To television networks covering his death, Steve Clark was a
simple construction worker. But for housemate Alison Kemp, he was �Steve-O,� an
experienced skier who died in his �happy place.�
Clark, 37, was killed in a class 2 avalanche in Blackcomb�s
Ruby Bowl on New Year�s Eve. A Whistler resident, he leaves behind two parents,
a brother and a nephew to whom he�d just become an uncle seven months ago.
Kemp, also a Whistler resident, shared a house with him in
Alpine Meadows for three years. In just under a decade of friendship, she came
to know him as an exciting personality who loved the mountain like he valued
his life. She would have trusted him with her life on the slopes.
�He needed to be up there like we needed to breathe,� she said
in an interview. �He was good at it, he was experienced, it put him in his
happy place.�
No run in Whistler did it for him like Spanky�s Ladder —
the entrance to some of Blackcomb�s most difficult runs such as the Garnet,
Rainbow and Ruby Bowls.
�He was a very free spirit,� Kemp said. �He was also known to
say �I�m going for a walk� and he�d go up and up and he�d just go up and he�d
come back down when he was ready.
�That day wasn�t one of those days, he didn�t say he was going
for a walk and he didn�t come back.�
On New Year�s Eve, Clark had gone up with some friends and done
several laps with them in Ruby Bowl — an area that had been marked beyond
boundary due to dangerous snow conditions. The avalanche hazard was high and
there was minimal avalanche control in the area.
As Kemp tells it, Clark�s friends were readying to go and he
wanted just one more run in the bowl. People last saw him on the Blackcomb
Rescue Road at about 2 p.m.
More than six hours passed and they hadn�t heard from him, so
Whistler RCMP were contacted at around 8:30 p.m. about an overdue skier. Right
away the Blackcomb Ski Search manager and Search and Rescue were notified.
Police contacted Clark�s cell phone provider and used a GPS signal on his phone
to confirm he was still on the mountain.
At 9:35 the next morning, Blackcomb Ski Patrol, along with dog
teams and Whistler Search and Rescue found his body. He had been hit by a class
2 avalanche — big enough to injure and bury people.
Today, Kemp remembers Clark as a joyful man who gave
�bone-crushing hugs� and had a smile that went ear to ear.
�He shared his acre of a smile and a ready laugh with
everybody,� she said. �He was a real listener, he always wanted to know and
learn more in this life. I remember he would fold his hands and lean in, he
would concentrate just to hear you.�
Since the incident, people have shown up at Clark�s old house
to give �Steve-style� hugs to both Kemp and his family.
This Friday at Dusty�s Bar and BBQ, friends will be holding a
�big wake� for Clarke — organizers haven�t yet agreed on a title.
Kemp hopes people remember him as �hip deep� in powder and
grinning from ear to ear. �One person has suggested �Steve-O� fest,� Kemp said.
�He was Steve-O, he was Clarkey and he did everything Steve-O style.�
A second New Year�s avalanche claimed the life of Aaron
Fauchon, a 26-year-old snowboarder from North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
An experienced rider, he was carving in an area known as the
Secret Chutes, near the Symphony Bowl. Like Ruby Bowl, the area had been
designated �beyond boundary� due to snow conditions.
The Whistler RCMP heard of his death at about 3 p.m. Jan. 1.
Fauchon had been riding on his own when he, too, was buried in a class 2
avalanche. Whistler Ski Patrol and dog and handler teams with the Canadian
Avalanche Rescue Dog Association combed the area thoroughly and ensured no one
else was caught in the slide.
Lifelong friend Brennan McFaul remembers Fauchon as a
persistent, upbeat �go-getter� who rarely backed down from a challenge.
�He�d always get these ideas in his head and he�d go and do
it,� he said. �He�d get ideas and he�d follow through� (he) climbed a mountain
this summer and it was almost a �for the moment� thing. Whatever he set his
mind to he could.�
Fauchon and McFaul had been friends since pre-school. They went
on to attend John Paul II Collegiate together, a Catholic School in North
Battleford. Fauchon graduated from North Battleford Comprehensive High School,
a public school, in 2000, and later moved to Grande Prairie, Alberta to work in
the oil and gas industry.
Through it all, Fauchon and McFaul remained close friends.
�You kind of go your separate ways after high school,� McFaul
said. �Me and him were always the ones of the original group from back in the
day who still hung out with each other.�
Fauchon was a avid snowboarder since he learned how to do it in
1995 — �since it became cool,� according to McFaul. He honed his craft on
Table Mountain near North Battleford and loved fresh powder — and he
rarely took an easy route.
�He wasn�t a guy who took an easy way in any things he did,�
McFaul said. �He liked to challenge himself, whatever it was, whether it was
work, whether it was figuring out what his next move�s going to be.
�He definitely was a guy that liked to challenge himself and
his friends.�
Fauchon had taken his craft to Whistler on a number of
occasions over the past few years, according to McFaul. He and his uncle
recently bought a house in Squamish, a place he could go and hang out whenever
he wanted.
McFaul now remembers his friend as someone who was �always in
good spirits� and was a positive influence on those close to him.
A memorial service for Fauchon will be held Thursday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Don Ross Centre in North Battleford. His family is asking for donations in lieu of flowers to the Whistler Search and Rescue Team Fund.