11/04/2023
Michael Pfaff, a 10-year veteran of Jay Peak and, specifically, the perfect pirate to commandeer the Bonaventure Quad for nearly a decade, passed away, suddenly, this weekend-at home with his family close by.
There are no easy tip ins to announcements of this sort. No preceding words that can soften the lead and no graceful way to exit a sentence one prays to never write.
Michael was a force of nature by virtue of his disinterest in being one. He stood both in guard of the Bonnie chair but also as a beacon of welcome to it. Elements and outerwear be damned, he was ready with a host of options; wry smiles, fist bumps, hollers and hoots, cell phone shots and the wiping of kid’s snots. Whatever a guest needed at the time, Mike seemed to have at the ready.
His lack of connection to the sports we provide backdrop for (he neither skied nor snowboarded) underscored, even more, where his real connection came from and was given to; Jay Peak. To his teammates and to his guests. And those connections back to him have come alive in these hours between then and now, in a multitude of ways. In cards and flowers. In images and videos. In kind words and unintended epitaphs. His partner, Sandrick, offered to me directly yesterday morning, “Just please, on his behalf, don’t let anyone f**k up his ramp.” That might not say everything about Mike, but it says an awful lot.
In the days to come we here will celebrate and mourn and grieve and we invite all of you who knew him to do the same, either separately, or with us. A memorial of flowers around the Bonnie is forming so, by all means, drop some by. We’ll also have some things to sign at the loading area for those inclined. Most importantly, a Go Fund Me has started for Sandrick and their daughters who are grieving his loss in ways that are beyond what any of us presently feel, despite our connections to him. If you’re so inclined, that can be found at gofundme.com/michael-pfaff and let me personally thank you, in advance, for anything you can do.
In my role, you hope to have a teammate like Michael come along once in a career and regardless of how long you have them, you try to be thankful for whatever amount of time you have together. I have had the good fortune of being surrounded by people that love each other, their jobs, and the mountain, many times in equal doses and in lines that constantly overlap. Those overlapping loves and lines are all over the place here at Jay Peak and many of them intersect at the Bonnie. You may not see his hatless head, or his waving jolly-roger or hear his short bits of long wisdom the next time you stop by, but you’ll all feel and hear him in the same way we will. We’ll certainly be listening.
Missing you in a long-time way already, Michael.
-Steve
🏴☠️ gofundme.com/michael-pfaff
