Friday Ski History Contest — Win a Backpack from Backcountry Access

We have a winner:
Stewart correctly identified the photo as Bela Vadasz skiing at Ellery Lake. It’s specifically in the line known as “Chute Out.”

The image this was scanned from is in the 1987 Great Pacific (Chouinard) backcountry skiing catalog. The image was also used for the “Ski Yosemite” poster. The photographer is Bela’s then wife Mimi. Well known guides, the two started Alpine Skills International and became known over the years as highly skilled ski alpinists.

According to Bela:

Early June, 1985. It was a good “fat” Sierra snow year as many were in the 80’s. Mimi and I saw the line filled in well clear through the upper section. By then, we had been to Chamonix a few times and had been extremely (no pun intended) motivated by the steep skiing going on. We were still in our Sierra “3pin” era and were on a mission to ski anything steep in “pins.” Our friend, Eric Perlman was along and at this spot in the couloir, both he and Mimi were firing away with motor drives clicking. After I completed the descent, I named it “Chute Out”, a play on the photo shoot we ended up doing. Mimi got the best shot and it won an important award in Photographer’s Annual.
Bela

**********************************original post below
I don’t know what to do with you guys. We come up with what we think are tough fairly images to ID, and you nail ’em in minutes. Of course with thousands of people looking at this blog every morning, someone is bound to see something familiar. So…. here is another one for your perusal, from decades ago. I hope it takes more than 30 seconds for someone to have the answer as the process is fun. For a free Backcountry Access backpack dropped at your door, who is it and where are they (answer by leaving comments below post)? Photo subject, family members and media please refrain.

Bela Vadasz on Chute Out, early June 1985, above Ellery Lake, California Sierrra. Photo by Mimi Vadasz.

Previous Contests

Aug 8 Contest, Terry Skjersaa, near the summit of Mt Bachelor.

Aug 15 Contest, Bill Briggs in Canada

Aug 22 Contest, Scot Schmidt in Outside Magazine

Aug 29 Contest, Dick Barrymore with proto helmet cam.

Fine Print:
If you win, I’ll leave a public comment identifying your comment as the winner, and I’ll contact you in private via the private email you leave on your blog comment. If we have no winner by 9:00 MST the Monday after I post the photo, there will be no winner and the prize will wrap to the next Friday. For extra karma, if you know the answer, please comment with some story as well.