B.C. avalanche victim identified as beloved Whistler pro snowboarder
Posted March 25, 2025 7:25 pm.
Last Updated March 26, 2025 9:58 am.
Forty-four-year-old Jeff Keenan of Whistler has been identified as one the three heli-skiers who died in a massive avalanche near Kaslo in B.C.’s West Kootenay region Monday.
Keenan, avid athlete and co-founder of snowboard brand Dinosaurs Will Die, is being remembered fondly and widely for his impact on the mountain community in B.C.
Keenan’s partner of over 20 years, also a professional snowboarder, took to social media early Wednesday, sharing the devastation of his death.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!“Jeff, you’ve always been there for me. This is absolutely beyond devastating. Endless gratitude for you showing up in my life in the early 2000s. I’m forever grateful to eternity for the depth of love I got to experience. 20+ years of pure love and adventure before welcoming our first child,” Leanne Pelosi said.
“I know in your last breaths you were thinking about Khyber and giving me the strength to be his pillar,” she added.
(@leannepelosi)Pelosi was with Keenan at the time of his death, with her saying it was “a gift to see you one last time.”
“All I know is that I’m grateful as all hell for being with you and giving me the greatest gift in life, Khyber. I let him know that you passed this evening, and he already said he had an idea of getting a big trampoline to jump up and get you back down to earth.
“My deepest condolences to the rest of the families involved,” she added.
North Vancouver’s own Mount Seymour Resort posted a tribute to Keenan on social media, remembering his part in a crew, known as The Skids, that “helped define snowboarding” in the 1990s and 2000s.
More recently, the resort says, he helped develop the ‘Baked Salmon Banked Slalom’ annual event on Mount Seymour.
Snowboarding magazine King Snow describes Keenan as “the kindest, most passionate and empathetic soul there ever was” in its tribute.
“His contributions to snowboarding were immense, yet they paled in comparison to the impact and love he shared with his family and friends.”
Ski Magazine reports Keenan’s legacy as a snowboarder who “loomed larger than life.”
On March 24, he and a group of skiers were caught in a sudden avalanche near the Clute Creek watershed.
Also identified in Keenan’s group was 45-year-old pro snowboarder Alex Pashley of Idaho.
American outdoor clothing and gear company The North Face posted a tribute to Pashley Tuesday.
“Pashley brought an irreplaceable sense of levity to the most difficult expeditions. His search for adventure will forever guide us,” said the North Face on social media.
Despite rescue efforts, Keenan, Pashley and a 53-year-old guide from Kaslo, were found dead.
A fourth man, 40, from Nelson was critically injured, police say.
