[Deathwatch] Billy Poole, extreme skier, 28

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Extreme Skier, Considered a Rising Star, Dies After Cliff Jump

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? An extreme skier being filmed Tuesday in the
backcountry of Big Cottonwood Canyon jumped a cliff, landed in a rocky
area and died from his injuries.

Billy Poole was flown to University of Utah Hospital, where he was
pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m. MST, spokeswoman Vickie King said.

Poole, 28, was sponsored by Salt Lake City-based Black Diamond
Equipment Ltd., maker of ski and climbing gear. Chief executive Peter
Metcalf described him as a rising star among big-mountain skiers.

"His stature was increasing. He was inspiring, outgoing, friendly ? the
perfect ambassador for a company like Black Diamond," Metcalf said. "He
lived the life of big mountain skier on just enough money to support
his habit.

"In this sport," the executive said, "death is part of life."

Poole cartwheeled through some rocks after jumping off a cliff in an
area known as Wolverine Cirque, said Penn Newhard, a Black Diamond
marketing consultant.

He was being filmed by crews for ski documentarian Warren Miller, said
Jay Burke, a spokesman for Solitude ski area. Ski patrollers at
Solitude were the first to reach Poole after the fall.

Black Diamond's Web site says Poole learned to ski in Montana. Some of
his exploits are posted on YouTube. He also participated in the
Levitation Project, a film with skiers and snowboarders.

He recently told the Web site, http://www.biglines.com, about escaping
an avalanche while in a helicopter last winter with other skiers and a
film crew in British Columbia.

"Not to be dramatic, but there is no reason we should have made it home
at all that day. ... I now know that any one of my friends could be
gone in an instant and it has made me very thankful for the time I have
with them," Poole said.

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary