Newry ski bar to display "Rock Star Skier" memorabilia starting this year

Taking a cue from the Hard Rock Cafes that display famous rock-‘n-roll memorabilia, the Matterhorn Ski Bar in Newry this year is starting its own collection of “Rock Star Skier” memorabilia.
    “Each season, we will honor an esteemed skiing or snowsports celebrity who will donate a significant piece of skiing memorabilia that will hang on the walls in the ski bar,” owner Roger Beaudoin said last week.
    The first “inductee” will be a ski jacket worn by Dan Egan, an early pioneer in the daredevil sport of extreme skiing, Beaudoin said.
    “He has been recognized as one of the premier adventure skiers in the world,” said Beaudoin. “He’s famous for appearing in 12 Warren Miller Entertainment films before starting his own film and network television company, Egan Entertainment Network.”
    Egan has written two books, produced skiing videos and coaches advanced skiing clinics all over the world, according to Beaudoin.
    “Dan is a friend of the Sunday River community and is well suited to be first honoree for his love of the sport and numerous contributions to skiing,” he said.
    The jacket, by North Face is the first snowboard-ski jacket ever made, according to Egan, and was featured in two ski videos.
    Egan will be at the Matterhorn Saturday, Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. to sign autographs and pose for photos.
    Already on the “rock star” wall is a 10-year-old poster signed by Glen Plake, a freestyle skier who stands out both for his skiing and his famous “extreme” Mohawk hairstyle.
    “Thanks for preserving skiing’s past,” Plake wrote on the poster.
    A second poster on the wall includes the signatures of several downhill racing skiers who competed in the inaugural “Birds of Prey” downhill race at Beaver Creek, Colo., in 1997.
    The poster also provides Beaudoin a trivia question. Although it states the race was Dec. 5, 1997, the race actually took place Dec. 4.
    Signatures include Kristian Ghedina, a former World Cup racer from Italy, and Bob Beattie, an American ski coach from the 1960s.
    “Next year we’ll find some other famous U.S. skiers,” said Beaudoin.