Local Snowboarding Legend Among Avalanche Victims

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By By KOMO Staff & News Services

Summary

Craig Kelly of Mount Vernon was one of seven killed in avalanche near Revelstoke, B.C.

Story Published: Jan 21, 2003 at 8:05 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 24, 2009 at 11:08 AM PDT

Local Snowboarding Legend Among Avalanche Victims
REVELSTOKE, B.C. - Pioneering snowboarder Craig Kelly of Mount Vernon was among seven people killed in an avalanche in British Columbia, his sponsor, Burton Snowboards, said Tuesday.

Kelly, 36, and the six others died Monday after being buried under more than 10 feet of snow on the Durrand Glacier in the Selkirk Range near Revelstoke.

A longtime professional snowboarder, Kelly had recently been working as a backcountry guide, taking skiers and snowboarders to remote parts of British Columbia. Kelly was an experienced backcountry rider.

"Watching him ride was like watching water flow down a river," pro snowboarder Dave Downing said Tuesday. "When we were out in the backcountry, he wasn't into taking risks, but taking the path of least resistance and riding the smoothest."

Kelly, who also resided in Nelson, British Columbia, was Burton's first professional rider and helped develop snowboarding in its early years in the 1980s.

Friends called him an icon in his sport. One added that in the 1980's, there were snowboarders many considered punks… and then there was Craig.

"He used the mountain the way it was supposed to be used," said Apostolos Karabotsos. "He was an icon to me growing up. He's going to be missed."

Apostolos looks at this month's edition of Frequency. Craig is on the cover snowboarding in Iran. He'd ridden the mountains of the world, before winding up in Nelson, B.C. with his partner and family.

"He lived more in 36 years than most of us would in 80," Craig's father Pat said of his son. "His life was short, but it was fun."

His partner Savina added that, "you look at a mountain, you think of Craig and what he gave to all of us."

His friends say Craig could read mountains the way others read books. That's why they find this so hard to believe.

"I've helied with him around the world and ridden with him," said Mike Ranquet. "He was safe -- safe to the point of annoyance."

Mike says Craig would have looked at the mountain when the snow broke loose and he would have been sounding a warning: "If they had black boxes up there, Craig would have been saying to those up the mountain... 'Get out.' "

Those in the snowboard industry say Craig guaranteed his sport a future. Paul Ferrel of Mervin Manufacturing, which makes GNU boards, said: "I think he was important because he was the first icon rider of the sport."

Pete Saari of Mervin added: "Just having his presence inspired a lot of riders. It made it feel like the Northwest was the hub of snowboarding in the late 80's." Another added: "Without Craig Kelly, snowboarding would have be a fad that died rather than a sports that lives."

"I can't think of a bigger loss to the sport and to all of us personally," Burton Snowboards founder Jake Burton said Tuesday.

Kelly, a four-time world champion and three-time U.S. Open champion, was considered a legend among young pros, revered for his fluid riding style and respected for helping rising stars.

"He has always been the mentor for my friends and me," said Norwegian pro snowboarder Terje Haakonsen. "Not just because of his snowboarding, but also for his lifestyle and love for the mountains.

"Nor do I know anybody who had the style and grace coming down the mountain," Haakonsen said.

Kelly is survived by his partner, Savina, and his daughter, Olivia.

Donations in Craig Kelly's memory can be sent to the Canadian Avalanche Association, P.O. Box 2759, Revelstoke, B.C., Canada, V0E 2S0 or through the sales and products section of www.avalanche.ca

For More Information:

Craig Kelly Biography -- classic.mountainzone.com.

KOMO 4 News' Bryan Johnson contributed to this report.