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| Extreme Grief | Extreme Grief |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| One year later, even on film, the words are as chilling as they were that fateful day on the snow-covered mountain. | One year later, even on film, the words are as chilling as they were that fateful day on the snow-covered mountain. |
| “Rob, Rob, do you copy?” the voice on the hand-held radio transmitter says alarmingly of events still unfolding at the time. | “Rob, Rob, do you copy?” the voice on the hand-held radio transmitter says alarmingly of events still unfolding at the time. |
| Ben Clark’s decision to begin “The Alaskan Way” with the ominous scene that followed the March 13, 2012, avalanche and the deaths of the helicopter ski guide Rob Liberman and his snowboarding client, Nickolay Dodov, were motivated by the message that appears on a blackened screen near the end of his film: “Is living the dream worth risking it all?” | Ben Clark’s decision to begin “The Alaskan Way” with the ominous scene that followed the March 13, 2012, avalanche and the deaths of the helicopter ski guide Rob Liberman and his snowboarding client, Nickolay Dodov, were motivated by the message that appears on a blackened screen near the end of his film: “Is living the dream worth risking it all?” |
| As Clark’s 60-minute documentary makes the rounds of film festivals, the dream has become a recurring nightmare for families and friends of the skiers. Alex and Natalia Dodov, whose 26-year-old son died, say they are still confused and angry about what actually happened that day on the west side of Takhin Ridge near Haines, Alaska. | As Clark’s 60-minute documentary makes the rounds of film festivals, the dream has become a recurring nightmare for families and friends of the skiers. Alex and Natalia Dodov, whose 26-year-old son died, say they are still confused and angry about what actually happened that day on the west side of Takhin Ridge near Haines, Alaska. |
| “We know that our son Nick’s death could have been prevented had there been stricter guidelines imposed,” the Dodovs wrote in a Jan. 22 letter to California’s two United States senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and other Congressional representatives, requesting an independent investigation, improved safety conditions and standardized regulations for helicopter skiing in Alaska. | “We know that our son Nick’s death could have been prevented had there been stricter guidelines imposed,” the Dodovs wrote in a Jan. 22 letter to California’s two United States senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and other Congressional representatives, requesting an independent investigation, improved safety conditions and standardized regulations for helicopter skiing in Alaska. |
| It has been equally painful for Katherine Gill, who is known as Kit, and Robert A. Liberman, the divorced parents of the 35-year-old who moved to ski country from Manhattan and found devoted friends and an identity as an accomplished ski guide. Liberman’s father, who has seen Clark’s film, said he was “still very tender” about his son’s death. | It has been equally painful for Katherine Gill, who is known as Kit, and Robert A. Liberman, the divorced parents of the 35-year-old who moved to ski country from Manhattan and found devoted friends and an identity as an accomplished ski guide. Liberman’s father, who has seen Clark’s film, said he was “still very tender” about his son’s death. |
| “I think my son really needed to get those rushes in life,” Liberman said. “They meant a lot to him, and he felt very good about it, but I would tell you I’m sorry I ever showed him a pair of skis.” | “I think my son really needed to get those rushes in life,” Liberman said. “They meant a lot to him, and he felt very good about it, but I would tell you I’m sorry I ever showed him a pair of skis.” |
| Clark, 33, who successfully scaled Mount Everest 10 years ago, met Gill at a memorial service in Telluride, Colo., after the accident. Her grief so profoundly affected him, he said, that he has given up extreme skiing and rock climbing, although he still hikes and runs. Gill, a former fashion model, has declined to speak publicly about the accident. | Clark, 33, who successfully scaled Mount Everest 10 years ago, met Gill at a memorial service in Telluride, Colo., after the accident. Her grief so profoundly affected him, he said, that he has given up extreme skiing and rock climbing, although he still hikes and runs. Gill, a former fashion model, has declined to speak publicly about the accident. |
| “Even though I thought I had a sense of self-worth,” Clark said in a recent phone interview, “I had no idea until I talked to Kit the day before the memorial and understood, truly, what was left behind when Rob passed away. Kit started to unravel the past to me thinking that I might have some answers. I just looked at her and broke down in tears and thought to myself: Oh my god! Here is a deep loss that I can’t even begin to explain the empathy that I had for her. | “Even though I thought I had a sense of self-worth,” Clark said in a recent phone interview, “I had no idea until I talked to Kit the day before the memorial and understood, truly, what was left behind when Rob passed away. Kit started to unravel the past to me thinking that I might have some answers. I just looked at her and broke down in tears and thought to myself: Oh my god! Here is a deep loss that I can’t even begin to explain the empathy that I had for her. |
| “I started to think about my own parents and about my own wife,” Clark added. “Now that I have a son, it’s sort of like, wow, my whole life could still completely screw up and I could become a terrible father. But I can think of nothing harder than just wanting to know something and losing them in this way.” | “I started to think about my own parents and about my own wife,” Clark added. “Now that I have a son, it’s sort of like, wow, my whole life could still completely screw up and I could become a terrible father. But I can think of nothing harder than just wanting to know something and losing them in this way.” |
| Headlines of skiers buried by avalanches and the deaths of the 25-year-old snowmobiler Caleb Moore in January and the 29-year-old freestyle skier Sarah Burke last year have overshadowed growing concerns of the increased risk-taking and lack of regulation in extreme winter sports and their impact on families. Clark’s film, and another documentary, “The Crash Reel,” by Lucy Walker, which is scheduled for HBO later this year, may help change this perspective. | Headlines of skiers buried by avalanches and the deaths of the 25-year-old snowmobiler Caleb Moore in January and the 29-year-old freestyle skier Sarah Burke last year have overshadowed growing concerns of the increased risk-taking and lack of regulation in extreme winter sports and their impact on families. Clark’s film, and another documentary, “The Crash Reel,” by Lucy Walker, which is scheduled for HBO later this year, may help change this perspective. |
| Walker’s film looks at the life of Kevin Pearce, an American snowboard champion who sustained a traumatic brain injury on New Year’s Eve in 2009 while training in Park City, Utah. Granted access to many aspects of Pearce’s rehabilitation, including an emotional family get-together last Thanksgiving, Walker explored the divide between risk-driven, free-spirited young athletes and their supportive, but tortured, families. | Walker’s film looks at the life of Kevin Pearce, an American snowboard champion who sustained a traumatic brain injury on New Year’s Eve in 2009 while training in Park City, Utah. Granted access to many aspects of Pearce’s rehabilitation, including an emotional family get-together last Thanksgiving, Walker explored the divide between risk-driven, free-spirited young athletes and their supportive, but tortured, families. |
| Having recovered after a long, often painful process, Pearce talked at the dinner table of feeling “100 percent confident” of a return to snowboarding. But he was confronted by a distraught younger brother (“I don’t want you to die”), a tearful mother who feared the likelihood of another traumatic injury and a father who equated his son’s passion to an addiction. | Having recovered after a long, often painful process, Pearce talked at the dinner table of feeling “100 percent confident” of a return to snowboarding. But he was confronted by a distraught younger brother (“I don’t want you to die”), a tearful mother who feared the likelihood of another traumatic injury and a father who equated his son’s passion to an addiction. |
| “If I was smoking every day,” Simon Pearce told his son, “you wouldn’t feel good about me. If I said I’ll cut it back to one cigarette a day, then it would be two cigarettes a day. When can you realize you’re clumsier? For me, it’s hard, because I don’t see your awareness. ... ” | “If I was smoking every day,” Simon Pearce told his son, “you wouldn’t feel good about me. If I said I’ll cut it back to one cigarette a day, then it would be two cigarettes a day. When can you realize you’re clumsier? For me, it’s hard, because I don’t see your awareness. ... ” |
| “That gets back to my point that I’ve had this entire time,” Pearce interrupted, “that you guys have no faith.” | “That gets back to my point that I’ve had this entire time,” Pearce interrupted, “that you guys have no faith.” |
| Pearce appears to have reconciled realities, and returned to the sport as a commentator and supporter of education and research on traumatic brain injuries. In the case of the Dodovs, Kit Gill, Robert Liberman and friends of other families affected by fatal incidents, the transition has been more difficult. Last month a 24-year-old German employee at Revelstoke Mountain Resort in Canada, enjoying a day off, skied out of bounds and was buried and killed in an avalanche. One week earlier, another German heli-skier died in Canada. On Sunday an enormous cornice failure — a collapse of overhanging snow — outside Haines in the area called Kicking Horse Valley claimed the life of another heli-skiing guide when the snow gave way beneath him. | |
| The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said 14 skiing deaths have occurred this year in the United States. | The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said 14 skiing deaths have occurred this year in the United States. |
| “There has been a steady increase,” Ethan Greene, the director of the center, said in a phone interview. “There is definitely an upward trend. It’s disturbing, but it’s people’s choices. With more people come more accidents.” | “There has been a steady increase,” Ethan Greene, the director of the center, said in a phone interview. “There is definitely an upward trend. It’s disturbing, but it’s people’s choices. With more people come more accidents.” |
| “Our media push to be extreme is a strong lure to young, athletic people,” said Marilyn Davis, a skier and close friend of the Dodovs in Bear Valley, Calif., who has been assisting them in their appeal. “Nick was a young, athletic, very skilled person. It was not out of his capability to do what he was doing. But what we feel is that the regulations, what we’ve learned through this whole reading of this permit and operation and safety plan, is that the heli-ski industry imposes its own set of standards. They’re not governed or overseen by any monitoring agency. We feel that’s inappropriate.” | “Our media push to be extreme is a strong lure to young, athletic people,” said Marilyn Davis, a skier and close friend of the Dodovs in Bear Valley, Calif., who has been assisting them in their appeal. “Nick was a young, athletic, very skilled person. It was not out of his capability to do what he was doing. But what we feel is that the regulations, what we’ve learned through this whole reading of this permit and operation and safety plan, is that the heli-ski industry imposes its own set of standards. They’re not governed or overseen by any monitoring agency. We feel that’s inappropriate.” |
| The Dodovs, who came to the United States from Bulgaria 18 years ago, received a positive response Jan. 30 from Boxer, which said, “Please be assured that your matter will receive serious attention.” But in an indication of how regulations may differ across regions, the office of Senator Mark Begich of Alaska wrote, “Unfortunately, our office is prohibited by law from intervening in legal matters and cannot interfere with an investigation.” | The Dodovs, who came to the United States from Bulgaria 18 years ago, received a positive response Jan. 30 from Boxer, which said, “Please be assured that your matter will receive serious attention.” But in an indication of how regulations may differ across regions, the office of Senator Mark Begich of Alaska wrote, “Unfortunately, our office is prohibited by law from intervening in legal matters and cannot interfere with an investigation.” |
| No formal investigation is under way. | No formal investigation is under way. |
| Vicki Gardner, an owner of Alaska Heliskiing, which operates tours and a school for guides, and supervised the trip on the day of the March 2012 avalanche, said she had not seen Clark’s film and could not comment on the Dodovs’ charges that the group “was not informed about the dangerous snow conditions” that day and that the search-and-rescue response was “slow and inadequate.” She also declined to comment on conflicting reports about when and where their son had died and why his body was taken to a hospital in Seattle rather than kept in Alaska for an investigation. | Vicki Gardner, an owner of Alaska Heliskiing, which operates tours and a school for guides, and supervised the trip on the day of the March 2012 avalanche, said she had not seen Clark’s film and could not comment on the Dodovs’ charges that the group “was not informed about the dangerous snow conditions” that day and that the search-and-rescue response was “slow and inadequate.” She also declined to comment on conflicting reports about when and where their son had died and why his body was taken to a hospital in Seattle rather than kept in Alaska for an investigation. |
| The Dodovs claim that Alaska Heliskiing’s permit required the company to submit a detailed accident report to Haines Borough within 72 hours of the incident. “Such a report was not submitted,” they wrote in their letter. The Dodovs also claim the company filed a false accident report seven and a half months later with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. | The Dodovs claim that Alaska Heliskiing’s permit required the company to submit a detailed accident report to Haines Borough within 72 hours of the incident. “Such a report was not submitted,” they wrote in their letter. The Dodovs also claim the company filed a false accident report seven and a half months later with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. |
| Greene said the center had received the report, but that “we don’t make any judgments on the accuracy of the report. I talked to the parents a number of times, and they certainly disagreed with a number of things in the report.” | Greene said the center had received the report, but that “we don’t make any judgments on the accuracy of the report. I talked to the parents a number of times, and they certainly disagreed with a number of things in the report.” |
| Stephanie Scott, the mayor of Haines Borough, said she had not seen Clark’s film. But she said the Dodovs’ 23-page letter, which was first filed as a complaint Aug. 17 and reported in the Sept. 13 edition of the Chilkat Valley News, “was distributed here.” In a Feb. 23 e-mail, she wrote: “I have personally expressed condolences to the Dodov and Liberman families. I too am the mother of young men and a daughter, and the suffering experienced by families when sons and daughters are lost is almost beyond imagining.” | Stephanie Scott, the mayor of Haines Borough, said she had not seen Clark’s film. But she said the Dodovs’ 23-page letter, which was first filed as a complaint Aug. 17 and reported in the Sept. 13 edition of the Chilkat Valley News, “was distributed here.” In a Feb. 23 e-mail, she wrote: “I have personally expressed condolences to the Dodov and Liberman families. I too am the mother of young men and a daughter, and the suffering experienced by families when sons and daughters are lost is almost beyond imagining.” |
| Alex Dodov, who spent much of his career in the ski industry in Bulgaria and lives near Tahoe ski resorts, said: “The best skier, and the best snowboarder and the best mountaineer is the one who is alive because he has to tell the story. Only the wise people survive and enjoy this world of skiing.” | Alex Dodov, who spent much of his career in the ski industry in Bulgaria and lives near Tahoe ski resorts, said: “The best skier, and the best snowboarder and the best mountaineer is the one who is alive because he has to tell the story. Only the wise people survive and enjoy this world of skiing.” |
| Liberman is a nonskier who first took his son, at age 3, to a ski resort near their home in the Berkshires. He talked to him by phone the day before the accident, and he describes the world of extreme skiing as a kind of Russian roulette. “I don’t think it’s worth it,” he said. | Liberman is a nonskier who first took his son, at age 3, to a ski resort near their home in the Berkshires. He talked to him by phone the day before the accident, and he describes the world of extreme skiing as a kind of Russian roulette. “I don’t think it’s worth it,” he said. |
| Before the accident, Clark had been filming around Haines with the hope of producing a series of 8 to 12 instructional episodes on helicopter skiing. The documentary brought him full cycle from the confrontation he had with his own parents when he told them he was going to quit his job and attempt to climb Everest. | Before the accident, Clark had been filming around Haines with the hope of producing a series of 8 to 12 instructional episodes on helicopter skiing. The documentary brought him full cycle from the confrontation he had with his own parents when he told them he was going to quit his job and attempt to climb Everest. |
| “Until I spoke with Kit, it finally sunk in to me why my parents were upset,” Clark said. “It had nothing to do with dying, doing something you love or being willing to risk your life for something that thrills you. People think that’s admirable. But the people who think that’s admirable are not the people that were close to me, that I loved, that I left behind. We need to let people know that it is not just about you and the risk that you take, it’s about what you leave behind when you make this decision.” | “Until I spoke with Kit, it finally sunk in to me why my parents were upset,” Clark said. “It had nothing to do with dying, doing something you love or being willing to risk your life for something that thrills you. People think that’s admirable. But the people who think that’s admirable are not the people that were close to me, that I loved, that I left behind. We need to let people know that it is not just about you and the risk that you take, it’s about what you leave behind when you make this decision.” |
| After the accident, Philip Drake, a close friend of Rob Liberman’s, was designated to empty the remains from Liberman’s black 1999 Toyota Tacoma. Above the passenger visor, he found assorted holiday cards and letters. One of the cards was signed simply “Mom.” | After the accident, Philip Drake, a close friend of Rob Liberman’s, was designated to empty the remains from Liberman’s black 1999 Toyota Tacoma. Above the passenger visor, he found assorted holiday cards and letters. One of the cards was signed simply “Mom.” |
| Drake was uncertain about the origin of the card until he received a thank-you letter from Kit Gill after the memorial for introducing her to Liberman’s friends. The signatures matched. | Drake was uncertain about the origin of the card until he received a thank-you letter from Kit Gill after the memorial for introducing her to Liberman’s friends. The signatures matched. |
| Drake phoned Gill and relayed the episode. “She broke down and started crying,” Drake recalled. “It’s just a tragic story from all angles.” | Drake phoned Gill and relayed the episode. “She broke down and started crying,” Drake recalled. “It’s just a tragic story from all angles.” |