His story
A life lived in the air
Born April 20, 1952, Michael grew up in Denver, the eldest of five, in a family that treated Colorado as a playground — sports, mountains, and the great outdoors.
Colorado boy
His father, a competitive diver, taught him from childhood. His oldest sister and brother were Junior National figure skating champions, skating on the ice rink Dad built in the backyard.
Mike’s competitive life started at five: gymnastics, swimming, ski racing. He dived with the Denver Hill Toppers, loved the feeling of flying, and was one of the early cliff divers at Casa Bonita. By junior high he was pole-vaulting and on Junior Ski Patrol at Loveland Basin, launching off everything in sight.
Arapahoe High knew him as a gymnast, springboard and tower diver, ski racer, and Nordic jumper. He went on to teach skiing at Geneva Basin under former Olympian Dan Thurston, who introduced him to gelande jumping — where he could really fly.
Freestyle pioneer
Those skills met in the new sport of freestyle skiing. At 18, in April 1971, Michael landed the first triple back flip in history on 210 downhill skis at the Flauschink Competition in Crested Butte. He flew with the Bambini Brothers. In 1972 he became World Aerial Champion, winning aerial acrobatic events on the Chevrolet Tour in Sun Valley and Vail.
With his closest friend Roger Evans — Graze and Rojo — he was among the first to go upside down off a gelande jump, the true beginning of Big Air. He made history again with a 170-foot back layout at more than 60 mph at the Vail National Gelande, then took Most Spectacular Aerial at the 1972 Alta National Gelande with 140-foot Dual Clockwork Somersaults.
A shattered femur in Canada paused the aerial career and kept him out of Vietnam. He came back anyway. At the 1973 Vail Aerials, Roger held his hand to support the bad leg. They won the event with the first “Gay Gainer” in history.
He stunt-skied for Dean Jones in Disney’s Snowball Express, starred with Jean-Claude Killy in Hot Dog Skiing for Jo Jay Jalbert, and appeared in films for Dick Barrymore, Willy Bogner, Warren Miller, and the freestyle documentary Dog Days of Winter. He toured Europe with Killy and the K2 team, and designed a line of Demetre Sport sweaters.
Teacher, builder, diver
The gift that lasted was teaching. Michael taught hundreds of kids to get upside down safely at ski camps in America and Europe — Airborne Eddie’s, Annie Famose, Rossignol’s, and his own Grazier Flight School in Crested Butte, where he directed the freestyle program from 1978 to 1980 and trained future champions including Marion and Ellen Post. In the early 2000s he came back to teaching in Park City, this time with small children taking a first run. He knew that first day on snow could make or break the sport for them forever.
He was a builder and master cabinet-maker in Aspen and Telluride, skills rooted in a family cabin raised with hand tools. He raised cattle, farmed, hunted with respect, and once ran a logging mill. He was an accomplished chef and a foodie for life.
Scuba was his second love. For more than thirty years, as a Master Scuba Dive Trainer, he certified over 500 divers, wrote an underwater hunting course for PADI, worked search and rescue for the Mesa Sheriff’s Department, and ran Passports to Paradise Dive and Travel — escorting divers around the world.
Family
Michael was preceded in death by his father Robert, his son Jade, and his sister Patty. He is survived by his mother Elvora; his soulmate Jennifer; sons Hayze and Robert; stepson Shane; grandson Rhett; big sister Olivia; sisters Lorie and Sue; brother Ron; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; and his dogs Zoe and Stella.
His truest gift was transmitting passion, knowledge, and experience — teaching skiing, diving, and life, and always asking people to dare to be all they can be.
Life details on this page follow the family obituary published by Meadow Memorials.