As the longest living President, and accomplished athlete, Ford excelled in many sports including golf, football (in his younger years) and skiing. He picked up skiing in New England in 1939 when he was 26 years old, but first tried the Colorado Rockies on a 1968 ski vacation. Other contributions to the sport of skiing included bringing two World Alpine Ski Championships to Colorado as well as creating the Ford Cup in Vail in 1982. The Ford Cup is now known as the American Ski Classic and was the not the first boost he made to the Vail Valley.