By: randosteve|Posted on: January 23, 2008|Posted in: Broken Link to Photo/Video, People | 7 comments

Billy Poole
Photo: Adam Clark
Courtesy: Black Diamond Equipment

When I got home from dinner last night, I was going to write a bit about the demo day at Outdoor Retailer…until I heard the bad news. During a film shoot for Warren Miller, extreme freeride skier and Black Diamond sponsored athlete Billy Poole, died in an accident yesterday while jumping some cliffs in Wolverine Cirque in Big Cottonwood Canyon. A huge loss to the freeride community and the Black Diamond family. He will be missed dearly.

I didn’t know Billy that well, but I did meet him at the BD Athlete Summit I attended last month. He was a very friendly young man and inspired many of us with his passion and skills in the sport of skiing. Billy was part of a new breed of skiers, pushing the limits of the sport in the big mountain environment and had a large influence on many of the new Black Diamond skis and boot designs. Billy had a big future ahead of him and many new projects in the pipeline including been involved with a new clothing and film production company.

Rest in peace Billy. I’m sure all the landings are soft in heaven.