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A dedicated environmental educator, an avid rock climber and an engaging storyteller, Arin Trook lived life to its fullest.
The Aspen community came together to mourn the loss of a respected environmental teacher, who died in an avalanche on Monday, January 21st.
The manner of Trook’s death was ruled to be accidental, the coroner’s office said, and the cause is pending an autopsy.
The avalanche occurred around 10:30 a.m. in a wilderness area near the Markley Hut, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
Trook, 48, was with five family members and friends when he was hit by the avalanche. Family and friends dug him out of the snow and performed CPR, said Alex Burchetta, chief deputy of operations for the sheriff’s office.
A preliminary report by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said the avalanche occurred at 11,200 feet, breaking 2 feet deep, 500 feet wide, and running about 600 vertical feet.
Trook, a California native, had worked since 2013 as the education director at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, said Chris Lane, the organization’s CEO. He’d been a professional educator for the past 20 years, comfortable teaching people of all ages.
“If you’ve ever seen him teach, you’d never forget him — ever,” Lane said.
Source: The Denver Post
