An Idaho emergency room doctor who linked the search for adventure to acts of altruism died Friday in an avalanche he apparently triggered while skiing.
O Sawtooth Avalanche Center reported that a skier was killed Friday while skiing Donaldson Peak in Idaho’s Lost River Range. The Custer County Coroner identified the skier as emergency department physician Dr. Terrence “Terry” O’Connor, according to Idaho Mountain Express.
O’Connor was descending with another experienced skier on Friday when he “triggered and was caught in a small wind avalanche,” the avalanche center said. The slide then triggered a second, even larger avalanche.
His ski partner, who has not been identified, called for help via a satellite communications device before following his path and tracking him down. They dug O’Connor out of the snow and began CPR.
A search and rescue team responded, but O’Connor did not survive the accident, the avalanche center said.
The Idaho EMS Physician Association confirmed his death in the crash in a statement posted to Facebook, saying O’Connor’s loss would be felt throughout the state and region.
“Terry was an exceptional physician and played a pivotal role in the early days of the COVID pandemic, truly demonstrating the public health role of the EMS medical director within a community,” the statement said.
O’Connor worked at St. John’s Medical Center in Ketchum, Idaho, according to the hospital’s website. It presented a blog written about O’Connor in 2021 describing his service to the community during the pandemic.
“I work in a small community, but I feel like I can still help with a global health issue,” O’Connor said at the time.
O’Connor also praised his penchant for altruistic and altruistic acts due to his love of adventure. According to the blog, O’Connor went to Mount Everest three different times, the last of which he managed to summit.
He hosted a podcast called The Adventure Activist, which is described as a place for “meaningful conversations” with guests about how they add value to the world and “do some good with their passion for adventure.”
On a TedxTalk 2017 called “A Life of Adventure: Selfish or Selfless?”, O’Connor said that his dear friend and climbing partner had died two weeks before his expedition in an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies. He questioned why he was looking for such a dangerous summit the entire time he climbed to the top of the mountain, O’Connor said.
Finally reaching the top, O’Connor said he was stunned, but for some reason he suddenly thought about the death of a woman he had met during work he did in Tibet earlier that year. She died from a preventable heart condition that O’Connor said could have been easily treated in a more developed and resourceful country.
His talk focuses on the effect of this admiration, stating that research has indicated a link to altruism.
“We are discovering that awe, like a communal or religious experience, helps us unite with others, motivating us to act collaboratively,” O’Connor said. “And individuals who experience awe more frequently in their daily lives are also more willing to sacrifice themselves and give more resources to others.”
O’Connor said he wants to learn more and hopes others follow in his adventures.
“Whether you feel awe looking at the trees in the night sky or the mountains, these moments will always be oxygen to our souls,” O’Connor said. “I just ask that you remember why you might feel this way.”
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