History: Hall of Famer

Kingsbury Pitcher and Bill Janss are pictured above while celebrating Snowmass’ 21st birthday in December 1988. A few years after World War II, Pitcher brought his family to Aspen and worked as a ski instructor and a ski-school supervisor in the winters, spending the summers tending his ranch near Woody Creek. A former classmate and ski racer with Janss, Pitcher was hired in the late 1950s by the Janss brothers to find potential areas for a new ski mountain in the Roaring Fork Valley. He spent two years scouting by plane and then by skis, horseback and foot to eventually settle on what is now the Snowmass ski area, including Baldy and Burnt mountains. His findings were submitted, and several years later, his hard work was realized. Over the next couple of decades, Pitcher continued to help find and rebuild ski areas around Colorado and the nation. Pitcher will be inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame this year.