Andrew Slater

Andrew "Drew" Slater, 44, scientist, adventurer, and friend to many, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes at his home in Boulder in the beginning of September. Drew spent his formative years in Sydney, Australia. He was a key member of the Macquarie University mountaineering society, leading hiking, climbing, and backcountry skiing expeditions in the Blue and Snowy Mountains. He also spent summers as a climbing bum in Mt Cook, New Zealand. In 1997, Drew arrived in Boulder for graduate school at the University of Colorado, where he received his PhD in 2003. Since then, he has been a prominent research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). A king of adventure, with legs like tree trunks, Drew was a superb backcountry skier, cyclist (as long as the road wasn't dirt!), climber, and hiker. He schralped the gnar. Drew appreciated good-natured ribbing. For his 30th birthday, his friends gave him an inflatable sheep, Flossie, which subsequently became his (and everyone else's) most beloved travel companion. Together, they sought out snow in all corners of the planet, from Patagonia to Siberia to Alaska to Antarctica, and Drew enjoyed documenting their travels with pictures. The life of the dinner party, Drew was always ready with a quip, often in Ukrainian, an impressive set of arcane facts, and a laugh that filled the room (and several adjacent rooms). He drank fine wine, but he was just as happy drinking beer with friends, though he would not suffer PBR. A complete scientist, Drew was a theorist, a modeler, and an experimentalist, equally happy sparring with fellow scientists at a meeting, writing Fortran model code on his Linux workstation, or peering through binoculars for polar bears on a Russian icebreaker. He enjoyed visiting elementary schools, describing to children the fragility of the Arctic permafrost, then entertaining questions about his funny accent and whether Australians have air conditioning. Drew is survived by his sister Larissa, brother-in law, Theo, his niece and nephews, Stephanie, Peter, and Alexander , his uncle, Myrick, and by hundreds of friends in Boulder and all over the world. We were lucky to be his friends, and we miss him dearly. A celebration in honor of Drew will be held at the NCAR Mesa Lab Tree Plaza at 11am on October 15, 2016. Friends and colleagues are encouraged to visit Drew's memorial website, http://www.forevermiss ed.com/andrew-slater . In lieu of flowers or gifts, contributions may be made to the Andrew Slater memorial fund https://www.youcaring.com/drewslater_saveoursnow_memorialfund , which will be put towards the production and installation of a memorial ski bench and to support the "Protect our Winters" organization.