A Durango man died Sunday while backcountry skiing near Red Mountain Pass, according to a news release on Silverton Medical Rescue’s Facebook page.
The man was identified as Michael Goldman, a well-known Durango attorney.
Goldman, 63, became unresponsive while skiing with two close friends in U.S. Basin, southeast of the Red Mountain Pass summit. Deanne Gallegos, spokeswoman for the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management, said a winter rescue team responded to the call.
“The team was deployed and went into the area with snowmobiles, but the Flight For Life helicopter was also able to land close to the area in which the patient was, and was on the scene when they arrived,” Gallegos said.
No avalanche or fall was reported, she said.
When rescuers arrived, they tried to revive Goldman but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead roughly two hours after the initial call, with the cause of death remaining undetermined as of Monday afternoon, Gallegos said.
“(Goldman) was unresponsive when the medical team arrived,” Gallegos said. “They always go above and beyond in performing resuscitation, but unfortunately he continued to be unresponsive and was pronounced deceased at the site.”
Gallegos said Goldman was a well-known community member and that his death comes as a shock. According to a bio on Goldman, Nicholson and Mack Attorneys at Law’s website, Goldman’s practice primarily focused on civil and criminal litigation at state and federal levels.
Lindsey Nicholson, one of Goldman’s partners, said he was an extremely well-respected lawyer in Durango and across the state of Colorado.
“Michael was an incredibly kind and caring person, who gave generously of himself to his clients, friends, co-workers, and the community,” Nicholson wrote in an email to The Durango Herald. “He had incredible integrity and a strong sense of fairness and justice. He was relentlessly optimistic and was always expressing gratitude for his friends and family and the life that he lived here in Durango. He leaves a huge hole in our hearts and in the community at large.”
Goldman briefly served at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office’s Appellate Section before moving to Durango. He also served as a deputy district attorney and assistant district attorney for the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office from 1988 through 1995. In 1995, he left the prosecutor’s office for private practice, though he served as La Plata County’s Attorney from 1995 to 2009.
He was appointed to the district’s Judicial Nominating Commission from 1999 to 2005 and the Governor’s Commission on Civil Justice Reform in 2000. In 2012, he was appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper to the 6th Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission, and served until 2019.
He was also a member of the Southwest Colorado Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Criminal Justice Advisory Act Panel. He served as special council for Durango, town attorney for Bayfield, and provided services to San Juan Basin Public Health, San Juan County and the town of Silverton.
Former Durango attorney David Greenberg said Goldman was a selfless person who always treated people with respect both in his personal and professional interactions.
“(Goldman) took my place in the DA’s office when he started his professional career,” Greenberg said. “He replaced me, and boy, if I could have picked one person to take my place, it would have been him.”
Goldman was involved in a number of community organizations. He was on the board of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. He was also a board member and legal council for Manna soup kitchen and worked with the Adaptive Sports Association.
“He is very embedded in the community, local government as well as stakeholders,” Gallegos said. “Goldman was just such a pillar of the Durango community that this will be one that will throw shock waves through Durango.”
Goldman is survived by his mother, sister, wife, son and brother, Nicholson said.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this story erred in saying Michael Goldman provided legal services to La Plata County Public Health. He provided legal services to San Juan Basin Public Health.
