The Will and Jean Pickett Intermountain Hall of Fame recognizes ski pioneers, innovators and competitors from Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. This year, all three recipients hail from Sun Valley.
This class includes Paralympian Muffy Davis, cross country ski coach Rick Kapala and Graham Anderson of the International Ski Federation.
Each inductee brings something unique to the table, according to Alf Engen Ski Museum Executive Director Annie Bommer.
“Muffy Davis, you know, she’s just the epitome of the story of resilience,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 29. “She’s just an amazing ski racer, and her pivot from regular ski racing to Paralympic racing, and then her work later on. She even went into hand cycling. She’s very athletic, very accomplished.”
Kapala has worked with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and helped develop its cross-country skiing program.
“He is heralded as being one of the best cross-country coaches of his time, and he’s been there since the ‘80s,” Bommer said.
She described Anderson as a pioneer in alpine ski racing.
“He helped with the breakaway gates,” she said. “He also created some of the rules for FIS skiing. So, he’s been huge in the world of ski racing.”
A selection panel chose the three inductees from 39 nominees.
The panel considers candidates’ competitive records and their broader contributions to skiing and their communities.
“They’re looking for people that really made an impact on both the sport and then in their communities afterwards,” Bommer said. “There are those that have really accomplished great things in competitive skiing and gone on to win a lot of medals. There are those that have really trudged forward in the world of ski journalism. There are people that were ski pioneers.”
The induction dinner is Aug. 20 at the Chateau Deer Valley from 6-10 p.m. Tickets are $165 available here.
