Man is this sad. He was one of my skiing idols growing up as a kid. He used to do the Toyota duals races with a local favorite Chris Drops.
Thats bummer but also the chance you take living that life… One of my ski movies is “Something about Mc Conkey”
So sad especially when there are children involved. I worry about the danger of riding my bike now that I have 2 young kids…I wonder how many of the posters (in the comments section from the linked article) attacking Alice have kids of their own?
sucks. wonder if those guys can even get life insurance.
Have a mate who is into base jumping—he has had multiple friends die over the past five years. Base Jumping, IMHO, like climbing K2, o ultra-deep cave diving, is not a matter of if you will die, simply a matter of when.
BRUTAL. Shane was my all-time favourite skier.
And such a young daughter, too…
That really sucks.
Very sad indeed. Very nice people, had the pleasure of hanging out with the McConkeys at Tahoe a couple of times, and our kids played a lot together.
My wife is in bits today, she knew Shane pretty well.
RIP
Is the air thin up there on that high horse?
I know a lot of people that would share your attitude about biking on the road… It’s only a matter of time before a car hits you.
The problem with risk is that most people assume their baseline is zero… Better to live a full life w/risk.
To Khai: High horse…LOL. Not at all. When I was a teenager, I was a an aggressive skateboarder and surfer. Jumped off vans. Broke into construction sites at night to skate in giant concrete pipes. Broke some bones. Cracked my skull. Drank a lot. Didn’t have kids.
When I was in my twenties, I hiked the Appalachian trail. Alone. Scared the crap out of my Mom. Sometimes she didn’t hear from me for a week or two at a time. Rode my bike cross country. Twice. Didn’t have kids.
In my thirties I did a lot of ice climbing. In New England. Fell a lot. Didn’t have kids.
I grew up. Got married in my forties. Have a good career. Have two young kids. I am thankful every day that I am alive. I value my wife and kids more than anything. Certainly more than the wonderful pleasure I got jumping off of things and climbing peaks when I was younger and single.
I do tris. I have done several IM’s . People drown in swims and crack their heads on the bike. I am aware of three deaths in NAS events in the US. I’m thinking that 3/200,000 (pure guess) is better odds than 1/700. (his proven odds in choosing to BASE jump)
You are both right in that I don’t know Shane from Adam. Could be that he had fully paid up life and disability insurance. Could be that before every BASE jump, he told his wife and kid(s) that he might die today. If they were cool with that, then I stand corrected about his irresponsibilty and selfishness.
I love to ski, MTB and hike. I have two kids and a wife. I also have health insurance, life insurance and disability insurance. I don’t do big jumps on my bike or skis anymore. Could I die doing this ? Sure. BUT odds are that my risk of death is less than a BASE jumper performing a flip. I always think of consequences when I am out in the woods or on my bike. I wear a helmet.
To MattinSF. You have the right to call me an ass. You know the family. I don’t. I do know that their Dad/Husband is dead after choosing to do an inherently risky activity. Sucks to be them…
This is America. I have the right to express my opinion about this situation, as do you. Would it make me less of an ass if I made this comment in six months ? Sometimes the truth hurts. Will you be there in two years helping his family out ? Maybe…I hope so…We will see…
Nice analogy about the cop killer…LOL…Cops, military and firefighters (all of which I have/had as relatives) put their lives at risk every day selflessly protecting others and saving lives. When they die in the line of duty, at least in their occupations they were out there protecting others. Their families can take comfort in that. They also have insurance provided by the taxpayers to help their families out after sudden death or disability. I am grateful for that.
How many lives were saved by this persons BASE jumping ? I am thinking zero…correct me if I am wrong, please !
As I said in my original post: I challenge everyone to put your indignation at my crass (and poorly timed) honesty to the test : Dollars and cents: how much are both of you going to donate to the family ? Will you be there on the kid(s) birthday to help out ? Will you be there at night to help his wife put the kid(s) to bed ? I am waiting for answers to both of my questions. Doubt I will get them…
I agree with you. Kind of like a smoker who decides to keep smoking despite the fact that it will shorten his/her life and probably those around them. I’m sure this guy was a wonderful person but like Tony once my son was born I made a decision to give up some unhealthy habits and grow up. This guy reminds me of the motorcycle X Games guy who broke his neck and died a few weeks ago. One bad landing and you are dead and your widow got to see it happen. Push the envelope and pay the price.
Note the difference between this post (your second, to which I’m now replying) and your original here:
=============
…
He abandoned them and his wife doing a selfish act. If performing these selfish acts was his source of income, he needed to get a safer career the moment his wife got pregnant with his child.
No different than an alcoholic driving his car into a tree while intoxicated, or a mother who abandons her kids in the car so she can go smoke
crack.
…
Same basic opinion, but you aren’t being a total asshole the 2nd time around.
Yes, you do have the privilege of expressing your opinion. But this is not America, and it is not a right. Please try to understand that.
More importantly however, is whether you understand that your opinion does not need to be expressed in a manner that is hurtful to his family. If you got killed riding your bike, lots of people would be of the opinion that you deserved it for being on the road - “where cars belong”. Some might think that you abandoned your family by selfishly putting your desire to ride your bike above the safety of a steel cage. But I certainly hope that they wouldn’t post such vitriol on a public forum, and especially not immediately after it occurred. Remember, just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean that you need to be an asshole.
On a weekly basis, I treat diabetics, seizure patients, and motorists with myriad other incapacitating illnesses who veer off the road and into whatever lay in their path. If you think you’re not putting your family at similar risk every time you clip in and point your ass at a two-ton automobile, you’re kidding yourself. Statistical analysis only makes you feel better about your risky hobby.
Risky hobbies…hmm…Bike riding v. Base Jumping: I don’t believe that since I started riding bikes in 1973 that I have ever pointed “my ass at a two ton automobile”. That would not be smart. My personal stats to date: 35 years experience, two serious crashes: Broke a rib when I fell on ice in a corner (age 14). Took a header on my MTB last summer. Seperated my shoulder.
You are right, I might die tomorrow falling off trainer cuz the bolts will fail. If that happens, my family will own the house I live in and have an income.
For two points: which is riskier and more irresponsible: endurance sports or BASE jumping. Please defend your analysis. Thanks.
Edit: My wife has been pointing out that it IS crass for me to be discussing things so aggressively in this fashion, on this day… I am sorry, I value this list and its discussions very much. We are both sleep deprived with our new little 10 day old girl (visible on my profile).
My apologies. My above comments were not very civil or sensitive. I hope the above posters will forgive me. Thank you for listening.
Tony Verow
I’d go with BASE jumping…http://www.vimeo.com/1778399
.
You’re making a relative argument, so I’ll do the same: Which is riskier, riding a bicycle among two-ton vehicles travelling 50-60mph, wearing little more than spandex and a brain bucket, or trail running? There will always be one riskier than the others, but again, don’t kid yourself about the inherent dangers of cycling (and yes, you do point your ass at two-ton vehicles every time you ride the roadways. Unless you’ve found a new way to cycle, that’s pretty much how it’s done). I could just as easily say you’re the one putting your family at risk because you cycle when trail running is available to you at very little risk.
Say whatever you want about risk and familial responsibility - that’s fucking awesome!
You’re making no sense. BASE jumping when you’ve got a family at home is irresponsible. The amount of risk is astronomical compared to cycling. Go tell your insurance company you want life insurance and your profession is BASE jumping. You either won’t get any or the premiums would be completely outrageous. I think Tony V was pretty much right on (although insensitive).
From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_McConkey
Death
The following appears to be a report of the fatal accident from a fellow jumper of McConkey’s:
March 26, 2009, Shane died while on a ski-BASE jump in Corvara, Italy.
We chose to ski off of a cliff with our wingsuits and fly them away from the cliff wall before opening our parachutes for landing. We skied and hiked off of the Pordoi cable car to a spot Shane had base jumped once before, in the summer. We spent a bunch of time preparing for the jump, building a kicker, helping each other gear up, and finally we were pleased and prepared and went for it.
Shane did a double back flip in perfect McConkey style. As planned, afterwards, he went to release his skis in order to fly away from the wall and safely deploy his parachute. This is where the jump went wrong. He was not able to release one of his skis. He remained focused on releasing it by reaching down towards his bindings. This, combined with the large unbalanced surface area of the one ski, put him into a spin/ tumble/ unstable falling style, that may have appeared out of his control, but in reality, Shane was not concerned about flying position or style; just concerned with reaching that ski so that he could get it off and fly or deploy his parachute. He succeeded in releasing both of skis and immediately transitioned into a perfect flying position, giving a thumbs up and a gnarly surfer hand gesture. He then impacted the snow, and died at that moment, making literally a snow angel.
The whole thing took place in about 12 seconds. Once he released the skis, he was immediately in control of the flight and would have only seen the ground and imminent impact for a tiny fraction of a second before he hit. Shane’s parachute did not malfunction; it was never deployed.
Have you ever seen what this guy has done over the past 20 years? Do you know what a wingsuit is, or how it works? Or are you just some judgmental asshole who choses the safety of ignorance and armchair quarterbacking, all the while taking cheap shots at a dead man whose wife, friends, and family are grieving?
Seriously… There are hundreds if not thousands of people who would say that what you do on a daily basis is stupid and that you’re risking your health - I’d hope that they’d have the decency not to dance on your grave, although I’m starting to think that I wouldn’t protest if they did.
For fuck’s sake, man - disapprove if you must, but don’t be an asshole about it.