It is with great sadness that SJ has to make this post, but on March 31st our dear friend Jack Hannan was killed in an avalanche (see Powder's story below). There will be a memorial in Crested Butte and Pemberton B.C. The money raised at the silent auction in CB will go to Hannan's wife, Laura Ogden. We are sending Laura hugs and prayers!

Skier Jack Hannan killed in Mount Currie Avalanche

By Matt Hansen

The skiing community was hit by more devastating news recently. On March 31st, an avalanche swept a Pemberton, B.C., man to his death. Jack Hannan, a friend, husband and skier who won the 2003 Crested Butte US Freeskiing Championships, was skiing with three others when he was hit by a massive avalanche. The group had been dropped off by a helicopter on 8,500-foot Mount Currie, a prominent peak in the Pemberton valley. As they were skiing down, conservatively and one by one, a Class 3 (on a scale of 1-5) avalanche overcame Hannan and carried him over 1,500 feet and several cliff bands.

The avalanche released naturally from an adjacent couloir that fed into the line the group was skiing. Hannan was positioned slightly farther down the hill than the rest of the group and was more exposed to the slide. The entire group was engulfed in the snow cloud. Only Hannan was caught. His partners were able to find and uncover him quickly, but he had succumbed to trauma.

The news is yet another blow to the tight-nit ski community, which has endured a series of high-profile tragedies over the last several years. Hannan was married to Laura Ogden, the 2006 Freeskiing World Tour Champion and frequent athlete on Powder magazine feature stories. Hannan had also written for Powder and had appeared in several films while competing on the freeski circuit—where he and Ogden met—in the early 2000s. The two had recently bought a place in Pemberton, and were looking forward to a life together in the mountains. They did not have any children.

A memorial has been planned for Saturday, April 12, at 4:00 pm at the Black Squirrel Restaurant at The Meadows at Pemberton Golf Course in Pemberton, B.C.

Powder wishes to extend its deepest sympathies to Jack’s family and friends.
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Please come celebrate and remember Jack Hannan, person extraordinaire, this upcoming Thursday at the Eldo in Crested Butte, Colorado. A silent auction will be held to help Jack's beautiful wife Laura during this difficult time. This will be a night to remember Jack with ski movies, photos, stories, and thoughts. Anyone and everyone is invited and the event begins at 5:30 and goes till 10ish. Also if anyone would like to donate product to this event, please ship everything to Carrie Jo Chernoff, below is her shipping address. Also any cash donations should be mailed to her P.O. Box address.  Please make all checks out to the Jack Hannan Memorial Fund.

Please send an email of product being sent to carriejochernoff@hotmail.com with a value connected to each item. This way we can put an auction list up even if the product did not arrive for some reason.


Please ship all product donations to be used in the silent auction to:


Carrie Jo Chernof
Jack Hannan Memorial
307 Horseshoe Dr.
Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225


Any checks should be made out to the Jack Hannan Memorial and please mail them to Carrie Jo Chernoff.
Carrie Jo Chernoff
P.O. Box 2877
Crested Butte, CO 81224