From the Alaska Dispatch:
On a day the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Adivsory Center warned snowmachiners to be especially alert to the dangers of avalanche on the Kenai Peninsula, the president of ConocoPhillips Alaska died beneath a wall of snow that came down near Spencer Glacier about 50 miles east of Anchorage.
Jim Bowles, 57, was with a group of a dozen or more people riding near the glacier when the avalanche came down, according to Alaska State Troopers. Conoco employee Al Gage, 40, was reportedly riding with Bowles and caught in the avalanche as well.
Troopers said late Saturday that Gage remained missing in the area. He is presumed dead. Troopers reported Bowles was dug out shortly after the avalanche swept over him, but rescuers could not revive him despite trying for half an hour.
How the avalanche was triggered remains unknown, but the Chugach avalanche center on Saturday morning warned of considerable danger from human-triggered slides.
I remember long ago, on school break as a Peace Corps teacher in Thailand, another volunteer and I flew to Bali. While we had round trip tickets from Bangkok, a route that had just recently opened up, we broke up the trip with some cross country bus rides to see a bit more of Indonesia. As we finally made it across to the island of Bali, riding along the southern part of the island, I saw these magnificent beaches with absolutely perfect surf. Having grown up near the beach in LA, I was an avid body surfer. My traveling companion was from New York and not that excited. But I insisted that during our week, we find a way to get back out there to one of these totally deserted beaches and go body surfing.
After a perfect day in the water, we were lying out on the sand and Alan said something like, "Well, it was nice, but I kept worrying about sharks." I looked at him and said, "You know, it was perfect. If I'd been eaten by a shark, it would have been ok. It was the perfect way to go."
The article also says that Bowles fell in love with Alaska and the adventures it held. It sounds like it was a glorious day - blue skies, fresh snow. Perfect, just like that day in Bali. I'll bet that like me 40 years ago, he was in the zone and, if he had to go, at least he went doing what he loved.
It's still a great shock for his family and friends and I wish them peace and courage as they come to terms with this great change in their lives.
By the way, as Alan and I were talking about sharks on the beach, a coconut fell from high above between us. It could have taken out either one of us if it was a foot over in either direction.
Your post is a gentle reminder of our common mortality, and I echo your comment. As someone who grew up and stayed in one place and then voluntarily left for another, your supposition of "fell in love with Alaska" rings true.
ReplyDeleteI am falling in love with the intellectual life all around me in London. Becoming a (past) mid-life student is wonderful -- a reawakening of mind. Your Bali beach, Jim's Alaska mountain, my London library are the gifts offered us in these new places. We rightly accepted them.
Love from the living, to all our dearly departed.