Message Boards: Jamil Khan Message Threads

On Wednesday, February 11,1998 pro snowboarder Jamil Khan died when an avalanche on the legendary ASI at Donner Pass swept the 22-year-old New York native down the slope. Khan, one of the top halfpipe riders in North America, was in the popular backcountry area with filmmaker Jon Boyer and Burton teammates Blair Rusin and Mike Beallo working on a segment for Boyer's upcoming film.

The Tahoe area received at least four feet of fresh snow over the weekend. The group had scoped the area on Monday, but held off on shooting until an incoming storm passed through depositing at least six more inches on Tuesday.

The slide was not necessarily due to negligence on the part of Jamil, according to filmmaker Jon Boyer it was not a situation where the group was acting irresponsibly. He states that the planned shoot was more of an off the side of the road thing than an extreme backcountry location. Boyer attempted to radio Khan regarding a cornice, but apparently his concerns weren't heard.

Apparently the cornice gave away and took Jamil down the mountain. He wasn't wearing a transceiver and was buried under at least eight feet of snow. The rescue took over 45 minutes and rescuers tried to resuscitate Jamil at the site, but it was to no avail.

Jamil Khan at the third Grand Prix in Mammoth.

Jamil had been in Tahoe since the final Grand Prix at Mammoth in the end of January. He was one of the favored riders for the Olympic team, but missed the cut. Over the last year he had received a lot of media attention both nationally and internationally for his amazing halfpipe ability. Khan graced the cover of Snowboarder Magazine this fall. Jamil could often be found traveling with John Sommers and Ian Spiro, especially in the last year as the three trained all last season and this summer for the Olympic trials. Last week in an interview for SOL Jamil said that most of his time is spent traveling with friends. "My friends almost all ride so we travel together to all the countries like Switzerland, Greece, all over those little Euro countries and the US. Travel and adventure that's what occupies my time these days."

It has been a tough week for snowboarding. Even though he was young, Jamil's effect on snowboarding and importance on the competition circuit was considerable. Ask anyone and they will tell you the same thing, "He was a really cool kid." By Wednesday afternoon, news of the slide had spread quickly throughout the snowboard community in Tahoe and by six o'clock the local news was on the scene reporting the slide. If you are interested in sending condolences to his family and friends, writing thoughts about Jamil, or have any questions about what happened please leave them here. Messages will be forwarded to his family.

Message Boards: Jamil Khan Message Threads