Last Friday, I had the pleasure of hanging an “Across the Valley” print in the Brett Carlson lounge up at the Kees and Claire Hut in the Whistler backcountry. Brett passed away in front of his closest friends while attempting a road gap ski jump in Whistler in January 2000. Chili was on the scene and administered first aid, he watched his friend take his last breath.
Grief counselling was not a common thing in those days, we certainly didn’t receive any, and I know that day affected Chili for the rest of his life. As a group, Brett’s friends banded together and raised funds with the idea of building a backcountry cabin somewhere in the Whistler backcountry to help remember Brett and immortalize his adventurous spirit. We wanted to turn the shittiest thing in our lives into something positive...