As a friend, donor, and advocate of the Hood River Area Trail Stewards. This is said news. I wish I could have thanked Matt for all his hard work. The Hood River mountain bike community has lost a friend, and a valuable advocate for our sport.

Reposted from MTBparks.com

Whistler, BC – MTBparks.com is saddened to share this news about the accident on Friday, May 30, 2014 at Whistler Bike Park that resulted in the fatality of 40-year-old Matt Klee, from Hood River, OR. Matt was the President of the Hood River Area Trail Stewards group and helped create so many of the amazing trails in the area.

Saturday – May 31, 2014 | Hood River Area Trail Stewards (Hood RATS) Facebook page:

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we post this. Matt Klee, our president, the heart and soul of HRATS, passed away at Whistler yesterday, 5/30, while doing what he loved: riding bikes on “amazeballs” dirt. Matt was kind, thoughtful, level-headed, and he brought the mountain biking community in the Gorge together like no one else could. He gave his heart and soul to making better trails for all of us. Our thoughts are with his wife Jen and the rest of the Klee family. We’ll remember him forever.

Photo: Matt Klee via Facebook

Sunday – June 1, 2014 | Excepts from the article in Whistler’s Pique News:

At approximately 4 p.m., on Friday, May 30, Whistler Bike Park patrol received a call reporting a serious injury. Upon arriving on the scene, the injured biker was receiving first aid from members of his group, which included an emergency doctor.

Photo: Whistler Bike Park | Wikimedia Commins

“He was riding on the Lower Whistler Downhill, which is an advanced run in the bike park, and he lost control going down a rock feature … and crashed at the bottom of it,” said Whistler Blackcomb (WB) mountain manager Doug MacFarlane. Whistler Blackcomb operates the bike park.

The man was transported to the Whistler Health Care Centre where medical staff worked to stabilize his condition. He was pronounced dead at 6 p.m.

“We express our condolences to the family and friends (of the deceased) for the loss,” MacFarlane said. “It’s a pretty tragic event for the small community of mountain biking.”

It is believed the biker’s death was trauma related, MacFarlane noted. The man was wearing the necessary protective gear, including a full face helmet and neck brace, and was an experienced rider who has possessed a Triple Play Card at the bike park since 2011, according to Whistler Blackcomb.

“Anytime we have a severe injury in the bike park we look to see if there’s anything we can do to improve it or prevent another injury. But in this case we looked at (that feature) the evening (of the accident) and the next morning, and we’re doing an investigation and working with the team but there’s nothing glaring there,” he said, adding that the feature in question was in “quite typical condition” at the time of the incident.

Friday’s accident marks only the second fatality in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s history. The first occurred in August 2002 after a Langley man crashed at the bottom of the Crabapple Hits trail.

Original Source: http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com

Categories: Advocacy, Lifestyle, Mountain Bike Racing, Other Racing

Tags: Hood River, mountain bike