2011, by Waheenie

RIP Ryan Hawks

Another tragic accident in the Freeskiing World Tour has taken the life of a Jackson Hole athlete, Ryan Hawks. Official details haven't been released, but evidently he died of excessive bleeding after breaking his pelvis during the North American Freeskiing Championship competition at Kirkwood.

Hawk's death echoes a similar incident that took the life of his friend, John Nicoletta, at the Freeskiing World Tour in Alaska last year. After Nicoletta's tragic death, Hawk was quoted in the Jackson Hole News & Guide:

“He was the kind of guy that even though I’d only known him for a week, he made you feel like you’d been best friends forever,” said Jackson resident Ryan Hawks, who’d made backcountry turns with Nicoletta days earlier.

Today, friends & family of Ryan Hawk are mourning the loss of an equally friendly and dynamic young athlete. His bio on GreenMountainFreeRide.com says:

My father always said, “A Skier caries his own skis.” - so I learned how to carry my batman skies by the age of two and have been skiing ever since. I grew up skiing at Sugarbush, Mad River Glen and innumerable backyard jumps.† After high school I began my 8 year mechanical engineering plan at the University of Vermont where I study during the fall semester and then take a skiing sabbatical for the entire winter. My strength as a skier is versatility. I learned to ski on firm east coast bumps, ice jumps and tight trees. I grew up on the slopes and was instilled with a deep passion and respect for my surroundings by those very same mountains. Three years ago, I hitched a ride west and have been here every winter since.

Altaholic, on the TetonGravity forums says:

"Such a great guy, I've known him since he was 13 at Sugarbush/Mad River Glen. Flyin' Ryan, you will be sorely missed. The guy was one of the smoothest skiers I have personally known, and such a nice person as well."

We offer our deepest condolences to the family & friends of Ryan Hawks. RIP.

Image credit: Frank Shine, Ski Portillo Chile

Read more in articles below:

Ryan Hawks dead after extreme skiing accident
25-year old freeskier Ryan Hawks has passed away after an accident in an extreme skiing competition, according to one of his sponsors.

According to Dan Abrams, president of FlyLow, one of Hawks's sponsors, Hawks passed away last night in the hospital. Hawks had been in the ICU for internal bleeding and injuries sustained after a 40-foot backflip, Abrams said. Hawks was apparently competing in the 2011 North American Freeskiing World Tour, at California's Kirkwood Ski area.

Ryan Hawks Dies from Injuries

... "We'd all agree he was one of the happiest people we'd ever met," said Hawks' close friend Lars Chickering Ayers, also a member of Green Mountain Freeride and a competitor in the Freeskiing World Tour. "He brought that to the ski community. He was loved by everyone he met. He was always positive and that was his way of being." ...

Kirkwood Day 1 and 2 Update

... "Ryan Hawks passed away Monday night after clinging to life for a day and a half in a Reno, NV hospital. Ryan was terminally injured when he landed in a large bomb hole after throwing a backflip off a 60+ foot cliff in the middle of his run. The Kirkwood ski patrol was on the scene quickly and did all they could to help our friend Ryan. They got him quickly to the helicopter and he was taken to Reno. After an emergency surgery to stop his massive internal bleeding we were all hopeful that he would be ok. Things took a turn for the worse last night and Ryan passed away surrounded by his good friends from Utah, Vermont, and Jackson. Ryan’s parents also made it to Reno in time to see him before he passed. My heart and soul ache for Ryan’s family and his close friends. I am having a really hard time with this and I have only known Ryan for a few short ski seasons. His smile, energy and love for the mountains will be missed by all of us who were luck enough to know him" ...

Freeskier Dies after Accident in Competition

... "Hawks, 25, was originally from Vermont but has been living in Utah, threw a backflip off a large cliff on Kirkwood’s Cirque on Sunday at the Freeskiing World Tour and crashed upon landing. Ski patrol immediately tended to his injuries and he was taken by helicopter to Reno’s Renown Health Center, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit." ...