Tributes pour in for 3 heli-skiers killed in B.C. avalanche

Three men have been killed by an avalanche in the Kootenays and a fourth skier suffered critical injuries.

Friends and colleagues of three men killed when an avalanche buried a group of heli-skiers in southeast B.C. are remembering them as giants in the ski and snowboard community.

Jeff Keenan, 44, from Whistler, Jason Remple, 53, from Kaslo, and 45-year-old Alex Pashley from Idaho were on a tour with Stellar Heli Skiing when they were buried by a slide Monday afternoon while waiting for their helicopter to pick them up.

Keenan’s close friend Jody Wachniak first met him when he moved to Whistler as a 17-year-old snowboarder.

“Jeff’s a creative badass punk from Mount Seymour. And that energy that he had in his snowboarding, he had in all aspects of life on and off the hill. But the one thing about him is he just he liked everybody. And anybody who met him was immediately infatuated with who he was,” he said.

While living in Whistler, Keenan founded a snowboard company called Dinosaurs Will Die.

“He was a little bit of a jack of all trades. He was an amazing father first and foremost, and an amazing partner. And he was a filmmaker. He was a professional snowboarder. He owned one of the coolest snowboard companies in snowboarding,” said Wachniak.

Read more: 3 skiers killed, 1 critically injured in B.C. avalanche

Wachniak also knew Alex Pashley, who was a photographer and worked with big name ski and snowboard brands like Rossignal and North Face.

“He’s somebody who is very beloved in snowboarding because of how much he cares about snowboarding. And same with Jeff. Jeff, Alex, they both care about snowboarding so much and what it looks like and what it feels like,” he added. “The snowboard community is going to miss these individuals forever.”

In a social media post, North Face said “Alex Pashley’s curiosity and kindness left a mark on everyone who had the privilege of working, riding and running alongside him. He loved being on a board as much as being behind the lens, building community through deep powder and big lines.”

Wachniak said Keenan and Pashley were in Kaslo working on a video project.

“They snowboard, they have brands, they shoot photos, they both shoot video. They are mentors, they’re role models,” he said. “I haven’t even begun to process how big of a loss this is. It’s as big as it can get, just because of how special these two individuals are.”

Stellar Heli Skiing is not naming the guide that was killed in the slide, but friends on social media have identified him as owner Jason Remple who founded the company in 2005.

“We obviously are crushed by what’s happened. For the Stellar family, for the community of Kaslo. For this to happen is a tragedy,” said Marcus Gurske, a spokesperson for Stellar Heli Skiing.

Shin Campos, the owner of Whistler Creek Productions, posted to Facebook: “Tragedy in the mountains. Jeff Keenan and Jason Remple were both great people who has such experience and knowledge, showing that tragedy and sadness can be anywhere at any time. Keep your family close and let them know how precious this thing called life is.”

The loss is being deeply felt in the small town of Kaslo. Mark Jennings Bates is with Kaslo Search and Rescue, which helped in the operation to try to save the three men.

“Kaslo is smaller than a Vancouver city block in terms of the number of people. So, we all know each other. It’s very, very challenging for a community who has lost a friend who was guiding that day, somebody that many people have skied with perhaps, or know intimately. So, yes, it’s a very rough time for the community after this and a very sad event,” said Jennings Bates.

The sole survivor of the slide, a 40-year-old man from Nelson, is in critical condition in hospital.

“Those individuals have done their homework, they’ve been in the mountains for years, they’re not rookies,” said Wachniak. “It’s going to be a big loss for a long time.”