Dave Treadway died while skiing in the Pemberton backcountry on Monday, April 15, according to Pemberton District Search and Rescue. Early reports suggest Treadway was skiing in the Rhododendron Mountain area, when a snow bridge collapsed underneath him, causing him to fall into a crevasse.
According to Pique News out of Whistler, he fell roughly 100 feet down and was unresponsive when a medical and extraction team attended the scene.
Treadway shared snippets of life with his pregnant wife, Tessa, and their two sons, Kasper and Raffi, on their Instagram account, Freerange Family. In his last post, a photo of him skiing a steep spine line in Whistler on April 12, he wrote, “My mom told me, ‘The sweet isn’t as sweet without the sour.’ Skiing spring lines is all about waiting out the down days (the sour) to be able to get one of these days. Man it’s worth it, and sure tastes sweet!”
Bruno Long, POWDER Senior Photographer, shared this with POWDER in the wake of Treadway’s death:
“When I think about Dave, I can’t help but talk about his prowess on skis and in front of the lens. A consummate professional, he was always willing to work very hard, harder than most, to make that perfect turn or to style out that air. He was one of the very best professionals I’ve ever worked with and we rarely left a ski day without creating some sort of magic together,” says Long. “Yet the true magic of Dave Treadway was not as a skier. It was as a friend, brother, son, father and husband. The way he treated everyone person with love and respect was always apparent, especially with his family. Being fortunate enough to spend many days ingrained in his family life, his Loveland devotion for Tessa and his two children was unmatched. Their family devotion to God and their faith was always present but never pushed on anyone. After personally going through a major tragedy, I remember having deep spiritual conversations with Dave and Tessa about love, loss, and the afterlife. His friendship and kindness are something that I will miss dearly for the rest of my life.”
POWDER’s Director of Photography David Reddick, who worked closely with Treadway during his ski career, says that Treadway lived his life with purpose and a deep faith in God.
“He was an engaging and deeply caring man who surrounded everyone he met with love. His big smile and twinkling eyes only touched the surface of the deeper message,” says Reddick. “Thank you Dave for being a shining example of a life well lived. Thank you for your abilities. Thank you for your fearlessness both physically and spiritually. Thank you for looking us in the eye and speaking your truth. Tessa, Kasper, and Raffi, we are here for you.”
