Dave Ellis RIP (powder)

Dave Ellis,  manager of NW Trek and ripping backcountry skier  passed away.  I was lucky to climb and ski with Dave.  I never started out with him but was always running into him somewhere and finishing a good day in the backcountry Of MT Rainier.  We shared a Southren upbringing connection.  Rest in Powder .

www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/19/222007...ader-dave-ellis.html

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My goodness! Regine and I skied with him too! RIP

Megan and I had the fortune to ski with Dave on quite a few occasions. He got our group of tele skiers skiing shorter fatter alpine boards before it was the tele norm. He definitely figured it out sooner than the rest of us. Didn't get to ski with him much the past few years, but we ran into him a few times on the snowfield. Great guy. Hope the fishing is better where he is now. RIP Dave.

Wow, this was a hard way to find out that Dave had passed. I remember many years ago I was going to ski with Dave on Mount Adams. At the last minute I skied the N. Routes. Turns out that day he went to the S. Side of Adams he had a sudden, unfortunate heart attack. I remember seeing the helicopter flying around the mountain. I learned later that it was him. We were so glad he was okay!

When I was a kid I used to ski with Dave a lot with my dad. In fact, I hadn't spoken to him in years, but recently I got an e-mail from him. It seems appropriate to put here.

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Jason,

Great photos – great website - saw your dad in the bank yesterday – he directed me to your website – hey, you’re living the dream son – good for you.

Your old (I mean old) ski bud,

Dave Ellis

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Thanks Dave for the many ski days and your great spirit. Your friends will miss you! 

I first met Dave back in the early 90s when I first started to Telelmark. He was always a step ahead in getting better gear and it didn't take long to figure out he was smarter than me! If it wasn't for Dave I might still be on Fischer Crown double camber 205s (or something like that!).

I can't count how many trips we all did in that era with the gang of good friends up at Paradise almost every weekend. Dave was always upbeat and ready to try most anything. He had a great memory and could recite poems he learned as a kid. I enjoyed the way he could share his humor and wisdom in the same sentence. Lots of good times!

I also remember the Adams trip. All I can say is if a nearby hiker didn't have a cell phone then Dave may not have made it out of there that day. Although I didn't know it then I'm also glad cell phones were analog at that time. Much better range, we actually contacted 911 in Oregon before getting transferred to WA.

Thanks Dave for all the great trips!

Eric