Lives

Real Charette, Snow Eagle Ski School, St. Jovite, Que.

Réal Charette,
Passing Date: October 24, 2002

Réal Charette was born in Ste. Agathe and began teaching at Gray Rocks at age 18. During World War II he was sent to Jasper, Alberta, to teach skiing to an alpine warfare unit. Returning to Gray Rocks in 1945, he became the first instructor to receive certification in Canada, and was named director...

Boots Blatt, ’48 Olympian, dead at 79

Boots Blatt
Passing Date: August 5, 2002

Boots Blatt, 79, dies of cancer WWII fighter pilot was member of '48 Olympic ski team John M. "Boots" Blatt, age 79, died at his home in Indio, CA on July 10th 2002, after a brave battle with cancer. Boots was born on May 14, 1923 in Hamburg, Germany, of naturalized American citizens, Robert Blatt...

Pete Seibert, Vail founder

Pete Seibert
Passing Date: July 17, 2002

Pete Seibert, Vail founder, dead at 77 Wednesday July 17, 2002 VAIL, Colo. (AP) - Peter W. Seibert, whose passion for skiing led him to launch what became the world-famous Vail mountain resort, has died at age 77. Seibert had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus last year.He is credited with...

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...