I'm afraid I have some sad news to share.  Many of you know Morgan "The Colonel" Birge, who was one of the very first readers of DCSki and a frequent contributor to the DCSki Forums.  His wife reached out to me today and let me know that Morgan passed away on January 6, 2026 at the age of 84.

Morgan Birge — known to many DCSki readers as “the Colonel” or “MorganB” — was one of those rare people who made an online community feel like a real one.  He first reached out to me in the late 1990s, shortly after DCSki launched, to offer suggestions for the site.  Since then, he was a steady, upbeat presence in the DCSki Forums, offering thoughtful perspective, practical advice, and a genuinely welcoming tone to thousands of fellow skiers and riders. He approached even spirited discussions with positivity and humor, and he seemed happiest when he was helping someone else enjoy the sport a little more.

Morgan first clicked into skis in February 1969 at Charnita (today’s Liberty Mountain), learning “bale to bale” on beginner slopes and getting hooked almost immediately. Over the decades he logged an estimated 850+ days on snow and skied roughly 100 resorts across the U.S., Canada, and Europe — from Mid-Atlantic home bases like Timberline and Snowshoe to western favorites like Alta and Beaver Creek.

Even after a serious collision at Snowshoe in 2017 that limited his skiing, Morgan never lost the love of the mountains or the joy of a good run. Away from the slopes he cherished time with family and friends — a proud husband, father of three, and grandfather to seven — and enjoyed golfing, boating, and time at the family’s “Rivah” cottage on the Lower Potomac. Many will especially remember his end-of-season tradition at Timberline: finishing on “Almost Heaven” and belting out “Country Roads” at the top of his lungs, celebrating winter, West Virginia, and the simple happiness skiing brought him.

I profiled Morgan in an interview for DCSki back in 2020; you can read that interview here.  You can also browse any of the over 3,100 posts he made to the DCSki Forums over the years.  A memorial page for Morgan is here.

Here is a photo of Morgan enjoying the Snowy Luau at Timberline Resort in 2012, taken by Jim Kenney.