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Ski legend McLean gets special spot at Winter Park |
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012 14:49 |
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Robert "Barney" McLean skied for 84 years. He was enshrined in the National Ski Hall of Fame. Denver Post file
By John Meyer, The Denver Post
WINTER PARK — Barney McLean was one of America's great early ski racers, an Olympian named by Sports Illustrated as one of Colorado's 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century. But for me, his most inspiring legacy is the love he had for the mountains that he shared with friends and passed on to his daughter, Melissa.
I still remember being deeply moved by Melissa's remarks at his funeral in 2005 when she described her youth skiing, hiking and backpacking with him. I remember thinking about how much I wanted to pass my love of the mountains to my children as well.
Those thoughts came back Saturday when Winter Park dedicated a beautiful spot on the mountain to Barney's memory.
"I'm just blown away that this is where we are," Melissa said of the Colorado mountains we love so passionately. "I'm so blessed that he instilled that in me, because it has enriched my life so much."
We gathered in a snowfall near the top of the Mary Jane trail at a spot now called Barney's Landing, which pays homage to McLean's time as a ski jumper before he turned to alpine racing in 1937. Family and friends came together with a shared love of skiing, but also with a strong sense that skiing and other kinds of adventure in the mountains are best enjoyed when shared with loved ones.
Read more about Barney McLean and the last ski run he took with family and friends.
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