Jimmie Heuga

Billy Kidd's first reaction was, "Oh no, I didn't win the race." Jimmie Heuga said he took his gloves off and threw them down on the snow in disgust. The date was Feb. 8, 1964, the place Innsbruck, Austria. And moments after their initial disappointment subsided, both men realized that they had just made history, of a sort.

Jimmie Heuga, who won a bronze medal skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years later, has died. He was 66. Heuga died Monday at Boulder Community Hospital in Colorado, said University of Colorado ski coach and longtime friend Richard Rokos. He said Heuga had recently been dealing with respiratory problems. At the '64 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Heuga finished third in the slalom, just behind fellow American Billy Kidd. They were the first U.S. men to win medals in skiing.

Jimmie Heuga was about to stop the rental car and beat the tar out of Billy Kidd. It was December of 1962, on an icy road outside Zermatt, Switzerland. Reason? "I didn't like him," Heuga remembers. The two U.S. ski team stars were in the throes of a high-speed romp across Europe. After dropping U.S. Coach Bob Beattie off at the Geneva train station, they thought it would be fun to beat the locomotive to Austria by car if only to see the look on Beattie's face when he stepped off the platform.

Jimmie Heuga was about to stop the rental car and beat the tar out of Billy Kidd. It was December of 1962, on an icy road outside Zermatt, Switzerland. Reason? "I didn't like him," Heuga remembers. The two U.S. ski team stars were in the throes of a high-speed romp across Europe. After dropping U.S. Coach Bob Beattie off at the Geneva train station, they thought it would be fun to beat the locomotive to Austria by car if only to see the look on Beattie's face when he stepped off the platform.

Looking back, Tamara McKinney can see clearly the magic that touched her career in ski racing. Then, as if averting her eyes, she chooses not to take notice of the twin specters of injury and death that seemed to wait at the finish line, daring her, time after time, to go back up the hill again. Instead, she will quickly focus on the present and her new career of "helping other people."

Jimmie Heuga, who won a bronze medal skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years later, has died. He was 66. Heuga died Monday at Boulder Community Hospital in Colorado, said University of Colorado ski coach and longtime friend Richard Rokos. He said Heuga had recently been dealing with respiratory problems. At the '64 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Heuga finished third in the slalom, just behind fellow American Billy Kidd. They were the first U.S. men to win medals in skiing.

Conditions in the mountains of the Southland and the High Sierra are ideal for the big Presidents' Day weekend, which normally signifies the start of spring skiing. This year, however, skiers will find packed powder, relatively crisp temperatures and, if all goes well, plenty of sunshine. California snow depths range from three feet on up--to as high as 12 feet in the north--and all systems appear to be go everywhere at least through Easter, March 26, and probably well beyond.

Downhill racers often average in excess of 65 m.p.h. in their two-minute runs down some of the world's most challenging mountains, but that's just cruising along by the standards of Steve McKinney and his fellow speed skiers. McKinney, brother of former World Cup Alpine champion Tamara McKinney, has hit 131 m.p.h. and held the world record on a couple of occasions. Now, he is the coach of the U.S.

Tamara McKinney, winner of more World Cup Alpine ski races than any other American, announced her retirement today from competitive racing. McKinney, 28, a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team, will become official spokesperson for Jimmie Heuga's Mazda Ski Express, a charity ski series which raises money to fight multiple sclerosis. Her retirement was not unexpected. Injuries have dogged McKinney for the past three seasons.

Looking back, Tamara McKinney can see clearly the magic that touched her career in ski racing. Then, as if averting her eyes, she chooses not to take notice of the twin specters of injury and death that seemed to wait at the finish line, daring her, time after time, to go back up the hill again. Instead, she will quickly focus on the present and her new career of "helping other people."

Billy Kidd's first reaction was, "Oh no, I didn't win the race." Jimmie Heuga said he took his gloves off and threw them down on the snow in disgust. The date was Feb. 8, 1964, the place Innsbruck, Austria. And moments after their initial disappointment subsided, both men realized that they had just made history, of a sort.

If the snow in your backyard has melted by this weekend, you still won't have to go very far to find skiable slopes. Southland ski areas, which were relying mainly on man-made snow until now, suddenly have plenty of the natural variety. As of Wednesday noon, between 6 and 19 inches of fresh powder had fallen in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, and total depths ranged up to 72 inches. Mt.

If the snow in your backyard has melted by this weekend, you still won't have to go very far to find skiable slopes. Southland ski areas, which were relying mainly on man-made snow until now, suddenly have plenty of the natural variety. As of Wednesday noon, between 6 and 19 inches of fresh powder had fallen in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, and total depths ranged up to 72 inches. Mt.