BettyDee

[robrox]

Thanks klar.

[Tri-Ungulate]

Klar, thank you for this, BettyDee definitely deserves her own thread.

As much as Auclair and Fransson were inspirations, BettyDee was all that and more to us as a fellow TGR mag. She provided endless stoke and generously shared her magnificent achievements with our community to let us all get a little of our rad on vicariously. Her trip reports and running commentary were exuberant yet understated at the same time. I wish I had met her as well, and although I'm sad I didn't, her passing makes me value the ski tribe connections I have made over the years all the more.

She will not be forgotten.

[hutash]

Liz was an example of why this is such a great place to hang out. With the petty summer season still in full swing it can get tiresome, but a BettyDee thread always brings us back to why we are here, to ski and spread/consume ski stoke. Liz brought the stoke in spades, and for that I will always thank her and have a special place in my heart for her. She was only a little older then my daughter, and I felt that connected us just a little more.

Peace

[TBS]

Lou Dawson brings the love
https://www.wildsnow.com/14675/liz-d...owboard-chile/

[Johnny Deep]

I didn't know Betty, but I suspect she knew me.

I'll miss much.

[jesski]

I initially posted this in Davide's thread, but I just didn't think it was appropriate there.


Whenever someone with any sort of "fame" (for lack of a better word) that has touched a lot of people dies, it becomes weird, in my opinion. There is a picture on Liz's facebook wall of her face glittering in the stars over what looks like the Northern lights. In one sense, it's totally beautiful, and it's certainly a beautiful sentiment, but on the other hand, it's weird. The guy who made it is not someone I know personally, and I don't object to it, but part of me wants to say that I think Liz would look at it and say something funny about it like, "OMG! It's the Lion King! So pretty!!!" People grieve in weird ways. The last few days I've felt anger at Liz for dying (which is just retarded), regret for any things unsaid, deep sadness, and a sense of thankfulness and joy that she came into my life. Sometimes all at once. I'm sure everyone she touched is experiencing something similarly weird, including Mr. Lion King, so I'm not judging. It's just weird to me to see her face on the TGR home page.

Whoever said that Liz was "one of us" could not have been more spot-on, IMO. If there was anything about Liz that stood out to me, it was how disarmingly inclusive she was.

The first time we went touring together, it was before she was well known, maybe 08 or 09. I had met her the night before in Fremont (Seattle). We had mutual friends from Crystal and Baker, but over relishy hot dogs at 1 a.m., I had said something like, "man, it's cold out, I really wanna skiii...." (kinda whiny, actually) It was this time of year– early fall. She was like, "Yeah girl, me too. Wanna go to Heliotrope tomorrow?" I had been touring a total of maybe twice or something and was coming off a broken femur, and told her so. She didn't care. She was all, "Do you love snow!? I love snow! Let's go!" A couple of hours later we were headed up to the trail-head, and then skinning in the gorgeous sunlight over squeaky, low-density snow. After we transitioned (her entire party of super-dialed people waited for me, much to my embarrassment), and people started dropping, I remember thinking, "wow, that guy's a really good skier....hmmm. a really good skier." It was Drew Tabke. Liz never thought twice about bringing someone totally new out on a trip with people who were world class (provided it was low consequence, of course).

She was just down to get out, and genuinely LOVED sharing that with people. My boyfriend (auvgeek) only met her once– at her birthday party last year (she chided him for not holding a beer in his broken hand), but in 2010 he had read one of her trip reports on TGR and said something like, "I wanna climb this; I think you'd like it." She had replied, "looks rad, let's do it," or something (I know, I should search for the exact quote), and what's funny is at the time, he thought she was just being nice and didn't take her seriously at all (they hadn't ever met). But that was the thing about Liz, usually, when she said something like that, she totally meant it. "OMG! Sounds rad!" actually meant, "I'll see you at the park and ride tomorrow at 5 a.m., I'll have at least most of my gear, and I'll be stoked." Anyone who has toured with a zilion different partners in the PNW knows that sort of authenticity and inclusiveness is special, and should be less rare. We've all done it-- we've all bailed on someone we didn't want to have to babysit all day, but not Liz. It makes total sense to me that she found her passion (partly) in guiding. She was so down to share the love and joy with everyone and anyone, she had been guiding, in some sense, for years already.

Besides being an incredibly inclusive person, Liz was an incredibly loyal and supportive friend. I blew up my ankle at the climbing gym in Seattle with her one time, and I was devastated because ski season was right around the corner (it was early fall–October 1, actually– and we had skied random September powder the week before on Baker), and she seriously dragged me to the gym nearly every day for a couple of weeks where we did abs and pull-ups and she encouraged me, saying things like, "we're gonna be SO JACKED! When you can walk again, you'll be SO strong!!!! Get it girl!!!" The regulars at the bouldering gym looked at us like we were nuts–me carting my crutches around, and her screaming bro-speak in the otherwise quiet weight room. We told ourselves they were jealous and went for cheap tacos after. It didn't even matter. When you were with her, what ever crazy idea she had, it didn't matter– it sounded like a brilliant plan. She's kind of the only person I have ever met who I could describe as a "bull in a china cabinet" and mean it as nothing but the highest compliment. Another time, even though she was across the ocean in Europe, after a breakup I changed my facebook status to "single," and got a text and email from her maybe a few minutes later asking how I was, wanting to talk, etc. Or, one time I didn't get a job I wanted, and she was all, "Dude whatever, they'd be lucky to have you. You deserve so much more, etc. etc." She was just a really truly loyal, supportive friend to SO MANY people. So many people, in fact, that there is an absolute outpouring of people who, like me, considered Liz to be one of their "besties," but are probably realizing in the wake of this tragedy that she touched SO MANY people's lives on that level. She was just a very truly caring, thoughtful, kind, honest, loyal friend– and it's amazing to me that she was able to do that for so, so many people.

Before I ramble endlessly with stupid-sounding Liz stories, I just want to reiterate what Dave said:

Liz would want us to cherish one another, follow our hearts, and pursue our passions to the ends of the earth.

This is so true. I got an email from a girlfriend recently who was wondering what could be done to possibly commemorate her appropriately, and I think Dave said it all. All we can do to remember her is to live, every day, the best things about her. We can't all be that magnetic, one-in-a-million smile. But we can all live our lives with joy, humility, enthusiasm, inclusiveness, supportiveness, true friendship, and above all, so much laughter.

[RiderX]

I met her briefly in Portillo a few years ago. She was definitely full of energy and enthusiasm. Condolences to family and friends.

[Andyski]

Whoever said that Liz was "one of us" could not have been more spot-on, IMO. If there was anything about Liz that stood out to me, it was how disarmingly inclusive she was.

Thank you so much for this post. It's an excellent insight into what made her so special to so many people.

[sparkletarte.]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Betty Dee was so..... cool. I read her tr's and think wow, she's really got it going on. So inspiring to see a woman out there ripping it up and having so much fun just living it. There aren't that many women like her. I hope she continues to inspire girls and women about what's possible.

she will be missed by many people she didn't even know.

[klar]

jesski, I saw that picture of her face in the stars, you are so spot on. Hakuna Matata....

A few months ago I wrote an angry post about a macho commentator putting down the girls at a comp and I thought I was being bitchy and made some half apologetic remark to take the sting off. She was like "fuck that." I took that to heart and stood up for myself. I don't hope she will continue to inspire girls and women, I know she will.

[cat in january]

Thanks Jess for sharing your times with Liz. One more BettyDee TR for us to feel her glow.

[sparkletarte.]

I read that klar, good on you.

[mtnbiker/boarder]

so many vibes to all.....Klar thank you and Jess thank you...so sad....

[SmokinRox]

From the local news.

http://www.komonews.com/home/video/F...o&c=y&mobile=y

[Kyle Miller]

Talk about a sucker punch getting hearing that she had passed away.

I found out a few days afterwords while driving back from a trailhead after being in the mountains and it took a while for it to sink in. My experiences with Liz were far to few but I think this is always the case. She had a big smile, great attitude and was the light in the center of a room. My last time seeing Liz was when we went up to the Asulkin Hut which she had been at for the past few days and was leaving that day. The next afternoon she showed up with a full bottle of Fireball and that night we drank, laughed, had a calf competition and a tooth brush dance off, it was a highlight of my season and the snowboarding was epic. Actually now that I think about it that was the only time that I actually got turns with her

She lived an amazing life and is still living through the people that she inspired.

[nwslider]

I had the pleasure of split boarding with Liz earlier this spring. It was pouring down rain the entire day but her smile and her enthusiasm never wavered. I hadn't read any of her TRs prior to our outing. Having gone back and read some of them after hearing of her passing, I can confidently say that the passion and love for the mountains conveyed in her posts and that so many others here have experienced, was something very special. I count myself lucky and am so grateful for the short outing I was able to share with her in the mountains.

RIP Liz

[adrenalated]

Bump, because I just saw an article that the American Alpine Institute is doing a scholarship in Liz's memory that helps women take courses towards becoming a mountain guide. Pretty cool.

https://www.alpineinstitute.com/abou...y-scholarship/

[sb]

indeed

[Danno]

thanks for sharing that. cool indeed, yep.

[hutash]

I have never skied/climbed/paddled with a woman guide, but I think they bring something a little different to any profession, so this can be nothing but a good thing.

Given the chance, I wouldn't hesitate to use a woman guide, there are just so few. The only place there are a far number is in paddling. Not sure why.

[Tye 1on]

I have never skied/climbed/paddled with a woman guide, but I think they bring something a little different to any profession, so this can be nothing but a good thing.

Given the chance, I wouldn't hesitate to use a woman guide, there are just so few. The only place there are a far number is in paddling. Not sure why.

Ya, i had a gal mentor me when I was learning to kayak tougher water, she was awesome because knowing she wasn't going to muscle her way through, she found cleaner lines and finessed the hell out of them...Exum has quite a number of phenomenal women guiding for them in the summers, then ski/heli guiding and avi forecasting in the winters...

[Kufo]

°

[aepeak]

A belated toast to the three!