Olympian Lindsey Vonn’s next finish line is induction into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame
Induction ceremony will take place Sept. 7 in Vail
AP file photo
The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2024 to be inducted on Sept. 7 at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail.
The class includes former Vail resident and four-time World Cup Alpine ski overall champion Lindsey Vonn, speed skier Ross Anderson, sport builder Bjorn Erik Borgen, former U.S. Ski Team coach John McBride, and Breckenridge Resort cofounder Sigurd Rockne.
Jennifer Mason, executive director of the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame, said the museum is hopeful Vonn will be able to attend along with Rockne, who will be 91 years old when the induction ceremony takes place in September.
The Colorado Snowsports Museum is the state of Colorado’s official snowsports museum and holds its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in an effort to recognize the state’s key contributors to snowsports under the established criteria of athlete, sport builder, inspirational, or pioneer categories.
A Hall of Fame Nomination Committee evaluates and confirms the nominees to move on to the final ballot. The 140-member Hall of Fame Voting Panel is comprised of current Hall of Fame members, key snowsports industry representatives, resorts and the hall’s board of directors.
Support Local Journalism
Mason says she’s looking forward to this year’s event because one of her favorite images, when she thinks of skiing in Colorado, is of Rockne and Trygve Berge, Rockne’s cofounder at Breckenridge, jumping over a parked truck in 1965.
“We’re hoping three generations of his family, including himself, will be able to attend the ceremony,” Mason said.
Rockne was a member of Norway’s Alpine ski team before coming to work for Stein Eriksen at Aspen Highlands the first year the ski resort was open. He went on to cofound Breckenridge, being intimately involved with laying out where the runs would be and the lifts to service them. Rockne “undoubtedly contributed to the early growth of skiing in Colorado and helped create and run one of our state’s most popular world-class resorts, even to this day,” the snowsports museum said of Rockne.
While Rockne’s appearance as a still-living resort founder will be a special occasion for the Hall of Fame, the event’s star power will come from Vonn if she’s able to attend.
Vonn is best known for her dominant years racing the women’s World Cup circuit, specifically from 2008 to 2012, when she earned Alpine skiing’s most difficult achievement, a World Cup overall globe, four times over a five-year span, and also took home a gold medal and a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics.
“She redefined the boundaries of Alpine skiing, setting numerous records including 18 victories on the same course (Lake Louise), 20 crystal globes, and 43 downhill victories,” according to the Snowsports Museum. “A true sports icon, Lindsey’s impact has transcended the world of skiing through her creation of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation. Lindsey used her platform to provide programming for education, sports, and enrichment programs to help young girls grow as athletes, leaders, and individuals.”
But Vonn isn’t the only speed skier from the Class of 2024.
Native American Ross Anderson became the fastest skier in the Western Hemisphere in 2006 when he set the record (154.06 miles per hour) for the fastest American ever on skis.
Anderson was born in New Mexico but grew up in Durango and started racing at an early age.
“He was on skis by 3 at Purgatory Resort, where his father was on the ski patrol,” according to the Snowsports Museum. “By 6, he was ski racing but was drawn to speed skiing. He later became one of the top U.S. Speed Skiing Team athletes, winning bronze at the 2005 World Championships, and is an eight-time national champion.”
Anderson is also known for leveraging his athletic success to bring skiing to Native American youth.
“He began engaging in programs, initially at Purgatory Resort, together with the Southern Ute tribe, as well as the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma and the Mescalero Apache tribes of New Mexico,” according to the Ski Museum. “Over the years, he has also partnered with former ski racers like Suzy Chaffee and Billy Kidd, an Abenaki (northeastern tribe), at Chaffee’s Native Voices Foundation, to advocate for native youth.”
Two sport builders — John McBride and Bjorn Erik Borgen — are also set to be inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame.
The museum describes Borgen as a force in elevating the sport of skiing through a lifetime of providing leadership and support for athletes, venues, and major events.
Borgen’s efforts have resulted in the successful completion of major projects in the U.S. and abroad, from the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail Clubhouse and race venue expansion to the USSA Center for Excellence in Park City to the expansion and enhancement of Kvitfjell Resort in Norway.
“His efforts and persistence were pivotal in bringing the FIS World Championships to the Vail Valley in 1989, 1999, and 2015,” according to the Snowsports Museum. “He consistently supported athletes in the United States, and his home country of Norway, making it possible for athletes to achieve their dreams on and off the snow through the creation and funding of educational scholarships.”
McBride is most well known as the former U.S. Ski Team coach during the glory years of Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves, coaching Miller to two Alpine ski overall titles and Rahlves to 28 World Cup podiums and 12 World Cup victories.
Want the news to come to you? Get the top stories in your inbox every morning. Sign up here: VailDaily.com/newsletter
Raised in Aspen, McBride trained with the Aspen Valley Ski Club and went on to race for the University of Vermont.
“He coached AVSC from 1989-1995 and then the U.S. Ski Team for a decade where he led his athletes to a U.S. record number of wins and podium finishes on the World Cup in addition to Olympic and World Cup medals,” according to the snowsports Museum.
After 10 years with the U.S. Ski Team, McBride “returned to Aspen and coached at Challenge Aspen, a competitive ski team for individuals with cognitive or physical impairment,” according to the Snowsports Museum. “A year later, the Canadian Team recruited him to lead their speed team through the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He led the Canadian team to 20 podiums in addition to Eric Guay’s gold medal at the 2011 World Championships and a bronze medal by Jan Hudec in the super-G at Sochi.”
Tickets to the Sept. 7 induction ceremony will be available in the coming weeks at SnowsportsMuseum.org and will start at $50 for adults, with all proceeds going to support the Colorado Snowsports Museum, a nonprofit organization.
