Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Family Says Doctor Killed on Baker Did Not Ski Off Cliff

Dr. Keith Hardy, who practiced at Kirkland's Evergreen Sport & Spine Center, was killed in the accident on Friday.

 

UPDATE, June 19, 1:30 p.m.: A source close to the family of Dr. Keith Hardy, killed in a skiing accident on Mount Baker Friday, tells Kirkland Patch the family would like to clarify the circumstances of the incident.

Hardy, a physician at Kirkland's Evergreen Sport and and Spine Center, fell off a cliff at the base of the Coleman Glacier Headwall after climbing to the summit of 10,781-foot Baker. Some media reports have said that he skied off the headwall or cliff. But according to the family, members of the party say that while skiing down the mountain, Hardy fell above the cliff and could not arrest his slide.

Hardy was an experienced climber and skier who took the necessary safety precautions in his outdoors adventures, the family says.

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Original story:

The victim of a fatal skiing accident on Mount Baker Friday has been identified as a Kirkland physician who practiced at , Dr. Keith Hardy.

Hardy, 34, had reportedly just climbed to the top of 10,781-foot Mount Baker and was skiing down the mountain when he accidentally went off a cliff at the 9,000-foot level, according to a report on KOMO television.

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

EvergreenHealth confirmed Monday morning that Hardy practiced there. He was an avid skier and outdoorsman, who also practiced at Northwest Spine and Sports Physicians in Bellevue. His bio there indicated he also served as team physician for the University of Washington lacrosse team and the Sammamish High School football team.

KOMO quoted a statement released by Hardy family: "We are deeply grieved by our loss. Keith was a wonderful husband, father, physician, and friend. He lived his life with purpose and passion. We know all those whose lives he touched will miss him dearly."

Search and rescue teams have been turned back by weather in attempting to recover Hardy’s body and are waiting for conditions to improve.

KOMO also quoted a colleague of Hardy’s as saying the doctor was passionate about sports, and that carried over into his career.

“He was passionate about it and loved to do it," said Hardy's friend, Dr. Andrew Lynch. "He should be remembered from a professional standpoint as a great doctor and a rising star in our field, because he was."

For the KOMO story, click here. For a clip of Hardy's work at EvergreenHealth, see the You Tube video attached to this story.


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