Former Victoria man killed in 'speed-flying' accident on Squamish mountain
Sandra McCulloch / Times Colonist
September 10, 2013
Jeff Bertoia, 36, was killed in a "speed-flying" accident in Squamish on Saturday. Photograph by: VIA FACEBOOK
Friends of a former Victoria man are mourning his death after a flying accident in Squamish.
Jeff Bertoia, 36, who lived in Squamish, died Saturday while “speed-flying” — using an 11-metre parachute-like wing similar to a paraglider — off the Stawamus Chief, a popular spot for hikers, climbers and paragliders.
Friend Andrew Barry, who grew up in Victoria, was part of a group that gathered Sunday in Squamish on Sunday to cry and laugh about Bertoia’s life.
“He was just that kind of guy,” Barry said. “He was a small man but was born with a six pack, both ways, in his stomach and his hand. He had a massive heart and no filter.”
Bertoia and three others hiked the Stawamus Chief, where he planned to try out a new “wing,” Barry said. The right edge of Bertoia’s wing caught a tree and slammed him into a rock face, he said, “and then it was about a 600-foot fall.”
The two friends yet to jump started to rappell down but realized it was too risky.
Even with the risks of the sport, his friends still hoped Bertoia would be waiting for them at the bottom with a big grin and talk of his “amazing” flight, Barry said.
His body was located in a remote area near the Stawamus Chief and it took close to three hours to retrieve the body.
Genevieve Lowe of Sooke attended the University of Victoria with Bertoia.
“He was one of the most vibrant, enthusiastic people that I’ve ever met,” Lowe said Tuesday.
Bertoia, who has a sister in Port Alberni and other family in Summerland, wasn’t married and didn’t have family of his own but cherished his nieces and talked about them a lot, Lowe said.
“He had so many, thousands, of friends — a real social butterfly,” she said.
It was a shock and surprise to her Bertoia had died speed-flying, one of many adventurous persuits he loved to take part in, said Lowe.
“He just did everything,” Lowe said “I’ve never met anybody into so many extreme sports.”
A Facebook page called RIP Jeff Bertoia had 946 likes by Wednesday afternoon.
A celebration of life will be held 4 p.m. Friday at the Executive Suites Hotel in Squamish, and in Summerland on Sept. 21.
smcculloch@timescolonist.com
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