Treepilot Gone…but not forgotten

I have met very few people who get after it in the mountains as much as Treepilot did. His dedication to his personal splitboarding followed by his dedication to expanding the sport in Western Canada and beyond was commendable.

Grand Teton National Park, February 2011

Godspeed, fellow splitter… My thoughts and prayers to his young family.

RIP treepilot. A reminder for us all that “there but for the grace of god go I”

So sad, such shocking news. I only knew Wade through the forum, but like many of you felt a bond through his beautiful images and inspiring words.

Thoughts and prayers out to his family and friends…RIP Treepilot!

If anyone knows the family, please pass along information on the Ian Fund.

ianfund.org is a resource for the families of avalanche victims. “All donations help benefit children and families who have lost loved ones in avalanche tragedies.”

This goes for anyone else who might be in the same situation.

Also, please feel free to donate to the fund. This organization was started by some of the families of the victims of the Sheep Creek avalanche accident.

RIP treepliot. 🙁

I met Wade at the first Mt. Baker Splitfest and we talked till 3:00 in the morning about how to set up a Splitfest. I had a couple of contacts with him afterwards but I really felt like we redefined the meaning of a Splitfest that night. He went on to create the Chunnuck Splitfest and it was a huge success. So much so that the Mt. Baker Splitfest had to step up its game to try and keep pace, it was a friendly rivalry.

The Splitboard community lost a good friend when Treepilot passed. His impact on the sport will not be forgotten.

In heaven it’s always powder day so Treepilot is in the white room forever.

@russman wrote:

I remember talking with him about his mission to do fifty 5,000 foot days in a season, and that he was closing in and only a few days away from the goal. He had an amazingly warm, and soft spirit.

Oh man, I remember when he was doing that. We would get back from some tour and he’d be 150 ft. short of his daily “quota” and so be doing laps on the banks in the parking lots while the rest of us watched and laughed. He made it though, and really changed how we all thought about what a “good day” was in the mountains. 5000 ft. is now the measuring stick for most of us I think. Anything less is just sort of being lazy, lol.

That said, Wade went on to do much bigger days than that – topping 10,000, 11,000, … 15,000 ft. Greg Hill’s million feet in a season really inspired Wade to push his own boundaries. He eventually went on to ride with Greg a few times during Greg’s 2 million foot year, and even got him to give a presentation at splitfest about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure Greg rode Video peak on a splitboard that day.

Even once he got over trying to one up himself all the time, he still always seemed to have another gear. He’d have 6 days in while the rest of us would have 30 and he’d still be the one pushing us.

Funny though, the thing I remember most vividly about Wade is how he used to bathe himself in the sauna on hut trips. We’d all be in there drinking a beer and sweating out a long day, and he’d come in in his underwear and start dumping water all over himself by the firelight… hair draped halfway down his back. Then he’d laugh and look all confused when we all quickly filed out of there. Haha, that was Wade.

Then there was the time he had to duck into a cave 3/4 of the way up a 45-degree couloir to “lighten the load.” We called it the “poop chute” after that.

We were leaving for a week-long trip to Boulder hut March 2nd and then to Chamonix for two weeks on March 19th. It’s going to be hard to go without him, but it’s what he would have wanted. I’m sad that he’s gone, but I’m glad to have known him. He was a good friend.

@Matt a.d. wrote:

@russman wrote:

I remember talking with him about his mission to do fifty 5,000 foot days in a season, and that he was closing in and only a few days away from the goal. He had an amazingly warm, and soft spirit.

Oh man, I remember when he was doing that. We would get back from some tour and he’d be 150 ft. short of his daily “quota” and so be doing laps on the banks in the parking lots while the rest of us watched and laughed. He made it though, and really changed how we all thought about what a “good day” was in the mountains. 5000 ft. is now the measuring stick for most of us I think. Anything less is just sort of being lazy, lol.

That said, Wade went on to do much bigger days than that – topping 10,000, 11,000, … 15,000 ft. Greg Hill’s million feet in a season really inspired Wade to push his own boundaries. He eventually went on to ride with Greg a few times during Greg’s 2 million foot year, and even got him to give a presentation at splitfest about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure Greg rode Video peak on a splitboard that day.

Even once he got over trying to one up himself all the time, he still always seemed to have another gear. He’d have 6 days in while the rest of us would have 30 and he’d still be the one pushing us.

Funny though, the thing I remember most vividly about Wade is how he used to bathe himself in the sauna on hut trips. We’d all be in there drinking a beer and sweating out a long day, and he’d come in in his underwear and start dumping water all over himself by the firelight… hair draped halfway down his back. Then he’d laugh and look all confused when we all quickly filed out of there. Haha, that was Wade.

Then there was the time he had to duck into a cave 3/4 of the way up a 45-degree couloir to “lighten the load.” We called it the “poop chute” after that.

We were leaving for a week-long trip to Boulder hut March 2nd and then to Chamonix for two weeks on March 19th. It’s going to be hard to go without him, but it’s what he would have wanted. I’m sad that he’s gone, but I’m glad to have known him. He was a good friend.

What a great write up and fitting tribute.

Does anybody know Wade’s family? I’ve been talking with Elizabeth at the IAN FUND, and we want to get in touch with his wife in order to do some fund raising for Wade’s daughters.

If anybody has those contacts, can you PM me?

Here is the website for IAN:

http://www.ianfund.org/

The fund was started by Elizabeth after her husband Ian passed away in the Loveland Pass slide last spring. The foundation is focused on raising money for the children and families of avalanche victims.

Thanks everyone…

I think the loss of TreePilot is going to take a long time to set in…