Doug Coombs

Doug Coombs (September 24, 1957 – April 3, 2006) was an American alpine skier and mountaineer who helped to pioneer the sport of extreme skiing, both in North America and worldwide. He died in a severe fall at the Couloir de Polichinelle in La Grave, France, while trying to rescue his friend Chad VanderHam, who had fallen and later also died from his injuries.

A memorial for Coombs was held at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on June 25, 2006. A run on the upper part of the mountain is named after him as well.

Coombs was born in Boston and grew up in Bedford, Massachusetts, skiing in New Hampshire and Vermont. He attended Montana State University in Bozeman before becoming a fixture of the extreme skiing scene in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, helping to found Valdez Heli-Ski Guides (and the heliskiing industry) in Alaska in 1993, and twice winning the World Extreme Skiing Championship, in 1991 and 1993. Coombs married Emily Gladstone in 1992, and they founded Doug Coombs Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide in 1993. The company continues to operate.

Filmography

While not an exhaustive list, Doug Coombs has been featured in a number of ski films, including:

• Steep (2007)
• "Warren Miller's Journey" (2003)

External links

• Doug Coombs Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide
• Doug Coombs Memorial Fund set up to benefit Coombs' widow, Emily, and son, David
• Remembering Doug Coombs archive of Coombs-related stories from Powder magazine
• The Quick and Painless Ski Tune video of Coombs giving ski-tuning advice
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