Jim “Moose” Barrows made a name for himself on the ski slopes, but his legacy was told Wednesday evening in the stories of the lives he touched.
On Wednesday, Barrows brought the community together as his family and friends embraced the love and joy he showed during a celebration of life for the Alpine ski racer who passed away June 28.
“I was talking to someone that told me this is the soul of Steamboat because it goes back to those that grew up here, those that were alive and were part of building the community that we had have here and are still with us,” said Barb Shipley, Barrows’ good friend, of the service.
“Moose crossed every generation,” Shipley continued. “He knew the people that he grew up with, the people he coached and then he also knew all the skiers, the golfers and the flying community. Everybody knew him and he was a part of all the different eras of this town — and especially the ski industry.”
The crowd at Wednesday’s celebration of life included former national-level skiers Gordon Eaton (’64 Innsbruck) Billy Kidd (’64 Innsbruck) and Hank Kashiwa (’72 Sapporo), just to name a few.
Longtime commentator Verne Lundquist was also on hand, as well as many of the young skiers who earned scholarships over the years thanks to the funds Barrows helped raise through the annual Moose’s Loose Golf Tournament.
The service began with a flyover, a tip of the hat to Barrows, who was a long-time aviator. Gray Enzo Aldighieri and Rukah Lambing, the grandchildren of Barrows’ sister, Nancy, led things off with a heartfelt message followed by a welcome from Barrows’ brother, Bob. Pastor Tim Selby led the service.
Shipley estimated the crowd Wednesday was between 800-1,000 people who filled the 400 seats and grassy area behind Barrows’ home on the JASDIP Ranch.
The service also included speeches from Shipley, ski racing icon Bill Marolt, world champion aerobatic aviator and flying buddy Sean Tucker, Ann Hansen of the Children’s Hospital and Lon Allen, a neighbor and friend to Barrows.
Cowboy poet Greg Lewis read a poem crafted in Barrows’ memory to close things out.
The crowd was a who’s who of Steamboat Springs locals and others from across the state and country who came to celebrate the life of a man who gave the community so much and the causes he championed.
“He was part of that legendary crew of Olympians that this wonderful community has produced,” Lundquist said of Barrows. “I think we’re up to 100 (Olympians) now, and Moose was one of them. But what I most recall about the man was how gentle he was and how philanthropic. I mean, he gave and gave and gave. He was a wonderful human being and I loved him dearly.”
In 2021, Barrows was one of the recipients of the Philanthropists of the Year award from the Yampa Valley Community Foundation for his work on the Moose’s Loose Golf Tournament and Mickey’s Fund, which Barrows created in honor of his son who died in 1983.
Barrows’ accomplishments on the ski slopes led him to the world stage — and gave him a voice that reached beyond Steamboat Springs.
It all started when Barrows moved to Steamboat Springs with his family in 1950 and joined the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club at age 5, where he was coached by Gordy Wren.
Barrows started out as a ski jumper before concentrating more on Alpine racing. He chalked up top results in the Rocky Mountain Division of U.S. Skiing during the 1961-62 season before he enrolled at the University of Colorado, where he went on to become the nation’s premier four-event skier, participating in both Alpine and Nordic events.
Barrows had seven top-five finishes and 25 top-10 finishes in his college career while lettering three times and winning five individual races.
After college, Barrows found a place on the U.S. Ski Team and focused on downhill, leading him to win a World Cup event and finish seventh in another during the 1967 season in which he placed 24th in the overall standings. The next year Barrows was named to the U.S. Olympic team.
“Moose was supposed to win the gold medal, and he caught an edge and he spent the next 48 years of his life being known for the agony of defeat,” Shipley said of that moment in history.
“But he turned that into something good. He probably would not have been as famous if he had won the gold medal. Moose had that Western hospitality and charisma where everybody wanted to be in his presence because he made them feel special.”
Barrows continued to ski after the crash, which was combined with Jim McKay’s words to lead off ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” for many years. He had several successful years on the World Pro Ski Tour and also walked away from the sport with lifelong friendships with people like Kashiwa and Kidd.
“Everybody loves Moose, and you could see that today by the turnout and everybody’s comments,” Kidd said. “That was Jim McKay that said sports is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That was Moose, but he never let it get him down and he turned that into a positive.”
As his skiing career slowed down, Barrows took an interest in what was happening at Steamboat Resort. Shipley met Barrows when she got an internship at the ski area in 1974 and asked her along with Mary McClelland and Debi Bonney to be one of the ski area’s first hostesses. That program has evolved into the Ski Ambassador program at Steamboat Resort.
Barrows also helped promote the Thayer-Kashiwa golf tournaments started by Paul Thayer and Hank Kashiwa in 1974, with the LTV Pro Ski Races and Frontier Airline Ski Shows. He also teamed up with Marlboro to host an Alpine ski racing attraction at the Bashor Bowl for many years.
Kashiwa said his friendship with Barrows began in early 1967 when they were roommates in Santiago, Chile, when the U.S. team trained at the Portillo ski resort. It was the start of a lifelong friendship.
“I’m going to miss not being able to call him on the phone,” Kashiwa said. “We became fast friends, and we did a lot of stuff together.”
It was hard to leave Wednesday’s celebration of life without realizing how many people and how much of an impact Barrows had in Routt County, Steamboat Springs and the world of skiing — and he will be missed.
Barrows was preceded in death by his son, Michael “Mickey” Barrows, and his parents, Ray and Maurine Barrows. He is survived by his siblings, Bob Barrows, Joe Barrows and Nancy Gray, as well as his nieces and nephew, Annika Stec, Jessica Aldighieri, Becca Gray and Rob Barrows, and their children, Sam, Lauren and Caroline Stec, Enzo Aldighieri, Rukah Lambing and Mason Barrows.
“What I’m going to miss is every day driving by his house looking to see if his white car is there, especially these last few years. I’m going to miss just calling him every morning or having him call me,” Shipley said. “He loved that South Routt community, and Moose was kind of the center of it. His tentacles went out everywhere.”
Nancy Gray was overwhelmed by the support her brother got after he was diagnosed with cancer and with the turnout at Wednesday’s celebration of life.
“Those people were the family that he chose because your friends are the people you get to choose to be your family,” Gray said. “And so many of the people who showed up were so close to him. How he did it, I don’t know.”
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.
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