Claudine Longet & Spider Sabich

A Babe Magnet

Sabich quickly became one of the tour's stars—on and off the ski runs.

Blond and blue-eyed, he was the sort of man who stopped conversation when he walked into a ski lodge. Ski bunnies crowded in for a closer look.

"He was so charming and very sexy," longtime friend Dede Brinkman told the Sacramento Bee. "It was the same type of charisma you see in movie stars."

His brother Steve added, "Spider was a babe magnet. Just catching his overflow was fine with me."

Bob Beattie

In the early '70s, Bob Beattie pioneered the use of celebrity ski races to drum up interest in his new U.S.  tour. Spectators would flock to the slopes to see stiff-skiing celebrities, then stick around to see the real ski racers.

In 1972, singer, actress and ski enthusiast Claudine Longet was invited to a celebrity skiing exhibition held before a pro race at Bear Valley, Calif., just 25 miles from Sabich's hometown of Kyburz.

Sabich and Longet met there for the first time and were overwhelmed by an immediate mutual attraction.

Spider Sabich & Claudine Longet together

Sabich was accustomed to women finding him irresistible. But with Longet, the feeling was mutual. A friend likened it to "nuclear fusion."

They were a couple before the weekend was over.

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1. A Bitter Goodbye
2. Skin and Bones
3. Highway 50 Boys
4. Fifth at Olympics
5. A Babe Magnet
6. Paris to Vegas
7. Love Is Blue
8. Change of Lifestyle
9. A Fatal Shot
10. Aspen Outrage
11. Evidence Barred
12. It's Not True!
13. Star Testimony
14. Guilty of a Misdemeanor
15. Lifes a Beach
16. Bibliography