Snowboarder died at Showdown

my eyes got all watery when i read this, i knew this guy, he was a great guy, and i knew his son to.

the full story appeared in the great falls tribune

Here's a copy of the press release we sent to the papers this morning:

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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHOWDOWN MONTANA SKI AREA, NEIHART, MT
JANUARY 22, 2004

A Great Falls man was found dead in the Little Belt Mountains near Showdown Montana on Wednesday night by Meagher County Search and Rescue volunteers and Showdown Montana Staff.

A car was noticed in the parking lot at Showdown on Wednesday morning, leading Showdown staff to contact the Cascade County Sheriff. The sheriff’s department determined that the car was licensed to Lance Koke of Great Falls. When it was determined that Koke could be missing, the Meagher County Sheriff responded and a search was implemented.

On Tuesday, two backcountry skiers had noticed a snowboard track leaving the Ranch Creek Cross Country Ski Trail approximately two to two and one-half miles from the ski area boundary and descending into the Jumping and Adams Creek drainages.

Employees of Showdown Montana and members of the Great Falls Ski Patrol participated in the search under the direction of the Meagher County Sheriff. Lance Koke’s body was found by Showdown Staff in a heavily wooded area around 8:00 pm on Wednesday night.

Koke was a regular customer at Showdown, and had been a season p@$$ holder for several years. Authorities believe Koke left the ski area sometime on Monday, became lost and moved around in a non-directional manner in the Jumping Creek drainage.

For further information, please contact Rick Seidlitz at the Meagher County Sheriff’s Office at 406-547-3397 or George Willet at Showdown Montana at 406.236.5522.

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Everyone here at Showdown would like to extend our heartfelt sympathy to all of Lance's family, and especially to Dallas. Lance was a regular up here, and we will all miss him.

Showdown Montana