Boarder’s legacy to live on with ski tribute
Bid for permanent active tribute to legend of ski slope
FRIENDS of a muchloved snowboarding instructor who passed away recently are bidding to create a lasting legacy at Ski Rossendale.
Paul Lamouche, nickname Mush, from Stacksteads, died on October 30, following a short illness.
A stalwart of the Valley slope, Paul taught people of all ages and abilities through his freestyle group on a Wednesday evening, and had helped thousands of people develop their shredding skills and technique over the years.
Mush’s close friend Marc Sheldon, 48, said Mush’s influence was “quite incredible”.
“He must have taught thousands and thousands of people; virtually all the people I’ve snowboarded with were taught with him,” he said.
“He lived and breathed it. He was snowboarding; there was nothing else.
“That’s not to say he was a sad character. When I think about snowboarding,
I think about Mush. He’s been around from the beginning of snowboarding. Everybody that went through that place over 25 years has been through him.”
Marc said he met Mush about four years ago as he was doing a snowboarding lesson as part of rehabilitation from a brain operation, something they shared in common.
His infectious enthusiasm saw them become instant friends.
“Everybody remembered him and liked him,” said Marc, who lives in Bury.
“He never had a bad word to say about anyone; he only wanted the best. He was really quite unique. He did mean a lot to a lot of people. Everybody says he’s a legend, and it’s not a throwaway word.”
The gofundme appeal, set up by Ben de Loup, explains: “We want to build something for snowboarding at Ski Ross that Mush would be thrilled about and something dedicated to him that is a celebration of his enviable legacy.
“It could be a new feature, it could be a much needed refurbishment of the park. It will depend entirely on you and the money you raise.
“What it will be is something practical that everyone can use, as we know that’s what he would have wanted.”
Ben, from Crawshawbooth, said both he and his son James, 12, have been taught by Paul on Wednesday nights, and said he was “a brilliant teacher” who had left behind “an enviable legacy”.
He said: “He would point things out and make little tweaks. He touched so many lives and he’s still doing it. There is so much home grown talent that’s gone through the ranks.
“If you get your technique right in Rossendale you can ride anywhere.
“When you lose somebody like this who was such a lynchpin for the sport for years, the way to deal with that is to do something positive. He wouldn’t want a stone or a plaque or anything like that. What he would want was something practical for people to use.”
Ben said the ultimate goal would be to help fund a full revamp of the park “to secure freestyle riding at Rossendale for the next generation”.
“That would be wonderful and would have been what Mush would’ve wanted,” he said.
“The nursery slope is fantastic, but it’s the intermediate progression that isn’t there at the moment.
“If we can get a few hundred people donating five or ten pounds each we have got a really good argument for match funding.”
In a tribute to Paul in last month’s Rossendale Free Press, Ski Rossendale managing director Dave Fuller said he had known Paul very well for more than a decade, and said he was “a great guy and a stalwart” at the Rawtenstall slope.
» You can donate to the appeal, which has so far raised £465, by visiting gofundme.com and searching for ‘Lamouche’.