Lives

Alta Board Member

Henry Laughlin
Passing Date: August 6, 2014

Henry Laughlin Henry R. Laughlin died suddenly on August 6, at home in San Francisco, at age 64. The son of publisher and Alta founder James Laughlin, Henry was an intrepid mountaineer with experience climbing and skiing throughout North and South America. He settled in San Francisco with his wife...

Founder of Liechtenstein Ski Museum

Noldi Beck
Passing Date: July 10, 2014

Noldi Beck Noldi Beck, founder of the Ski and Wintersports Museum Liechtenstein, died July 10. He was 65 years old. Noldi's passion was skiing. For many years, he was active in the international alpine racing circuit. A racer himself, he went on to teach skiing and then worked as a ski tester for...

US Downhill Champ, Woodbury Owner

Rod Taylor
Passing Date: July 5, 2014

Roderick G. Taylor, 70, who raced for the U.S. Ski Team from 1967 to 1971, died unexpectedly on July 5. Within the ski racing community he's best remembered as U.S. National downhill champion (and Roche Cup winner) in 1970, but generations of Connecticut skiers knew him as the genial owner of...

Gretchen Ress Scott, ski retailer, skiwear designer

Gretchen Scott
Passing Date: July 4, 2014

Skiwear designer and retailer Gretchen Lee Ress Scott died in Boulder, Colorado, on July 4, 2014, following 14 years with Parkinson’s disease complicated with breast cancer. She was 68. Gretchen was born in Columbus, Ohio and earned a master’s degree in fine arts at Ohio State University. She...

Jeffrey Pier, collegiate and USSA ski coach

Jeffrey Pier
Passing Date: July 4, 2014

Longtime ski coach Jeffrey J. Pier of Waddington, New York, died on July 4, 2014, in Potsdam, New York, of kidney cancer.  Born in 1959 in New Jersey, Pier briefly attended University of Maine at Orono before embarking on his career as a professional ski-racing coach.  He led programs at Hidden...

Curt Chase, founding member of PSIA

Curt Chase
Passing Date: June 6, 2014

Curt Chase, 10th Mountain Division veteran, founding member of PSIA, ski instructor innovator and  iconic Aspen/Snowmass ski school director for 22 years, died June 6, 2014, at his Silverthorne, Colorado home at age 91.   Born and raised in New Hampshire, he took up skiing two years before the...

Warren Witherell, founder of first U.S. ski academy

Warren Witherell
Passing Date: May 26, 2014

Warren Witherell died on May 26, 2014, at his home near Middlebury, Vermont, after a yearlong decline in health. He was 79. An honored member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, he founded Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont, the first American school specifically dedicated to ski racing. The...

George “Bub” Nelson, Jr., Lutsen Ski Area founder

George "Bub" Nelson
Passing Date: May 9, 2014

George Urban Nelson, Jr., founder of the Lutsen Ski Area in Minnesota, died May 9, 2014, after a long battle with cancer. He was 88. Bub Nelson grew up on the north shore of Lake Superior, at the summer resort operated on land his grandparents homesteaded in the 19th century. In 1943, when he...

Hall of Famer left lasting impact on the sport

Tom Jacobs
Passing Date: April 10, 2014

Tom Jacobs A Hall of Famer who touched every aspect of the sport, Tom Jacobs died April 10, 2014 at his Glens Falls, New York home. He was 87 and had just wrapped another ski season, spending 36 days on the slopes. Known worldwide as the owner of Reliable Racing Supply, Jacobs influenced skiing in...

Ski boot innovator

Mel Dalebout
Passing Date: March 31, 2014

Mel Dalebout Ski boot guru Mel Dalebout, 86, passed away peacefully March 31, in Sedona, Ariz., where he lived with his daughter Jan. As a first-string footballer, playing both offensive line and defensive back for the University of Utah, Mel Dalebout probably wasn’t supposed to go skiing. But...