Dad of Two Killed in Colorado Avalanche While on Ski Trip with Family and Friends
A Colorado town is mourning the death of a father, educator and beloved community member who died in an avalanche while on a ski trip with family and friends on Monday.
Arin Trook, 48, was visiting Markley Hut in Aspen with six friends and family members when the snow tumbled down the mountain around 10 a.m., according to the Pitkin Country Sheriff’s Office. He was quickly caught in the avalanche and buried under the snow.
He died at the scene.
Trook and one other person had been skiiing about a half-mile from the Markley Hut when the avalanche occurred, the Aspen Daily News reported. Although he was on the trip with a group, there was only one person with Trook at the time of time of the incident, according to the publication.
“Whoever was with him extricated him, and my understanding is they commenced CPR right away,” Jesse Steindler, with the sheriff’s office, told the Daily News. “But they were by themselves, so that person then ran back to the hut to get help.”
Trook served as education director at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), managing the Center’s environmental science education programs at several schools, according to the Daily News. He also taught yoga at school. He leaves behind his wife, two children and a community that considered him a staple.
“Arin was a committed and beloved community member, who dedicated his life and career to educating both children and adults in this community and the region,” ACES officials wrote in a Facebook post.
“Arin’s engaging storytelling skills helped many of us see the world in a new light.”
The officials have set up a GoFundMe page to benefit Trook’s family. A relative shared the fundraiser on Facebook, alongside a moving tribute.
“He was an outdoor-lover, yoga teacher, musician, and anyone who met him would say he was an incredibly kind, gentle and humble man,” Jenny Trook wrote. “He was truly ‘one of a kind.’ ”
The death comes just days after two men, 22-year-old Corey Borg-Massanari and Matthew Zonghetti, 26, died following an avalanche at New Mexico’s Taos Ski Valley that left them trapped under the snow for at least 20 minutes.
