Doug Coombs, 48; Extreme Skier, Guide and Mountaineer
Extreme skier Doug Coombs, 48, a mountaineer and guide from Jackson Hole, Wyo., died Monday in the French Alps after slipping and falling over a cliff while trying to aid a friend who had plunged over the same precipice, according to authorities and a family friend.
The accident occurred near the resort of La Grave in southeast France. Coombs guided skiers at La Grave and also operated Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide with his wife, Emily. He was skiing with friends at the time of the accident, in which the other man who fell also died.
French authorities and Miles Smart, a friend of Coombs and a colleague at Exum Mountain Guides in Jackson Hole, confirmed his death Tuesday to the Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Coombs was a two-time winner of the World Extreme Skiing Championships and served as ski ambassador for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in the early 1990s. He was due to be in Alaska this month for heli-ski guiding in Valdez, according to his website.
A native of Boston, Coombs was a ski racer at Montana State University, where he earned a degree in geology. In 1986 he moved to Jackson Hole to be a guide.
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