

David Stoecklein, 65, whose ski-action photos were a mainstay of ski magazine features and advertising in the late '70s and '80s, died of cancer on November 10. Dave grew up in Fox Chapel, Penn., a suburb of Pittsburgh, but moved West in his early 20s to pursue photography as a profession. After...

Ski College founder, tennis coach

Vic Braden
Passing Date: October 6, 2014

Photo courtesy Gale Godwin Renowned tennis coach Vic Braden, whose “laugh and win” approach to teaching serves and strokes proved to be equally innovative and effective for the ski schools of Aspen and Vail, died October 6, 2014 of congestive heart failure in Trabuco Canyon, California. He was 85....

10th Mountain Vet, Vermont Stalwart

Erling Omland
Passing Date: September 3, 2014

Erling Omland Erling Omar Omland, a stalwart of New England skiing, died Sept. 3 at age 97. Born in Pittsfield, Mass., he grew up in Risr, Norway, Brooklyn, N.Y. and Roselle, N.J. He attended Union College in Cranford, N.J, and in the late 1930s made annual trips to Tuckerman Ravine. A devout...

Swiss Lauberhorn Champion

Karl Molitor
Passing Date: August 25, 2014

KARL MOLITOR Swiss skiing legend Karl Molitor, one of the most successful and charismatic champions in his era, has died peacefully at the age of 94 on August 25th 2014, his family announced in the middle of the week. Molitor, born in the famous ski resort of Wengen in the beautiful Bernese...