Dear Editor,

No one really knows what today or tomorrow will bring. In a moment everything can change. That’s what happened up at the Paradise Basin recently.

I was not there, but I consider myself very privileged to work with some of those who were there that day and count them as my friends.

As the community tries to make sense of what has been written online and then quoted in the local newspaper, I suggest it’s appropriate to focus on some absolute truths arising from the incident. These are those truths: firstly, everything we take for granted can change in a moment and the smallest decisions can have big consequences.

We all know that; we all live and play in the mountains. It’s the nature of the beast.

Secondly, this community has every reason to be beyond proud of the absolutely incredible efforts, skills and training and clear-headed thinking of some pretty amazing local people, from three different companies, who instantly gelled their resources and abilities into life-saving super-smooth teamwork under the realities of great stress, personal emotion and very challenging conditions.  If you know who they are, just give them a hug and a big pat on the back. A job well done, people, very well done indeed!

Thirdly, this is a community of mountain people and it is tight, maybe two degrees of separation at most. When the need arises, people are there for each other in a way that is very special, amazing to watch and incredible to feel. It’s a powerful love, no more, no less. And it’s real.

Chris Conway, Radium Hot Springs