{{Short description|American alpine skier (1957–2006)}} {{for|the New Zealand geologist|Doug Coombs (geologist)}} {{Infobox person | name = Doug Coombs | birth_date = {{Birth date|1957|09|24}} | birth_place = Bedford, Massachusetts, United States | death_date ={{death date and age|2006|04|03|1957|09|24}} | death_place = Couloir de Polichinelle in La Grave, France | known_for = Extreme skiing, film appearances (including Steep (2007) and Warren Miller films) | awards = World Extreme Skiing Champion (1991 and 1993) | occupation = Alpine Skier and Mountaineer | spouse = Emily Coombs (née Gladstone) }}
'''Doug Coombs''' (September 24, 1957 – April 3, 2006) was an American alpine skier and mountaineer who helped to pioneer the sport of extreme skiing, both in North America and worldwide.
== Early life and education == Coombs was born in Boston and grew up in Bedford, Massachusetts, skiing in New Hampshire and Vermont.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nathaniel |last=Vinton |title=Skiing Beyond Safety's Edge Once Too Often |newspaper=The New York Times |date=17 May 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/sports/othersports/17ski.html?_r=0}}</ref> He attended Bedford High School (Massachusetts)<ref>{{cite web |title=Bedford will welcome its third class to Hall |url=https://www.lowellsun.com/2010/10/10/bedford-will-welcome-its-third-class-to-hall/ |website=Lowell Sun |access-date=22 September 2020 |date=10 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="PMemories">{{cite news |title=Remembering a Legend, Doug Coombs (1957-2006) |url=https://www.powder.com/remembering-doug-coombs/ |access-date=6 February 2021 |publisher=Powder |date=April 13, 2016}}</ref> before attending Montana State University in Bozeman where he honed his skiing skills at nearby Bridger Bowl before becoming a fixture of the extreme skiing scene in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, helping to found Valdez Heli-Ski Guides (and the heliskiing industry) in Alaska in 1994, and twice winning the World Extreme Skiing Championship, in 1991 and 1993.<ref>Porter Fox, "Legendary: Remembering Doug Coombs" ''Powder'' 35, no. 1 (Sept. 2006): 76-87, on 77.</ref>
==Personal life== Coombs married Emily Gladstone in 1992 and, in 1993, they founded ''Doug Coombs Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide'' in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In 1997, the Coombs moved the business to Europe, and the company continues to operate today in La Grave and Chamonix, in the French Alps.<ref>[http://www.dougcoombs.com/ Doug Coombs Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide]</ref> Doug and his wife Emily have a son, David.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/sports/othersports/09coombs.html |title=Doug Coombs, 48, Dies in French Alps Accident |newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 April 2006 |last=Brozan |first=Nadine}}</ref>
== Death == While skiing with friends on April 3, 2006, Doug Coombs died from a severe fall at the Couloir de Polichinelle in La Grave, France. He was trying to rescue his friend Chad VanderHam, who had fallen himself. Both skiers fell approximately 500 feet. Doug Coombs was found dead after the fall, and VanderHam later died from his injuries.<ref name="nyt" /><ref>[http://www.powdermag.com/news/doug-coombs/index.html A LEGEND FALLS: 4/5 - Coombs died in fall over cliff]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Powder Magazine</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snewsnet.com/cgi-bin/snews/04679.html |title=Industry mourns the death of Doug Coombs, a humble legend; VanderHam also dies |publisher=SNEWS |website=snewsnet.com |access-date=2010-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716100909/http://www.snewsnet.com/cgi-bin/snews/04679.html |archive-date=2011-07-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Coombs was 48.
A memorial for Coombs was held at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on June 25, 2006.<ref>[http://www.dougcoombsmemorialfund.com/?page_id=16 Memorial in Jackson Hole - June 25, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710145716/http://www.dougcoombsmemorialfund.com/?page_id=16 |date=July 10, 2011 }} Doug Coombs Memorial Fund</ref> A run on the upper part of the mountain memorializes him.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/4927868/Jackson-Hole-ski-guide-top-five-runs.html Jackson Hole ski guide: top five runs] telegraph.co.uk</ref>
==Legacy== Doug Coomb's interest in skiing has continued through the Doug Coomb's Foundation, later renamed Coomb's Outdoors. Established in 2013, the organization provides children from low-income families with access to outdoor recreation opportunities in the Jackson, Wyoming area by offering equipment, guidance, and support for activities such as skiing and other outdoor sports. Its stated aim is to increase participation in outdoor activities among underserved youth in the community.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dougcoombsfoundation.org/about |title=Doug Coombs Foundation |access-date=2015-09-10 |archive-date=2016-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312145006/http://www.dougcoombsfoundation.org/about/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
His life is described in Rob Cocuzzo's book 'Tracking the Wild Coomba'.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://journal.alpsandmeters.com/journal/2017/2/20/the-doug-coombs-foundation-an-excerpt-from-tracking-the-wild-coomba |title=Tracking the Wild Coomba book excerpt |access-date=2024-10-16}}</ref>
Coombs' Law is described as "there are no bad ski conditions, only bad skiers."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.boulderventures.com/perspectives/coombs-law |title=Coombs' Law |access-date=2024-10-16}}</ref>
== Filmography == While not an exhaustive list, Doug Coombs has been featured in a number of ski films, including: *''Groove: Requiem In the Key of Ski'' (1991, Greg Stump), competing in the Extreme Skiing Invitational at Blackcomb, in which he complains that the course, in the Saudan Couloir, is not extreme *''Aspen Extreme'' (1993), credited as stunt skier<ref>{{IMDb name|1809170}}</ref> *Matchstick Productions "The Hedonist" (1994) Final scene. *Teton Gravity Research's ''The Continuum'' (1996) *Warren Miller's ''Cold Fusion'' (2001) *Warren Miller's ''Storm'' (2002) *Warren Miller's ''Journey'' (2003) *''Waiting Game'' (2005) *''Fantastic Four'' (2005), stunts *Warren Miller's ''Off the Grid'' (2006) contains a tribute to Doug Coombs *''Steep'' (2007)<ref>[http://www.thedocumentarygroup.com/featuredProject.php?pid=13 Steep] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310105116/http://www.thedocumentarygroup.com/featuredProject.php?pid=13 |date=March 10, 2011 }} Steep on The Documentary Group's (production company) website</ref> *''The Edge of Never'' (2009) *''Swift. Silent. Deep.'' (2010), archive footage.
==External links== * [http://www.coombsoutdoors.org/ Coombs Outdoors], previously the Doug Coombs Foundation.
==References== <!-- ---------------------------------------------------------- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for a discussion of different citation methods and how to generate footnotes using the <ref>, </ref> and <reference /> tags ----------------------------------------------------------- --> {{Reflist|2}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Doug}} Category:1957 births Category:2006 deaths Category:American male alpine skiers Category:Extreme skiers Category:Skiing deaths Category:Montana State University alumni Category:People from Bedford, Massachusetts Category:Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Category:Sport deaths in France Category:Bedford High School (Massachusetts) alumni Category:20th-century American sportsmen