Can you identify the legendary ski persons in these photos?

guess 1st:

That looks like Hannes Schneider in the lower part of the Tuckerman Ravine bowl.

That is correct and you are probably right about Tucks too.

Hannes Schneider is the father of modern ski technique which he developed as an Austrian ski instructor between 1907 and 1924. He starred in early German ski films in the 1930s. He clashed with Nazi policies and in 1939 immigrated to Cranmore Mountain Ski Resort in North Conway, New Hampshire. During WWII he helped train the US Army 10th Mountain Division ski troops.


2nd guess is a two-fer and should be easy for folks of a certain persuasion :

Sean White and Alberto Tomba?

Jim and his wife!!!
The Colonel

We need some better rolling smilies to do that one justice. The Colonel, out of left field makes the tackle.

Nice photo of Hannes. I never saw that one before. Nice bio sketch too but you left out Schneider's greatest accomplishment. He designed Laurel Mountain's first trail!

Snowsmith is correct about Sean White. But nobody has guessed the older guy in the 2nd photo. He is perhaps a bigger legend in their chosen field of endeavor.

Rich Rodriquez.

Carrot Top and Ted McGinley. Bah! too soon for the thread to jump the shark!

heh - Jake Burton!

Lol, looks like Mark Cuban.

Thank you Crush! Jake Burton (Carpenter) is correct. Some consider him the father of the modern snowboard. He was among the first designers and proponents when snowboarding hit the scene in the late 1970s. He still runs the Burton Company which now includes winter clothing and various accessories. The company also sponsors pro athletes including Sean White.

3rd guess is a true living legend who turns age 96 next week.

Then:


Now:

Dave McCoy
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081201/how-i-did-it-dave-mccoy-mammoth-mountain.html

Denis is correct and that link to an interview is better than anything I could say about why Dave McCoy, founder of Mammoth Mtn, CA qualifies as a legend.

Here's a very picturesque photo of a modern legend.
4th guess:

McConkey?

Shane McConkey is correct. He was a ski racer, extreme skiing film star, BASE jumper, and early proponent of reverse sidecut/camber "rocker" skis. On March 26, 2009, Shane McConkey died in a BASE jumping accident in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. I'm not positive, but the photo above appears to be from that region.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The 5th guess could be difficult, so here are some hints. This individual was a 17-time national championship skier and one of the first American skiers to compete successfully with European skiers during the pre-WWII timeframe. He also developed a reputation as an early ski photographer. After the war he was employed by the nation's premier ski company as a designer and tester and over the years he and his wife played a formative role in the development of Alta, Sun Valley and Aspen ski areas. BTW, I think I skied part of Ruthie's Run with this individual on Ajax Mtn in March 1991.

I think this is a sensational shot especially considering it was taken about 70 years ago:

Alph Engen?

Dick Durrance, the premier American born skier of the pre World War II era. I believe that shot was taken in the Tuckerman Ravine bowl in one of the Dartmouth - Harvard races around 1939 - 40. Possibly in the 1939 Inferno Race. The race was held 3 times, the final time in 1939, and was from the summit of Mt. Washington to the road in Pinkham Notch, a distance of 4.5 miles and 4000+ feet of vertical drop. The result of this race is the stuff of legend. The race record was 12 minutes, set by Durrance a few years before. Toni Matt, a 19 yr. old Austrian instructor working with Hannes Schneider in north Conway almost cut this record in half, 6:29. He tucked the Tuckerman Ravine headwall hitting a speed estimated at 85 mph, on hickory skis with low cut leather boots and bear trap bindings. He never answered the question of whether he planned in advance to tuck the headwall but did say that once in it he realized that attempting to turn to slow down would be riskier than running it straight. He never went back to Mt. Washington and the race has never been held again as a sanctioned event, perhaps because it was understood that the bar had been raised into the realm of certain deaths if it were to become an annual event. Toni Matt died a few years ago but before he did he gave an interview in the video, "Legends of American Skiing", available from the New England Ski Museum. In his mid 70s he looked and spoke like he could do it again if he so wished. He said that all his life when he was introduced to someone they would say, "Oh yeah, the guy who schussed the Headwall." He said, "I got a lot of mileage out of that but I did a few other things in the world of skiing. I won every race I entered, 18 Downhills."

Back to Durrance, he too is given much credit in the Legends video and is interviewed several times. He was Dartmouth's most famous skier and the Dartmouth Outing Club was principly responsible for American skiing becoming a healthy sapling that grew into the sport we have today. In the post war era the 10th Mountain Div. veterans grew it into a national sport. I believe that both Matt and Durrance were 10th Mtn. veterans.

Nice going Denis, you nailed it with Dick Durrance. If anyone wants to see some of Mr. Durrance's vintage photos click here for a great slideshow:
http://www.drinkerdurrance.com/

6th guess is a local backcountry legend. If you ARE this legend you are disqualified from answering.

Denis

Correct, although legend is a bit of a stretch. That was taken at Stowe in Chapel Woods, I think 3 yrs. ago. The hands out front are for bashing boughs. Slalom racers bash gates, tree skiers bash boughs or saplings.

Here's one for you, who is this and what is he about to do?

To give a just nod to the fairer sex, who is this former US Ski team Olympian. Hint: Lindsey Vonn just moved ahead of her as America's most successful women ski racer.

Did her brother ski real, real, real fast?

man I was so blocked b/c I know her but my substance-abused brain wouldn't cough up her name so I had to watch lots of Warren Miller footage until I found the part where she was in a charity race with other legend (she was the "rookie legend") heh -

Tamara McKinney

Yes and yes, Tamara's brother Steve was the first skier to break the 200 km/h barrier.
From wikipedia:

She raced on the World Cup circuit for 11 seasons, making her first podium at age 16, in December 1978. She won four medals in the World Championships; bronze medals in the combined (1985, 1987) and slalom (1989), and a gold medal in the combined at Vail in 1989.

While winning the overall World Cup in 1983 at age 20, she also won the giant slalom title, which she also had won in 1981. In 1984 McKinney won the slalom title, and took fourth place in the giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

Tamara McKinney retired from competitive ski racing at age 26, following the 1989 World Cup season. She had 18 World Cup victories, 45 podiums, and 99 top ten finishes.

Eight of her victories were in the U.S., with six at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, which included double victories in 1983 and 1984. Along with Gretchen Fraser and Andrea Mead-Lawrence, McKinney is regarded as one of the top female alpine ski racers in U.S. history.

Here's a shot of Tamara in her prime:




I'll wait until the weekdays before I post a hint for my first skier legend above. I know all you lazy office workers with too much time on your hands kill the day posting on internet forums instead of being productive citizens.

Is this Toni Matt getting ready to schuss the Mt Wash headwall 1939??

Correct. I think these have been too easy.

I think this is the 9th guess, it's a two-fer. One individual should be an easy guess, the other (actually with more overall Alpine Skiing World Championship success) could be a little tougher. I love these old photos that show good details of the equipment used at the time:

That is Jean Claude Killy on the right. On the left I have no idea.

Marc Girardelli?

Looks like he is wearing Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge of France, but Luxemborg has similar colors.

Notice the masking tape on the Rossi skis...

Better end this now before it gets out of control :-)
Killy is correct, the greatest ski legend of my youth in the late 1960s. I like how his go-to racing skis are identified by his initials on a piece of masking tape, like a little Timberline cub scout might do these days.

The person on the left is Marielle Goitschel, great female French alpine skier from the 1960s, won two Olympic Gold medals and one Silver. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marielle_Goitschel

LHC or others, post a pic of your next legend.

Either one will do:

Hah! Clearly in my eyes she's not at the same level as Vonn or Mancuso.

No guesses? There can be both two correct answers and one correct answer.

Phil or Steve??

imp

Yes. Both Phil and Steve Mahre took up sports car racing after retiring from active skiing competition (the first time) and raced in the IMSA series in 1988/1989 at places like Sebring and Daytona as pictured above. (I guess one way to descibe the 12 hours of Sebring and the 24 hours of Daytona would be 'No hill. Too fast.' ) Most recently they have raced in the Grand Am Continental Cup series.

Good one GG. I knew there had to be a skiing tie in but I didn't even know where to look.

How ya doin' imp? Here's one you should know, no hints except for the photo:

Elvis Costello?

I didn't know Elvis skied but that is not correct.

The Colonel.

My second guess was gonna be Joe Paterno, then I saw the url from your photo and that tipped me off to Doc DesRoches, Laurel Mtn legend. I see he was also president for 20 yrs of Ski/Snowsports Industries of America (SIA - trade assn). Maybe you (or imp) can explain his LM connection? Current SIA headquarters is 3 miles from me. Son dropped off a resume there in 2010 trying to get a summer job. No luck, it's a pretty small outfit.

Uncovering the URL??? Too easy. We ought to have a rule against that.

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I should have downloaded the photo then uploaded to another host but I didn't think anybody would cheat, Jim.

Doc came to Laurel Mountain in 1945 from Lake Placid after the war. Doc was also a 10th Mountain Division vet but was injured when a mortar exploded near him at Camp Hale. He spent the rest of his time on the 10th. Mountain training staff at Lake Placid. Prior to the war Doc raced on the University of New Hampshire ski team.

Doc ran the ski school at Laurel and in the summer months went back to Lake Placid to manage a swimming pool. He meet and married his wife, Toby there. Soon business at Laurel was good enough to keep the DesRoches in Ligioner year round. Toby also taught in the ski school and together they raised 4 children, Laurel, Alexis, Amiee and Alex. Doc was soon running the ski shop and later became CEO of Laurel Mountain Slopes.

It was this extensive background in skiing; racing, teaching, managing and retail, that lead to Doc becoming CEO of Snow Industries of America, now SnowSport Industries of America. Doc made it the preeminent industry trade association hosting annual industry wide shows in New York, Chicago, Los Angles, San Francisco and then its permanent home, Las Vegas.

Doc was tapped to become the chairman for the US Ski Team Fund Committee and Olympic Ski Games Fund Committee. And for another 'guess this skiing legend', this former ski team coach (center):



said there would have been no ski team without DesRoches.(bonus points name the two flanking skiers)

Doc co-founded the New York Ski Ball, still going strong to this day.

Doc helped found the Eastern Ski Writers Association and the US Ski Writers Association. He is charter member #7 of the PSIA, sat on the Board of Directors of the US Ski Association and was also involved with the International Ski Federation.

Ralph A. 'Doc' DesRoches was inducted into the US National Ski Hall of Fame, the PA Ski Hall Of Fame and also his native Maine Ski Hall of Fame.

I will guess Bob Beattie in the center and I am quite sure Jimmy Heuga on the right. Don't know who is on the left. Possibly Billy Kidd. Kidd got a silver and Heuga a bronze in (I think) the 64 Olympics.

Trifeta, Denis. left to right, Kidd, Beattie and Heuga.

Good questions, good answers. Didn't mean to be sneaky, just quoted LHC to reply and it popped up in the window
Easy and hard guesses:

Suzy Chaffee but no time to search for skier # 2 but for some reason Snowbird comes to mind.

I think it's Ernie Blake, founder of Taos. Any skier who hasn't been to Taos owes it to themself. When they have abundant snow they are the best, Better than Alta, IMHO. They only get abundant snow about 1 yr. in 3.

Those guesses of Suzy and Ernie are correct.


This would be a fun posse to hang with even if a little over the hill:

L to R; Mike Hattrup, Greg Stump, Glen Plake. Saw Plake at Whitetail 2 yrs. ago.

The last few guesses are making me feel like an old fart. I certainly would not be able to recognize ski and snowboard pipe or 'cross figures.

Denis, you are correct except who is the guy driving the truck? He is perhaps the greatest legend of the bunch.

easy - scott schmidt