Extreme Skier Dies During Warren Miller Film Shoot

Written on January 23rd, 2008 at 07:30 am by Bill
Filed Under: Ski News

Sad news from the world of big-mountain extreme skiing, skier Billy Poole died after jumping a cliff near Solitude Resort in Utah: 

Billy Poole was flown by helicopter from the backcountry of Big Cottonwood Canyon to University of Utah Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m., hospital spokeswoman Vickie King said.

The 28-year-old Poole was sponsored by Salt Lake City-based Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., maker of ski and climbing gear. Chief executive Peter Metcalf described him as a rising star among big-mountain skiers.

"His stature was increasing. He was inspiring, outgoing, friendly, the perfect ambassador for a company like Black Diamond," Metcalf said. "He lived the life of big mountain skier on just enough money to support his habit.

"In this sport," the executive said, "death is part of life."

Poole cartwheeled through some rocks after jumping off a cliff in an area known as Wolverine Cirque, said Penn Newhard, a Black Diamond marketing consultant.

[SI.com]

Poole was being filmed for a Warren Miller film at the time of the accident:

Poole was filming in the area with Boulder, Colo.-based Warren Miller Entertainment. A spokesman said the company is trying to learn more details about the accident before commenting.

"He had wanted to ski in a Warren Miller film his whole life," Erck said.

Pennie Thompson, Poole’s sister, said her brother had been a "cautious" skier since they were children in Missoula, Mont.

"I skied with him my entire life," Thompson said. "He takes risks, but they’re always calculated risks. He doesn’t usually do something so insane that nobody else would do it. When he’d come home and say, ‘I’ve been jumping off cliffs,’ we’d say, ‘Oh, great,’ but we knew he was smart about it.”

[Salt Lake Tribune]

Unfortunately, in the world of Big Mountain skiing there is extreme danger and everyone is aware of the risks.  Let’s hope this is the last story of this nature for a while.