Reveal family photo
Jon Reveal, a former Aspen Skiing Co. executive who worked 55 years at various ski resorts, died suddenly Thursday after finishing a day’s work at the Tamarack Resort in Idaho.
Reveal’s wife, Kim Waltrip, said an autopsy this week will determine the cause of his death. Reveal, 77, was in excellent shape and received “good health” in a cardiac stress test three months ago, she said. He died after working a full day and walking to his vehicle.
“He’s a legend,” Waltrip said. “He is known all over the world.”
Reveal played a key role in bringing the Snowmass ski area into the modern era when he was mountain manager there from 1984 to 1988. He oversaw the installation of the first high-speed quad chairlifts in the ski area.
He then became manager of Aspen Mountain in 1988-1989, then was promoted to general manager of Aspen Mountain and Buttermilk from 1989 to 1992. He was vice president of operations for Skico from 1992 to 1996.
Earlier in his career, Reveal worked for several years to help build Keystone into a premier Colorado resort. For much of that time he worked with Bob Maynard, who became president and CEO of Aspen Skiing Co. in 1986. Once the men were reunited, Reveal rose through the ranks of his career at Skico, acquiring responsibilities over the years. Both men left Skico in 1996.
Reveal continued his career in the ski industry joining Mont Sainte Anne Resort as President in 1997. He joined the new Yellowstone Club in 1998 and was part of the team that designed, built and operated a successful operation .
“Jon was a friend to all who crossed his path and an endless worker, usually the first to work and the last to leave,” said an obituary distributed by Reveal’s family. “The joy and passion he had for skiing and mountain recreation was contagious.”
Reveal most recently served at Tamarack Resort as President from 2018-2020 and Director of Sports for the past two years. He ran the sports school which was named in his honour.
It’s obvious Reveal cherished his time in Aspen. The first part of his email address was ZGSKI.
“He was proud of it,” Waltrip said.
She said her husband loved the freedom of being on the ski slopes and that he enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm for skiing with other people. He started skiing at the age of 3 while growing up in California.
“He said he felt more comfortable on skis than in boots,” she said.
Reveal had a smile on his face when he was on the slopes and he did everything he could as a leader in the ski industry to get the same smile on customers’ faces, Waltrip said.
Reveal was working in Courchevel, France in 1969 when he met legendary ski filmmaker Warren Miller.
“Warren realized this man could ski out of the mountains,” Waltrip said, noting that Jon could also speak French and help during filming. Reveal went on to ski in 15 of Miller’s iconic films. Waltrip said Reveal considers Miller a mentor as well as a friend.
Reveal family courtesy photo
Reveal was also an avid ski racer from a young age and raced all over the western United States, meeting lots of people. He was a good friend of racer Spider Sabich, who was shot and killed aged 31 in Aspen on March 21, 1976. Reveal was planning to attend the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame induction celebration . for Sabich at Snowmass Village in April. The event will feature a new film, “Spider Lives”, which chronicles his skiing career.
When asked what traits she would remember Jon best, Waltrip said, “The fact that he was the most positive man on the planet. He would never say a mean word about anyone.
She also said he genuinely wants customers to benefit from their experiences at the stations he has worked at over the years. She remembers once scraping ice from a vehicle in Tamarack after a storm blew through during the day. The owners passed by while he was scraping and he just said he was working there and saw ice build up on their windshield.
Former Skico executive John Norton worked with Reveal in the 1990s and remembers him as a perfectionist and a “beautiful skier”.
“He was the kind of skier we wanted to watch,” he said.
Reveal’s obituary said he was the first American to be certified by the Ecole de Ski de France, the largest ski school in the world.
Reveal also participated in the American Everest West Ridge Expedition in 1983. The goal for the 17-member team was a self-guided ascent of the full western ridge of Mount Everest. They undertook the ascent without Sherpas or oxygen. Snowstorms created conditions that kept them from reaching the summit after passing 24,000 feet.
In addition to Waltrip, Reveal is survived by his sons Michael (wife, Casarae) and Stefan (wife, Sara), his stepson Griffin Wade and four grandchildren. Both sons live in Aspen. Stefan is the senior vice president of Alpine Bank. Michael is a professional skier at Snowmass.
“The family will have a small private funeral service in Idaho and since Jon did not wish to have a memorial, he would have liked his friends and everyone who knew and remembered him to come out and ski their favorite mountain in his honor. ,” states his obituary.
