Holy fuck, Reed

You are always my brother. You took care of my infant daughter. Your kind and loving and beautiful wife and son and daughter opened their hearts to me, even when I was a mess. When I went to take my life, my wife called you, and you came through. I love you always. I am so sorry. What happened man? We were always so safe, and you know that zone very well. And on a day like that, I am certain that what happened is this. You took the summer trail, which can be done safely in most conditions by a cautious and experienced backcountry traveler who knows the terrain. Only God knows how many times Reed skied that zone, but he skied it enough times just with me to have enough knowledge and experience of it for ten lifetimes. Then you want to the ridge, to sus the conditions. Maybe you went to break a cornice, to keep it safe for someone else, but you made one mistake and God saw fit to bring you home, in blower pow, in maybe your favorite place. I am so sorry that I wasn't there with you that day. I would have dug you out, and we would have gone home to our children. The guilt and grief I feel from that will be with me for the rest of my life. I should have been with you.

I am gutted. Sobbing and wrecked. I'm 8 months clean and sober now, so I can't drink to your memory. But I still smoke mad tree. And I just burned my finest leaf at the nearest beautiful outdoors spot I could find, in your memory. And I left half the bowl green and blew it into the river, and that's for you. I will spend the rest of my life trying to do whatever I can to take care of your family.

I love you Reed. I am so sorry.

Do pictures still work on this shit? Cuz I want to share some DOPE STOKE of Reed. If not, see me on Facebook, the shit is public.

Sorry for your loss, mall. :(

vibes man. let the collective know how we can support you and the family.

RIP Reed

Sucks so much, while never toured with Reed I have met Hime a few times at various trailheads throughout mutual friends- I would have never guessed it would have been him in that situation. RIP and I am so sorry for his family and friends. Hope you can find some peace mallwalker


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Please keep me in the loop about the funeral arrangements, I’m flying out and I really want to speak, if his family will allow me.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

solid tribute.

my Condolences -
With love

tj

So sorry to hear.

Hey, I’m coming for Reed’s funeral. I’m bringing my kit. Let’s do a safe celebration of life tour. Details tbd. All welcome.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

The first time I skied with Reed, January 2019, Mallwalker invited me for one of his infamous dawn patrols and mentioned his buddy may join. The objective- the Y couloir. I'd been shut down twice on the Y and had a growing fascination, staring at it every time I drove up Little Cottonwood. Of course I was in. We had a brief window of high pressure in what had been a banner year thus far of skiing pow.

I meet Reed and Mallwalker in the parking lot at the ass crack of dawn, cross the creek, and we start climbing.

MW and Reed bootin'
Attachment 509036

After a couple hours of climbing, we dropped not long after sunrise. It was evident that Reed had done this sort of thing a few times.
Attachment 509037

Mallwalker and I pussyfooted through the choke, I slid on my ass and thought I ripped my leg open.
Attachment 509038

As we are standing at the bottom of the choke, Reed comes through the choke full speed and airs the whole thing, before either of us could get a picture. While it was just another morning in the mountains for Reed, it was a memorable one for me, accomplishing a line I'd looked at for years.

So terrible to learn this was a mag. RIP, Reed :(

RIP Reed

Said in the other thread but Rip In Peace Reed. Shitty deal.

So sorry for your loss, M. And for everyone's loss, Reed sounds like a great human. RIP

So so sorry :(

I skied with him on the 29th.

Attachment 509040

We looked at the slide in West Monitor and dropped Wills out to Silver Fork lodge. Requires a transition for a snow boarder. No complaints.
Back at the car, I said "don't go steep' knowing he'd be out on his own.
Went to Wills again today, questioning the why? all fucking day.
So sad.

Vibes to you Mall Walker and to all who knew Reed / get outside.

Seems so incredibly extra unfair and senseless when it’s such a competent person in a zone they know so well.

I hung out with Reed quite a bit at the BBI Utah, he was a super nice person who's love of snowy mountains was obvious. And he ripped. At one point, I think all the skiers went on some long traverse or something, and he led me, the other snowboarder, into a mini banked slalom through some trees. We just rampaged down it in close formation, me mimicking his every move trying to keep up. Vivid memory. RIP

RIP Reed. My deepest condolences to his friends and family.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Vibes to all who knew him. RIP Reed.

Terrible news. Sincere condolences to his friends, family, and fellow mags.

I’m thinking when I get to SLC, let’s go up Porter Fork, just the road out of respect. And let’s gather at the top of the road, I’m talking with Reed’s family and particularly his oldest son Jackson (who rips way harder than Reed or I lol), let’s gather at the top of the road and burn tree and if you drink beers, drink a beer. Someone bring me a beer to pour out (I am 8 months removed from drugs and alcohol except for weed and shrooms). And we will hug, tell stories, cry, and then ride the road down.

And I’m getting a tattoo of Reed shredding on my entire back. Local artist here in Maine is gonna do it. So Reed is gonna be with me every step of the way, every turn and every burn, the rest of my life.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

And I’m trying very hard not to talk about Reed in the past tense. God saw fit to bring him home in blower snow in one of his favorite spots. And he’s just there now, he’s not in the past tense.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

And if Reed’s family will allow me the honor and privilege, I will speak at his celebration of life.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bennymac

Seems so incredibly extra unfair and senseless when it’s such a competent person in a zone they know so well.

---

https://www.americanavalancheinstitu...ave-your-life/

F: Familiarity. Something that is more familiar to us feels safer. This looks like a slope we’ve skied dozens of times before, with no bad consequences.

Fwiw, Reed was unquestionably not skiing that line, he was assessing the conditions. He is safe and conservative and has a family. And he is not insane. He and I spoke at great length about this, and I’ll share those conversations at his celebration of life, God willing.

I know you weren’t suggesting that Dan. Just saying for the benefit of those without context.

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

He would have been, assuming he was in downhill mode, descending the ridge back to the summer trail. Without question. Just made one mistake. And God took him home in His wisdom.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

I mean he had his dog with him. No way he was going steep. I know him so well in the mountains. He just got too close to the edge, either going up or down, I cannot bring myself to read the UAC report yet.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Attachment 509070

Attachment 509071

Attachment 509072

Tribute on the whip


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Righteous Reed stoke

Attachment 509073

Attachment 509074

Attachment 509075

Attachment 509076

Attachment 509077

Attachment 509078

Attachment 509079

Quiet conversations at transitions with Reed were thoughtful, intellectual, philosophical, profound, funny, loving. Some of my favorite times in my life.

Attachment 509081

He's in there somewhere, trust me

Attachment 509082

Attachment 509083

He is always fuckin steezy out there too. Reed walks with an impediment in shoes, but in snowboarding boots he's a smooth fluid graceful creature, at one out there.

Attachment 509084

I miss you brother.

Reed is my favorite touring partner. He's always stoked to be out there, just like me. No matter how obnoxious or bullshit the conditions, we always said it beats work, and a morning in the mountains is better than just about anything else. I don't think I ever heard Reed complain in the mountains, really about anything, but especially about what we were doing, the weather, the conditions, how lost we were, how badly I sandbagged him on the objective, no matter how ridiculously steep and zig zagged and Wasatch skimo core I set the skinner, no matter how much hot air I blew lol. He and his daughter Isabel came to the Powder Keg one year to support me. I mean there is nobody else like Reed.

And this is some heavy shit, but we talked about it. Reed would have known from the moment the slide started he was probably going to die, and he would have known the instant he was buried that he definitely was going to die. I hope he was able to make himself an air pocket. And he immediately accepted what happened, and spent the last hours or minutes of his life thinking about his family, praying for them, and remembering them.

I am hoping to talk in person with at least one person who was part of the recovery, because I really want to know, just for my own healing and closure, exactly what happened. But I'm not ready really to hear it right now, and I'd like to hear it in person. Sfotex maybe can you help with this?

Btw that story Ty posted about Reed hucking that cliff in the Y is the pure and unadulterated truth. The baddest and raddest thing I've ever seen anyone do in the mountains, bar none.

Reed hucks this thing, sticks the landing like it’s a little lip in a kids terrain park, blows a huge cloud of snow as he stops, and just gives me and Ty a huge smile.

I'm tired and hoarse from crying but I'll keep posting Reed stoke in this thread over the next few days. Thank you everyone for your love. This community is so amazing.

So sorry Mallwaker - wish I knew him myself.