An inspirational Olympian, an equally inspirational Paralympian and a man instrumental in making Colorado the center of American ski racing will be inducted Friday into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in a gala at the Omni Interlocken in Broomfield.
Snowboarder Chris Klug, a liver transplant recipient who competed in three Olympics, will be inducted along with Jack Benedick, a Paralympian who lost both legs in Vietnam and became a pioneer of ski racing for the disabled. Benedick has suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 1995 and has been confined to a wheelchair the past two years.
Also being inducted is John Garnsey, who played a major role in bringing world alpine ski championships to Vail/Beaver Creek in 1989, 1999 and 2015. Garnsey was president of the Vail Valley Foundation and has been an executive for Vail Resorts since 1999. He has been co-president of Vail Resorts since 2008.
Other inductees include Ron Allred, whose company built Telluride Resort, and Wolf Creek pioneer Charles Elliott.
The Aspen Valley Ski Club will be honored with the “Top of the Hill” award, and Vail’s Lindsey Vonn will be honored as competitor of the year. Seppi Stiegler of the University of Denver and Eliska Hajkova of the University of Colorado are the collegiate skiers of the year, and Alana Nichols is the adaptive skier of the year.
Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction.
