Katherine Clarke, 39, and three other skiers died in the avalanche at the Courmayeur resort in the Italian Alps. Photo / supplied
Katherine Clarke, 39, and three other skiers died in the avalanche at the Courmayeur resort in the Italian Alps. Photo / supplied
The former Dunedin woman killed in an avalanche in the Italian Alps was an "amazing mum" who was completely devoted to her 2-year-old daughter.
Katherine Clarke, who had been working as a corporate lawyer at Barclays Bank in London, was yesterday confirmed to be among four people killed after being engulfed and buried under 1.8m of snow near Courmayeur.
Her husband, Jim Clarke-Sullivan, said that words couldn't describe the "loss we feel after Sunday's accident".
"Katherine was an amazing mother who loved our daughter, Isla, very deeply and was completely devoted to her," Clarke-Sullivan said.
"We enjoyed 14 years together and were looking forward to celebrating our ninth wedding anniversary on Wednesday.
"I have so many stories to tell Isla about her mum, who was always brave, always calm, bright and happy. Katherine had an adventurous spirit which found its home in the mountains. She was a very experienced backcountry skier and climber, tackling mountains all over the world, including becoming the first New Zealand woman to have climbed and skied the three highest peaks in Greenland."
Katherine Clarke was a keen backcountry skier and climber and died doing what she loved, her husband Jim said. Photo / supplied
Clarke-Sullivan said his wife died doing what she loved.
"She was always meticulous and careful in everything she did, and though she was killed in a tragic accident, it was doing something that she loved. She also loved her career and was very close to her team, many of whom were friends and were with her in the Alps. She will be missed beyond words."
Her Dunedin mother-in-law, Jill Sullivan, last night told the Otago Daily Times that her death was "gut-wrenching".
"It's gut-wrenching. It's one of those things where you hold yourself together ... or you are absolutely weeping, thinking about a little motherless girl."
Clarke was on a skiing trip with a group of Barclays colleagues when the accident happened. Initial information suggested she and a colleague — both more experienced skiers — had gone off-piste and into territory where a thick layer of fresh snow was sitting on top of ice, before being caught in the avalanche, Jill Sullivan said. The alarm was raised on Sunday, when Clarke failed to turn up to fly back to London.
Katherine Clarke, 39, and three other skiers died in the avalanche at the Courmayeur resort in the Italian Alps. Efforts to recover the bodies were hampered by extremely steep terrain and the risk of further avalanches.
Her body, with those of her colleague and two other unrelated people also caught in the avalanche, was finally recovered yesterday.
Clarke was raised on a farm near Balclutha before going to school in Dunedin and studying at the University of Otago. She graduated with a BA in history, with first class honours, and a law degree before working at Chapman Tripp in Wellington, where she met her "soul-mate" Jim.
The pair moved to Abu Dhabi in 2010, and later to London, where they worked for Barclays while enjoying an adventurous life of travel, Jill Sullivan said.
Clarke's immediate family were last night on their way to London, where arrangements were being made to bring her body from Italy.
