SALT LAKE CITY — Winslow Passey remembers the exact moment she met her husband, Todd Passey.
“He had this bandana on and this kind of wild hair and just blowing in the wind and...just this air of freedom,” she said. "Immediately like, yeah, I like this guy.”
As they say, the rest is history: together they had their son Bodhi, and as a family, you could pretty much find them anywhere in the mountains.
“He always was willing to teach people and take people places that they couldn't go on their own, and people felt safe with him,” Winslow said. "They would often become lifelong clients.”
Todd worked at Wasatch Mountain Guides and started two guide businesses. His impact was felt around the world because Silvia Vasquez-Lavado remembers Todd being her guide.
“I really trusted my life being with him when doing some of these things that were very edgy. I had zero doubts, he not only had the knowledge, he had the way of interacting, and just-it felt like this very safe brother that you could be around,” she said.
Todd guided all seven summits, and even did Mt. Everest twice. However, everything changed when he decided to take a trip to ski the Chilean Volcanoes.
“He carries an inReach device. and I got a message that it had been activated, and in my mind, I thought, okay, well, if Todd activated it, then he's probably alive,” Winslow said. "The other guide found it lying in the snow on his way to go find Todd, and activated it.”
Todd had an accident and never made it home.
“He said it looked like something happened with his binding, and he went forward, and his ski popped off, and it was so firm that he couldn't stop,” Winslow said. "I was just like no, for 25 years he's always come home, so it's just, it's devastating.”
With a now gaping hole in their family, Winslow has to navigate life with her now 13-year-old son Bodhi using the bravery Todd taught her.
“You and I are going to find a way. Dad taught us that,” Winslow said. "What he leaves behind is this idea that we're capable of more than we think we are, that we can do hard things, that we can make it.”
Erik Fullmer with Wasatch Mountain Guides sent the following statement to FOX 13 News:
"Todd showed many guides the possibilities of human powered skiing in an area dominated by helicopters. On this trip in 2024 he let me shadow and learn while I prepped for an AMGA ski exam. This mentorship was crucial for my achievements and current/future work. And Valdez has taken up a very special section of my heart, especially now. I intend on showing many clients, friends, and mentees the footsteps Todd once showed me.
I don't know what we'll do without Todd at Wasatch Mountain Guides. There's no replacement, just adapting. I know we'll all hold on to his mentorship, lessons learned, and fun-times had.
I owe a lot to Todd. It won't ever be hard to honor his memory.
To his grit, to his humor, to his honesty (albeit gruff at times ), to his family that he cherished, to his skills, to his love of the mountains...to the man who is now Legend. To Todd.”
The family’s GoFundMe can be found here.
