David (Dave) Northwall Betts died suddenly from natural causes on May 31, 2021, at his home in his beloved Methow Valley. Dave chose to make the Methow his home after growing up in Bellevue, Washington. He graduated from Bellevue High School in 1990, then took a year to live and study in Denmark before heading to Whittier College in Los Angeles.
After earning his BA in political science, he moved back to Seattle and worked in advertising. He made many lifetime friends with colleagues in advertising, especially those who shared his passion for the outdoors. In 2007, he decided to leave the big city behind and moved to the Methow Valley to become an Outward Bound instructor and to rock climb, hike, bike, summit mountains, and snowboard to his heart’s content. He spent multiple summers as an Outward Bound instructor and enjoyed not only imparting life lessons to his students but also learning from them as well, especially his U.S. Veteran students.
Dave also served as the jack-of-all-trades manager of North Cascades Heli for 12 years, where he applied both his marketing and business smarts and enjoyed the perk of occasionally filling an empty heli seat to ride pristine slopes high in the North Cascades. In 2018, he achieved a dream of becoming the general manager of Loup Loup Ski Bowl, where he dedicated himself to providing a safe and fun place for people to enjoy snow sports, particularly during the 2020-21 COVID pandemic winter season.
Throughout his life, Dave made many good friends and was well known for his witty sense of humor, sharp intellect, and a sometimes gruff exterior that couldn’t hide his huge, compassionate heart. He was completely loyal and generous to his family and friends and made this world a better place. Dave is survived by his parents, Robert and Susan Betts of Bellevue, his brother Andrew (Marta) of Portland, Oregon, sister Megan Betts Russell (Craig) of Seattle, his ex-wife and life-long friend, Shelli Claire Criner, and two nieces and two nephews. We will deeply miss him and will always find his spirit “in the thousand winds that blow and the diamond glints on snow.” May he rest in peace.
