I have lurked on here and dont often post. Wow! I never met the man, but after reading his posts and hearing what everyone has said about him he truly must of realy loved life and wanted to live it to the fullest. I am glad he died doing something he loved.
R.I.P TalusMonkey
Climber injured and stranded on Humboldt Peak
Forum rules
Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
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Erick, that was beautiful...very eloquent, and it certainly captures the loss we all feel. I was also upset by the lack of updates when I returned last night. One thing though, "stable" means different things to different people.
You know me, and you know I'm not saying this to be a jerk. It's just that, as the EMT on scene, reading all the posts and news reports has been as frustrating as it's been cathartic.
I'm sorry to all that I cannot get into the details of what happened on the mountain yesterday. I would give anything to clear the air, and let you know what took place when, how, and why. What occurred will stay with me for the rest of my life, but it is mine alone. (Aside from family and authorities, no requests for information will be honored.)
Let's not theorize on the how and why, let's not berate ignorant fools that reply to online news stories (UGGH!)...let's just celebrate a life that touched us all. David was strong. He was charismatic... and he was funny. And, he was so to the end.
You know me, and you know I'm not saying this to be a jerk. It's just that, as the EMT on scene, reading all the posts and news reports has been as frustrating as it's been cathartic.
I'm sorry to all that I cannot get into the details of what happened on the mountain yesterday. I would give anything to clear the air, and let you know what took place when, how, and why. What occurred will stay with me for the rest of my life, but it is mine alone. (Aside from family and authorities, no requests for information will be honored.)
Let's not theorize on the how and why, let's not berate ignorant fools that reply to online news stories (UGGH!)...let's just celebrate a life that touched us all. David was strong. He was charismatic... and he was funny. And, he was so to the end.
"To travel, to experience and learn: that is to live."
- Tenzing Norgay
- Tenzing Norgay
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Bryan, first and foremost, thank you for your efforts on this and any other rescue you have and will participate in. I can only hope that you and others like you will come to my aid if I'm ever in need.
You are absolutely correct on my use of "stable". I started the email with a disclaimer that "Some of the below details have not been verified. " because I knew the information I was giving was my interpretation of second hand news, and as such may not be fully reliable.
I apologize for communicating any information that may not be fully accurate. Hopefully all will come to light in the near future and any discrepancies can be corrected. No hard feelings whatsoever.
He was certainly in good company during this ordeal, and I think we are all glad to hear that he was charismatic and funny even to the end.
You are absolutely correct on my use of "stable". I started the email with a disclaimer that "Some of the below details have not been verified. " because I knew the information I was giving was my interpretation of second hand news, and as such may not be fully reliable.
I apologize for communicating any information that may not be fully accurate. Hopefully all will come to light in the near future and any discrepancies can be corrected. No hard feelings whatsoever.
He was certainly in good company during this ordeal, and I think we are all glad to hear that he was charismatic and funny even to the end.
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denali, you're right. When I read that as he was being rescued he said his name was TalusMonkey, I almost lost it. Made me smile real big, but it also made me really sad.denalibound wrote:He was certainly in good company during this ordeal, and I think we are all glad to hear that he was charismatic and funny even to the end.
denalibound, thanks a lot for all that you did ... and I also wanted to sincerely thank the SAR team (many of which are avid 14ers.com people) for their incredible efforts. I didn't get a chance to say this in my earlier post.
I just noticed the slideshow on 9news.com. Whoever sent them those pics, thanks. And I found it funny how they carefully edited out the "14ers Jihad" from his t-shirt. They cropped one and they put big text across his chest on another. I think he would've found that funny, too.
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My Dad lives in Lakewood and I asked him yesterday to keep an eye for news reports on David's situation. I told him this morning about David's death and gave him the link to this post so that he could get an idea about the impact of this event.
Here's his reply.
I have read all 29 pages of posts and cried through most of them. As an outside observer, you need to keep this "string" for posterity. It is not often that you can see the genuine emotions swing all over the board in such a short time. The first concern about him; the elation that it looks like all will be OK; the stunned responses at his death. Even one of my pet peeves crept in: someone in the midst of a tragedy wants to find out "who is at fault". It was good to get to meet some of your friends this way.
Be careful this weekend! (That's your Father speaking!)
Here's his reply.
I have read all 29 pages of posts and cried through most of them. As an outside observer, you need to keep this "string" for posterity. It is not often that you can see the genuine emotions swing all over the board in such a short time. The first concern about him; the elation that it looks like all will be OK; the stunned responses at his death. Even one of my pet peeves crept in: someone in the midst of a tragedy wants to find out "who is at fault". It was good to get to meet some of your friends this way.
Be careful this weekend! (That's your Father speaking!)
Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
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Aubrey,Aubrey wrote:I just noticed the slideshow on 9news.com. Whoever sent them those pics, thanks. And I found it funny how they carefully edited out the "14ers Jihad" from his t-shirt. They cropped one and they put big text across his chest on another. I think he would've found that funny, too.
I can't seem to find this slide show. Could you post a link? All that I see is the one picture of him.
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I couldn't find it either, but when I did I felt pretty dumb.
The link is right in the middle of the front page under the headline for the story. It' in big red letters that says VIEW SLIDESHOW.
Or you can just go here
http://www.9news.com/9slideshows/David% ... t.aspx?N=0

Or you can just go here
http://www.9news.com/9slideshows/David% ... t.aspx?N=0
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WOW... just saw this now.
My thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to TM's family and friends. A huge loss for the climbing community. I will miss his thoughtful and helpful posts and will certainly have him in my thoughts when climbing this summer.
A sad few days. I am in shock and not much to say. I'll be back on posting again when I get my thoughts sorted out.
Kojones
My thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to TM's family and friends. A huge loss for the climbing community. I will miss his thoughtful and helpful posts and will certainly have him in my thoughts when climbing this summer.
A sad few days. I am in shock and not much to say. I'll be back on posting again when I get my thoughts sorted out.
Kojones
Climbing partner: "Is this uphill the whole way?"
Kojones: "No, only half the hike is uphill."

Kojones: "No, only half the hike is uphill."

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What very sad news! 
I'm mainly a lurker on this forum, but it was clear Dave was a very passionate hiker, really wacky character and friend to so many people. My heart goes out to everyone who is mourning this tragic loss.
-Steve

I'm mainly a lurker on this forum, but it was clear Dave was a very passionate hiker, really wacky character and friend to so many people. My heart goes out to everyone who is mourning this tragic loss.
-Steve
Last edited by ColoradoGuy on Tue May 08, 2007 8:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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