Ferries inducted into Colorado ski hall of fame

Longtime U.S. Ski Team supporter and Olympian Chuck Ferries is among the list of five individuals who were inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2008. Ferries was among those honored at the 32nd annual Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Induction Gala on Oct. 18 in Denver.
Longtime U.S. Ski Team supporter and Olympian Chuck Ferries is among the list of five individuals who were inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2008. Ferries was among those honored at the 32nd annual Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Induction Gala on Oct. 18 in Denver.
    The hall of fame annually distinguishes people whose contributions to the sports of skiing and snowboarding have helped shape the modern snowsports industry.
    Ferries began his career as a ski racer in Michigan's upper peninsula. He left home at 16 for Alta Ski Resort in Utah where, in exchange for room and board, he bussed tables and sold lift tickets. It was there that he took skiing lessons from Alf Engen.
    He spent his next winter in Aspen, and eventually became an athlete with the U.S. alpine team. Ferries’ athletic accolades grew as he became a member of the U.S. World Championships Team in 1958, a racer for the Squaw Valley and Innsbruck U.S. Olympic teams in 1960 and 1964. He won the 1962 Hahnenkamm slalom and is still the only American to do so.
    On March 11, 1963, Ferries was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline reading “Best U.S. Skier.”
    Following his athletic career, Ferries worked with Head and K2 skis before forming Pre Skis in 1977. He purchased Scott USA in 1981 and helped revitalize Schwinn Bicycles. He later became—and remains—a co-owner in Chums, one of the nation’s top eyeglass holder and lanyard companies.
    Ferries stayed close to the USSA, joining the team’s board of trustees in 1984—immediately tackling huge financial challenges. He continued an active career with the board, including a period of significant hands-on leadership with the alpine program in the early ’90s. And he continued to give back, accepting the invitation to serve as USSA's chairman from 2002 to 2006,leading USSA through a period of unprecedented growth.
    Ferries was inducted to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1989. In 2007, he received the USSA’s Blegen Award, which is the USSA’s most prestigious honor for service to the organization.

    — USSA press release