http://www.adn.com/front/story/250784.html

that sucks , just to let you guys know if i gotta go i want to go doing the sport i love, so if you read the papers and find out i have passed on the snow know i went with a big fat smile on my face and raise a toast! and from how it sounds this kid was about the same so

The thing that bothers me is that none of his riding group was watching him highmark.

After a while his group went looking for him and found him dead.

The kid was 16 years old.

I was pretty crazy at that age; but with the help / tutalege of other riders and racers; I managed to make it thru the learning curve.

I preach the buddy system to everyone and I never do technical riding without someone there to at least witness the ride.

Turnagain has many hazards that have bitten many people; usualy the less seasoned riders.

I hope that everyone everywhere takes this death as a reminder of the hazards we accept when we ride and I hope that everyone re-examines the rules of riding and does their part to be there when someone else needs them.

We will never know if this kid would have lived if he had immediate help or if he would have stayed out of trouble if he had a seasoned rider helping him avoid the pitfalls of highmarking and or turnagain.

I have a good buddy from Wasilla, the kid was friends with his kid. This is a sad deal.