Adirondack Sports June 2024

Matt Primomo
By Gene Primomo
My nephew, Matt Primomo, fell and
died while rock climbing near his
home in Leavenworth, Washington on
March 7, 2024. Matt, 40, is survived by
his wife, Stella, 18-month-old son Milo,
parents Bill and Linda, and sister Kara.
Matt was my brother Bill’s only son.
The shock and grief that everyone who
knew Matt is only tempered by the shared
memories of Matt and all the lives he
touched. I wish to share these thoughts
with my friends and the outdoor community
because many of you embrace
Matt’s love of the outdoors coupled with
the need to challenge yourself daily both
physically and mentally.
During our Capital Bicycle Racing
Club group rides I would reminisce about
Matt’s life journey and accomplishments.
Many of us vicariously lived through him
to stoke that part of us that craves adventure,
challenge and the wonder of nature.
Matt was a world-class climber, guide
and avalanche forecaster, nevertheless he
remained humble and always took joy in
sharing his knowledge and love of nature
with everyone regardless of their skill or
fitness level.
Since Matt was a young boy, he wanted
to get out and slide down mountains.
One day while snowshoeing up the Long
Path above Thatcher State Park we came
upon Matt, a highschooler at the time,
alone packing snow on a snowboard
jump. What struck me at the time was he
was alone. Not because he didn’t have
good friends, he had many, but because
it reflected his interest in snow and how it
relates to elevation. Looking back, it was
just a foreshadowing of how that passion
would lead him on his life’s journey finding
bigger mountains and learning about
snow and how it changes.
Professionally, Matt reached the pinnacle
of his career before he hit his 40th
year. He taught and lectured on avalanche
safety in English and Spanish in North and
South America. He professionally guided
the highest peaks in North America and
the challenging rivers in the American
West and on the Amazon River. Despite
our distance from each other during his
adult life I was fortunate to have him guide
me (with ropes) up the Trap Dike to the
summit of Mount Colvin, ice climb Chapel
Pond in Keene, and snowshoe peaks overlooking
Lake Tahoe.
My cycling experience with Matt was
during one of his visits back to the Capital
Region when he wanted me to take him on
a road bike ride for some exercise. It happened
to be the day before the Quabbin
Road Race so I figured it would be mellow
as he only played around on a clunky
mountain bike and used it for transportation.
After a while at an average speed
of 17-19 mph he said, “Hey Uncle Bud,
should I use the big ring?” I said, “No!” He
ignored me so my pre-race ride turned into
a 30-mile race when Matt’s incredible athleticism
collided with a fit old man’s pride.
I was anticipating that my upcoming
retirement would include joining Matt
and Milo, along with my grandchildren, on
some of their father-son adventures wherever
and whenever we could. That opportunity
is gone, and the reality of that thought
will haunt me for the rest of my days.
We are thankful Stella and Milo have a
fantastic support system and it will be up to
us to make sure Matt’s presence is passed
onto Milo and everyone that remains.
Originally from Delmar, Matt worked
as an avalanche forecaster with the
Northwest Avalanche Center since 2017,
where he wrote avalanche advisories for
the Cascade Mountains. He previously
worked as an avalanche forecaster in
Utah, Colorado and Chile. In the summer,
he worked as a mountain guide with the
Northwest Mountain School and Exum
Mountain Guides, and was described as
a “beacon of strength, wisdom, and kindness
within the mountain community,
touching countless lives with his expertise
and compassion.”
From an early age, Matt took an interest
in snow, its movement and snowsports.
In ski club at Bethlehem High School, he
went to the Lake Tahoe, Kirkwood and
Mammoth area. It was the first time he
had seen high altitude mountains, blue
skies and powder. He studied Outdoor
Recreation Leadership. In his second winter
there, he and his friend went to ski a
nearby 13,000’ peak. It was wind scoured
and the snow looked a little funky. They
walked on rock along the ridgeline to the
top and put on their snowboards. It felt
strange so he jumped on the very top of
the snow and the whole gully collapsed,
fractured out, and slid. It was a D3 avalanche
with van-sized blocky chunks in
the debris. He reported it to the local avalanche
center and from there he knew he
wanted to learn more. Matt started to go
to the local avalanche center’s snow and
avalanche workshops.
He became interested in climate,
climate change, and meteorology,
and moved back to Colorado to study
Geography. During that time, he worked
with the Colorado Avalanche Information
Center and started guiding on Mount
Rainier with RMI Expeditions. After
school, he was sort of a ski bum and guide,
and took an opportunity to learn Spanish
and do avalanche forecasting in Chile. He
worked in South America for a total of five
seasons. After that, he moved to Park City
TRIBUTE
and was ski guiding and teaching avalanche
courses and making pizzas. The
next year he joined the Utah DOT doing
avalanche control. That’s where he met his
wife at Alta Ski Area. They really enjoyed
Utah but wanted to live in a smaller community
within the mountains so moved to
Leavenworth, Washington in 2017.
Matt started working as an Avalanche
Control Specialist with WSDOT on
Stevens Pass, then started working at
Northwest Avalanche Center. He would
always recognize the proud heritage of
the Yakama, Chinook and Wenatchi tribes
when publicly speaking. This team was
incredibly positive, he was stoked to be
a part of the culture, making a lot of cool
changes in the industry. Matt was personally
and professionally thriving.
Matt’s own words leave us with a life
lesson on how to go on with our him in our
lives – Unfortunately, I have lost some of
these colleagues and friends through accidents.
These have been seminal events that
changed the way we operate. We experience
these things, and they weigh on us and
they weigh on me. I’ve certainly struggled
with it, so it’s not only OK but recommended
to seek out therapy after going
through an accident like this. I can
also say that it’s important to know
that we are honoring our lost colleagues
because we’ve learned from
these hard lessons. However, it’s up
to us to keep them in place every time
we go out in the field, we you know
it’s important that we remember
and that we honor our lost heroes
in some way shape or form. –
Matt Primomo, Avalanche Hour
Podcast, 2021
“Matt, we honor you” –
Uncle Bud
A Celebration of Life for
Matt Primomo is taking place
at our home at 51 Sunset
Drive, Delmar on Saturday,
June 22 from 12-4pm with
toasts to Matt’s memory at
2pm. Food and beverages
will be served. All are welcome.
If you would like to
help support Matt’s son, Milo,
please consider a contribution
to Milo’s Investment
Fund: Venmo “Milo Fund” or
checks payable to “National
Financial Services” (Memo:
“FBO Milo Primomo”) can
be mailed to Bryant Asset
Mgmt., Attn: Reid Prinzo,
1280 New Scotland Rd,
Slingerlands, NY 12159.
Gene Primomo (gene.primomo51@gmail.
com) is an assistant federal public defender. He
serves on the boards of Capital Bicycle Racing
JUNE 2024 47
PTARMIGAN
TRAVERSE,
CASCADES,
JUNE 2018.
STELLA DAY
STELLA, MATT
AND MILO.
TEACHING AN
AVALANCHE
COURSE,
CHILE, 2014.
Club, Capital Trail Alliance, and Bethlehem
Youth Court. Gene and his wife Carroll have
three daughters and six grandchildren that
live only a short bike ride away.