Doug Coombs - ski legend
Doug Coombs is a man whose name is known to everyone who is serious about skiing or snowboarding. In the 90s, Doug became one of the pioneers of extreme sports in these sports and, without exaggeration, he can be called a legend. The whole world knows Doug Coombs as the man who conquered the deadly slope of Corbet's Couloir.
Doug Coombs' incredible descent of Corbet's Couloir in 1989 was a major event in alpine skiing. Few people believed that this was possible, because this slope is too steep and difficult. However, the athlete coped with the task. The picture of Coombs launching from the top of a vertiginous cliff has gone down in history.
Doug Coombs was born in 1957 in Bedford, Massachusetts. Since childhood he was fond of skiing. In 1984, Doug moved to Jackson Hall, Wyoming, where he gained access to the best ski slopes in the United States. In 1993, Outside magazine named him the best skier in the world.
Coombs didn't just set records. He became famous as a mountain guide and popularizer of skiing. It was he who opened the Valdez Heli-Ski Guides heli-ski station in Alaska. There, extreme sports enthusiasts were transported to the top of the mountain by helicopter so that they could begin their descent along the untouched snowy slopes.
Thanks to Doug Coombs, Alaska has become a real mecca of extreme skiing. Today there are 15 heli-skiing stations in this state - more than anywhere in the world. For many localities, income from tourism has become the main source of funds. Collectively, these stations generate up to $10 million annually.
Corbet's Couloir is located in the Rocky Mountains of Teton County, Wyoming. Now this place attracts extreme sports enthusiasts from all over the world. Descending a slope with an angle of 55 degrees and a height difference of 1500 meters is not difficult for most athletes. But the couloir is famous, first of all, for its start. It starts with a sheer wall 6 meters high. Because of this, the beginning of the descent is more like a skier falling off a cliff.
The Rocky Mountain couloir is named after renowned guide Barry Corbet, who first discovered it in the 1960s. At first this place attracted climbers, but thanks to Coombs it became a place where the most desperate fans of extreme skiing test their strength.
Now Corbet's Couloir is a popular area among freeriders. Here you can see not only the athletes themselves, but also numerous spectators. For their convenience, the slope was even equipped with a funicular. When Duck Coombs conquered the slope, none of this happened. The area was closed not only to skiers, but also to ordinary tourists. The red sign, which can be seen in the legendary photo, reminds us of this.
The brave American set many records and opened dozens of extreme ski slopes around the world. Doug Coombs died in 2006 in the French Alps, in La Grave. He tried to help a friend who found himself in a dangerous situation on the Polichinelle couloir, but both fell and fell from a height of 500 meters.