mike rufer

Mike Rufer was a good friend to many.. We shared hundreds of hours together on Ski Patrol, including a near death experience at the top of the Wipe Outs on Jan 6, 1988 when our bombs triggered a Class V avalanche that ran past the narrows of St Anton..The hard slab broke behind us as we stood near the top of WO2, near the snow fences. Mike grabbed on to my snow shovel as we jumped off the moving slab and landed on dirt below the crown face. As we watched the slide grind it’s way down the slope Mike turned to me and gave his familiar chuckle and said, “Nice to see you brother”. Humor in the face of near tragedy was one of his trademarks. There was one eye witness, Jeb Stewart, who had been holding bump at the top of the Space Needle (aka T-bar 1).

Luke Schwartkopf –