Photos of Doug Coombs

Doug Coombs, big mountain ski pioneer, adventurer, husband and father was killed yesterday while skiing in La Grave, France. Rescue services told the website Pistehors, that Coombs and another man, age 32, were in the steep Couloir de Polichinelle and both were killed in the accident.

Initial reports stating that Coombs died in an avalanche appear to be incorrect. According to the website TelemarkTips.com, Coombs was reported to have been skiing with four friends when the younger man from Colorado hit any icy patch in a “no-fall” zone, was carried over the cliff and out of view. What happened next is unclear and unconfirmed, but TelemarkTips, based on a source in La Grave, is saying that Coombs may have fallen off the same 600-foot cliff while trying to assess his friend’s situation. The remaining two skiers called for help, but Coombs had already succumbed to injuries sustained in the fall by the time the CRS des Alpes helicopter arrived. The Colorado man was still breathing when rescuers arrived but died later in the hospital.

Doug Coombs was extremely well-known in La Grave, which became his second home in 1997 when he and his wife Emily moved their Steep Skiing Worldwide camps over to Europe. Originally from Montana and fixture in the Jackson Hole ski community in the 1980s, Coombs made a name from himself back in 1991 after winning the first-ever World Extreme Skiing Championships in Valdez, Alaska. He and Emily then went on to co-found Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, a top provider of guided ski tours through the Chugach range. Coombs sold the guide company in 1993.

He leaves behind his wife Emily, son David Douglas and the entire ski community.