BY KAREN BOSSICK
One of Sun Valley’s most enthusiastic skiers lost his life Monday morning on a powder day.
Tom Heinrich, 77, died Monday morning after falling while skiing an off-piste run the locals call Birthday Bowl.
Sun Valley ski patrollers were dispatched just after 10:30 a.m. to a downed skier on the slope which takes off on skier’s right between the end of Lower College and Sunset Strip cat track.
Patrollers began resuscitation efforts after finding Heinrich unresponsive. They then transported him to the River Run patio where the Ketchum Fire Department transported him to St. Luke’s Wood River hospital. He was pronounced dead just before noon.
Rumors immediately circulated that a skier had been caught in an avalanche but there was no evidence of an avalanche. A friend said Heinrich appeared to lose a ski and catapult head first into deep snow where a friend dug him out immediately.
Barrett Molter, who worked with Heinrich, said he understood that the possibility that Heinrich had a heart attack was being considered.
Sun Valley had picked up more than two feet of snow since Friday afternoon, and skiers were celebrating 10 inches of new powder overnight with snow coming up to the thigh of a 5-foot-5 skier who skied in that area just before Heinrich was believed to have dived in.
A native of Minnesota, Heinrich moved to Sun Valley in 1971 for a winter to ski. He quickly became hooked on Sun Valley’s four seasons, its surrounding mountains, Sun Valley’s cultural opportunities and its downhill and Nordic skiing, four golf courses, mountain biking and road cycling and fly fishing.
He initially found work as a door man at the Sun Valley Lodge and as a waiter in the Lodge Dining Room. He became a licensed full time Realtor in 1984, presiding over Associated Brokers of Sun Valley until he sold it to the luxury real estate firm Sotheby’s in 2019.
He was associated with Sun Valley Real Estate, a Christie’s affiliation, at the time of his death.
His portfolio included the Thunder Springs development near Zenergy Health Club and Bigwood Golf Course.
He served as past president and board member of the Sun Valley Board of Realtors, past board member of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony and the Ketchum/Sun Valley Historical Society and Ski Museum. More recently, he served as chair person for the local NPR radio station.
He leaves behind his wife Roberta and daughter Merrill.
“He was a pretty amazing guy,” said Molter. “He loved to ski. I’d hear him snap on his ski boots at 4 p.m. so he could hike up the mountain for an evening run.
“He was great to work with, as he was always in a good mood and easy going,” Molter added. “He was a great realtor, but I’d say topping his list was having fun and recreating.”