Allen Ray Loring Jr's Obituary
Obituary for Allen Ray Loring, Jr. (Chip) - 8/21/1951- 10/6/2020
Chip Loring, 69, passed away at home in Sandy, Utah on October 6th, 2020. He was a devoted ski teacher known for his uncanny ability to share the joy of skiing and beauty of the mountains. He knew instinctively how to keep his fellow adventurers smiling. Are your teeth dry yet? was one of the well-delivered sayings in an extensive catalogue of ‘Chip’-isms he was known for. Chip was born in Laconia, New Hampshire on August 21, 1951, and started skiing in his backyard at six years old. He taught himself and saved all his money to buy his first pair of skis. He also loved to hunt and fish. A favorite spring day was skiing in the morning and fishing in the afternoon. He was a member of the Lake Regionnaires Drum and Bugle Corp. He graduated from Laconia High School in 1969 and then attained his Associate’s Degree from Burdett College in Boston, MA. He then returned to his hometown and operated the family-owned Laconia Construction. In 1973 he left New Hampshire to seek adventure on the Alaska pipeline but detoured in Colorado where he found his calling. He taught skiing first at Estes Park and then at Crested Butte. During that time Chip joined the Professional Ski Instructors of America, and pursued certification through the association. He attained the highest level of certification while at Crested Butte. In the summer, he worked as a white-water rafting guide. He was sought out by boatmen and skiers alike because of the unique combination of his skill for navigating the natural world and his gift for connecting with people. In the 1980s, he returned to New Hampshire and became the training manager for the Loon Mountain ski school. In 1989, he met and fell in love with Maggie Sjostrom, who was later hired as the children’s program director. They joined forces and in 1992, left Loon to work for a new concept in ski teaching called Perfect Turn being rolled out at Sunday River, Maine. Both remained active as Examiners with PSIA. They married in 1995, with Maggie’s two children, Josh and Karin, standing as Best Man and Best Woman, and Gus, their Labrador as their stand-up dog. For the next eight years, Chip was part of the group who developed Perfect Turn at eleven resorts across the United States and Canada, influencing many programs and hundreds of instructors. After the children left for college, Chip and Maggie decided to head west again, eventually landing in Utah where they made their home. It quickly became the Red Sox Nation in Salt Lake City, as both Chip and Maggie were devoted lifelong fans. In 2002, Maggie became the Snowsports School Director at Snowbird and Chip became the Adult Program Manager at The Canyons in Park City. They worked at separate resorts until Chip decided to teach at Snowbird in 2007. He learned the mountain contours quickly and under the tutelage of the legendary Junior Bounous, developed his unique guiding persona (inventing names for secret powder stashes to share with kids) and continued to master the art of teaching. Throughout his teaching career, he could often be found in the locker room or at the bar, explaining technical concepts to less experienced teachers, or lending an ear and cheering them on if they needed encouragement. Chip loved old things and had a knack for arranging them into a story people could understand. Along with Keith Hanson, he created the Cottonwood Heritage Museum in Snowbird’s Peruvian Tunnel, which illustrates the canyon’s story from its early mining days. Chip spent many summers hunting for artifacts throughout Little Cottonwood Canyon and devising creative ways to transport them up to the tunnel. In 2013, Chip suffered a severe hiking accident and spent the rest of his life dealing with chronic pain. Chip was a free spirit and often connected with young people who were discovering who they were. He was a careful, compassionate listener and a keen observer of both people and the natural world. He will live in our hearts, especially as we enjoy a hidden powder stash, watch a river run, or see a loon spread its wings over a New England lake. Chip is survived by wife Maggie, stepson Joshua Sjostrom (wife Karyn Sjostrom), stepdaughter Karin Denholm (husband Andrew Denholm), grandson Miles Sheehan, brothers, Bret Loring (wife Krista) and Randy Loring, nieces Brittany Loring and Olivia Bartlett, nephew Jake Drouin, and great nieces Hailey Gilman, Nicole Bartlett, and Jordan Drouin.
He was predeceased by his parents Patricia and Allen Loring.
His family is working on an instructor scholarship in his honor and other ways to memorialize Chip’s life. Details to be shared at a later date. Please consider donating to these funds in lieu of flowers. There will be a virtual service (due to Covid 19) at a later date to be posted on this site.
UPDATE:
Please consider a gift in Chip's memory to the Education Foundation
https://thesnowpros.org/who-we-are/foundation-gifts/
It may be easier for people who are not members of PSIA/AASI to mail donations (but certainly possible to do online by creating a profile): specify “PSIA-AASI Education Foundation: in memory of Chip Loring"
PSIA-AASI
133 S. Van Gordon St., Suite 200
Lakewood, CO 80228
Maggie Loring
Snowbird Mountain School Director
Snowbird
Office: (801) 933-2173
Cell: (801)- 891-8084
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