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Cloudveil's Mountain Culture Blog JH Underground Teton AT The Grrrlie ChroniclesWe shot this short film in February 2006, the night before Doug left for France.
Doug died in La Grave on April 3, 2006.
The ski world has lost an icon. As Doug Workman said, “It’s like Superman dying.”
“The Otterbody Experience,” a ski mountaineering film starring Doug Coombs and Doug Workman.
I am numb today. I went to high school with Doug in Bedford Mass. My favorite memory of sking with Doug was at Wildcat in New Hampshire, we were on a cat track overlooking about a 20 foot drop to basically a flat landing, Doug just said see ya and dropped off landing perfectly laughed and then took off. He made everything look so easy.
Wow we will miss Doug!!
I am in shock and hurt, knew doug for many years as he came through Hood River alot.
The video above brought tears to my eyes, painfully similar to what my former boss Junior Bounous (Snowbird) did for his skis!
Anyway Emily, friends and others if you read this …my condolences.. we in Hood River mourn with you.
Bill Kline
Doug was the greatest man to ever walk, ski, and live on this planet. His death will be felt throughout the skiing world. No one will ever forget his great legacy. Although I only skied with Doug for one day that was all it took for me to see his great personality, knowledge for the backcountry, and love for skiing. Dougs spirit will forever live in Mountains and the mountaineers who travel them. We all miss you Doug.
What a terrible loss. We will all miss Doug and his smile and humor. I went to school and was on the ski team with Doug at MSU. He was such an incredible strong skier back then, and he only got better. Skiing with him in Valdez, in the mountains he loved, was one of the highlights of my life. I will always remember him for being so full of life truly loving every minute of the day. We can all learn from him in that way. Emily, our thoughts and support are there for you and David. Doug was a wonderful person and we are so fortunate to have known him.
i skied la grave on the 3rd. compared to doug coombs i know nothing about skiing off piste. i’m just a reckless kid with my equally reckless friend. i have never heard about doug until today but i will never forget his story rip
I worked with Doug on a geophysics crew looking for gold for Newmont Exploration in the late 80’s. He was quite the guy and the life of the crew. His smile and his sense of humor made 14 hour days fly by. Even after pulling wire thru the desert sage all day, Doug would have us wait at the job site for awhile while he ran up some steep canyon road for his ski training. We shut down a job in Montana just so we could get to Bozeman to celebrate his 30th birthday and what a celebration it was….riding bikes aroud the college campus at 5 in the morning. I will never forget a trip we took to Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park(BC). We hiked up to the headwall of the glacier and found a stone shrine with an unopened can of Kokanee beer on a small ledge…we pondered our Karmic fate if we were to drink the holy beer. We had a blast glissading down the slopes on our backs laughing wildly. I got to ski with him in the Rubies and at Alta several times. He was so full of life and made everyone around him laugh and smile. Although I have not bee4n in contact with him for a long time I still thought of him often and fondly. He will be missed but his spirit will be traversing the slopes for eternity.
Steve Strickler
Whether kitchen cabinets, puffy quilts, bathroom tile, sofa cusions or pudding with a side dishes of potatoes, the house of skiing was always a pleasurable visit with Doug. Ever goofy yet astute descriptives characterized his free-flowing creativity on or off the snow, with Phone booths, hip checks, ribbons and nubs becoming standard vocabulary for a legion of pals he made world wide. Every day, all weather, each odd “problem” was a curious joy for this guy to explore, and it rubbed off on us all. I see this legacy as even more important than any one of his incredible achievements on skis.
We all know a beautiful song when we hear it, though few can create in the same capacity. Doug was such an artist in his unique way, leaving an indelible mark on all of us, not just in the snow. I won’t get to share another crazy storm with him at the No-tell-Hotel again, but whenever I click in, no matter where or what the conditions, I’m always a measure more jolly with that spirit Doug shared with me way-back-when. It pervades my daily work and family life…..When I feel it or recognize it in the eyes of those around me, that’s when I see Doug and hear his laugh, always.
Farewell old chum. See you at the full-moon jaunt in the sky. And don’t forget your goggles!
I knew Doug for a long time now, ….. just found out ….. I’m kinda at a loss for words , but suffice it to say Doug ” Lived The Wildlife” , the premise I have built my company on and the tradition hardcore skiers will always live by… We will raise many a glass of “POINT IT” Pale Ale in your honor Doug. May you find peace and many huge ski lines in skiers heaven. Ric Harmon / Wildlife Brewing
Thanks for your inspiration. Although I’d seen Doug in movies, it was one day on the Jackson Tram that I turned around and said to myself, “Hey that’s Doug Coombs!” And before I could say hello, Doug just pulled me into a conversation about the day, where to ski(or not to ski!), and some beta on the chutes. I never saw him again on the mountain, but everytime I read about him, or watched him in a movie, I remembered that day on the tram when I shaked hands with one of the greatest ski mountaineers in the world.
Doug Coombs. What a guy. Took me up to the Ridge at Bridger my first time. We hiked out to Hidden Gully, and I couldn’t beleave that he skiied it from the top! Second turn was off the rock wall on the side! Always a bright spirit and fun to be around. He touched so many people in so many ways. I will miss him.
I met Doug around 1990 he would come into Life-Link hoping to have us give him some gear which we always did and he always had feedback to make whatever product it was better. One day in 1991 he mentioned that they were going to have an extreme skiing contest in Valdez, Alaska and he would like to go but he didn’t have airfare. We came up with a ticket for him but jokingly told him that if he didn’t win he would have to paint our building. When he came back to Jackson the first thing he did was come into our office with the biggest damn trophy you have ever seen and it had his name on it! It has been in our offices ever since.
I have skied with Doug in Jackon and Valdez never skiing anything really hard or anything that would get Doug’s adrenalin going but with out exception after almost every run Doug would make me feel as though the skiing was as exciting for him as it was for me. Doug was a wonderful skier and mountaineer but what Doug had that I have seen in few people is a passion and enthusiasm for skiing that never waned. That is what I will remember most about Doug the passion and enthusiasm of a little boy for a sport he loved so much.
Some people just have it! I didn’t know Doug, but I don’t have too many posters hanging in my garage, and
the best is of Doug Coombs. I am a little older, but he really did for a lot of people, live the life. It was
good to know that he was somewhere, making a fast run on a big mountain, and stickin’ it.
You just can’t do that in bounds. That he sought out places he could ski his way, is the measure of the man.
I’m just sorry that he can’t ski more. Those who can, ski with his son!
Coombsie - Broke his neck as a sophomre in high school, kept on skiing with a halo on his head. “There’s no such thing as too much snow!” Smitty
Adios Amigo! Although we were never so close, your grace and especially your humorous insights will always be with me. It was a golden summer in my memories….we were young then and brave…peace joe
Look for my new tv series on RSN, “Keep it Real”. I put in some archival footage from 1992 that I filmed of Doug during the WESC contest and before and after the event that year. If ayone new how to Keep it Real, it was Coombs. He wasn’t perfect, but he was great. Be humble, Be great.
I met Doug randomly on a January day in early 2004 in La Grave - he showed us around Le Meje; it was the best ski day of my life, not because of the snow or the mountain but because of the people I was with…he is an inspiration and a special person. He will be missed.
We all remember the stories in Alaska after a day in the Chugash… sitting in the Tsaina Lodge until sunset at 10pm listening to the days recollection as Doug saw it… new lines all with new names… Mad Cow.. the Library… what a day… and then there’s always tomorrow…. he made it exciting and memorable.. Doug often alternated fearful runs of 50 degrees with a relaxing powder pitch to keep the smiles and clients like me coming back for more. Emily is ever the partner to Doug and we feel for her deeply. Love on. Emily give your son the memories and photos to continue the stories, we need more Coombs in this world. Kevin - producer Snow Zone w/Jonny Moseley 1998/99.
[…] Ski Profiles: * Saudan Sylvain is mentioned in most pieces as the godfather of the sport. Probably not in the least because he was commercially very handy. * Patrick-Vallencant is another one. The pistehors is also one of the better extreme ski sites (incl. search engine). Vallencant made with El Gringo Eskiador, “at a sustained 60 degrees, possibly the continuously steepest [stenende vid] mountain ski descent ever done” * Lionel Terray (1921-1965), one of the few that died, but not while skiing. * Aurélien Ducroz in action. [his site] * Pierre Tardivel, pionnier du ski extrême (preview playble) * Anselme Baud (another major skier), interview * Doug Coombs: 1958 - 2006 (tribute from broadbandsports) actually died LAST Year. Did anyone hear about it, again he one of the legend extreme skiers [last vid]. Broadbandsports by the way is full of extreme ski videos too. * Scot Schmidt *Chris Anthony & Warren Miller, [Quicktime] Vintage 1962, Higherground * Chris Davenport steepskiien site * Jamie Pierre - YOUTUBE made highest jump (255 feet) record [story], FOX report, pic, [other angle vid] * Shane McConkey - YOUTUBE Profile and Eiger Parashute jump description * Seth Morrison [trailer chronicles] * VIDPLAY François Bon and Antoine Montant Speed-riding Eiger & Parashute […]
Even after pulling wire thru the desert sage all day, Doug would have us wait at the job site for awhile while he ran up some steep canyon road for his ski training. We shut down a job in Montana just so we could get to Bozeman to celebrate his 30th birthday and what a celebration it was….riding bikes aroud the college campus at 5 in the morning. I will never forget a trip we took to Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park(BC). We hiked up to the headwall of the glacier and found a stone shrine with an unopened can of Kokanee beer on a small ledge…we pondered our Karmic fate if we were to drink the holy beer. We had a blast glissading down the slopes on our backs laughing wildly.
Although I’d seen Doug in movies, it was one day on the Jackson Tram that I turned around and said to myself, “Hey that’s Doug Coombs!” And before I could say hello, Doug just pulled me into a conversation about the day, where to ski(or not to ski!), and some beta on the chutes. I never saw him again on the mountain, but everytime I read about him, or watched him in a movie.
Do what you love, love what you do, and respect mother nature. No dollar amount can buy true talent, ambition and commitment.
Doug inspired me through video and print. Never met Doug, but share the same philosopy on life.
Emily and David should be proud to have a husband and father that inspired people that he never met. Very few have that ora.
Doug’s passing is not in vain. His existence, philosophy and spirit will continue to live through many of us.
With the warm weather and fun in the sun and waves, it is hard not to think of Doug and Emily…windsurfing on Jenny Lake, Slide Lake, and any other body of water within a days drive of JH.
Doug and Emily taught me to windsurf (along with Selko, of course) - and I am so grateful to have had that time! I can’t help but hearing him in my head when it’s nuking…saying, “The sheep are grazing! Let’s get after it!” Miss you, Doug, and Emily, too…wish I could see you more.
Lots of love