Ernie Blake (March 24, 1913 – January 14, 1989), originally Ernst Hermann Bloch, was the German-American founder, together with his wife Rhoda, of

Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico Taos Ski Valley is a village and alpine ski resort in the southwestern United States, located in Taos County, New Mexico. The population was 69 at the 2010 census. Until March 19, 2008, it was one of four ski resorts in America to prohibit ...

. He was born in Germany, grew up in Switzerland and went to university in Germany and Switzerland before emigrating to the US in 1938. He worked for

US military intelligence The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the U.S. Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic warfare ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when he assisted in the interrogation of the leading Nazis

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

and

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...

. His code name was ''Ernie Blake'', and after the war, he chose it as his real name. Always a keen skier, he met his future wife Rhoda whilst skiing in Vermont, and followed her to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, where she was studying art. He was helping to run other ski areas and flying a small plane between them, when he spotted what was to become Taos Ski Valley.

Early life

Blake was born Ernst Hermann Bloch in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany, in 1913, the son of Jenny (née Guggenheim), a Swiss mother and Adolph, a German father, who was an industrialist, and produced the raw material used to make

felt hats Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood pulp–ba ...

. Ernst was a keen skater, and his mother introduced him to skiing. He grew up close to the Swiss ski resort of

St Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

, and went to boarding school at the

Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz is an international boarding school in Zuoz, near St. Moritz in Switzerland. Founded in 1904, it is located in the upper part of the alpine village in the area of Surmulins. There are around 300 pupils, including 220 in the ...

Zuoz Zuoz () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. History Zuoz is first mentioned about 840 as ''Zuzes''. Historically, Zuoz was the political ce ...

, followed by a degree in history at the University of Frankfurt.

Emigration to the US and World War II

In 1938, he emigrated to the United States. During

, he became a lieutenant in the United States army in

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

. He served in the

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

, where he assisted in the interrogation of the leading Nazis

and

.''Ernie Blake'' was his code name during the war, and afterwards he chose it as his real name.

Ski career

In December 1940 Blake met Rhoda Limburg at the top of a chairlift on

Mount Mansfield Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont, reaching an elevation of above sea level. Located in the northwest of the state, it is also the highest peak in the Green Mountains. Its summit is located within the town of Underhill, Vermon ...

Stowe, Vermont Stowe is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 5,223 at the 2020 census. The town lies on Vermont Routes 108 and 100. It is nicknamed "The Ski Capital of the East" and is home to Stowe Mountain Resort, a ski fa ...

. He followed her to

, where she was studying art. They decided to marry in summer 1941. They had three children, Peter, Wendy and Mickey. By 1949, they had settled in Santa Fe. Blake was helping to run the Santa Fe ski area and the

Glenwood Springs Glenwood Springs is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, the city has a population of 9,963. It is located at the confluence of the Roaring Fork ...

ski area in Colorado, traveling between them in a small plane he flew himself. As a result, he noticed the remote mountains 20 miles northeast of

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico ** Taos Pueblo, a Native American ...

and decided to start a ski area there. Blake was inducted into the US Ski Hall of Fame in 1987.

Death

Blake died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

on January 14, 1989.

Legacy

In December 2013, the hedge fund billionaire

Louis Bacon Louis Moore Bacon (born July 25, 1956) is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chief executive of Moore Capital Management. As of February 2024, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth at US$1.5 bil ...

purchased Taos Ski Valley from the Blake family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Ernie 1913 births 1989 deaths People from Frankfurt Military personnel from Hesse-Nassau People from Taos, New Mexico Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Businesspeople from New Mexico German people of Swiss descent American people of German-Jewish descent United States Army personnel of World War II Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States United States Army officers 20th-century American businesspeople Alumni of Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz