Twenty-nine years ago Sunday my sister-in-law, Teeny Jeung, was swept down a snowy mountain outside of Aspen. About twelve experienced cross-country skiers were descending Pearl Pass (12,705') in the Colorado Rockies when the three expert leaders—Teeny, Roy, and John, were caught in a moving wall of snow. Teeny had given her avalanche finder alarm to her boyfriend, Roy, whose body was found within hours. John was found shortly afterwards, too. They all died on January 10th, but even after returning to the site week after week through the winter and spring, the Aspen rescue team, all friends of Teeny's, were unable to find her body until Labor Day, months later.
Pearl Pass
Our family of five took a four-wheel drive over the fourth of July to Pearl Pass and picnicked in the snow. Left were the poles that Aspen rescue used to poke through the enormous drifts remaining from winter. We all tried, poking through the snow in several places, knowing that at any time the poles might strike something solid. No luck.
She was a remarkable, selfless human adventurer who loved others unconditionally. As an ER nurse she had seen her share of human tragedy, and it was fitting that Valley View Hospital named the ER after her. We learned much from the way she lived her thirty-eight years, trying to incorporate her unconditional love with her fearless sense of adventure, remembering her frequently voiced admonition to "not burn daylight." We still miss her dearly, and when January 10th rolls around, we send each other texts or emails, "How're you doing?" Jadyne ignores it, preferring to remember Teeny's October birthday, a day of celebration, not sorrow.
Here we are traipsing across the wildflowers on the 4th of July.
If you look closely, you can see the long poles that "rescuers" use to probe beneath the snow, hoping to find a body. This is how we spent our Fourth of July.
This is how we remember her...
And this...
January 1, 1988.. "Bear", her beloved dog, was alongside her and died, too.
As we left Glenwood Springs January 1st, I asked the three Jeung kids to stand together.
Greg came to Glenwood Springs to stay with Teeny. He lives there now. He found his wonderful kind and loving wife (a woman who never knew Teeny but is her twin in many ways) in Glenwood Springs, meeting her through a letter she had left with the local paper, expressing the collective sorrow that the city felt when Teeny died.
Almost thirty years later she is still remembered and loved in this small western Colorado town. A passenger on Amtrak almost had heart failure a couple of years ago when she saw Jadyne and noticing the family resemblance, thought that Teeny still lived. She was right. She does.