Skiing has been a defining theme in David Gorsuch’s life.  Born in Climax, Colorado on September 22, 1938 he is the son of a mining community and a grandson of Colorado ranchers.  David has a long and successful skiing career starting at the junior level and extending through college and into the international arena.  He is a past junior national champion, winning the junior national combined championship in 1954 and 1956.

  He was a member of the 1958 World Championship Ski Team and a member of the 1960 Olympic Alpine Ski Team.  This Colorado native has contributed greatly in building and defining the sport of skiing in Colorado and beyond for over five decades.

David was Mountain Manager at Crested Butte, Colorado.  While living in the Gunnison and Crested Butte areas, he was also a collegiate NCAA champion at Western State College. In 1963 he started competing for the college ski team and won the NCAA downhill championship; earned a silver medal in slalom; and finished second in alpine combined.  The following year he paced the Mountaineers to a second place finish by placing second in slalom and third in giant slalom.

In 1962 he and his wife Renie founded Gorsuch Ltd., a specialty ski and retail shop in Gunnison.   For over forty years, Gorsuch Ltd., under the leadership and guidance of David and Renie Gorsuch, has set the standards in the ski industry introducing generations of skiers to the beauty and magic that is skiing in Colorado.

Moving to the Vail Valley in May 1966, Gorsuch was one of the early leaders and personalities that helped map and establish Vail as a community and the world-class destination resort it has become.  David and Renie brought passion and enthusiasm to this community.  In addition to managing Gorsuch Ltd., they helped to build the hospital, Vail Mountain School, and Ski Club Vail.  They were not alone in this effort, but theirs is a remarkable spirit that has inspired the Vail community to create a skiing ambiance unequaled in the world.

When asked what role skiing has played in his life, David replied, “It has provided me with the ability to choose great opportunities.  It has given me so much.”  Gorsuch can be found on the early chair enroute to a nonstop run down Riva Ridge.  He enjoys the annual Legends of Skiing and the American Ski Classic events.  Other interests and hobbies include retreating to his Rivergate Ranch near Gunnison, not far from the roots of his family’s old homestead.