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      SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A world record-holding professional skier
who once famously jumped off a 255-foot cliff jump died in a
weekend avalanche in Utah while on a steep slope at a closed
resort.


      Jamie Pierre, 38, was swept over a cliff Sunday at Snowbird Ski
and Summer Resort in the Wasatch mountains about 30 miles southeast
of Salt Lake City.


      Pierre was snowboarding one of Snowbird's steepest slopes with a
friend when he was sent cartwheeling over a cliff after he
triggered the late afternoon slide, the Utah Avalanche Center
reported.


      It was the season's first avalanche fatality in the U.S.,
authorities said.


      Pierre's sister, Naomi Pierre, 33, of Minnetonka, Minn., said
her brother was a deeply devout Christian who prayed before every
jump or run down a dangerous slope.


      "He absolutely loved the Lord. That was his purpose and mission
in life, and his skiing was all about honoring God. He was
incredibly passionate about getting that word out to youth," Naomi
Pierre said Monday. "So he did that through jumping off cliffs and
skiing down dangerous chutes.


      "He always asked the Lord first if it was OK to go," she
added. "He was a wonderful person."


      More than a foot of fluffy snow had fallen in the mountains over
the weekend where snow was already waist-deep, creating what
authorities said were dangerous avalanche conditions.


      "Early season is our most dangerous time of year - just the
opposite of what most people think," Bruce Tremper, director of
the Utah Avalanche Center, said Monday. "It's not anything you
want to mess with."


      Snowbird doesn't open for skiing until Saturday and hasn't
cleared the mountain of danger. The resort had signs warning
against skiing, and Pierre and his ski partner shouldn't have been
on the slopes, Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said.


      "They're trespassing, technically, and it's very dangerous,"
Hoyal said Monday.


      Pierre set off from nearby Alta Ski Area and made his way to
neighboring Snowbird over a series of ridges. The two apparently
avoided injury in one slide earlier in the day, officials said.


      "With the partner watching, the victim dropped into the slope,
immediately triggering the slide," the Utah Avalanche Center said
in a preliminary report posted on its website. "He was carried
hundreds of feet through steep rocky terrain and reportedly went
over a small cliff band and came to a stop only partially buried."


      Early season in Utah always brings skiers who can't wait to hit
the slopes. And because many of Utah's ski areas sit on national
forest land, they can't legally keep people from venturing out even
before they open. However, the Forest Service allows Snowbird to
keep skiers off its slope for a week before opening while it
prepares the mountain.


      Still, few skiers are ticketed or thrown off the slopes, Hoyal
said.


      Police wouldn't immediately release the name of Pierre's ski
partner.


      Pierre appeared in numerous ski films and had a legion of
sponsors. He was best known for a terrifying 2006 jump off the
backside of Wyoming's Grand Targhee Resort. It was a dizzying fall
from higher than the Golden Gate Bridge, and garnered him a world
record.


      Pierre landed on his head in 12 feet of soft snow but escaped
injury and promptly vowed he'd never try that again. He also had
many other notable cliff jumps, including a 165-foot jump off
Alta's signature Wolverine Cirque.


      "A great person, a little misunderstood at times, but anyone
who knew him knows he had a heart of gold," friend Lee Cohen wrote
in a Facebook posting. Cohen is a photographer for Powder magazine
who lives near Snowbird.


      Pierre is survived by his wife, Aimee, and two children. He had
lived for years in Sandy, Utah, outside Salt Lake City, but had
recently moved to Big Sky, Mont., for a job.


      "Our deepest condolences go out to Jamie's family and
friends," Snowbird spokeswoman Emily Moench said. "He was a local
legend, and he will be dearly missed by the community."

Gallery

A world record-holding professional skier who once famously jumped off a 255-foot cliff jump died in a
weekend avalanche in Utah while on a steep slope at a closed resort.

Pro skier dead after Utah avalanche

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