Extreme legend Doug Coombs dies in La Grave cliff fall

Extreme legend Doug Coombs dies in La Grave cliff fallExtreme skiing legend Doug Coombs was killed in a cliff fall near La Grave, France, early Monday, officials said Wednesday.

Coombs, 48, and a fellow skier tumbled off a cliff and fell 200 meters Monday near La Grave in southeast France, the rescue service said. The second skier was identified by the Summit Daily News in Colorado as Chad VanderHam, 31, of Keystone. The two had died by the time rescuers reached them by helicopter a few hours later.

Skiing in the steep couloir de Polichinelle in the Fréaux sector at 2,000 meters altitude, Coombs was trying to help a friend who had plunged over the same precipice, family friend Miles Smart told the Jackson Hole News & Guide in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Summit Daily reported that VanderHam was the first to ski down an ultrasteep couloir but lost control on a sheet of ice and fell off the cliff. Coombs reportedly signaled to the other two members of the group, Matt Farmer and Christina Bloomquist, to bring a rope, but when Coombs apparently tried to get closer to the edge of the cliff to locate VanderHam, he too lost an edge and fell.

Coombs was an experienced mountaineer and guide who split his time between Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and France, where he ran a ski camp with his wife in La Grave. He twice won the World Extreme Skiing Championships and started steep skiing camps in Jackson Hole and in Alaska before moving to France.

VanderHam was a former Buck Hill Ski Club racer who turned to freeskiing in college.

The accident brought to 55 the number of people killed in mountain accidents in France this year, nearly double the annual death toll in recent years.

The news was originally reported on the Web site for Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, the company Coombs founded in 1993. Coombs also founded Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide.

“Words can’t describe the loss his friends feel now,” read a statement on www.valdezheliskiguides.com. “His impact on Alaska heli-skiing, alpine guiding and just plan fun-hogging is immeasurable.”

A former racer for Montana State, Coombs moved to Jackson, Wyoming, and worked as a geologist before embarking on the big-mountain freeskiing scene. An internationally certified (IFMGA/UIAGM) mountain guide, Coombs spent his seasons guiding in the Tetons, Alaska, Greenland and France. He had guided everything from first descents down steep powder runs to technical testpieces such as the Grand Teton’s Ford Couloir.

On his Web site, dougcoombs.com, he relayed some thoughts on the spectacular setting of La Grave: “When I first arrived at La Grave and stared at the majestic glaciated peak of La Meije (13,065 feet), I imagined endless ski runs that would last a lifetime! After 5 seasons in La Grave, I am still discovering new descents off the lift served peak.”

Coombs leaves behind his wife, Emily, and 3-year-old son, David Douglas.
___

The Associated Press contributed to this report.