Jackson Death- To clear some things up

[satori]

I always get really sad to read posts like this. Sorry to hear you lost a good mate. +++++++vibes++++++++ to all you guys and especially his family.

[Dside11-11]

I hope to never know how you feel. This and the Snowmass death have both taken dudes who seemed to be very prolific skiers - guys you would guess might have a chance at surviving such an incident. The reality of our smallness out there is very apparent. I wish Justin's family and friends the best and extend my condolences. Very sad.

[rehabit]

That's a terrible tragedy!

[mtkaxtreme]

My heart goes out to you and all affected.

[Phall]

That newspaper article made me real sad.
Such a terrible situation to be in, I can only imagine.
Being new to the big mountain/backcountry skiing world, everyone of these posts is a reminder of why proper training and caution is needed. I am in no way saying these skiiers didnt use it, I am 100 percent positive they did, I am saying that the Jongs like myself need to take this to heart
RIP and vibes to his family and friends...............

[0BernhardFranz]

vibes anyone
somehow cool story
let´s go on to the next death
(then anyone say "vibes, man ")

[0BernhardFranz]

R - I - P

If you just - had met a clown
and not given him a frown or a beating and bought a metall ballon and fixed it to your girdle or pack - then out of the snow a ballon would have been seen and picked up by the radar of the search planes - and the clown could smile to see a living guy undug from the snow ! If you see me as clown going into pow why not give a clown a smile and buy and tie a metallic ballon on long strong leash to your pack ?

[Tippster]

So sad. Be careful out there, guys - no need to lose another kid at his/her prime.

[0BernhardFranz]

I was at that fair yesterday - they had maybe 10 000 metallic helium ballons.Since I voiced that idea of mountain rescue it´s been like that.Anyone any experience ? How long the cord what material and how big the ballon ? I would say min 4 helium big ballons to carry the cord say nylon 2 mm or 1 mm to 1.5 mm and 10 m or 5 m ? What is ideal ? Even if it rips you should see ballon remains quickly from the top.Anyone develeop a digging device and deployment methods ?

[0BernhardFranz]

my ma says avi ain´t fun fluffbaths but hard walz ( rolls ) of ice going at 400 km/m and you die or are invalid for the rest of your days - she is from munich so maybe she got a better pic ! here it appears the one big fun is triggering an avi and riding it ... maybe the juggernaut shall resemble it ?????

[Black Market]

http://www.thesnaz.com/2007/01/09/fa...-life/#more-50

Jackson Hole Skier Lived the Life
Friends remember Kautz


By Lauren M. Whaley



Fallen skier Justin Kautz did everything in life with intention, even at the moment just before he died.

Kautz, a 25-year-old Wilson, Wyo. man, died Friday from internal bleeding after skiing off a cliff to avoid being swept over it by an avalanche outside the boundaries of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

When he heard the avalanche break behind him, he pointed his skis downhill and jumped.

Friend Jenna Cropley said Kautz lived like we all want to: “purposefully and passionately.”

Just a few months ago, Kautz quit his job as manager at Stiegler’s restaurant, took out a business loan and started woodworking full time—a trade he learned from his father.

‘“This is what I’m going to do to make money,” Cropley remembered him saying. “‘How is making wood things going to change anybody? My writing is my real work, that’s what will impact people.’”

Indeed, he always carried a book of poems or politics in his backcountry pack next to his shovel and extra layers. He even laminated his skis with inspirational quotations.

He wrote short stories, made a complete Powder Magazine mock-up with original photographs and writing, published several articles and had nearly completed a book of short fiction to be called The Ford at Penuel.

“Justin was passionate about skiing, true, but he would skip even the biggest powder day to write,” said former girlfriend Elise Stiegler. “And yet, even then, if you came by, all he wanted to do was make tea and talk.”

Friends say Kautz lived the change he hoped to see. He donated 10 percent of all the money he made selling wooden sculptures and engravings to Invisible Children, Inc., which works to educate people about children kidnapped and forced into military service in Uganda.

“He had money on credit cards that he had to pay off and they kept building, but he would still give 10 percent of everything he earned no matter what,” said roommate Adam VanSickle, who lived with Kautz and Joel Wenger in a little cabin on Heck-of-a-Hill Road in Wilson.

“He believed every human deserves respect and that every human life is worth the world,” said friend Karla Hanson. She also recalled how he convinced Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church to toll their bells each time someone was killed in the United States under the death penalty. He was saving a bottle of Dom Perignon in a wooden cradle for the day when the death penalty is abolished in the United States.

Kautz’s father, Will, told the Valley News in West Lebanon, N.H. that Kautz was a man of “purpose and integrity.”

“He had deep faith in the redemptive power of God, which enabled him to stand up for what was right, regardless of the consequences,” Will Kautz said. “If we don’t say this about Justin, we don’t capture his character.”

Friend Josh Smith—a ski coach and former ski patroller—who was skiing with Kautz Friday and helped in rescue efforts, said “He’d ski Monday through Friday, then Saturday and Sunday were his days to write; he’d go to church Sunday morning.”

Smith, Kautz and friend Joel Bettner planned to huck Fat Bastard, a 60–70 foot cliff located in the Rock Springs Canyon south of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, late Friday morning. The friends had scoped the cliff the day before.

After retreating to a “safe zone” on a flat area behind some big trees, Smith and Bettner, who had decided against jumping that day, watched Kautz ski to the edge twice and stop to make sure he could gather enough speed to clear the cliff.

When Kautz side-stepped back up to position himself for the real jump, Smith watched the snow fracture about 20 feet above him.

“As soon as he saw the fracture, Justin, acting according to our contingency plan, immediately pointed his skis at the cliff and went off,” Smith said.

Kautz wasn’t able to launch from his intended spot.

“He landed in a completely different direction than he looked like he was going to, like 45 degrees different,” said Thomas Gatehouse, who witnessed the accident.

“He landed in a much flatter area, almost dead flat,” Smith said. “When he landed on his feet, his knees could have come up against his chest. From that height, it would be like someone taking a baseball bat to the chest.”

Teton County Coroner Bob Campbell reported Saturday that Kautz died from internal bleeding.

Gatehouse, who captured the accident on film, said the whole thing “happened not even blink-your-eyes fast … faster.”

The avalanche also swept Smith and Bettner over the cliff. They both landed on their backs and were completely unhurt. Neither was treated for injuries.

Two firefighters, out for a ski that day, got to Kautz first. Smith soon joined them.

At first, it seemed like Kautz would be OK, with his only visible injury a rotated lower left leg. He had a strong pulse and was breathing normally.

The Teton County Sheriff’s Office said that a woman called dispatch at 12:28 p.m. to report the accident. Teton County Search and Rescue – who has jurisdiction in the Bridger-Teton National Forest outside the resort’s boundaries – called on Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patrol for help.

Smith estimated the first patroller arrived with a toboggan about 10 –15 minutes after the accident.

Patrollers contacted a life-flight helicopter from Idaho Falls, but it did not fly in due to increasingly bad weather, said Anna Olson, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort spokeswoman.

“Within about 10 minutes of the first patroller getting there, Justin’s vitals started to drop rapidly,” Smith said. “Within five minutes of him starting to drop, he stopped breathing and then lost consciousness. … We started CPR and did that for probably 20 to 30 minutes.”

“He basically died before he was even loaded into the ski patrol’s toboggan,” Smith said.

Olson said a doctor from the resort’s clinic pronounced Kautz pronounced dead at the scene.

“The rescue all happened as it should have,” Olson said in a phone interview Monday.

After watching his video footage, Gatehouse confirmed the Bridger-Teton National Forest avalanche center’s report that the avalanche was skier triggered.

Smith thinks a natural avalanche may have occurred above Kautz, but also concedes Kautz may have hit a “sweet spot” in the snow while side-stepping up, as he was the only one of the three moving at the time of the fracture.

Avalanche forecasters on Friday morning predicted that surface slabs of 6 to 18 inches could be triggered by skiers, as seven skiers triggered similar slides the day before.

Kautz, originally from Hartland, VT, attended Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colo. and moved to Jackson Hole in Aug. 2004. Kautz, the oldest of four, is survived by younger brother Nate, younger sisters Lisa and Emily and his two parents.

Friends are holding a memorial service at 9 a.m. today at Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church on Seneca Lane in Jackson. They are also holding a benefit reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at Stiegler’s Austrian & Continental Fine Dining Restaurant. All proceeds will be donated to Invisible Children, Inc. in Kautz’s name.

In lieu of flowers, people should donate to Invisible Children, Inc.

–Paul Saieg contributed to this report.

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[Kevo]

^That article is by far the best written about Justin. I was going to post it myself, but I've been traveling for a while and haven't had a chance. Thanks for posting it.

[rungsp]

It is clear that he really was one of the good guys, someone who had already made a really positive contribution in his lifetime.

Unlike that twat OBF...I know it is only feeding the animal to react....but my god...what an idiot.