Ted Ligety inducted into Ski Hall of Fame

Ted Ligety with Barabara Yamada at the induction ceremony for the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame. Photo: Courtesy of Connie Nelson // Randy Anderson of Walsh Photography

PARK CITY, Utah — The Alf Engen Ski Museum‘s Intermountain Ski Hall Of Fame, located at the Utah Olympic Park, made three new inductions last Thursday.

A product of Utah’s 2002 Olympic Winter Games legacy who reached the pinnacle of international ski racing and ski coaches from Ogden and Sun Valley who significantly moved the sport forward are the latest inductees into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame.

Friends and family of Ted Ligety, Butch Hoffman, and Ruff Patterson gathered last Thursday night at The Chateaux Deer Valley for the Induction Ceremony. 280 attendees cheered on the three inductees as they received their plaques and officially entered the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame.

Ted Ligety, a Park City, Utah native and a 17-year-old Olympic Winter Games forerunner in 2002, went on to record 14 starts in four Olympic Games, winning gold medals in the 2006 (alpine combined) and 2014 (giant slalom) games. I

n seven FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, he won seven medals, including five gold in 24 starts. And on the World Cup circuit, he had 336 starts, winning giant slalom Crystal Globes in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, and in 2014 when he also won the combined Globe.

Butch Hoffman, a native of Denver, etched his place in ski history at Utah’s Snowbasin and Nordic Valley Ski Areas. After winning the giant slalom title at the U.S. National Veterans Alpine Championships he became a ski coach in 1969 where he was a master at helping his students reach their racing potential. In 1983 he helped to organize the Ogden Valley Winter Sports Foundation. He passed away in 2021.

Ruff Patterson, a Sun Valley native, was a Nordic specialist on the University of Colorado Ski Team which won the NCAA championships in 1973 and 1976. As a coach for 45 years, he rejoiced in mentoring countless junior racers, collegians, U.S. Olympic Team members (1978-1989), and U.S. World Cup and World Championship competitors. He also was director of skiing and men’s head Nordic coach at Dartmouth College from 1990 to 2016.

Nominations for the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame are made by the public and are evaluated by a selection committee comprised of ski historians, former racers, race officials, and other snow sports aficionados from the region. 

The trio increased the number in the 21-year-old Hall of Fame to 91 members whose exploits over the past century have shaped today’s thriving skiing and snowboarding industry in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.

The Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame is comprised of the following:

• 2002: Junior Bounous · Zane A. Doyle · Alf M. Engen · Sverre Engen · Kaare “Corey” Engen · Gretchen K. Fraser · W. Averell Harriman · S. Joseph “Joe” Quinney
• 2003: Axel Andresen · Bill Briggs · Stein Eriksen
• 2004: Bill Lash · Suzy Harris Rytting · Edward L. Scott · Bill Spencer · Pepi Stiegler · “Mayor” George Watson
• 2005: James R. Gaddis · Keith Lange · Lou Lorenz · M. Earl Miller · Neil Rafferty · Edgar B. Stern, Jr.
• 2006: H. Devereaux “Dev” Jennings · Calvin “Cal” McPhie · Marvin A. “Marv” Melville · Richard “Dick” Movitz · Jack N. Reddish · Marthinius “Mark” Strand
• 2007: Woody Anderson · Ted Johnson · Pete Karns · Paul McCollister · K Smith · Margo Walters-McDonald
• 2008: Alvin F. Cobabe · Albert “Sunny” Korfanta · Pat Miller
• 2009: Siegfried “Sigi” Engl · Richard D. “Dick” Bass · Alan K. Engen · Mike C. Korologos
• 2010: Peter S. Ecker · Claude F. Jones · Karen Korfanta · Gregory “Greg” C. Thompson
• 2011: Raymond R. Stewart · Kit DesLauriers · William “Bill” Levitt · Dean Robert “Bob” Theobald
• 2012: Phil Jones · Karen Budge Eaton · Beat von Allmen · Lyle Nelson
• 2013: Dean Perkins · Alan Schoenberger · LeRoy Schultz · Dr. Robert Smith
• 2014: John Aalberg · Wilby M. Durham · Spencer Fox Eccles · Harold Seeholzer
• 2015: Melvin (Mel) W. Dalebout · David H. Hanscom · Karen Huntoon Miller · Meeche White
• 2016: Steve Cook · Christin Cooper · Jan Leonard · Ron Steele
• 2017: Harry Baxter · Dick Mitchell · Dean Roberts · Picabo Street
• 2018: Gary L. DeSeelhorst · Mel Fletcher · Barbara Yamada
• 2019: Craig Badami · Erik Schlopy · Darrell “Pinky” Robinson
• 2020: Randy Montgomery · Howard Peterson · Larry Warren
• 2021: Wesley “Wes” Diest · Leif Odmark · Bruce Tremper
• 2022: Luke Bodensteiner · John E. Simms

The Alf Engen Ski Museum would like to thanked all their supporters and volunteers who made the event a night to remember. Special acknowledgments went to The Chateaux Deer Valley, Mike Korologos, Dobber Price, Larry Warren, Wasatch Audio, and Whitney Advertising and Design.