It’s with heavy hearts we share the loss of legendary Canadian skier, and our bud, Dave Treadway. Rest in peace, friend.

Above: Photo by our publisher and photo editor Peter Moynes. Top: This photo was also taken by Peter at Mica Heli about a decade ago. It was Dave’s first ever heli trip.

On Monday, April 15 professional freeskier Dave Treadway was in the Pemberton, BC, backcountry near Rhododendron Mountain when he fell 30 metres into a crevasse. Fourteen members of both the Pemberton and Whistler Search and Rescue crews arrived to help with the retrieval operation, but ultimately he succumbed to injuries sustained in the fall and died. Dave was only 34 years old and he leaves behind his pregnant wife, Tessa, and a two-year-old and five-year-old. A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Dave’s family and over $100,000 has been raised in just 48 hours. Also, a celebration of life will be held at the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler on Monday, April 22 at 2pm.

According to David MacKenzie, head of Pemberton’s Search and Rescue, the fall was bad luck as Dave was a very experienced skier who knew that terrain well. Dave’s friend and freeskiing icon Mike Douglas, who lives in the area, was reported by Pique News as saying climate change could have contributed to the conditions. “You don’t want to scapegoat this to climate change, but the glaciers are in bad shape, and in a low snow year like this, we’ve never had sketchy bridging like this in my 30 years here,” he said in the article. “There is a different level of risk in glaciated terrain that we just never had to experience before.”

Many of us here at Mountain Culture Group knew Dave well and have been on numerous photo shoots with him. Mike Berard, our editor at Coast Mountain Culture magazine, wrote the following when he heard the news about Dave:

“I’ve known Dave Treadway for over twenty years. He and his wife Tessa, and the whole extended Treadway family, have always been kind, talented and generous. They live with an admirable deliberate intention and a joyful spark. My heart goes out to them for the loss of Dave in the mountains yesterday. I took this photo (below) during the winter of 2004-05 at Big Sky Resort while shooting one of my first-ever feature assignments. When I had to choose skiers to come to Montana to shoot with, “Lil’ Treadway” was an easy choice.”

“As always, Dave was an endless, energetic source of optimism the entire time. He got as excited about the omelette bar in the hotel as he did about skiing first descents. His big grin and healthy, joyous energy were infectious. And, as always, Dave’s bright happy light led to the kind of incredible opportunities only he could manifest, including deep Montanan powder turns, big sketchy couloirs, and even a visit to the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club. We ended up spending a couple winters traveling, shooting and shredding pow. Like his parents and his brothers, Dave is a source of inspiration and will continue to be. I have many stories (and photos) to share about Dave and I know the whole of the mountain culture world does too. I’m looking forward to celebrating his life and his spirit with all of you. Thank you for being you, Dave. Rest In Peace.”