Freeskiing World Championship, Alyeska, AK, John Nicoletta

[alto]

I arrived home to Salt Lake from Girdwood/Alyeska this morning. I was there to compete in the Freeskiing World Championships at Alyeska Resort. But now that all the staff, friends, competitors and I are home, the story we have to tell is of the passing of John Nicoletta during competition on April 11th.

What follows isn't intended to explain or justify the situation, but to show that John died in a place that makes its power felt right when you step off the airplane.

Hundreds of people had come for the competition, and for many of them (including me) it was their first time to Alaska. So the 40 minute drive from Anchorage to Girdwood, maybe the easiest place to get to in Alaska, was nonetheless a shocking introduction to the beauty of the Chugach.




Alyeska starts not much above sea level and rises to between 3000' and 4000'.




The "Shadows" area of the Headwall, considered for the never-held superfinal, glowing under the dawn light. This was taken at an 8:00AM athlete tram load. The tram normally operates from 10:30AM - 5:30PM. Hard to mess up first tram here. Especially when its normally empty.




The venue for the first and final day of the Freeskiing World Championships. This picture was taken at around 9:00PM from the parking lot.




Beauty everywhichway.




Early chairs above the Turnigan Arm on the day after John's accident.




I remember thinking, as we all hiked up the same mountain that took John away, how lucky a person is, at least in my opinion, to be honored in such a way. 200 or so people, all of them close friends, joining together on a mountaintop on a pristine morning. The most beautiful place you could ever be on the saddest day of many people's lives.

More, John died on the one-year anniversary of Neal Valiton's death at last year's World Tour Final in Tignes, France. Unthinkable. But, I found the strength exhibited by my friends in Alaska in the wake of tragedy to be the most humbling thing I have experienced. Everything ended but nothing ended. Rest in peace, John.

[altabird92]

Beautiful place
great tribute

[Dside11-11]

Nicely written, alto. Though we know it can happen, its no less upsetting when it does. I am sorry for you and the others who have had to witness the death of friends firsthand on multiple occasions by now. John was a good shit, and a rippin' skier. He will be missed by some of the finest people in the world.

[Xover]

Thanks for the TR buddy. Well worded and grandly true; at least from a scale and beauty standpoint. RIP John.

[LT]

Beautiful tribute. RIP John.

[Huckin eh?]

Very well said, presented, and shot!
RIP John RIP

[splat]

Yo, alto...good to see you up there, man.
It was destined to be a great event and it was. In many ways.
The reality check we all got was a reminder that the mountains have no mercy.
No matter how beautiful they are.

RIP, John.
I wanted so bad to get to you to help, but my traverse wouldn't keep me high enough to get there before patrol could.

[powder11]

nice tribute. glad to see everyone pull together for such a tragedy.

[kush1]

^^^^^^ The most humbling and inspiring thing I have ever witnessed in person.....

Nice write up Drew and April 11th should never have a contest held on it again...

[Z]

April 11th should never have a contest held on it again...

Seriously.

Thanks for the words and pics, alto.

rip.

[Trackhead]

Nice write up Alto.

[lemon boy]

as above, very nice writeup Alto

RIP.

[grskier]

Great write up Alto, thanks for sharing your thoughts on such a sad but awesome weekend.

[Tri-Ungulate]

Thanks for the heartfelt tribute and the beautiful pics.

[Jim S]

Too sad. RIP.

.

[JakeCast]

Good write-up d00d.

Were there any major injuries? I have a friend that dnf'd and I'm hoping everything is all good.

May John rest in peace.

[Alyeska_Skibum]

Nice write up. I think Andy did a great job when he was talking about John.
Here are some of my pics

Getting ready to hike


Almost to the top


Athletes


This plane did 2 fly-bys, dipping his wings each time. Everybody up there loved it. Nobody knew who it was. It was pretty damn cool


View of the backside of Alyeska


The Aspen forerun

[Stanyo]

Great write up Drew.

RIP John.

[grizzle6]

Nicely done Drew. A sad and humbling day indeed.

[Dhelihiker]

After watching the video and seeing some of those tomahawks down the mountain, you definitely see how it could happen.

He was so young- how sad

[Toadman]

Very well put Alto. Yor photos have brought back fond memories of doing the road from Anch. to Girdwood. It's a much different road now than when I was a kid growing up. As is the mtn. But I never grew tired of driving it and the beauty of the Chugach Range. A friend and fellow Alyeska skier once said, "If you can ski all that Alyeska encompasses, you can ski any mtn. in the world."

As I adventure out to try other mtns and ski areas in the world over these many years, I have found this statement to hold true.

RIP John Nicolleta.

[Sluff]

Great thread.

[gonzo]

rip john. sugarloafah + colby grad. so sad.

[gramps]

I was wondering why I hadn't heard any results from this comp, very sorry to hear about this. Nice write up, RIP.

[cuseo]

I'll repeat an earlier post about John...

Knowing somebody like John has, ironically, prepared us to lose somebody as special as him...

And Splat, you don't owe John any apologies.