Skiing hall of fame inductees announced
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- Created on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 21:04
- Written by R. Scott Rappold
The Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame has announced its 2011 inductees, and there may be some familiar names for southern Colorado skiers and Gazette readers.
Among the five skiing legends is Charles Elliott, who was a driving force behind the creation of the Wolf Creek Ski Area and, at 98, still skis there.
Reporter Dave Philipps and photographer Christian Murdock caught up with Elliott in 2009 for a story:
Wolf Creek Pass • Charles Elliott’s doctor never called back to give him permission, but with a forecast of sunny skies and 5 feet of fresh snow, the 96-year-old went skiing anyway last week — on his new hip joint.
Elliott, a pioneer of Colorado skiing, is not one to pass up a day on the slopes. He has skied powder at Wolf Creek Ski Area every winter since 1934, with the exception of two seasons during World War II. He skied powder before Colorado had a single ski area.
“I’ve been skiing powder here since before they had even started using the word ‘powder’,” Elliott said with a chuckle as he buckled his ski boots last week.
Read the story here.
He and the other four inductees join a prestigious group of 184 people who have shaped the ski industry in Colorado. Here's information from a news release the new Hall of Fame skiers:
Ron Allred: Sport Builder. Telluride collapsed in 1978 when the 100 year old mining industry closed its doors. Literally, the next day, Ron Allred started an effort to create a new economy based on Telluride becoming a year round mountain resort community. Ron was only one of the leaders of that effort. The company that Ron headed built a new ski mountain, golf course, airport, retail, master developer of the Mountain Village, and a unique gondola transportation system to connect the Old Town and the new Mountain Village. This effort has taken thirty-three years so far, and the energies of the entire community.
Jack Benedick: Athlete and Inspiration. After losing both legs during his Vietnam tour of duty, Jack turned to skiing as a form of rehabilitation. Once he learned to ski, his passion, innovation, drive and leadership have created a lasting impact on adaptive skiing; specifically, the evolution of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team to the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team, and the success of the athletes. A remarkable athlete, Jack won numerous medals in the Paralympics after which he became adaptive sports' most influential advocate. He has provided inspiration to many adaptive athletes and to all who have contact with the adaptive sports world. The growth of adaptive skiing over the past four decades can be directly tracked back to Jack, the adaptive sports most prolific pioneer
Charles Elliott: Pioneer. From 1936 to 1944, Elliott was the driving force behind an incredible growth and interest in skiing in the San Luis Valley region, specifically Wolf Creek. His accomplishments during this time include construction of shelter facilities, fundraisers, establishment and training of a local Ski Patrol to increase safety on the mountain, installation of rope tows, and serving as its coordinator for the early operations. Now at age 98, he is the oldest member of the Grey Wolf Ski Club, consisting of 600 local members who are 50 or older.
John Garnsey: Sport Builder. John started his career on the Waterville Valley ski patrol. In 1974, he moved to Vail and was responsible for various mountain operations on Vail Mountain and at Beaver Creek Resort. Garnsey transitioned to the Vail Valley Foundation as vice president, and in 1985, he was named senior vice president for the 1989 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships held in Vail. As president of the organizing committee, Garnsey headed the successful campaign to bring the World Championships back to the Vail Valley in 1999. In May of 1999, Garnsey was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Resort. He was instrumental in establishing the resort as providing arguably the best guest service and safety culture earning the resort numerous industry awards. In 2008, Garnsey was appointed co-president of Vail Resorts, overseeing both Vail and Beaver Creek resorts. A most recent crowning achievement, Garnsey co-chaired the committee that secured the winning bid to return the World Alpine Ski Championships to Vail and Beaver Creek for a third time in 2015.
Chris Klug: Athlete and Inspiration. Chris's snowboard racing prowess has garnered him numerous World Cup, Grand Prix, National, and U.S. Open titles during snowboard racings infancy. Finally accepted as an Olympic sport, Chris competed in snowboarding's first appearance in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan in 1998. Racing in the GS, Chris earned a sixth place finish. What few people knew about Chris as he raced at Nagano was that he had contracted a rare liver disease in the early 90's, and was on the transplant waiting list in Colorado. After successful transplant surgery in July 2000 Chris was named to the US Olympic Team again in 2002. Racing at Park City, Chris captured the Bronze Medal in the PGS. Chris is the only organ transplant recipient to ever compete in the Winter Olympics. Chris continued to race on the World Cup Tour, and finally ended his racing career competing at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. Residing full time in Aspen with his wife Missy, Chris has devoted his "retirement" to spreading the message of life-saving organ donor awareness.
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