Idaho doctor with love of adventure dies in avalanche he apparently triggered while skiing

An Idaho emergency room doctor who connected adventure-seeking to acts of altruism died on Friday in an avalanche that he apparently triggered while skiing.

The Sawtooth Avalanche Center reported that a skier was killed on Friday while backcountry skiing on Donaldson Peak in Idaho’s Lost River Range. The Custer County coroner identified the skier as emergency department physician Dr. Terrence “Terry” O’Connor, according to Idaho Mountain Express.

O’Connor was on a down climb with another experienced backcountry skier Friday when he “triggered and was caught in a small wind slab avalanche,” the avalanche center reported. The slide then triggered a second, larger avalanche.

His skiing partner, who was not identified, called for help using a satellite communication device before following his path and locating him. They dug O’Connor out of the snow and began CPR.

A search-and-rescue team responded but O’Connor did not survive the accident, the avalanche center said.

The Idaho EMS Physician Commission confirmed his death in the accident in a statement posted to Facebook, saying O’Connor’s loss would be felt throughout the state and region.

“Terry was an outstanding physician and played a pivotal role in the early days of the COVID pandemic really demonstrating the public health role of the EMS medical director within a community,” the statement said.

O’Connor worked at the St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum, Idaho, according to the hospital’s website. It featured a blog written on O’Connor in 2021 describing his service to the community during the pandemic.

“I work in a small community, but I feel like I can still help with a global health problem,” O’Connor said at the time.

O’Connor also tied his inclination toward acts of selflessness and altruism to his love of adventure. According to the blog, O’Connor had gone to Mount Everest three times, the last of which he was able to summit.

He hosted a podcast called “The Adventure Activist,” which is described as a place for “meaningful conversation” with guests on how they add value to the world and “do some good with their passion for adventure.”

In a 2017 Tedx Talk called “A Life of Adventure: Selfish or Selfless?” O’Connor said his dear friend and climbing partner had died in an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies two weeks before his own adventure on Mount Everest. He questioned why he was seeking such a dangerous summit the entire time he climbed to the top of the mountain, O’Connor said.

Finally making it to the top, O’Connor said he was awestruck but that for some reason he thought suddenly on the death of a woman he met during work he did in Tibet earlier that year. She died of a preventable heart disease that O’Connor said could have easily been managed in a more developed country with resources.

His talk focused on the effect of that awe, noting that research indicated a connection to altruism.

“We’re finding that awe, like a community or religious experience, helps us to bind to others, motivating us to act in collaborative ways,” O’Connor said. “And individuals who experience awe more frequently in their daily lives are also more willing to sacrifice and give more resources to others.”

O’Connor said he looked forward to learning more and hoped others would go on their adventures.

“Whether you find your awe looking up at the trees in the night sky or in the mountains, these moments will always be oxygen for our souls,” O’Connor said. “I just ask you to remember why you might feel that way.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com