If I should die while climbing...

If I should die while climbing please do not hesitate to discuss the incident and assess every element with a view to furthering your understanding of how to enhance climbing safety.

If I should die while climbing, get the facts. They won't be readily available and will definitely not be correct as reported by the media. But get the facts as best you can.

If I should die while climbing- understand, as I already do, that it will most likely involve fault on my part to some degree or another so do not hesitate to point that out.

If I should die while climbing, some of the fault might belong to my partner, and that needs to be honestly assessed as well though I must admit this is one area where I hope that compassion will be in the mix.

If I should die while climbing, there might be those who try to squelch discussion out of a misplaced notion of respect for the deceased, family and friends. They can say nice things about me at my funeral... but in the climbing community I want the incident discussed.

If I should die while climbing at least I didn't die from cancer, or some other bulls#$t disease.

-Anon

Climb safe.

Woah, I echo that.

Amen to that!

A little cryptic, but true.

There's a guy in Twin Falls, ID that teaches BASE jumping classes and the first thing the does is have his students write a "So I died BASE jumping.." letter to family and friends.

One of the points he makes is that he doesn't want a BASE jumping death to cause closers to one or more of the few features that are still open to BASE jumping.

I thought it was a great idea and wrote two letters of my own:
1) So I died climbing while tied into a rope
2) So I died climbing while not tied into a rope (because I do some soloing now and then)

More than absolving anyone else of any potential guilt, it really got me thinking about my own mortality (which I think is a good thing, even at only 28 y.o.)

When someone dies climbing, it seems, the non-climbers in their life have the mentality of "what a stupid way to die." They don't necessarily see that climbing/mountaineering gave the hypothetical, now-deceased climber immeasurable pleasure throughout their life. If I die climbing, I want to my parents, relatives, and "civilian" friends to understand that climbing was so important to me that I still pursued it knowing that it might take my life one day, and that I wouldn't have it any other way.

The letters really got me thinking about a lot of aspects surrounding climbing and I'm really glad I wrote them. I urge anyone else who spends a lot of time in the vertical plane to write one, even if you don't pass it along to someone.

--Marc

Don't ever let some city slicker gumby dumbass bunker butt buddies pull my carcass out.

John,

If you should die while climbing, can I have dibs on your gear?

John wrote: If I should die while climbing...it would be a wasted life.

WTF is going on here...

John you going on some Waterman death march with some bacon and flour???

If you should die climbing only your family will care, not a bunch of internet hacks like us.

Seriously, this sounds like some ominous cry for help.

We all fuqin die yo, how is inconsequential in the end.

I always say, the best way to go is doing something you love. I believe that even the civilians in our lives understand our love for it.

Dont die yet, we have more to climb.

Great post, morbid, but great.
This reminds me of an old climbing film I have of Jeff Lowe and Mark Wilford trying to climb the Moose's Tooth.
Wilford, the young apprentice, laments that he wants to die in the mountains doing something he loves.
Lowe, the seasoned veteran, says that he would hate to die in the mountains because that means he fuct'd up somehow.
I just don't want my last words to be "Oh Shit, that was stupid."

What's the difference between golfing and climbing?

A golfer goes: Whack, "Shit!"
A climber goes: "Shit!" Whack.