Pro Skier Dave Treadway Dies After Snow Bridge Collapses Causing Him to Fall into a Crevasse

Professional skier Dave Treadway died Monday after a skiing accident in Canada, Pique Newsmagazine reported.

A post on Treadway’s website also confirmed his death, which occurred in Pemberton, British Columbia.

“We’ve learned that Dave Treadway, an incredible skier and a monumental human, has passed away after an accident near Rhododendron Mountain, Pemberton,” the statement read. “We are sending lots of love to his wife, Tessa, and their two sons, Kasper and Raffi.”

Treadway, 34, was reportedly skiing with a group in the backcountry when a snow bridge collapsed beneath him, plunging him nearly 100 feet into a crevasse near Rhododendron Mountain. Pemberton District Search and Rescue (PSAR) responded to the incident, but Treadway died at the scene, according to Pique.

PSAR also confirmed the incident in a press release, but did not identify Treadway by name.

“It was just an unfortunate incident going through unknown terrain,” Head of PSAR David MacKenzie told Pique. “There are crevasses all over the backcountry and in the glacial area. Various ones may have an ice bridge over them or something, and some of them can be sight unseen.”

MacKenzie explained to Outside Online that the ice bridge may have been weakened by warm temperatures. He also told Pique that recovering Treadway was “a very technical operation” that involved 14 crew members, adding that the depth of the crevasse made the operation even more difficult.

“I would say the depth of the crevasse was paramount to the operation,” he said. “Having to put in various ice anchors and protection and getting our team down into the crevasse to access the subject was one thing, and then being able to actually rig it back up so that they could be pulled back up to the surface was another.”

His family’s social media account shared a tribute post, announcing “A Celebration of Life for Dave” which will be held at Pemberton Secondary School on Monday, April 22, 2019.

Pemberton is survived by his two young sons, 6-year-old Kasper and 2-year-old Raffi, and his wife, Tessa, who is pregnant with the couple’s third child. A GoFundMe campaign to help support the family had raised over $160,000 by Thursday morning.

Photo credit: Instagram / @freerange.family