BY TERRY SMITH
A 24-year-old Bellevue man died Saturday, April 16, at St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center after crashing a “speed wing,” a device similar to a paraglider, on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain near Ketchum.
The Blaine County Coroner’s Office identified the man as Jordan Niedrich. Coroner Russ Mikel said Niedrich died of “multiple trauma from the fall that he suffered.”
The City of Ketchum, reporting on behalf of the Ketchum Fire Department, stated in a press release that the accident occurred at about 10:30 a.m., when Niedrich crashed on the Upper Greyhawk ski run. Sun Valley Ski Patrolmen transferred Niedrich by toboggan to the Greyhawk parking lot, where he was transferred to Ketchum Fire Department ambulance.
The city reported that “paramedics and emergency medical technicians attempted to resuscitate the patient while transporting him” to St. Luke’s, where he arrived at 11:24 a.m. Niedrich died later that day.
Niedrich was an avid speed flyer and had to be rescued in 2013 after he crashed on Lookout Mountain south of Bellevue. He was born and raised in the Wood River Valley.
Speed flying differs from paragliding, from the design of the device to the purpose of the flight. Speed flyers are attempting a rapid descent from a high altitude, staying close to the mountainside, while paragliders use wind currents to obtain altitude for extended time and distance aloft.
A memorial service for Niedrich was held by friends and family on top of Bald Mountain Sunday afternoon. Attendees then skied en masse down the Warm Springs side of the mountain.
A viewing is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. on Friday at Wood River Chapel at 403 North Main Street in Hailey. Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 821 Broadford Road in Hailey. There will be a viewing at the church prior to the funeral from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
A GofundMe account has been set up at www.gofundme.com/e6zkam9g to help the family with medical and funeral expenses.