Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
Hank Kashiwa 1949
Inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame 1984
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Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Hank Kashiwa 1949 Inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame 1984 | Home | Back to Alphabetical List | Year of Induction List | Back to Athlete | Back to Ski Sport Builder | Back to Inspirational | |
Hank was born in New York City of a Japanese father and an Irish mother. His family moved to Old Forge, NY, where he started skiing at age two. He came up through the Junior ranks, attended school at the University of Colorado and skied for the Army for two years.
As an amateur, he was a member of the US National Team from 1967-1972, and a member of the US Olympic team in 1972, racing in Sapporo, Japan. He won the 1969 US National Championships and competed in the 1970 World Championships in Val Gardena, Italy.
Hank moved to Steamboat Springs in 1974 and raced on the Pro Circuit from 1972 to 1981. The highlight of his racing career was when he won the overall World Pro title in 1975. He also placed second in the 1976 “Super Stars” competition.
He is currently the President of the Volant Ski Corporation, the Boulder based manufacturer of the world’s only stainless steel, cap designed ski. The design was developed by his brother Bucky, an engineer at the Los Alamos Labs in New Mexico.
He is active as a TV commentator and announced for CBS Sports in 1992 at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France and in 1994 from the Lillehammer Olympics. He has appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” with a series on skiing and is currently hosting “Skiing Magazine on TV," a national television series covering skiing and winter sports consisting of seven one-hour programs which runs throughout the ski season. He also provides expert commentary for GGP Sports, covering World Cup and professional skiing events for national syndication.
Hank is an accomplished squash player, an avid fisherman, a single digit handicapper on the golf course, a gourmet cook and has developed a line of teriyaki sauce. He and his wife Anne have a son, Hennie.