Corey Borg-Massanari
Obituaries
Vail Daily page A4 - March 18, 2021
For many, the end of ski season signals new beginnings and the start of summer. But for two of Vail Ski Patrol's avalanche rescue dogs, Rocky and Mookie, the end of this season will mean retirement. But before Rocky and Mookie leave the job, the Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation is working to raise funds for their replacements.
The Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation was created in Nov. 2020, following the avalanche-related death of Borg-Massanari after being caught in an in-bounds slide at Taos Ski Valley in Jan. 2019.
The Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation plans to donate one avalanche rescue dog to Taos Ski Valley this year and two to Vail Ski Resort by next year.
"When Corey's accident happened, we knew right away we wanted to do something in his name. Especially for me, I wanted to make sure he wasn't forgotten," said Bobbie Gorron, Corey's mother and the advisor of the Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation. The Foundation's goal is to raise money to support outdoor safety initiatives and organizations for a variety of outdoor sports including skiing, whitewater rafting, mountain biking and more.
Currently, the foundation is focused on raising funds to donate avalanche rescue dogs to Taos Ski Resort and Vail Ski Resort. So far, it has raised enough for Taos and Vail to each receive an avalanche rescue dog, this year and next year, respectively. However, when Gorron learned that two rescue dogs would be retiring from Vail this season, she wanted to launch a final fundraising effort for a second avalanche rescue dog at the resort.
"That's where Corey skied most of the time, that's where Corey's friends still ski, so it just weighed heavily in my mind that they were going to be down a couple dogs," Gorron said.
All donations that the foundation receives from now until March 21 will go toward helping the resort purchase a second dog. In addition, every donation received for the avalanche dog will have a matching donation to the foundation thanks to an anonymous donor.
According to Leland Thompson, Taos Ski Valley ski patroller and owner of the avalanche dog who found Corey, the cost of an avalanche rescue dog can range from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the breeder. Thompson is assisting the foundation with the avalanche dog application process.
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Gorron, as well as Corey's father Mark Massanari and sister, Karlee, will be stationed outside of the Patagonia store in Vail Village from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (weather permitting). Borg-Massanari's friends as well as Vail Ski Patrol and avalanche dogs will join the family at different times throughout the weekend.
Gorron encourages people to stop by to ask questions, learn more about the foundation and about her son. "We just want everyone to know who Corey was," she said.
The foundation already has plans to donate its third grant to the outdoor adventure course at Brainerd High School, which Borg-Massanari attended, and will use its fourth grant to provide resources to the Central Lake Search and Rescue in Minnesota.
While the foundation will always prioritize skiing and avalanche safety, Gorron said, "We're hoping to branch out more, whether it's to schools or public organizations that work with anything in the outdoors, providing equipment for places and just teaching about safety."
To donate to the foundation (and to an avy dog for Vail), you can donate online at givemn.org/Borg Massanari, send a check to Initiative Foundation, 401 1st St. SE, Little Falls, MN, 56345 with the memo, "Corey Borg-Massanari" or scan the adjacent QR code.
Vail Daily page A3 - January 22, 2019
The family of Corey Borg-Massanari, 22, who was involved in an inbounds avalanche at Taos Ski Valley on Thursday, announced Monday afternoon that he had died at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M.Borg-Massanari is the second fatality reported from the inbounds incident.
Borg-Massanari was born in Pueblo, raised in Minnesota and recently moved to Vail, where he attended Colorado Mountain College and worked at Patagonia in Vail Village and would often go skiing on his lunch break, his family said. During the summer months, he was a zipline tour guide for Zip Adventures at 4 Eagle Ranch.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with financial burdens.
“Our grandson Corey Borg loved the mountains, no matter what season. The mountain took his life unexpected with an avalanche while skiing in New Mexico,” wrote his grandmother Deb Bowers Borg on Facebook on Sunday. “I am so proud of this young man and the impact that he has left on so many lives. You will be missed here on earth but we will all see you later in our journey. Please keep his family in your prayers.”
According to a press release from the resort, an “inbounds avalanche” occurred near Kachina Peak just before noon on Thursday, burying the two skiers near the 12,400-foot peak. The Taos News reports that medical teams had worked to keep Borg-Massanari alive for roughly three days after members of Taos Ski Patrol and volunteers pulled him and another man from the snow. Medics transported the second victim, 26-year-old Matthew Zonghetti, to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, where he died before 5 p.m. on Thursday, hospital CEO Bill Patten told the Taos News.
It is unclear what triggered the avalanche.
“Thank you for helping our family,” the GoFundMe page reads. “My nephew (my sister’s son) Corey Borg was in an avalanche while skiing in New Mexico. We are trying to take financial stress away for the family and allow them to just focus on Corey. We greatly appreciate anything and please continue to pray for everyone.”
In addition to the GoFundMe page, Borg-Massanari signed up to be an organ donor and his family wishes to encourage others to register in honor of Corey at http://www.BeTheGiftToday.com.
“Corey was known for his smile, his quirky sense of humor and his unique sense of style,” his family wrote. “He loved spending time with family and friends, especially his fuzzy dog, Abu. Corey was an experienced and avid skier and loved the outdoors. Corey’s family would like to thank the Taos Ski Valley staff, skiers and volunteers who assisted in the search for their son, and the care given by EMS and helicopter staff.”
Assistant editor Ross Leonhart can be reached at 970-748-2984 and rleonhart@vaildaily.com. Follow him on Instagram at colorado_livin_on_the_hill.
Vail Daily - February 19, 2019
Community to celebrate life of Corey Borg-Massanari on Vail Mountain
Friends and family of Corey Borg-Massanari will gather to celebrate his life on Sunday, February 24 at Eagle's Nest on Vail Mountain. A service will be held at the observation deck overlooking Mount of the Holy Cross at 9 am followed by a reception inside Bistro 14. All are welcome. The Lionshead gondola opens for uploading at 8:30 am.
Borg-Massanari was born September 15, 1996 in Pueblo, CO. After being raised in Brainerd, MN, he moved to Vail to attend Colorado Mountain College in 2016. While a student, he worked at Patagonia in Vail Village and, during the summer, as a guide for Zip Adventures in Wolcott. Borg-Massanari was an avid skier, snowboarder, cyclist, and mechanic. He was known to have a sharp fashion sense, an open enthusiasm for the mountains and new activities, a penchant for conversation, and a gift for connecting with all people. Borg-Massanari passed away January 21, 2019 in Albuquerque, NM.
Celebration of Life
Corey Borg-Massanari
Sunday, February 24, Eagle's Nest
8:30 am – Lionshead Gondola Upload
9 am – Gathering and Remarks – Mt. of the Holy Cross Overlook Deck*
*Dress for outdoor weather and conditions
9:30 am – Reception and Connection – Bistro 14
Vail Daily page A1; A20 - February 23, 2019
Corey Borg-Massanari loved a good adventure. Just days after returning from a ski trip to Whistler Blackcomb last month, the 22-year-old Vail local was off again to explore another mountain, road tripping with some friends to Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico.
"He didn't let life pass him by," his mother, Bobbie Goron, said Thursday, calling from Minnesota. "He was always fishing and hunting in Minnesota, boating, just always doing something. He loved his family, loved his friends, and just lived his life."
That life was cut way too short when Borg-Massanari died Jan. 21 in an Albuquerque hospital from injuries sustained from an in-bounds avalanche at Taos Ski Valley on Jan. 17. Borg-Massanari was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital after being pulled from the slide on 12,400-foot Kachina Peak, which also took the life of 26-year-old Matthew Zonghetti.
After days spent on a ventilator, doctors informed Borg-Massanari's family that there was no detectable brain activity. An organ donor, Borg-Massanari's final act was giving life to others. Hundreds of medical staffers lined the halls at the University of New Mexico Hospital as he was wheeled into his final operation on Monday, Jan. 21.
To celebrate his life, friends and family will gather Sunday morning at 9 a.m. at Eagle’s Nest on Vail Mountain for a service at the observation deck overlooking Mount of the Holy Cross at 9. A reception will follow inside Bistro 14. All are welcome. The Lionshead gondola opens for uploading at 8:30 a.m.
'One of a kind'
Borg-Massanari was born September 15, 1996 in Pueblo, Colorado, but spent most of his adolescence in Brainerd, Minnesota, where he fell in love with hunting, fishing, boating, hockey, and just being outdoors. He wrestled in high school and would come to visit his father, Mark Massanari, in Colorado, during his summers off from school.
After graduation, Borg-Massanari opted to take some time off from school before moving to the Vail Valley in 2016 to live with his dad and attend Colorado Mountain College. He started working at the Patagonia store in Vail Village during the winter and as a guide for Zip Adventures in Wolcott during the summer. And he tried to ski every free minute he had.
"He loved Minnesota, obviously," said Mark Massanari, who works as a plow driver and does road maintenance for the Colorado Department of Transportation. "When he moved out here, he really enjoyed the mountains, especially for skiing. He liked to ice fish and play hockey and snowmobile. He really enjoyed winter sports out in Minnesota. Then coming out to Colorado, the skiing became his passion. In the summer, he got into mountain biking, then he got more into road biking. Then he got a dirt bike."
While Borg-Massanari loved to travel and chase adventure, both of his parents said that he was always cautious.
"Corey is not the type that was a daredevil," Goron said. "He didn't just jump into stuff. He learned everything about it prior to doing it, and he would start out slow. When he was comfortable, then he'd move up a level.”
"He just always took cautions," Mark Massanari said. "He definitely wasn't fly by the seat of your pants. He really wanted to know things, know what he was doing."
Borg-Massanari had just started back up at CMC in January after a break and was taking an avalanche course. His parents had bought him a beacon for his birthday.
"I asked him if he was planning on becoming a ski patroller, and he said, 'No, I just need to be informed,'" Goron said. "When he was going to Whistler, I actually asked him, 'You're taking your beacon, right?'" Goron said. "He laughed at me … like he was embarrassed. Like, mom, you don't wear a beacon at a ski resort. He's like, 'Those are for the backwoods, not when you're inbounds.' And I said, 'Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?'"
'We still had some hope'
Borg-Massanari didn't know Matthew Zonghetti, the 26-year-old man who also died from injuries sustained in the slide at Taos Ski Valley. Chris Bedford, a friend of Liz Matarese, one of Borg-Massanari's friends and coworkers at the Patagonia store in Vail who was on the trip to Taos, was right behind the two men when the slide broke on Kachina Peak, sweeping them both away.
Medics transported Zonghetti, to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, where he died before 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17. Borg was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital, and his father was alerted that his son had been in an avalanche after Borg's Vail friends who were on the trip — Matarese, Caitlin Collins and Hattie Aaron — frantically called CDOT's customer service line.
Mark Massanari then called Goron, who said the rest is a blur.
"I remember screaming and being peeled off the floor," Goron said. "At that point, we knew nothing. We didn't know if he was alive. My coworkers instantly grabbed their phones and my phone and just started making calls and my boss was able to find out at that point that he was on the helicopter on his way to Albuquerque. We knew he was in-flight to there. Instantly, my other boss's wife, the whole staff at my other job was instantly on the phone and they had plane tickets for my daughter and me to fly down."
Mark Massanari, after looking at flights, jumped in the car and sped down to Albuquerque, arriving around 4 in the morning.
"When we first got there, we still had some hope," Goron said. "He was on a ventilator. He was perfect. They had a neck brace on him, just because they didn't know if he had an injury at that point. But overall, the only mark on him was a bruise from the neck brace. Just a small one. He had no cuts, no scrapes, no bruising, no broken bones, no internal damage. He was perfect. That makes it really hard, because when you look at your son, and he is perfect, it's like, how can he not be OK?"
After three days of being kept alive by machines, doctors did their final tests on Borg-Massanari on Sunday, Jan. 20, to determine if there was any brain activity. There wasn't, so the difficult decision was made by his family to say goodbye and let doctors harvest his organs.
"It was something that was important to him," his mother said of Borg-Massanari listing himself as an organ donor. "He made that decision himself."
'The happiest person in the room'
When asked to describe their son, Borg-Massanari's parents spoke of a fun-loving, goofy spirit who "just lights up the room."
"Just a love for life, the outdoors," Mark Massanari said. "He really cared about people. He always wanted people to be happy."
"He's just a fun kid to be around," Goron said. "I could go on for hours. He's got this smile, and he's kinda goofy sometimes. I was really angry one day, and his wrestling coach told me, Corey wouldn't want that. Corey was the one in wrestling practice who whenever somebody got mad, he didn't like that. He wanted everyone to be happy, so he would just tell some stupid joke that made no sense and everybody would laugh and then you move on. He loved his family, he loved his friends, he loved his dog. He just lived life. He didn't let life pass him by."
Goron said everybody “knew the same Corey.”
“He was always true to himself,” she said. “He wasn't different around his parents than he was with friends … He just loved life and loved the adventure. He wasn't the type to sit around and watch life go by him. He wanted to live it and he wanted to have fun doing it.”
That said, there were always fun surprises. Goron laughed when she talked about a last-minute trip that her son took to Washington state.
“One day, I saw a picture on Facebook or Instagram, and I looked at it really weird and I texted him, are you in Washington? He's like, yeah,” she said.
Mark Massanari said Borg, at the urging of a friend, starting studying Catholicism after high school and made the decision to be baptized and confirmed.
“He had a real deep faith,” Mark Massanari said. “He really dove into that. He didn't tell us until he was actually going to get baptized. He did kind of odd things like that, like, oh by the way. Sometimes it would get kinda stressful. Other times we would just laugh.”
Vail Daily Editor Nate Peterson can be reached at npeterson@vaildaily.com
Vail Daily page A3; A14 - November 28, 2020
Corey Borg-Massanari loved dogs and he loved skiing, so it's only fitting that a foundation created in his name will raise funds for outdoor safety with a focus on avalanche dogs.
Borg-Massanari's life was cut way too short when he died Jan. 21, 2019, in an Albuquerque hospital from injuries sustained from an in-bounds avalanche at Taos Ski Valley just days earlier.
The Vail local, who was a fixture on the slopes, had road-tripped with some friends to Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico to explore a new mountain when the slide occurred.
How to donate
The Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation is a partner fund of the Initiative Foundation.
To donate to the foundation, click here or mail a check with a memo of "Corey Borg-Massanari" to: Initiative Foundation, 405 1st St. SE, Little Falls, MN 56345.
"Corey died doing something he loved fiercely — skiing," said Bobbie Gorron, Corey's mother and the advisor of the Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation. "In his memory, we will raise funds to purchase equipment and training for outdoor safety and place avalanche dogs at ski resorts around the country. These incredible animals, along with the ski patrol, work hard to keep skiers and riders safe. We credit the Taos 'avi' dog Izzy with finding Corey after the avalanche."
The foundation aims to fund one avalanche dog for Taos Ski Valley in 2021, and one for Vail in 2022. Both resorts have honored him with permanent features. Taos named a run after him, "She Gone," which is located in the Kachina Bowl. Zip Adventures in Vail, where Borg-Massanari worked, renamed his favorite zipline course, "How Was That," in his honor.
Borg-Massanari also worked at the Patagonia store in Vail Village, and manager Joe Smith built an Adirondack chair etched with his name and presented it at Borg-Massanari's memorial. Now the chair is installed at the Patagonia store and all who knew and loved Corey are invited to swing by and sign it with a permanent marker.
'One of a kind'
Borg-Massanari was born September 15, 1996 in Pueblo, Colorado, but spent most of his adolescence in Brainerd, Minnesota, where he fell in love with hunting, fishing, boating, hockey, and just being outdoors. He would come to visit his father, Mark Massanari, in Colorado, during his summers off from school.
After graduation, Borg-Massanari opted to take some time off from school before moving to the Vail Valley in 2016 to live with his dad and attend Colorado Mountain College. He started working at the Patagonia during the winter and as a guide for Zip Adventures in Wolcott during the summer. And he tried to ski every free minute he had.
The Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation aims to fund one avalanche dog for Taos Ski Valley in 2021, and one for Vail in 2022.
Special to the Daily
"He loved Minnesota, obviously," said Mark Massanari, Borg-Massanari's father, in an interview with the Vail Daily in February 2019. "When he moved out here, he really enjoyed the mountains, especially for skiing. He liked to ice fish and play hockey and snowmobile. He really enjoyed winter sports out in Minnesota. Then coming out to Colorado, the skiing became his passion. In the summer, he got into mountain biking, then he got more into road biking. Then he got a dirt bike."
While Borg-Massanari loved to travel and chase adventure, both of his parents said that he was always cautious.
"Corey is not the type that was a daredevil," Goron said. "He didn't just jump into stuff. He learned everything about it prior to doing it, and he would start out slow. When he was comfortable, then he'd move up a level."
"He just always took cautions," Mark Massanari said. "He definitely wasn't fly by the seat of your pants. He really wanted to know things, know what he was doing."
A lasting legacy
An anonymous donor has committed $20,000 to assist in kicking off the Corey-Borg Massanari Foundation, and another $30,000 in matching donations. Leland Thompson, Taos Ski Valley ski patroller and owner of the avalanche dog who found Corey, will be assisting the family with the avalanche dog application process.
"I'm honored to work with the Corey Borg-Massanari Foundation and keep the celebration of Corey's life and spirit alive," Thompson said in a release announcing the foundation's creation. "We are humbled by the warm, cherished relationship that we have built with Corey's brave family, albeit borne out of tragedy."
