Rest in Peace, Terry Mathews

[wildlobo71]

Terry and I had gone back over 5 years - a lifetime for Internet forums. He told me of his pains as well as his passions. Some souls can't find their ultimate purpose on earth - I count Terry among those. He had as good a purpose here on 14ers.com as anywhere in his life. I appreciate all he ever did to help me become a better hiker and climber. I will never forget him helping me get thorough the Little Bear NW face and then the LB/Blanca traverse - my most epic day by far.

Thanks for sharing scotch with me on Mount Sheridan in 2009.
Thanks for racing me up Mount Massive in 2010.
Thanks for hiking Wetterhorn with me in 2010.
Thanks for hiking Mount Ouray with me in 2010.
Thanks for hiking Castle and Conundrum with me in 2012.
Thanks for being the first person to let me know about Rob's passing.
Thanks again, for Little Bear and the Traverse last in 2012.
Thanks for keeping in touch with me when you were trying to find the light out of your low points this last year. I am saddened that no other exit was found.

Rest in peace - may you find eternal happiness where you couldn't find it here on earth.

[globreal]

I noticed a few posters referring to Terry's trip report after his finisher on Windom. I did a search under "Trip Reports" but couldn't find it. If someone can easily find it and wishes to share, it would appreciated (if deemed appropriate at this time).

After I got back from the hospital on Saturday afternoon, I did a search on the forum for his user name, and it appears that he deleted his account before that dreadful night.

Bill, if you see this can you tell us, if a person deletes their account, does that delete all of their TR's as well? Can you confirm?

[robco]

This is very sad to hear How tragic. He was a good person and his passion for the mountains was radiant.

I haven't done anything with Terry in a couple of years, but I have some fond memories. I still recall the climb of Dragon's Tail Couloir with Terry as one of my favorite snow climbs of all time; I remember resting on a self-belay part way up the climb, in awe at the morning light on the valley below, feeling perfectly at peace. I hope Terry is at peace. It was nice to look through the thread and see a few familiar pictures, such as the winter attempt on Ellingwood or the La Plata climb.

Rest in peace, Terry
-Rob

[d_baker]

Terry took down all of his reports and peak list last summer after he went on hiatus from this site. I looked on his blog to see if they were on there, but I didn't see them.

[speth]

I noticed a few posters referring to Terry's trip report after his finisher on Windom. I did a search under "Trip Reports" but couldn't find it. If someone can easily find it and wishes to share, it would appreciated (if deemed appropriate at this time).

If he ever wrote it, he didn't publish it.

Here's a bit on when he finished, but not an official trip report: Terry finishes the 14ers!

[SnowAlien]

I hiked with Terry twice. First time was a beautiful climb up Dragons Tail couloir - one of the most spectacular alpine climbs with wonderful scenery in RMNP. Terry organized the climb and made sure we were at the TH early!


Terry is smiling at the beginning of the climb


Careful traversing above the lake


Taking a break in the steep section


Terry in the couloir


Finishing the climb

The second hike was San Luis in June of last year. We had a great group that day, and we shared a lot of laughs and jokes. I remember Terry wanted to add a 13er, but crazy weather (2 storms before 11 am) prevented him from doing so, but I think we all had a good time.


San Luis


Terry had his issues, but nobody deserves to die like this. I wish we could have done more as a community to help him out. I regret not reaching out to him more. R.I.P. Terry.

[mattpayne11]

Well this just sucks. I knew that Terry had some demons but I never thought it would come to this.

I climbed with Terry quite a bit in 2009 when I was getting back into climbing and he was just getting started on his 14er quest. We mapped out a ton of climbs and knocked out a lot of awesome weekends in the Sangres.

We did a whirlwind tour, sharing a tent and having lots of great talks on our hikes. We did Blanca & Ellingwood, Crestone Needle & Crestone Peak, and Challenger & Kit Carson, all in the span of three weeks. Terry was a great guy, no doubt about it. He shared lots of stories about his childhood, his work, etc. He was a great backpacking partner. This news just sucks.

Terry and I had a "falling out" on the summit of Kit Carson because I had climbed ahead of him. It was something he was vocal about on his blog. We since "made up" and it was water under the bridge. Man... this news... ugh. Sucks.

Terry - I wish you would have reached out. Sigh. Here's Terry's Trip Report: http://tlmathews.com/blog/?p=408.

Here's Terry and I on Crestone Peak, 7/16/2009, almost 4 years ago exactly. Amazing weekend. This is all kind of poignant for me since I was looking at Crestone Needle just yesterday morning from South Colony Lake.

[Greenhouseguy]

Bill, if you see this can you tell us, if a person deletes their account, does that delete all of their TR's as well? Can you confirm?

Britt,

I bookmarked one of Terry's trip reports because I found the alternative route on LB to be useful & interesting. The link is still active:

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... ki=Include

[bigtrout]

My sincerest condolences to Terry's family and friends. I never got to meet Terry in person, but he was one of the several 14ers members who reached out to me after Steve's death. Unfortunately, the first and only time I got to meet and talk with Terry was at Steve's memorial service. It meant a lot to me that someone I didn't even know was trying to help me cope with the loss of my friend.

[UrsaMajor]

Been away from the site for a while, it pains me to be coming back to such sad news. I primarily knew Terry from his prolific posts. I only met Terry once, way back in 2010. Blues311 and I were making an attempt on Humboldt. We met Terry and two other 14ers members on the way up and all climbed together for a bit. Blues311 and I ended up bailing out (I had to get myself back to Denver for a date with my future wife) while Terry and the others went on to summit.

Terry struck me as a guy who was outgoing and more than willing to help. I remember him being all smiles on Humboldt, even though it was a cold and blustery day. I'd managed to drop my fleece on the descent, and Terry was instrumental in helping me get it back. I'm sad that he's gone and I hope he's at peace.

humboldt.jpg

[Indigomountain]

Peace to Terry and his family.

[Ridge runner]

I am very sorry to hear this. Terry was definitely one of a kind. It wasn't long after Steve's passing that I saw him post on the forum. It occurred to me that I hadn't seen him post much lately, and I almost sent him a PM just to say hi and see how he was doing. Really wish I had now.

14ers.com meant a lot to him, and for that, thank you Bill and everyone else on this site that gave him a second family. Terry, thanks for all your posts, stories, and acts of kindness.