Paul McElrea was born on February 4, 1969, and grew up in Christchurch. The Ouray County Plaindealer said he was an avid skier from a young age, and visited Queenstown frequently in winter. He was a member of Cragieburn Valley Ski Club and later became a ski patroller at Mt Hutt Ski Area. He enjoyed surfing at local beaches in the summer. McElrea spent two decades working in the ski industry in both the southern and northern hemispheres before meeting his wife in Colorado, the local paper reported. They married in 2006 and built their dream home in Ridgway two years ago, it said.