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Perhaps the thing that surprises Dan Egan the most about being inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame next spring is that he and his brother, John, will, fittingly, be inducted together into a group that boasts fewer than 450 members, only a handful of whom have left their impact on skiing without becoming an Olympian.
“I didn’t expect the overall impact that it would have,” Dan said. “When we were nominated, I thought it was cool, but once they announced it, [I realized] there are so many things I didn’t know about the Hall of Fame. It’s pretty amazing.”
Of course, Dan and John Egan’s impacts on skiing are undeniable, particularly to those who have watched the brothers frequent the Warren Miller catalog of skiing movies throughout the ’80s and ’90s. The duo grew up skiing in the Boston area, first at home in West Roxbury, where the brothers would drag snow from the Mobil station on Richwood Street and pile it on a picnic table at home, then at Blue Hills Ski Area upon the family’s move to Milton.
Their bio on the Hall of Fame website’s Class of 2016 deems them “pivotal in the growth of action sports.” Also noting the duo had been “featured in more Warren Miller films than anyone else, the Egans put ‘extreme’ on the map for skiing.”
The Hall of Fame seems the next natural landmark. Extremely fitting, of course.
Dan said, “It put a neat bow on my career and that time of life, and it’s also made me realize that John and I kind of needed each other to make it happen. It took two of us, his amazing talent, and my business end and skiing abilities kind of made that all come together.”
These days, John still serves as the chief recreation officer at Sugarbush Mountain Resort in Warren, Vermont, available for private and group lessons.
While Dan, who now lives in Capton, New Hampshire, keeps a schedule of skiing camps set for this winter at Big Sky and Killington Mountain Resort, where he recently covered the World Cup’s return to the East Coast, impressed with the event’s success.
“I think what Killington proved in the World Cup is that it’s a great place to watch a race,” he continued. “Patriot fans, Red Sox fans, Celtic fans, they have home games every year. They have playoffs every year. We haven’t had a home game in New England in over 25 years. And you saw the pent-up energy of people wanting to see these sort of events.
The USSA [U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association] is committed to events like Big Air Fenway. They’re committed to having major events on the East Coast and they’re proving it. When you look at Fenway and you look at Killington and you see how fans love winter in New England, it is very unique.”
As is the fact that the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in the Egans’ backyard next spring, so family and friends can easily travel to Stowe, Vermont, to experience the landmark moment for the brothers. Does that make it kind of a big deal?
Well, for one — the Hall of Fame is actually located in Ishpeming, Michigan.
Source: Metro.us
