San José State alumnus and skier, Colin Kang, was found dead on Thursday Feb. 19 at Northstar California Resort in Truckee, California, after being reported missing Wednesday night. He was 21.
Kang went skiing around noon on Tuesday and was last seen at Northstar Ski Resort around Martis Camp Express, according to a missing person’s poster published on the SJSU Ski and Snowboard Club’s Instagram.
Wade Perry, president of the SJSU Ski and Snowboard club and close friend to Kang, said the tragedy didn’t feel real to him the first few days after Kang’s death.
“I didn’t know what to feel, it happened so all of a sudden,” Perry said. “He just had a great energy, he was always a really fun guy to be around.”
Kang, an employee of Northstar California Resort, was reported missing on Wednesday night around 11 p.m., according to ABC7 News.
SJSU graduate and personal friend to Kang, Sean Malani, expressed how Kang had a joyous energy and really enjoyed his life.
“I think there’s a lot we can learn from him, in the wake of him not being here it’s kind of giving us a chance to realize how valuable our friends and family are in our lives,” Malani said.
The SJSU Ski and Snowboard Club released a statement on its Instagram on Friday regarding Kang’s death.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that our friend and club member, Colin Kang, has unfortunately passed away in a skiing accident,” the club wrote.
A search and rescue team found Kang on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. along the Sugar Pine Glade trail in Northstar, according to the same ABC7 News article.
Malani said a family friend, SJSU fourth-year Kyle Tseng, used his Find My app to see Kang’s last known location, which was revealed to be in the general area of the Martis Camp Express, a ski lift that leads to the area of the Sugar Pine Glade trail, from 17 hours prior.
“I feel like I was really involved beforehand with trying to be a part of the search or putting up information we felt could be important in that process and then we were out with his parents and others from 1 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.,” Malani said.
After a missing person’s report was filed, Malani said Kang’s closest friends gathered at his parent’s house to coordinate with the police in real time.
Malani also said the group was going through the texts last sent to Kang, gathering any information possible. They found that his car had been snowed in from Tuesday night and sent the license plate to police.
Malani said the group began searching for him in the areas where his location was last indicated before police officers started their search.
Kylie O’Shaughnessy, a fifth-year student at SJSU and close friend to Kang, said Kang had this quality where you believe you can do whatever he tells you you can do.
“The first day that I met him, he took me off this crazy cliff. We climbed and had to take off our skis, scramble up some rocks. This was at the top of the mountain, the wind seemed like 90 mph, and I’m just kind of hanging on for dear life,” O’Shaughnessy said. “That was one of the scariest experiences in my life, but I trusted him even though I just met him. He was a motivator. He definitely made me believe I could do a lot more things than I personally believed in myself.”
The SJSU Cycling Club have also made an Instagram post regarding Kang’s death.
“Colin was far more than someone we rode alongside; Colin was a bright light in our team, a source of strength, laughter, and kindness, and someone whose joy made every ride and every moment better,” the club wrote.
Additionally, the university sent a statement to the Spartan Daily regarding Kang.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the graduate’s family, friends, classmates, and all who knew and cared for him,” the statement reads. “We encourage members of our community who may be struggling with this news to seek support through available campus resources. We ask that everyone keep the family and loved ones in their thoughts during this difficult time.”
Malani also shared a memory of a time he had with Kang.
“Me, Wade, Colin and some of the other (SJSU Ski and Snowboarding Club) officers last semester, we came together and helped this local indoor ski company build a pretty big indoor ski ramp and we had a lot of fun doing it,” Malani said. “We were very involved in that process of building and I think that goes to show all of our passions, but especially Colin.”
Perry said it’s important people know how much of a skier Kang really was.
He said Kang’s passion was so great that he was working at two different ski resorts, working on becoming an EMT to one day become a ski patroller and even skiing on his days off.
“Even while he was a full-time student at SJSU in electrical engineering, he finished early and while doing that, he was still employed working at least two days a week on the weekends in Tahoe so he would have an excuse and have the option to go up and ski,” Perry said. “He basically wasn’t even making any money doing it, you know, between the cost of getting up there and finding a place to stay, he was basically breaking even on it. (Skiing) wasn’t a hobby, it was a passion.”
An avalanche in Donner Summit and Castle Peak area near Truckee became one of the deadliest disasters in California history when nine people were killed on Feb. 17, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Tahoe received four to six feet of snow and it creates really hazardous skiing conditions, which means a lot of other resorts have been closed on Tuesday,” Perry said.
A fundraiser in support of Kang’s family on the website GoFundMe has raised over $110,000 at the time of publication.
O’Shaughnessy emphasized that Kang was never reckless, but just passionate about skiing.
“At least he was doing what he loved to do,” Malani said.
