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Fluoride
Trad climber
Hollywood, CA
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Very sad. Sorry to hear.
And he went to my alma mater. Go Dawgs.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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I am so sorry to hear this.
He looks like a wonderful young man.
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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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2 climbers above, 1 below? 80 ft fall? Were they soloing?
My thoughts are with his family. So sorry to hear about accidents.
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Lissiehoya
climber
Saint Louis, MO
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2 climbers above, 1 below? 80 ft fall? Were they soloing?
I wondered that too. Does anyone know more details about what happened?
Poor kid. :(
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Mimi
climber
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May have been two parties of two. He was leading, got run out or pro pulled when he fell to fall that far.
Condolences to his family and friends. Very sad indeed.
Yep, Anders' link says that he pulled pro when he fell.
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TripL7
Trad climber
san diego
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Very sorry to hear this, may God's grace be with you!
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, jbar... very sad to hear this... very sad... i am just on to check email tonight when i saw this, only stopped by fast, perhaps
i should be here, then, now, i can pray too with you, very sad... :(
i will go pray now for his family...
my condolences to his family... and prayers for this hard time...
:(
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R.B.
Trad climber
West
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Whenever a climber is lost, we all grieve.
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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Yeah, terrible to hear this...God bless you Joshua...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Another tragedy. Be careful and hav eluck!
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Prod
Trad climber
Dodge Sprinter Dreaming
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That sucks! Curious to hear more details.
Best to his friends and family.
Prod.
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dirtbag
climber
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bump--let's get the spammer off page 1
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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This is truly tragic. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.
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Bill Mc Kirgan
Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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I'm so sad to learn of this. By all accounts he brought much positive energy to this world and will be greatly missed. Prayers for comfort and healing to his family and friends...I'm so sad for your loss.
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Chip
Trad climber
Sittin' Pretty in Fat City
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Josua seemed to really get it in the important stuff and was a blessing to those who knew him. I'm sad I wasn't one who did. Godspeed, Joshua, until we meet in another existence. I pray for your families loss.
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cleo
Social climber
Berkeley, CA
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I'm very sorry to hear about this. Loving thoughts to your community and family.
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nita
Social climber
chica from chico, I don't claim to be a daisy
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Very sad news,much to young to leave this world.
Condolences to Joshua's family and friends..
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jbar
Mountain climber
urasymptote
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Topic Author's Reply - May 21, 2010 - 02:10am PT
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Edit: Oops, sorry about how I posted this. Just thought I would add it ot my earlier post as an update. I did not know Josh but I climb where he was killed. I was posting for prayers and good vibes for his family. I have been trying to figure out what happened. Right now I still don't know if he was wearing a helmet.
How and Why? A Father's Perspective
By Mark Robertson
I am Josh's father, Mark. Notice, please, that I said I am Josh's father, not was. For God is not the God of the dead but of the living! (Matt. 22:32)
Now when a tragic event like Josh's death happens, we all want to know the how, and I think more importantly the why. How and why? I am going to answer those questions. Let me start out with the how.
On a beautiful spring day, Friday, April 30, 2010, Josh, and three friends who worked with Josh at the University of Georgia climbing wall were climbing in Tallulah Gorge State Park in northern Georgia. They were doing a "multi-pitch trad climb" up a 200 foot route called "Mescaline Daydream." Multi-pitch means that you climb the route in stages. Trad is short for traditional, meaning that you set your own anchors, using nuts, hexes and cams, in the cracks in the rocks as you climb. Mescaline Daydream is a 5.8 route on a scale that goes from 5.0 to 5.15. For Josh and his friends, who are skilled climbers, a 5.8 route is fairly easy. Josh could do 5.12's with great skill.
They began their climb two by two, with Josh in the second pair. In that second pair, Josh belayed for the first pitch, which made him the second person to get up to the first ledge. On that ledge several hundred feet above the base of the gorge, they switched out positions and Josh was to lead the second pitch, while being belayed from the ledge.
Shortly after beginning the second pitch, Josh climbed past an overhang, in which part of the rock juts out of the face of the cliff. After the overhang, Josh continued his climb beyond the most difficult part of the second pitch. It was "trad" climbing which means you insert "a piece of gear" about every 10 feet so that the most you will fall is about 20 feet before the fall is broken.
Then it happened, Josh lost his grip and he called out, "falling." As Josh fell, the last anchor nut he set pulled out and he continued his fall toward the overhang. His feet hit the overhang, which caused Josh's body to swing upside down. As his body swung upside down, the back of his head hit the hard stone surface of the cliff, as the next anchor held his body suspended between heaven and earth. His body only was suspended, though, and not his soul, because the blow to the head killed Josh instantly. Joshua's soul was brought immediately into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
So that is how Joshua Mark Robertson passed from this life into the next. Now, I will tackle the issue of why. Why did God take such a fine young man that had so much going for him? Couldn't God have helped that nut to hold? Or just moved his feet a few inches away from the overhang so he could clear it? We could speak in platitudes and say that this was not God's doing, because a loving God would never allow something so terrible. Or we could say it was just fate, or just an accident, or a result of living in a fallen world, or Satan. NO! I say that God, who is all powerful, took him. And that it was for the good of all who love God, including Josh, and for the glory of God.
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