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The 22-year-old son of the president of the University of Northern Colorado dies in an avalanche while cross-country skiing with his father on New Year’s Eve
- Nick Feinstein was skiing near Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado with his father on Saturday when he got caught in an avalanche.
- Andy Feinstein managed to get out of the snow and call for help, but it was too late for Nick, who was found dead two hours later.
- The Feinsteins were an extremely outdoorsy family and Nick was an experienced skier who had been on the slopes since he was five years old.
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The son of a university president was killed on New Year’s Eve in an avalanche that occurred while he was cross-country skiing with his father.
Nick Feinstein, 22, and his father Andy Feinstein were trapped in an avalanche near Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, in an area known as The Numbers.
Both men were nature lovers and experienced skiers.
The avalanche occurred at about 1 p.m. Saturday, burying Nick and partially burying his father, who is president of the University of Northern Colorado.
Nick (left) Feinstein and his father Andy (right) Feinstein were outdoors-trained men who enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing and skiing together
A team of nearly two dozen rescuers and canine teams were on the scene in Breckenridge shortly after the avalanche; two hours after the snow fell, a canine team found Nick’s body.
Andy was able to get out of the snow and ski to an area with cell phone reception to call 911 at 1:40 p.m.
A team of more than 20 rescuers and search dogs descended on the area to search for Nick. A dog team recovered his body shortly after 3 pm in about three feet of snow.
Andy described the moment the avalanche came down without warning: “One minute I was skiing and enjoying the powder, and the next minute I was riding what looked like a violent wave of lime,” he told the media. Tribune Greeley.
Feinstein also described using her fingertips to dig a window into the snow that covered her head. He said that he was not sure how he survived.
Nick had been a senior at Penn State University, where he was studying enterprise technology integration, according to his parents, Kerry and Andy Feinstein.
He had recently taken a job in finance in Denver, where he was excited to move in with his friends to continue his outdoor lifestyle.
Nick had been skiing since he was five years old, his parents said, and he was eager to start a life that provided him with the opportunity to ski and climb mountains.
‘All he wanted to do with all his free time was climb and be outdoors. He wanted to buy a truck for himself, and he wanted to be able to go anywhere. He loved the lifestyle,’ his mother Kerry said.
The Feinstein family has spent a lot of time in nature and has enjoyed an active lifestyle in Colorado. Pictured from left to right are Andy, Nick, Rachel, and Kerry Feinstein.
In addition to his parents, Nick is survived by his younger sister, Rachel, with whom he was close.
Nick had accepted a graduate job in finance in Denver, Colorado, where he was excited to live with his friends and spend his free time skiing and climbing.
Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, near where Andy and Nick were skiing on the Saturday before the avalanche.
The Feinsteins are an extremely outdoorsy clan, enjoying skiing, hiking, camping, and fishing. Nick and his parents were also avid climbers, each vowing to summit Colorado’s 54 mountain peaks that are over 14,000 feet above sea level.
As of 2022, Nick had climbed 25 of them.
His father now says: ‘I’ll climb the ones he didn’t climb.’
In addition to his parents, Nick is survived by his younger sister, Rachel, who called Nick “the best big brother and role model.”
“He taught me everything I know, really, about growing up,” Rachel continued.
“He was honest with me all the time, even when I didn’t want him to be. I really want to emphasize not only what a good person he was, but what a good brother he was. I will always learn from him,’ she said.