THE sporting community of Australia is this week reeling at the loss of snowsport champion Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin.

Chumpy and Emma, Chris and Sally's children, grew up in Mansfield above Pullin's Ski Hire, which had been established by Chris' parents, Bob and Anne.

The Pullins were among many of the early promoters of the use of Lake Eildon as a major tourist attraction after the lake rose to its new level in the winter of 1956.

They established the Peppin Point Holiday Park - and then later, Pullin's Ski Hire, and so it was that Chumpy and his sister grew up surrounded by water and snow sports.

Chris and Sally were very skilled sailors, and took their children in their sailing boat up and down Australia's east coast and into the Pacific, a springboard for Chumpy's love affair with the sea.

Chris also sailed their boat in the Melbourne Osaka Yacht Race, a 5000 nautical mile two handed race.

Growing up in this environment, it was inevitable that Chumpy was very adventurous from early childhood, and took his spirit of adventure to its highest level in his stellar career as a world champion snowboarder.

In more recent years, he had spent his winters competing overseas and his summers on the Gold Coast.

But for those in Mansfield, Chumpy will always be remembered as a local boy who made it very big on the world stage, but was not changed by that experience.

Chumpy's parents Chris and Sally live in Eden, which has been the base for many more sailing adventures since Chumpy and Emma left home.