But the tragedies have started to accumulate.
So far this year, we've told you about the January deaths of Logan Salviano at Vail and Jason Taylor at Keystone, as well as the passing of Tennessee luxury hotelier Sam Beall, who perished after a crash late last month at Beaver Creek.
Add Christopher Dutko to this number.
A Pennsylvanian who had been working at Breckenridge, Dutko, 26, died after smashing into a tree — and this Friday, a memorial ride at his home ski area is planned in his memory.
The slogan of the event: "We Ride for Dutko"
According to 7News, Dutko was on Breck's Sundown run this past Tuesday, March 1, when he hit another skier.
He lost control after the collision and struck a tree.
He was not wearing a helmet.
After Dutko's death, a GoFundMe page was launched.
As this introduction notes, his death was only the latest experienced by the family.
On March 1, 2016 a good buddy of mine and many others, Chris Dutko, was sadly killed in a freak skiing accident. Although he died doing what he loved, this whole situation is traumatic to those who were close to Chris, especially his family. Chris moved out here to Colorado this season to follow his dreams and passions with his girlfriend, Maddy. As one of Chris' friends and coworkers, it was obvious that he positively impacted everyone he met. Recently the Dutko family has not only lost a brother/son but also a mother/wife.The page goes on to point out that "the lift department at Breckenridge has decided to make this page with Chris' family to help raise money to design and construct a rail at Spring Mountain (Chris' local mountain in PA) in his name."
More about Dutko's connection to Spring Mountain is noted on the "Remembering Dutko" Facebook event page:
Chris Dutko was a big part of our Spring Mountain Family. He and his Park Crew worked many hours and many nights to make our terrain parks amazing and to help advance the sport that he loved. Spring Mountain and Chris's family will host a candlelight remembrance at the base of the Mountain on Friday, March 11th at 7 p.m. Chris's brother Brian will lead a torch ride in honor of Chis.At this writing, the GoFundMe page has collected more than $3,700 toward a $10,000 goal — an amount that fills Chris's sister Rachel with gratitude. Yesterday, she wrote:
We are completely amazed at the generosity shown here. Thank you for all your support. Chris was an amazing friend, son, brother and uncle. He will truly be missed and was taken from us way too soon. Thank you for helping keep his memory alive.Click here for more details about the fundraiser and here to learn more about Friday's event.
In the meantime, we offer our sincere condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Christopher Dutko.
