Family tragedy turns message into business

By GREG JOHNSON

Frontiersman.com

PALMER — Aedene Arthur remembers March 21, 1999, like it was yesterday. That’s the day she received the telephone call any parent dreads — her son was caught in an avalanche and was missing.

Aaron Joseph Arthur and five others died that day after being caught in a large avalanche at Turnagain Pass. And while the bodies of the other five were recovered within days of the accident, the remains of Arthur’s son weren’t found for nearly two months.

It’s an experience Arthur said she relives and that has helped fuel her new business venture — Alaska Survival Gear. By selling avalanche and other outdoor survival gear, the Valley resident hopes to help others become more aware of the importance of being prepared for anything.

Especially in Alaska.

“Before (Aaron) died, I had zero awareness of avalanches,” she said Saturday from her table at the 45th annual Palmer Lions Club Gun Show at Raven Hall at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. “Most of our time (in Alaska) was out in the Bush teaching along what was flat, along the Yukon River and Bristol Bay. I never paid attention to anything about that. But after he died, I became a teacher (of avalanche safety).”

It wasn’t until more recently that Arthur decided to craft a business around her safety message. She was receiving dialysis for failed kidneys — something she’s been battling for the past couple of years — when she saw an ad on television.

“I was actually sitting in my dialysis chair watching television and there was a show there about how to make money,” she said. “I thought this would be good for my granddaughter, so I ordered the books.”

When her granddaughter wasn’t interested, she used the information herself.

The company contacted her with several options to run a web-based business, but nothing rang a bell until she heard the words “survival gear.”

“I like the sound of selling survival and emergency gear, because that resonates with me,” she said. “This is all stuff people should have, it should be an essential thing in everybody’s home and car and to take into the backcountry. This is Alaska; you should be prepared. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a big earthquake, but we could have one today.”

In addition to trying to make some money, Arthur said her hopes for the business also is to give back to her community. She’s donating 10 percent of profits made at this weekend’s Lions Club show to charity, and said her son’s story also has benefits for her customers. In recognition of Aaron, one of her suppliers, Ortovox, sells her two of its popular locator beacon devices at a discount, which allows her to sell them for significantly less than other retailers.

Arthur also said she’s surprised with how unprepared many Alaskans are, even those who know they need survival gear, but just — for whatever reason — don’t have it.

“I’d say probably 90 percent of people don’t have the basic stuff they need,” she said. “Even today sitting here, people are going by and I’m asking if they have the proper equipment, and most say no.”

In addition to making a living, Arthur said one of her goals is to help raise awareness of how dangerous Alaska’s backcountry can be. She also doesn’t want another mother to receive the same phone call she did without knowing their loved ones and those with them are as prepared as possible.

“That’s just horrible,” she said. “I’ve gotten lots of calls from people who have someone lost and they need help with what to do.”

By that time, however, it’s usually too late, Arthur said.

“Even when I ask people what they would do if their utilities were down for several days and they needed a solution for sanitation issues, especially using a toilet, most just shake their heads and say they don’t want to worry about it,” she said.

Those who want to worry about it can visit Arthur’s online store at alaskasurvivalgear.com or call her at (855) 548-4327.

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.