The Colorado Snowsports Museum is remembering the only Hall of Fame member killed in active duty.
Robert Stone “Bob” Balch, pictured above (courtesy Colorado Snowsports Museum), was an East Coast ski racer. He came to Colorado in the ‘30s, when he managed a lodge near what would soon be Winter Park. By the early ‘40s he was the first manager at Winter Park and built the resort’s iconic T-bar.
By 1942 Balch enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Europe, where he was stationed out of the Mediterranean. On April 20, 1944, his troop transport, SS Paul Hamilton, was torpedoed and sunk. All 580 men on board were killed.
SGT Robert Stone “Bob” Balch (1909-1944) credit Colorado Snowsports Museum
Next time you visit Winter Park, take a run on Balch Trail: a black diamond mogul run near the top of Zephyr Lift.
Read more about Balch, his time in Colorado and his military service from the Colorado Snowsports Museum.