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AKDOG
Mountain climber
Anchorage, AK
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Mar 14, 2018 - 04:35pm PT
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RIP
Sad news, condolences to all the family and friends
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madbolter1
Big Wall climber
Denver, CO
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Mar 14, 2018 - 04:36pm PT
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Armchair quarterbacking on ST yet again. We pick our path and follow it as best we can.
Right. Let's leave "judgment" to the families.
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Scrubber
climber
Straight outta Squampton
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Mar 14, 2018 - 05:36pm PT
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Deepest sympathies to their families and friends. I only knew Marc peripherally in the Squamish community, but his energy and enthusiasm were infectious. He seemed to embody the "Go get after it!!!" mentality. A great loss to the community. RIP boys.
I always listen to this when someone I know has passed on.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
K
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stay norwegian. good boy
climber
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Mar 15, 2018 - 02:18am PT
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fucck. life lives itself,
if you're open to and receptive of the process.
you cannae argue with your quest.
it unravels according to its own will.
many of us find mountains in our way.
so what do we do?
f*#king climb them.
i do cringe for the children, though.
because i am a sympathetic and compassionate human.
but i also understand that those kiddoes
have a life-path, too.
though it seems f*#ked.
theirs is their's.
death always causes reflection.
but mourn for the living, too.
because so many folks reject life
in their surrender to fear;
and they scrape their dead souls across paved landscapes
all the time worrying about risk;
while these two and me too
we worry not as we accept our assigned destiny
which includes not so much wind-swept ashphalt
as the rutted and mountains paths fall beneath our feet.
i'm not greedy accept in the manner that i wish
i could take all of your sorrow and other emotional hardships
and adopt them as my own and free you
of the struggle because it's all i live for
and my pitted soul is empty without it.
the spices of life are sometimes sharp.
keep chewing it. please. and swallow though the tears
may leak from the corners of our gray eyes.
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norm larson
climber
wilson, wyoming
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Mar 15, 2018 - 06:15am PT
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Very sorry to hear this. We go to the mountains to experience the power and raw energy. Sometimes it ends this way. They shined bright. Best way to live.
Condolences to the friends and family. Be grateful for the time you had with them.
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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Mar 15, 2018 - 07:44am PT
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Different Marc. Different century. Same outcome.
So sorry..
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Mar 15, 2018 - 08:30am PT
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Little-known fact is that Marc-Andre had a sponsorship from his family's church.
He came back from one of his adventures in 2014 and dropped by the church by bike to give a talk to his sponsors.
While he was there his bike was stolen!
My office at the time was kitty corner from the church and he texted me to ask if I had seen any reprobates riding around on his bike.
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Snowmassguy
Trad climber
Calirado
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Mar 15, 2018 - 10:03am PT
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This makes me so sad. I did not know them but feel like I did for some reason. Thoughts and prayers for the families and friends.
When I hear about death in the mountains, I feel guilt for some reason. A decade ago, I was avalanche'd off a mountain 2-3k vertical ft in in AK and came to rest with my head above the surface and with a few bruises. My kids were 1 and 4 at the time. I had incredible luck that day, other have not. The game we play is not fair.
Rest in Peace.
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Braunini
Big Wall climber
cupertino
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Mar 15, 2018 - 01:07pm PT
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Wow, great place for an argument over these guys' life choices and parental values.. Stay classy Supertopo.
RIP guys.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Mar 15, 2018 - 01:38pm PT
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Life is not fair. Sorry these guys had to die. To all involved. In most every great endeavor or life that we celebrate and admire, that person at some time was "irresponsible," according to some metric. There is every reason to want it both ways (perfectly heroic and perfectly safe), but it rarely plays out that way. I feel sorry for the person who never needed heroes.
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
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Mar 15, 2018 - 01:49pm PT
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I read the "Gripped" description of Leclerc's climbing accomplishments and came away realizing how "cutting edge" he was in the solo Alpine climbing world (in other words, the toughest of the toughest genres, lacking only high elevation to the "ultimate" equation) (I include Johnson in this mix too, of course.)
They were seeking the ultimate - to be measured by only themselves and their "limits."
This is the largest game humans play - or can play.
Start with the first hominid that descended from the trees to the savannah floor and you can connect all human progress by those individuals who took the ultimate risk, pressed the known limits, and sought to find "what's out there." Apply this paradigm to all fields of endeavor and you explain all human progress and learning. And adventure.
Leclerc and Johnson choose to play a big game.
We benefit and are all blessed to be a member of a species with Leclercs and Johnsons in our midst.
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gruzzy
Social climber
socal
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Mar 15, 2018 - 01:56pm PT
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Sounds like a couple of good humans.
That goodness will continue
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takedamn
climber
four corners
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Mar 15, 2018 - 02:48pm PT
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The description of Leclerc's last 3-4 years in that Gripped article is jaw-dropping. Unbelievable really.
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renzo
Trad climber
Whitefish Mt
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Mar 15, 2018 - 03:15pm PT
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Death sucks..
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IntheFog
climber
Mostly the next place
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Mar 15, 2018 - 03:52pm PT
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This is such a sad and tragic story. Condolences to families and friends.
And to treez, thank you for the news bulletins, and for telling us about your friend Ryan. That could not have been easy. You did well by him, and by us. Thank you.
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Mar 15, 2018 - 04:26pm PT
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"Of course the journey of learning never ends but I’ve come to believe that the natural world is the greatest teacher of all, and that listening in silence to the universe around you is perhaps the most productive ways of learning. Perhaps it is not much of a surprise, but so often people are afraid of their own thoughts, resorting to drowning them out with constant noise and distraction. Is it a fear of leaning who we actually are that causes this? Perhaps so many of us are afraid to confront our own personalities that we go on living in a world of falseness, filling the void of true contentment by being actors striving to be perceived by the world around us as something that we ‘supposed to be’ rather than living as who we are."
Amazing insight for a young man in his early 20's
RIP Marc-Andre
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Mar 15, 2018 - 04:51pm PT
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Very very sad to hear about their passing. I had a few run ins with Marc and asked him for beta for several climbs. He always was kind, provided good tips, seemed full of life and excitement. Good human with good manners.
His climbing achievements were incredible and several reports about huge climbs well written. For a 24 year old, he was years ahead of his age in body and spirit. This world is more dull without these two.
As far as debates about risk etc...there is living and there is existing. To live means different thing to everyone and we can make personal choices. I work in an emergency department and see peoplr die daily due to car accidents, suicide, shootings, horrible diet/life choices. We can have a thread picking apart every other death...but it is wiser to make own choices and let others pick their faith. As far as i know, no one is perfect, but a lot of people look up to people like Marc for inspiration, he was truely a special person who will be immortal in spirit. I believe these two were safer climbing mountains than most noobs on their first multi pitch routes. It's just that they climbed ALL the time and objective danger at times takes out even the most careful and the strongest of the best. Condolences to family and close friends. This is a horrible loss to deal with.
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Saugy
Mountain climber
BC
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Mar 15, 2018 - 05:40pm PT
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Regardless of the lighter situation I was deeply happy and in an incredible state of mind. It was now my fourth day alone in the mountains and my thoughts had reached a depth and clarity that I had never before experienced. The magic was real.
When I reread this account of Marc's return trip to the Rockies it reminded me of when I saw him just after returning home from his previous trip out there.. the one where he climbed the Wild Thing in a push, then bivied out in 30 below, then soloed Polar Circus and Weeping Wall back to back.
He explained it like someone who had just done their first multi pitch or something. The gleam in his eyes was so radiant, he definitely did discover the magic.
I take solace in knowing that.
My deepest condolences to Ryan's family and to Marc's family also to their closest of friends who are hurting at this time.
I will keep a watchful eye on our ravens while in the crags this season. Peace
Don
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seano
Mountain climber
none
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Mar 15, 2018 - 06:56pm PT
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Cherish every breath and honor the dead. I can't say it better, DMT, so I won't try.
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