Thredbo survivor Stuart Diver believes it's futile to look at life in any other light than positive and is intent on gifting his young daughter the "tools" to cope with trauma.
Mr Diver, 47, has revealed his struggle to accept the cancer diagnosis given to his second wife, Rosanna Cossettini, a week after they returned from their honeymoon.
"Pre-grieving for your wife, not knowing when she's going to die, is brutally brutally hard," he told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes on Sunday.
In one of the most candid interviews he has given following the 1997 disaster that claimed 18 lives, including his first wife Sally's, Mr Diver opened up about a conscious decision to stay positive.
"Everyone feels anger at something, but it comes back to how you deal with it," he said.
Now raising his young daughter as a single parent, Mr Diver is intent on instilling the same stoicism in Alessia.
"I'm definitely going to give her the tools to make sure that if anything big does happen in her life - and even if something small happens in her life - she's got the ability to deal with it," he said.
Mr Diver also revealed the dark places his mind ventured when he endured an agonising 54 hours entombed in debris when two ski lodges were crushed by a landslide at Thredbo in July 1997. Even when rescuers heard his cries for help, it was a further 11 hours before he was freed.
He considered attempting to take his own life, but had no means to.
"The human mind's an amazing thing and it just turned it around and said 'you're not ready to go'," he recalled.
Mr Diver, who is now second-in-charge at Thredbo, said it was important to acknowledge emotional lows and seek help, but encouraged those facing hardship or trauma to go to bed at night with a positive mindset for the days to follow.
"You can't look at life any other way," he said.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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