VAIL, Colo.—William “Sarge” Brown, who as mountain manager at Vail helped develop the Colorado resort into one of the world’s top ski areas, has died. He was 85.
Brown died Sunday at his Grand Junction home, Vail Resorts officials said.
Brown introduced cutting-edge snowmaking, grooming and trail cutting technologies as mountain manager from 1970 to 1989. He installed Vail’s first snowmaking equipment, at Golden Peak, in 1970, and started overnight grooming, now an industry standard.
Brown also helped Vail and Beaver Creek win and stage the World Alpine Skiing Championships in 1989.
Born Oct. 5, 1922, in Cascade, Idaho, Brown served on the football and ski teams at the University of Idaho. He joined the Army in 1942, served with the 10th Mountain Division and earned a Purple Heart in combat in Italy during World War II. He also served in the Korean War and retired from the Army in 1966.
Brown was inducted into Vail’s Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1982 and the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1990.
———
Information from: Vail Daily,
