From February 21, 2026. A reflection on loss in our Tahoe community.
It has been a heartbreaking week here in Lake Tahoe. The losses near Castle Peak, at Northstar and at Heavenly have reached through this mountain community.
As I sit at my keyboard, the news has hit even closer to home: we lost a good friend, Brian, out on the mountain. My heart is heavy. RIP, my friend.
These were our friends, our neighbors and fellow riders. Their families deserve our care, our respect and room to grieve. Kindness comes first.
The mountains we love
Skiing and snowboarding carry real danger. Loving the mountains does not change that.
Over the years, I’ve shared time with mountain folk who talk about these places with a love that is hard to put into words. I know that pull. The quiet at the top. The turns. The people beside you.
I feel a connection between the mountains and the ocean. Skiers, riders and surfers know the power of moving water, whether it arrives as a wave or a slope of snow. We owe both places respect. That connection does not make their risks identical.
A correction on the numbers
Correction, September 14, 2026: An earlier version compared annual death totals from walking, cycling, snow sports, surfing and lightning, then used those totals to rank a person’s risk. That conclusion was wrong. The comparison charts have been removed.
A total tells us how many people died. It does not tell us how many people took part, how often they went out or how much time they spent exposed. A fair comparison needs compatible records and a meaningful measure of participation or exposure. The CDC explains why counts and rates answer different questions.
Those totals cannot tell us that crossing a street is more dangerous than dropping into a powder bowl, or that lightning poses more risk than surfing. I should not have presented them that way.
Why we keep coming back
The reward, for me, is the time outside and the people who share it. The clear head after a day on snow. A friend’s grin after a good run. A quiet moment on Big Blue.
We can talk honestly about those rewards and the risks without turning someone else’s loss into a scorecard.
Experience, education, equipment and the people we go with all matter. So does the decision to turn around. None of it makes the mountains or the ocean harmless.
Today, my thoughts are with the people we lost, their families and everyone carrying that grief. Let’s look after one another.
Note to self: make wise decisions. Be kind when speaking about someone else’s life, their choices and the people who loved them.
Coop | RS#69
