Celebrated skier mourned in Manitoba

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This article was published 17/04/2019 (1835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Extreme skier Dave Treadway, who died in a skiing accident on April 15, is being remembered in Manitoba for encouraging others to be their best.

"He was always just a fun guy to be around," said Eric Coursey, who worked with Treadway at Red Rock Bible Camp in the early 2000s. "He was always encouraging people."

Treadway, 34, died after falling 30 metres into a crevasse near Rhododendron Mountain, not far from his Pemberton, B.C. home.

Canadian skiing magazine SBC Skier described Treadway as "one of the most influential skiers of our time," for videos of his breathtaking descents on near-vertical mountain faces.

Treadway’s family is from Kenora, but he spent time in Manitoba as a camper and counsellor at the Red Rock camp in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Coursey said Treadway taught kids skills like mountain biking and water skiing. If kids were nervous to try something new, he’d tell them "you got this" and "you can do it", Coursey said.

Treadway would also connect with the staff members’ young children, Coursey said, adding that he always seemed to have time for people.

The staff got along great with Treadway, said Coursey, but he thought camp leadership might have found the young man’s penchant for risk-taking stressful.

"It was go big or go home," Coursey said.

He recalled a time when he and Treadway went jumping from a 17-metre cliff into a lake. When Treadway reached the cliff, he, without hesitation, took a running start and backflipped over the edge toward the lake.

"Everything that he did he went out whole-hearted," Coursey said. "That included his faith."

He says Treadway was "very vocal" about his Christian faith. As a skier, he wore a cross on his helmet where others would wear sponsors’ logos.

 

Stellar Heli Skiing from Dave Treadway on Vimeo.

 

Treadway and wife Tessa have two sons, ages 6 and 2, and a baby on the way. The family’s Instagram account features photos of the whole family on the ski slope, driving snowmobiles and dirtbikes, building a snowman, and travelling together.

"The FAMILY that PLAYS together, STAYS together!" the account bio reads.

Tim Grey set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family. Treadway was the family’s financial provider and did not have life insurance, Grey said on the GoFundMe page. The campaign had raised more than $180,000 on Thursday.

"The money will never replace Dave, but it might provide for opportunities that he would have surely made happen for the family he loved," Grey writes.

A celebration of life service for Treadway will take place on Monday afternoon in Pemberton.

 

geralyn.wichers@freepress.mb.ca