Pete Seibert

Pete Seibert
Born August 7, 1924(1924-08-07)
Sharon, Massachusetts, United States
Died July 15, 2002(2002-07-15) (aged 77)
Vail, Colorado
Occupation Ski resort founder
Spouse Elizabeth (Betty)
Children Pete Jr., Brant, Calvin [1]

Peter W. Seibert (August 7, 1924 – July 15, 2002) was an American skier and the founder of Vail Ski Resort in Colorado.[2] In 1980 he was inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.[3]

Seibert, a Massachusetts native, graduated from the New Hampton School in New Hampshire and served in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II, training for as an elite ski trooper at Camp Hale in Colorado. Wounded in the leg by a mortar shell blast in at the Battle of Riva Ridge in Italy, he returned to the United States to begin recuperation. Like other ski soldiers who had trained at Camp Hale, Seibert returned to Colorado, where he became a ski patrolman in Aspen. In 1950 he qualified for the 1950 U.S. Ski Team, which hosted the 1950 World Championships at Aspen, although his injury prevented him from competing.

In 1957, Seibert and rancher Earl Eaton climbed Vail Mountain, where as trainees from Camp Hale they had learned winter bivouacking, deciding to build "the most beautiful ski resort in the world". They raised funds from a group of Denver investors, bought a ranch at the base of Vail mountain, and to detract competitors, called it the "Trans Montane Rod and Gun Club".[4] The resort was built in 1962 at the base of Vail mountain, opening on December 15, 1962 with two chairlifts, one gondola. A lift ticket cost $5.[5]

In seven years Vail grew to become the most popular ski resort in Colorado. Seibert hoped that Vail and (the future) Beaver Creek would host the skiing portions of the 1976 Winter Olympics, which had been awarded to Denver in 1970, but the voters of Colorado rejected funding for the Olympics in November 1972, and the games returned to Innsbruck, Austria, which had hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics.

"Pete's Bowl" in Vail's Blue Sky Basin was named for Seibert when the second phase of the expansion area opened in December 2000.[5]

Seibert died at age 77 on July 15, 2002, following a nine-month battle with esophageal cancer.[1] A small plaza, built in the 1970s, at the top of Bridge Street in Vail is named Seibert Circle in his honor.

Works

References

  1. ^ a b Whitney, Veronica (2002-07-18). "Seibert family says farewell". The Vail Daily News. http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20020718/NEWS/207180101. Retrieved 2007-06-02. 
  2. ^ Pennington, Bill (2006-03-10). "The Legacy of the Soldiers on Skis". The New York Times. http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/travel/escapes/10ski.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02. "The 10th Mountain Division connections are everywhere in American skiing, whether it's at Vail Mountain, founded by Sgt. Pete Seibert of the 10th Mountain Division, or in Vermont. . . ." 
  3. ^ Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame – Peter W. Seibert.
  4. ^ Hauserman, Richard; M. Scott Carpenter, John Love, Warren Miller (2000). The Inventors of Vail. Edwards, Colorado: Golden Peak. ISBN 0970443803. 
  5. ^ a b History. Vail Resorts Corporate Website.

External links