Squaw Founder Dies

(I know I'm a few days late here....but)

My first job after college...OK, not my firs REAL job, but a job none the less...was working as a photographer at Squaw Valley. No, not some shooter for one of the slick magazines, I was one of those dopey guys that hangs out at the top of the hill and will snap your photo for $25. That was all back in the day when we still shot on film and people didn't carry around palm-sized cameras that shoot 10 mega pixel images. I don't refer to them as the good old days.

Anyway, here I was hanging out reading the various blogs and news items and I see that Alex Cushing, the founder of Squaw Valley resort and major supporter of the U.S. ski team, died last week at the age of 92. Cushing was a big figure when I lived at Squaw, a towering figure, even if he had a reputation for being a bit ornery and even at that time was ancient-looking. But he still managed to get himself up and down the hill every week, and was an inspiration to the lot of us. He biggest claim to fame is that he was instrumental in bringing the Winter Olympics to North America in 1960. Even though Squaw fell on hard time for a while after that, the big tram that he built is still there, and the resort always kept its luster from having the Olympics there. So we bid you adieu, Alex. Good luck at the big mountain in the sky.

Filed under: History, Learning, Skiing, Festivals and Events, North America, United States