Drama In Real Lifereadersdigest.co.in 79The transatlantic production had just
wrapped months of shooting in the
Swiss Alps and was now gathering
last-minute footage of the teen in the
backcountry of British Columbia—the
birthplace of commercial heli-skiing.T
he competitive surfer from
Carlsbad, California, and rising
talent in the world of slopestyle
snowboarding was a breakout star
of the Winter X Games [an annual
extreme sports event produced by
ESPN], famous for his high-flyingacrobatics over obstacles in a terrain
park. But he’d never tested his
skills anywhere as remote as the
mountainside he was on that April
afternoon. Though he was capable
of taking on almost any drop, he was
reliant on his Canadian guides to help
him decide which treacherous cliffs to
descend. Chief among those looking
out for him was Shin Campos, a
46-year-old retired pro snowboarder-
turned-film producer and mountain-
safety coordinator who’d lived
around Whistler and worked in the
area’s peaks and ridges for nearly
three decades.C
ampos knew the risks associated
with backcountry mountain
hopping better than anyone
and had dug more than a few of his
clients out of near-death experiences.
He counted himself among the more
fortunate guides in the area, but he
knew about loss. Less than a month
had passed since his close friend and
fellow guide, Lisa Korthals, had died
in an avalanche on a nearby ridge. She
was still on his mind as he monitored
the Absinthe team’s movements. He
tended to remain high on the peak,
as it gave him the ability to respond
in any direction if one of his charges
got in trouble below. He stayed out of
the frame while Crouch and another
snowboarder, Cam Fitzpatrick, carved
the slopes. Then he watched the
chopper bring them back up.
At 25 years old, Fitzpatrick wasCrouch had never
tested his skills
anywhere as remote
as the mountain
he was on that
afternoon.