High Sierra Topix

Bill Sponsored by Barbara Boxer to Rename Sierra Summit for Skier Andrea Mead Lawrence Advances to U.S. House

Published on October 20, 2011 @ 9:00 am
By First Tracks!! Online Media
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2011/1 ... -lawrence/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sacramento, CA - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-San Francisco) has sponsored a bill that passed the U.S. Senate unanimously on Wednesday that would name a previously unnamed Sierra Nevada peak for famed skier Andrea Mead Lawrence.

The 12,240-foot summit in Mono County, Calif., near the Tuolumne County border and the Ansel Adams Wilderness, would be named Mt. Andrea Lawrence in honor of the conservationist and skier, to date the only female winner of two Olympic gold medals in alpine skiing, who passed away while living in Mono County in 2009 at the age of 76 after a long bout with cancer.


Andrea Mead Lawrence

“Andrea Lawrence was an Olympic champion who dedicated her life to protecting the treasures of the Eastern Sierra. Her passion and achievements were larger than life, which is why I cannot think of a more fitting tribute than to name this majestic peak in her honor,” Boxer said on Wednesday.

Boxer first sponsored the bill in May. It now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it is sponsored by Republican Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon of California, chair of the House Armed Services Committee.

Mead Lawrence was born in Rutland, Vt., where her parents owned nearby Pico Mountain ski area. At age 14 “Andy” Mead was the youngest athlete ever to be chosen for the 1948 U. S. Women’s Olympic Alpine Ski Team (’48, ’52, ’56), and she garnered numerous awards in national and international championships from 1948 – 1952, including the 1948 Austrian National Championships, and the 1950 U. S. National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Read more: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2011/1 ... -lawrence/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;