Shane McConkey died yesterday in a Ski-BASE incident in the Italian Dolomites.  He was 39.

Admittedly I am making an assumption here, but I bet the majority of those reading this blog have no idea who Shane McConkey is or what makes him so special.  I myself do not know him personally.  I have never met him nor have I followed especially close his career.  What I do know is reflected in the influence he has had on the mountain culture and the ski and adventure industries.  More importantly, however, what Shane McConkey represented to me was a man whom accepted the risks and the consequences of the choices he made in life.  These days it seems that big rewards are expected while risks are ignored or in the case of big banking, insured.  While bathing in prosperity we are quick to take the credit, but when the system fails, it must be someone else’s fault?  Shane McConkey weighed the risks next to the rewards.  Just as he knew the thrill of success he accepted the ultimate price that thrill could and eventually did cost.  He held himself accountable in life, displaying the courageous characteristic of a sometimes forgotten time.  Shane McConkey will be remembered for many reasons.  For me it won’t be for the effortless skiing I could never emulate or the outrageous stunts I would never attempt.  In my life Shane McConkey will be remembered not for his tremendous strength in sport but rather for his unwavering strength of character.

Shane would do it…