John Dakin (1953-2025)
The Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame is deeply saddened to share the news of John Dakin’s passing. John passed away on Saturday, April 12. John’s impact will live on in the Vail Valley. As Ron Mooney said it best, we lost a true champion of ski racing. JD was not just a skiing and Olympic savant, having spent his entire career in the sport, but a dedicated true believer whose deep passion and commitment to his craft were obvious to anyone he worked with. A celebration of life is being planned for later in the summer in Vail.
At the core of our mission as an institution, we are dedicated to preserving and sharing the legacy and stories of our Hall of Fame members.
The following was written by Cheryl Lindstrom, a friend of John’s and a former employee of the Colorado Snowsports Museum.
John Dakin, a beloved member of the international ski racing community known for his quick wit and encyclopedic knowledge of the sport, passed away at his home in Edwards, Colorado on April 12. He was 71 years old.
A lifelong Coloradan, “JD” was born in Grand Junction, grew up both on Colorado’s Western Slope and in the Front Range, and learned to ski at a young age after initially refusing to take part in the sport, according to his family. Like many of his generation, Dakin’s first skis were wooden with cable bindings. But once he was hooked, he further honed his skills and deepened his love of skiing at Breckenridge, where his family had a ski cabin.
Dakin earned two degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Russian History (1975) and Journalism (1979). While at CU, Dakin began his journey in publicizing and marketing Alpine ski racing. In Boulder, he developed a passion that would ultimately take him around the world, gathering countless international friends in the process. He wanted the sport to grow and be as beloved in the United States as it was in Europe, with all of the fanfare, excitement, and drama witnessed in the classic venues of Kitzbühel or Wengen. And he succeeded. His career efforts earned him a well-deserved spot in the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame in 2022 for his role as a Sport Builder. His passing has drawn accolades from multitudes of journalists and sports officials across the United States and Europe.
Dakin served as the Sports Information Director for the CU Ski Team in the 1970s, a period when the Buffalos won eight consecutive NCAA championships. In 1981, Dakin became the U.S. Ski Team’s chief media officer after Bill Marolt, formerly the CU head coach, asked him to make a move to Park City, Utah, where the team is headquartered. His tenure included the rise of American athletes to the top of the sport for the first time in the World Cup era — Phil Mahre won three consecutive overall crystal globes (1982-1984), and Tamara McKinney became the first U.S. woman to capture the overall title in 1983. A year later, the team won an unprecedented five Olympic medals at the 1984 Sarajevo Games.
Dakin came to Vail in 1986, initially to work in the communications department of Vail Associates (now Vail Resorts). A year later, he transitioned to the Vail Valley Foundation just as it was accelerating preparations for the first of three World Alpine Ski Championships held at Vail and Beaver Creek — 1989, 1999, and 2015 — events that put the resorts on the map as an international ski destination as well as demonstrating an American flair for marketing and spectator engagement.
He spent 28 years as the nonprofit organization’s Vice President of Communications, working to increase awareness of events ranging from the annual World Cup ski races, and the development of the legendary Birds of Prey race arena at Beaver Creek, to mountain bike racing, golf, think tank events, ballet, and concerts throughout the valley. Dakin also worked in media operations for the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Dakin’s love of ski racing wasn’t limited to writing press releases or ensuring the media covering an event had a workspace, information, electricity, and the ability to communicate with the outside world (first phones, later Wi-Fi). He spent many hours behind the microphone, calling races for the fans in attendance, starting at CU during the Buff’s reign of collegiate racing. Dakin’s knowledge of the sport and its athletes was wide and deep. And he made everyone laugh, once, “calling” a non-existent head-to-head matchup between Ingemar Stenmark and Phil Mahre. The two Alpine racing stars were nowhere in sight, but for a few minutes, the initially bewildered crowd cheered wildly. He and others in the booth worked to integrate a word or phrase far outside ski racing vernacular — “arugula,” “aardvark,” or “plastic pants,” for example — into a race call. His wit was sharp and infectious, and everyone he knew had a favorite JD story. Or seven.
Dakin left the Vail Valley Foundation in 2015 to become the Vice President of Communications for the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum (now Colorado Snowsports Museum), where he continued to bring and share his vast knowledge of the sport. He was especially gifted at crafting the videos that encapsulate each inductee’s lifetime of achievements and dedication to all aspects of snow sports.
He retired in 2020, which gave him more time to pursue his passion for wildlife photography. Dakin spent considerable time at the Eagle River Preserve close to his home in Edwards, capturing stunning images of the resident eagles, elk and deer herds, foxes, and whatever he found in the frame of his lenses. A planned trip to Botswana that year was postponed due to the pandemic, and, sadly, never fulfilled due to his health challenges after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s roughly five years ago.
Said Dakin at his retirement gathering: “I feel that I have been truly blessed in my professional life to find something I was passionate about — ski racing — and to be in the right place at the right time to start and expand my career. It’s been head and shoulders above anything that any kid coming out of Grand Junction, Colorado, could have ever thought possible.”
Dakin is preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and JoAnn Dakin, his stepmother, Pauline Dakin, his sister Susan Miller Spehar, and his beloved dog, Digger. In addition to the many friends he leaves behind in the Vail Valley and beyond, Dakin is survived by his brother Geoff (Bonnie) Miller, his nephew Tyler (McKenzie) Miller, his nieces, Stephanie (Paul) Spehar and Christine (Erinn) Spehar, his brother-in-law Gerry Spehar, and his second beloved dog, Jessie. John’s family cherishes their many memories of visits and fun times spent with him; from watching Broncos games at the cabin in Breckenridge to playing football under the palm trees in Hawaii, it was a laugh a minute when John was in the room. His generous, gentle spirit and hilarious wit will be greatly missed and remembered fondly.
A celebration of life is being planned for later in the summer in Vail.
Contact: Cheryl Lindstrom Cheryl.Lindstrom@gmail.com (970) 390-1512
Ron Mooney, one of the CSM’s profoundly talented volunteers, wrote these words in honor of JD.
JD was a “Lifer”
We lost a true champion of ski racing this week with the passing of John Dakin. JD was not just a skiing and Olympic savant, having spent his entire career in the sport, but a dedicated true believer whose deep passion and commitment to his craft were obvious to anyone he worked with. A member of the CO Snowsports Hall of Fame Class of 2022, his love of skiing will live on in the indelible impact on the CSM he helped shape.
I will miss his wit, knowledge, and passion the most.
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About the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame:
Founded in 1975 and located in Vail, Colorado, our mission is to celebrate Colorado snow sports by telling stories that educate and inspire others to seek adventure. The priceless artifacts we collect and display tell the story of the birth, rise and explosion of skiing and snowboarding in Colorado. The Museum features displays including Climb to Glory about the 10th Mountain Division, Vail’s DNA, The Colorado Snowboard Archive, and The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, among many others. Learn more and consider supporting the Museum by becoming a member: www.snowsportsmuseum.org.
Media Contacts:
Colorado Snowsports Museum:
Jen Mason | Dana Mathios
jen@snowsportsmuseum.org | dana@snowsportsmuseum.org
(970) 476-1876