Dick Bass always had a story to tell, a song to sing, homespun aphorisms to recite, called Bassisms, or a few lines of poetry to deliver. He loved to talk, and talk he did.
“I talk a lot,’’ he once said. He joked that it was a part of his training routine, that and running through airports. “People laugh when I say that, but I do think all my talking has helped.’’
It helped enough that at the age of 55 he became the first to climb the tallest mountains on the seven continents. (It took him four attempts to summit Mount Everest. He later wrote a book, “Seven Summits Odyssey.’’)
Bass, co-founder of Snowbird, philosopher, storyteller, comedian, singer, friend, businessman and adventurer, died last Sunday at his home in Dallas of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 85.
“One of Snowbird’s longtime managers said yesterday that Dick fulfilled his dream so that we could live the dream. I feel like that sums it up quite nicely,’’ said Bob Bonar, Snowbird president, who began working at the resort in 1971.
“He will be greatly missed,’’ said Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah “He was bigger than life. He was unique, an inspiring person with a passion for all things. He was a passionate person, which is important in the ski industry. He always had a story, a song or a poem, and was always excited.’’
It was a chance meeting that brought Dick Bass to Utah. He was having lunch and the gentleman seated next to him was Ted Johnson, who was traveling the country trying to find investors for a ski resort in Utah. At that point he’d had no takers. Bass listened and was interested.
He came to Utah, hiked the slopes in Little Cottonwood Canyon and was committed — heart, soul and all the funding that was needed. Work began in 1969, and Snowbird opened in December 1971.
This was not his first ski venture. He was involved in Vail and Beaver Creek in the 1960s along with his brother, Harry, and held interests in Aspen and Alta.
He admitted that much of his success would not have been possible without the “mountains.’’ Of course, he needed the mountains for skiing, but it was his experiences in mountain climbing that ultimately guided him.
A round-the-world trip with his four children in 1979 changed his life. Among other things, he climbed the Matterhorn and swam the Dardanelles, known as the "Sea of Helle." “I took the trip to strengthen the kids … but that trip restored my confidence. After 10 years of (gut-grinding work developing Snowbird) and being hammered down, the old man came away with a new attitude,’’ he remembered.
Mountain climbing, he said, helped him cope. It allowed him to stay clear of negative thoughts. “Even when I’ve felt the worst, I said I’m doing something positive to make myself comfortable as possible. That’s a positive thought,’’ he said matter-of-factly.
He was born Richard Daniel Bass on Dec. 21, 1929, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After graduating from Yale he worked in the family oil and gas and ranching businesses. In the 1960s he stepped into the ski business in Colorado. In 1969, he met Ted Johnson.
Of all his endeavors, Snowbird, he once said, was his greatest achievement. Poor health caused him to sell major control of the resort to Ian Cumming of PowdrCorp. in 2014.
“It was an incredible opportunity to work and travel with Dick for more than four decades. He was an amazing man who had a profound influence on my life and the lives of thousands of Snowbird employees and guests,’’ Bonar said.
Bob Wheaton, president/CEO of Deer Valley, said he was fortunate enough to have known Bass for more than 25 years, “and I always admired him on a professional and personal basis. Some of my fondest memories are of having the opportunity to travel Europe a couple of time with Dick and having the opportunity to interface with him. I’ll always hold those memories very dear to me.’’
Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, called Dick Bass a pioneer, “a guy who had a vision of Utah as a recreation mecca and he made it happen. He was a major force in building our state's billion-dollar ski economy and $7.4 billion tourism economy.’’
Services will be held Friday at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas. Bass leaves behind his wife, Alice, four children, five stepchildren, 24 grandchildren and step-grandchildren.