On April 11, Achieve Tahoe will proudly celebrate one of our own. Doug Pringle – adaptive sports advocate and a founding force of our organization – will be inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.
For our community, this honor represents more than a lifetime of achievement. It celebrates a legacy that helped shape Achieve Tahoe into what it is today, and a vision that continues to impact lives around the world.
From West Point to a Life-Changing Moment
Born in Michigan and raised in a military family, Doug Pringle grew up moving between Army bases in the U.S., Germany, and Japan. Inspired by his father’s service, he set his sights on the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he developed a reputation as both a strong student and a bit of a rebel – with a memorable side role as a cadet radio DJ known as “Fat Daddy.”
It was at West Point that Doug went skiing for the very first time, an experience he describes as forgettable. “It was one of those situations where a couple of my friends took me out to a little ski area on campus,” he remembers. “I put skis on my feet, went up a rope tow, and proceeded to crawl down the hill.”
After graduating, Doug pursued a career in military leadership, eventually deploying to Vietnam in 1968 as an infantry platoon leader. During a combat mission, his unit came under heavy fire. Doug was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during the ensuing battle. He was evacuated by helicopter before having his right leg amputated just below the knee.
At Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, Doug spent nearly a year learning to walk again, using a prosthetic leg. Like many injured veterans, he initially struggled to adjust. During his rehabilitation, a group of 10th Mountain Division veterans visited Doug’s hospital ward with an invitation that would shape the rest of Doug’s life: come try skiing.
Following Doug’s underwhelming skiing debut at West Point, he was skeptical. But eventually, he agreed to try skiing on one leg. After a tough first day back on-hill, Doug linked three consecutive turns on his second day – which was enough for the program organizer, Jim Winthers. Jim presented Doug with a patch, told him he’s a skier now, and that he would need to become an apprentice instructor if he wanted to continue skiing for free.
“It changed my life because it was the first thing I did after losing my leg that made me believe I was going to be OK, that I could still do things,” Pringle says. “The feeling was so powerful that the organization became my life’s work.”
Building a Movement from the Ground Up
Doug became one of the first amputee-certified ski instructors in the country. In 1969, Doug and a small group of fellow amputee veterans organized one of the first amputee ski races in the country. The small event, held on Donner Summit, was the catalyst for what would eventually become Move United, with Achieve Tahoe as its founding chapter.
During those early years, Doug learned to be an instructor and to shift his focus to his students. “Instead of worrying about ourselves and our problems, we worried about the next guy who came up,” Pringle said. “We had a different uniform, a different mission, a different belonging. And so it changed our lives, and it became my life’s work.”
Expanding Access Across the Country and the World
In a career spanning a half-century, Doug launched 42 adaptive learn-to-ski programs across the United States, and more in South Korea, Spain, Japan, and Russia. He served as education director at the National Handicap Sports & Recreation Association, and joined the PSIA-AASI (Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors) board of directors for two ten year terms, where he worked to ensure that PSIA-AASI’s national office officially recognized adaptive skiing as a discipline.
With official PSIA recognition came the responsibility of establishing adaptive programs nationwide. Doug authored the first curriculum for teaching individuals with blindness to ski and created scalable models to help ski areas build inclusive programs of their own. Once Doug and his team established a new program and an NHSRA chapter, Pringle would send a “cookbook” outlining how to organize an adaptive event. The NHSRA instructors would then train the ski area’s instructors and teach lessons for the first couple of days, followed by a practicum during which the ski area’s instructors would teach, and Pringle and his team would observe and provide feedback.
As a member of the United States Olympic Committee in the 1990s, Doug became a leading voice for the inclusion and equity of Paralympic athletes. He worked to ensure they received the same support, resources, and recognition as their Olympic counterparts, advocating for change that would elevate adaptive sport worldwide. His efforts helped move the Paralympic movement toward greater integration, visibility, and respect.
A Legacy That Lives On
Doug never stopped serving others. He continued visiting military hospitals, supporting wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and helping them discover what was still possible through sport, community, and connection. Today, his legacy continues with every Achieve Tahoe lesson, every participant who gains confidence on the mountain, and every barrier that continues to be broken.
Congratulations on your induction into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame from all of us, Doug.
