Dave McCoy
Dave McCoy | |
---|---|
Born | El Segundo, California, U.S. | August 24, 1915
Died | February 8, 2020 Bishop, California, U.S. | (aged 104)
Occupation(s) | businessman, skier |
Known for | founding Mammoth Mountain Ski Area |
David McCoy (August 24, 1915 – February 8, 2020) was an American skier and businessman who founded the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1942.[1]
Early life
McCoy was born in
In 1938, McCoy got a permit and set up a primitive rope tow on McGee Mountain, near
Mammoth Mountain
McCoy noticed that the snow was better at Mammoth Mountain, where he set up a rope tow in 1942.[1] The Forest Service decided then to offer, for bid, the right to operate a ski area on Mammoth Mountain.[when?] No one bid on this permit, including McCoy, who didn't have any money. In 1953, the Forest Service gave McCoy the permit on the condition that he develop the mountain as a ski resort. A ski lodge followed in 1953, and the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area incorporated in 1955.[1] McCoy struggled to develop Mammoth. The "lodge" was actually only 12' by 24', had a dirt floor with an outside toilet, and served snacks. The McCoy family used it as a home during the early years of Mammoth. [citation needed]
McCoy went to the bank again for a loan of $135,000 to build a chair lift. Again, he was turned down. McCoy eventually got a used chairlift. McCoy and a small group of skiers had to work very hard and dig holes, mix concrete, and install the lift on their own by Thanksgiving 1955. Chair 1 had a wooden ramp, covered with snow, that skiers had to side-step up to reach the chairs. Sometimes skiers would lose their balance and cause several of the skiers in line below to topple over like dominoes. The ramp was removed sometime in 1980s and a new high-speed Chair 1 was installed and renamed "Broadway Express." The original main lodge was expanded and to this day, the upper part of the old exterior rock wall mural, with a white and brown flagstone arrow and skier, can be seen. By 1973, under McCoy's leadership, the ski area grew to 14 double-chairs, and a second base lodge originally named Warming Hut II was built. It was renamed Canyon Lodge in the mid-1990s. The Mid-chalet lodge was also renamed McCoy. A cafeteria/bar named the Mill Cafe was built by Chair 2 in the early 2000s, and a portable building named Eagle Lodge with clothes, a bar, and snacks on the left side of the mountain was added as well.
McCoy bought a small airline to fly a few skiers from
McCoy faced adversity in growing the ski area: drought in 1958–59, the 1973 oil crisis, and only 94" inches of snow during the 1976–1977 season, the worst in Mammoth's history.[4]
Retirement
In 2005, McCoy announced that he was retiring after running the ski area for 68 years. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was sold to Starwood Capital Group in a deal that valued Mammoth at $365 million, significantly more than the $135,000 he borrowed in 1953 to build the first lift.[2] He continued to ski until 2008, but stopped due to a knee replacement and his age. McCoy took up photography as well.[2]
As of 2018, Dave and Roma McCoy had 6 children, 17 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild, a total of 52 descendants.
McCoy turned 100 on August 24, 2015[5] and “died peacefully in his sleep”[6] on February 8, 2020, at his home in the eastern Sierra Nevada community of Bishop, California at the age of 104.[3]
In popular culture
He was portrayed by Dabney Coleman in the 1975 film The Other Side of the Mountain.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d "History of Mammoth Mountain, California". Pacific Rim Snow Sports Alliance. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ a b c d e "How I Did It: Dave McCoy, Mammoth Mountain". Inc. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ a b Sahagun, Louis (February 8, 2020). "Dave McCoy, who gave skiers and boarders Mammoth Mountain, has died at 104". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ^ Johnson, William O. (February 25, 1985). "A Man And His Mountain". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013.
- ^ "Dave Mccoy, Mammoth Founder Turns 100". Transworld Business. Archived from the original on 2015-08-27. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ "Mammoth Mountain founder Dave McCoy dies at 104". The Know Outdoors. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0813521046.