Guide Dies on Grand Teton
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Gary is survived by his wife Kate and 2 young sons, there is a Go Fund Me campaign for them started by Tim Walther... Exum is a very small tight knit community and Gary was an Exum veteran, a leader, mentor, husband, and father. Please consider making a donation in support of his sons and wife. Let's send those boys to college! |
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ShireSmitty wrote: ...there is a Go Fund Me campaign for them...Please consider making a donation in support of his sons and wife.Link? |
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Bump to the top for the go fund me |
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Chris Owen wrote:.... I'm hoping we can get something out of this .... Ask yourself if you can die, if the answer is yes, then find a mitigation - no matter how expensive or inconvenient.The word ";mitigation"; still implies some chance of death. We are talking about making a judgment here, one of a continuous stream that mountaineers / alpinists / guides make every day, where very often certainty can never be assured. Perhaps something to get out of this: If absolute certainty is desired, the mountains are not the place to be. Gary, I also choose the mountains. Rest in peace. |
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Bill Lawry wrote: Perhaps something to get out of this: If absolute certainty is desired, the mountains are not the place to be. Gary, I also choose the mountains. Rest in peace.I agree Bill. All the things I value the most in life I had to take a chance on. |
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So sad and unfortunately most likely complacency may be a part of tragedy. |
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Bill Lawry wrote: The word ";mitigation"; still implies some chance of death. We are talking about making a judgment here, one of a continuous stream that mountaineers / alpinists / guides make every day, where very often certainty can never be assured. Perhaps something to get out of this: If absolute certainty is desired, the mountains are not the place to be. Gary, I also choose the mountains. Rest in peace.Mitigation is the reduction of risk, not the complete elimination of it. Working on a way to stay clipped in while freeing a jammed piece of equipment is a textbook mitigation. |
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Gary was an awesome guide, instructor and friend. Remember meeting him for the first time in the Ouray ice park while teaching some beginners how to ice climb. Despite an early start he was already there with his clients and had set up 3-4 ropes. Instead of the usual "I got here first, Im the guide, so beat it" mentality, he was welcoming and offered me his rope to use for my group. The entire time we climbed he was super friendly and positive and we discussed a possible collaboration for him guiding in the Karakoram. |
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Bump it up |
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Chris Owen wrote: Mitigation is ....I understand the definition. |
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Bump |
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A couple of details about the rappel devices: they had brought enough for each climber to have an ATC, but one client turned around early, and the other guide who returned with them had 3, not 2, devices in his pack. So one was lacking. He was offered devices by other guides, plus there were several other ropes available to put in place of the stuck one. We think he tried some other type of mitigation (arm wraps, ???) which obviously failed. |
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Thanks Lynne - and my condolences. |
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Bump |
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Andy Nelson wrote:Bump Gary Falk Memorial Fund After seeing how quickly our community came together to fund rescue efforts for Kyle and Scott - I think we can finish this one off and help reach the goal for Gary's family!Agreed. Bump again. |
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Bumped this. With the "OSHA" thread on here, thought folks should know that the GoFundMe in this thread appears to still be open. |