Jill Kinmont Boothe (February 16, 1936 – February 9, 2012) was a notable American alpine ski racer. Her life story was turned into two major Hollywood movies ''

The Other Side of the Mountain ''The Other Side of the Mountain'' is a 1975 American drama romance film based on the true story of ski racing champion Jill Kinmont. The UK title of the film was ''A Window to the Sky''. In early 1955, Kinmont was the national champion in slalo ...

'' and its sequel ''

The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2 ''The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2'' is a 1978 film directed by Larry Peerce. It stars Marilyn Hassett and Timothy Bottoms. It is a sequel to ''The Other Side of the Mountain''. Plot Jill Kinmont, now recovered, goes to Southern California, ...

''. Born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Kinmont grew up in

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and learned to ski race at

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side. Mammoth Mount ...

in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountains. In early 1955, she was the reigning national champion in the

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

, and a top prospect for a medal at the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from ...

, a year away. At age 18, Kinmont competed in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

at the prestigious ''Snow Cup'' in

Alta Alta or ALTA may refer to: Acronyms * Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage * American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry * American Literary Translators Associatio ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, on January 30, 1955. She suffered a near-fatal accident which resulted in

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

from the shoulders down. That same week, she had been featured on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' magazine, dated January 31, 1955. Kinmont was engaged to ski racer and "daredevil"

Dick Buek Richard (Mad Dog) Buek (November 4, 1929 – November 3, 1957) was an American alpine ski racer and later a daredevil stunt pilot. A fiancé of champion ski racer Jill Kinmont, whose tragic life story was made into the inspirational hit Holl ...

(1929–1957) at the time of his death, according to her autobiography. After her rehabilitation, she went on to graduate from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and earned a teaching credential from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. She had a long career as an educator, first in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and then in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. She taught

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

at Bishop Union Elementary School from 1975 to 1996 in her hometown of

. She was an accomplished painter who had many exhibitions of her artwork. Kinmont was the subject of two movies: ''

'' in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and ''

'' in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. Both films starred

Marilyn Hassett Marilyn Hassett (born December 17, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Jill Kinmont in the romance drama film ''The Other Side of the Mountain'' (1975) for which she received Golden Globe Awards and its sequel ...

as Kinmont. Following "fifteen long days of incessant questioning and picture-taking" by ''Life'' reporter Janet Mason and ''Life'' photographer Burk Uzzle, ''Life'' magazine published a 14-page photographic article about Jill's status nine years after the accident. At age forty, she married trucker John Boothe of Bishop in November 1976, and they made their home in Bishop until shortly before her death. Jill Boothe died February 9, 2012, at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center. The cause of death was not released, and a report that Boothe died of complications related to surgery was not confirmed by the coroner. She lived 57 years past her paralyzing ski accident and is buried in the East Line Street Cemetery in Bishop. Boothe was inducted into the

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

in 1967.

References

External links

National Ski Hall of Fame
- Jill Kinmont, inducted 1967
''Sports Illustrated''
cover, January 31, 1955 *
Apple Pie in Sun Valley ''Sports Illustrated''
six months after accident, July 25, 1955

- Jill Kinmont Boothe, 42 years later, February 24, 1997 * * *
Crowe, Jerry. "Jill Kinmont Boothe is still going strong more than 50 years after paralyzing skiing accident,"
''Los Angeles Times'', Sunday, May 22, 2011.
Photo tribute to Jill Kinmont-Boothe
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boothe, Jill Kinmont American female alpine skiers People with tetraplegia American people with disabilities Sportspeople from Los Angeles People from Bishop, California 1936 births 2012 deaths Sportspeople from Washington (state) University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century American women