Industry News
Utah skier Junior Bounous, widely regarded as a pioneer of powder skiing, marked his 100th birthday on Sunday. The Provo-born skier’s legacy spans everything from carving the first trails at Snowbird to reshaping how generations of skiers approached deep snow.
Bounous, the son of Italian fruit farmers, was born in 1925 and raised in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. By the late 1960s, his career brought him back to Utah to help establish Snowbird, where he drew the first trail map, cut runs by hand, and directed the fledgling ski school, according to The Town Lift. His emphasis on technique and accessibility helped popularize powder skiing at a time when many considered it intimidating.
His impact reached well beyond instruction. In 1970, Bounous became the first skier to descend Snowbird’s Pipeline, a line with slopes reaching 50 degrees, The Town Lift Reports. Decades later, he continued to test boundaries, skiing the same chute on his 80th birthday and setting a world record as the oldest heli-skier at age 95.
While his career highlights are remarkable, his influence is perhaps most visible in Utah’s ski culture. Bounous helped introduce powder skiing to a broad audience, encouraging children and beginners to approach it as a joyful part of the sport rather than a niche reserved for experts. Snowbird and Little Cottonwood Canyon, where he spent much of his life, continue to carry his imprint.
As Bounous enters his second century, his story is a representation of the state’s skiing heritage and a testament to longevity on and off the mountain.
