If you grew up skiing Mammoth you probably know this story. Dave made his first pair of skis in high school shop class. After high school graduation Dave made his way to Independence at the base of the Eastern Sierra during the Great Depression in the 1930-s. Independence is still tiny but a resupply and base location for hikers exploring the Pacific Crest Trail and Mount Whitney (tallest peak in the lower 48).
At age 20 he moved to Bishop and became employed by the LA Dept of Water & Power as a hydrographer measuring snow depth in the Central Sierra and covering as much as 50 miles a day on skis. At 22 after joining the Eastern Sierra Ski Club he became state ski champion. At 23 he built a rope tow just off US 395 out of parts from a Model A Ford. He then got an $85 loan (no not missing any zeroes) from an area bank and set up a permanent rope tow. He married the loan officer and ever since denied he married her to get the loan. But that initial location didn't produce adequate ski conditions much of the time. McCoy from now years of snow depth measurement knew where the snow and terrain was. He'd found storms hitting Mammoth Mountain would produce well more than the surrounding area and so that's where he decided to locate and set up a rope tow in 1942.
The US Forest Service then decided to put the use of Mammoth out to bid. No-one bid including McCoy who had no money. In 1953 they gave him the lease for nothing. The first "lodge" at Mammoth was 12'x24', had a dirt floor, outhouse and was also the McCoy residence. McCoy's attempt for a bank loan to build a chairlift was unsuccessful so he acquired an old used chairlift whereupon he and his small band of local skiers dug holes, mixed concrete, installed it themselves and it became Chair 1. From there things took off.
I ran into McCoy in the Chair 5 area when he was in his 90-s. He was still a very athletic skier. Happy Birthday Dave, without you and your incredible story, a whole lot of us would have missed out on a whole lot of fun.
