Lee Hansche - Passion Personified

Instagram Post from Lee’s Page

I never interacted directly with Lee, nor have I climbed any of his routes, but have been reading his MP comments and route descriptions for years. His sincerity, passion, welcoming spirit and love for the sport comes across in droves in all of them. He will be sorely missed.

Lee’s Partner is asking those who have stories of Lee to share on either the linked instagram post or any other medium you’d like to use (like this thread). 

The whole community is devastated by this loss. Lee was a pillar in New Hampshire climbing and his stewardship, friendliness, and psyche touched so many people.

I met Lee in 2002 when we both worked at EMS in Concord. We started discussing this new thing called Mountain Project where you could actually write your own descriptions for routes. It was such a novel idea in the days of printed and Xeroxed guidebooks. Lee's first MP description was in 2007, Centerpiece: 

"This is one of the best routes on this cliff (my personal favorite at the moment). The line is consistently steep and pumpy, but if you get to know it well you can dial it in and avoid the pump. You start up a steep wall with incut holds that are better than they look from the ground. You gain a ledge that's not as good as it looks. Move to the right a little here if this spot is wet. a few slopers lead to a pretty good rest. move back to the left and up good holds to the top. Careful foot work will get you through here if the pump is catching up with you. Top out and do a few easy moves to the anchor."

When I reread the description today, his psyche and helpfulness shine through. And in the intervening years, those traits didn't lessen at all. If anything, they became more-so. Lee and I went on many adventures together and last climbed on May 7th, two weeks before his tragic passing. We teamed up on a new route on a dirty and remote cliff back in the hills of NH. In some ways, it was like 20 years hadn't actually passed: Lee had the same energy and fire for climbing that he had back then. 

I wish I would have known that would be the last day. Lee was like family, and losing him leaves a hole in my heart, as it does for many in the community. 

Climb on, my friend. 

I never climbed with the man, only had a few digital interactions on various messageboards through the years. I think I actually met him at a hardcore show years ago, probably 15 years before I ever started climbing. I don't know if it's a time or place thing, but man this sort of sucks way beyond regular suck

This is horrible news. I didn't know Lee personally but he was clearly a pillar of the New Hampshire/New England climbing community and will be greatly missed. This is a clear example that no aspect of our sport is fully safe, even for the most experienced and competent. RIP.

He will always be remembered. It's too sad to put words to it, but he has left a huge legacy. He is one of the people out there who has made the world a better place than it was before he was in it. 

While I never shared the pleasure of climbing with Lee, he was there for my first experience climbing at Vertical Dreams and taught me and numerous friends how to belay, tie a figure 8, and just offer general advice and conversation about climbing. He provided a pathway into a daunting activity for a newcomer and did it with a warm welcoming smile. I’d often see him coming into ems on my shifts, at rumney, and listened to him on the podcast, his passion and kindness was always present. He had an undeniable impact and presence in the New Hampshire climbing community and far beyond. Rest in Peace to a true legend, climb on 

Lee was a friend and mentor who really shaped climbing for me, my wife, and from all of the memorial posts here and elsewhere, a whole generation or two of New England climbers. He had a truly unique and incredibly effective style of leadership. Lee was so positive, so talented, so friendly and cool, so knowledgable, such a climbing master that all of us wanted to be just a bit like him. To be just a bit better. A few examples:

I first met Lee like so many - when I climbed for the first time at Vertical Dreams back in probably 2005. I was working down the street and several friends and I became regulars. Lee and his staff created such a welcoming atmosphere where beginners were taken seriously. I remember many times when he would sincerely cheer on seemingly lame milestones for me and other learners. First 5.8 top rope indoors - way to go! First ever lead!

Lee really projected a culture of support and stoke that I didn’t fully appreciate until moving home to the Rockies. I thought that was just the climbing community, but New Hampshire’s tight knit feel is special and I believe Lee had a huge influence on developing it. I remember he once told me part of why he loved teaching climbing was that because climbing is individual you are competing only with yourself. So as long as you are challenging yourself a 5.13 climber and a 5.6 climber can share that feeling (if not the pump). That gym enthusiasm wasn’t just for the job, and Lee and many of his circle took it outside. Rumney is the only place I’ve ever seen a whole group of people projecting 5.12 stop to watch and cheer for a first outdoor lead on a 5.5 (my wife and I did ours with Lee). In the west there are more climbers and more gatekeeping.

Lee was always looking out for people and trying to help them be safer and improve skills. I remember him approaching a stranger at Rumney one time who was using an assisted belay device in a very dangerous way. He was so calm and friendly and projected that soft authority he had - they actually listened and learned. Most people would either scare the belayer or get told off.

I climbed most regularly with Lee in 2007. We both had some midweek time off, he was working to tick every route at Rumney no matter how far from the road or how vegetated, and I like to hike. I was so flattered he trusted me to partner even though he was orders of magnitude above me. I climbed more and harder, learned more, that summer than any other period. After satisfying his exploratory arborism, he put me through his pyramid training (lead a bunch of 5.9, then some 5.10, then push myself to 5.11) and chose specific routes to teach or improve certain skills.

He designed his routes indoors with the same philosophy - each taught something. They were so creative, challenging, and had flow. 

He stayed with us out west several times over the years on climbing trips and it was always like no time had passed. His enthusiasm and love for the sport and for his people was ageless.

So many of us will miss Lee. My heart goes out to his loved ones and friends. It is such a loss for the generation of upcoming climbers that now will not know him, but I am certain that through his many disciples spread around the country they will still get a bit of Lee’s magic. 

The enormous size of the hole that is left in the New Hampshire and New England climbing community by Lee's passing is a testament to his character and his vast contributions. To say he will be missed doesn't even begin to describe the loss...

I will miss seeing him at the crags. However, I will be seeking out his routes, as they were always great ones. A legend in our climbing community.

I’m still stunned. I’ll always remember Lee for being such a strong and powerful influence on me when I was first getting into climbing over a decade ago. I was a shy and nervous solo climber checking out Vertical Dreams and he was so welcoming and helpful and introduced me to a handful of people who took me to Rumney for the first time.

Lee helped me in numerous ways and I most fondly remember him teaching me some tricks on how to place trad gear properly.

It’s always a treat to climb one of his routes. I look forward to ticking off more of them this year across Rumney and Waterville Valley. 

I didn't know Lee very well but did have the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times at Rumney and chatting a bit on IG. He was always helpful and happy to talk about climbs I was asking him about. He was never put off and always had time to respond. There are just a small handful of people that have had a huge impact on me as a climber, and despite knowing Lee as little as I did, he was one of them. In my own way, I paid my respects on a couple of his routes today at main cliff right. His amazing work will live on for generations of climbers. Rest in peace. 

Bad news for sure! I spent a few months with Lee back in 2002 or 03 living at the pit and climbing in bishop. We had a nice crew. He was always psyched an postive. Im glad i knew him. We reconnected on messenger some a few years back. Im sad to hear about his passing.
Ted Roberts 

“In honor of Lee Hansche’s love of climbing and in keeping with the wishes of his loved ones this memorial fund has been created to continue Lee’s legacy of contribution to the climbing community of New Hampshire. 

All donations shared equally to benefit the Central NH Climbers' Association & Rumney Climbers' Association”

Link here

Lee taught me so many things: 

• How to top rope and lead indoors at Vertical Dreams
• How to recognize the song of a mountain chickadee
• How to top rope outdoors on the Wimpy Gilman Ridge at Rumney (5.3 was a perfect intro)
• How to lead outdoors, also on the Wimpy Gilman Ridge 
• How to enjoy a slabby, dirty mess of a route
• How to tell the difference between a Eurasian collared dove and a regular old dove
• How to hold on to a sloper 
• How to tell someone they are using a grigri incorrectly without getting your ass kicked
• How to use my feet to keep my arms from getting pumped
• How to use a prussock
• How to clean an anchor

And much, much more. Lee was only a few years older than me, but he was very comfortable in the role of teacher. He had a depth and breadth of knowledge about climbing, birds, and many other topics that he shared so generously with everyone. He helped me approach climbing as an individual sport where I only had to "beat" myself, climb harder than my last send, and root for everyone. These values aren't universal in the climbing community, and when I moved away from New Hampshire, I realized how unique Lee was. After my husband and I relocated to Utah, he still checked in and visited on his desert climbing and birding trips. We did the same when we made it back to Manchester. I wish I'd climbed with him more. I have so much more to learn. To all those who loved Lee, I'm so very sorry for your loss. 

Jay Knowerwrote:

The whole community is devastated by this loss. Lee was a pillar in New Hampshire climbing and his stewardship, friendliness, and psyche touched so many people.

I met Lee in 2002 when we both worked at EMS in Concord. We started discussing this new thing called Mountain Project where you could actually write your own descriptions for routes. It was such a novel idea in the days of printed and Xeroxed guidebooks. Lee's first MP description was in 2007, Centerpiece: 

I worked at EMS in Concord that same summer. Some people leave an impression in just a few interactions, and Lee was one of them. Always positive, always psyched. I used to ride a mountain bike to work and he showed me tricks on it in the parking lot that I couldn't do. What a loss. RIP.

I've spent the past week or so listening to Lee and Jay's (phenomenal) podcast for the first time - the First Ascent Podcast - to better understand who Lee was. As I mentioned, I never interacted with him myself, but the outpouring of love for him across all mediums has shown that he clearly lived his life in a way that I aspire to. The passion for the sport, for the community, and for the future that it holds, absolutely bleeds from every episode. To those in a similar situation like me who never got to meet him, I would recommend doing the same to appreciate how much he contributed to this sport we love and his local community.

Very sorry to read this. My condolences. 

i never met Lee but listened to about 50 hours of he and his good friend chatting on the podcast and in a weird way this means i actually have heard more of his thoughts and jokes and banter than all but my actual real life friends and family. Lee’s kindness and humor shone through in this medium, I just want it to be said that he reached a lot of people, even those he never met.