University of Northern Colorado President’s son killed in avalanche

The son of University of Northern Colorado President Andy Feinstein died Saturday in an avalanche near Breckenridge.

A man died after he was caught in an avalanche Saturday while backcountry skiing with his father near Breckenridge, according to Summit County Rescue Group, and a university spokesperson confirmed to the Greeley Tribune that Feinstein and his son, Nick Feinstein, 22, were the skiers involved.

In an interview with the Greeley Tribune, Andy Feinstein said he was buried over his head by the avalanche and didn’t know how he survived.

Nick Feinstein was a graduate of Greeley Central High School and a senior at Penn State University. He and his parents were avid climbers, and they had made a pact to hike up all of Colorado’s mountain peaks more than 14,000 feet above sea level.

As of last summer, Andy Feinstein had climbed 42 of the 58 mountains, his mother Kerry Feinstein climbed 26 and Nick Feinstein climbed 25.

“I will be climbing the ones he didn’t climb,” Andy Feinstein said in the interview.

The family will host a public celebration of Nick’s life at 2 p.m. Jan. 14 in the Campus Commons Multipurpose Room on the UNC campus. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in Nick’s name to an organization called Colorado Fourteeners Initiative at www.14ers.org.

The nonprofit is based in Golden and protects and preserves the natural integrity of Colorado’s 54 14,000-foot peaks through stewardship and public education.

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