Kurt Blair missing in NZ accident

[Jon Frohlich]

I hate to be the one sharing this. I know many of us have had Kurt as a guide. The news is bad. This has been shared by the Silverton Avalanche School and others so I'm just sharing their post here.

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It is with a heavy heart that we share that our friend and colleague Kurt Blair went missing and is presumed deceased while climbing Mt. Cook in New Zealand. Kurt was part of a climbing party of three that were reported overdue over the weekend. Local alpine professionals and SAR air assets have been working around the clock to locate the missing team . We received notification from NZ authorities that the climbers appear to have taken a fatal fall from high upon the peak. Gear and equipment found from the party has helped SAR piece together the tragedy although remote, technical and heavily glaciated terrain coupled with deteriorating weather has prevented a recovery of the climbers.

Kurt was a beloved fixture of the San Juan mountains who comes from a proud lineage of mountain adventurers. The Durango local pivoted from a life of personal climbing accomplishments to chasing his dream of becoming a professional mountain guide, gaining IFMGA certification in 2022. Anyone who shared time with Kurt in the mountains knows that his calm demeanor and positive presence ran counter to the rough edges and sharp tongues so often exemplified by the hard scrabble ranks of mountain guides. He was the nicest guy you’d ever share a rope or trail or skin track with, and his humility, competence and polite nature made him a client and student favorite. For those of us who have logged significant time in the backcountry with Kurt, the loss of such a wise and steady partner is devastating. Blair leaves behind a loving family, two amazing sons and a mountain community that stretches along the entire length of the 550 corridor and beyond. He is loved and will be missed. Details surrounding a celebration of life and ways to honor Kurt’s memory will be shared publicly in the coming weeks.

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https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15k2M3 ... tid=oFDknk

[d_baker]

Amy (blazintoes) and I met Kurt on the summit of Mt Emma in late spring of 23.
He seemed like a good guy, and I know Amy went on climbing trips with him after that meeting.

My condolences to his family and friends, as well as to the other missing climbers.

[desertdog]

I had the pleasure of climbing with him once. He was a really nice human being. Over the years, He always celebrated my successes in the mountains and made me feel like I had accomplished something. I am sorry for his family’s loss. He was one of the good ones! RIP Kurt.

[Jon Frohlich]

He guided my partner and I on Coxcomb and Redcliff in July. Absolutely the nicest guide and seemed like a great human overall. Other people I know have said the same. I would have hired again as a guide for anything in a second. Not at all the news I was expecting to see on Facebook last night.

Condolences to the family and friends. RIP Kurt.

[Dan_Suitor]

Very sad. I had the pleasure of him guiding me up Teakettle and Coffeepot. He was extremely nice, and a very skilled climber. My sympathy goes out to his family, friends, and colleagues.

[smrcka]

I am terribly saddened to hear this news. Kurt helped me get to the top of Jagged just a couple of years ago. He truly was a humble, polite, friendly person and a highly skilled mountaineer. He was the perfect guide in my mind. RIP Kurt!

[Jorts]

This is awful news. I met him briefly at Opus Hut in April. He was guiding a group doing a hut traverse. He seemed to me a really nice, thoughtful person.

[SunNFun]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-american-c ... d-mountain

[Boggy B]

Ugh really sad news. I didn't know him well but had the pleasure of climbing the Block Tops with him and Amy this June. That was special because his grandpa took part in the first ascent of "T 3" in the thirties. A loss for Colorado mountaineering. RIP and condolences to family and friends these three climbers leave behind.

[Skimo95]

That really sucks. I wish I would’ve gotten the chance to meet him. RIP

[HikesInGeologicTime]

He was a consummate professional, and his passion for his chosen work was present on the occasions I was fortunate enough to go climbing - and once, skiing - with him. The first time was in Chicago Basin, where he'd made so many trips he'd lost count. As we were coming down from Sunlight (whose summit block I doubt I'd have been able to crawl atop if he hadn't roped me up) and starting the seemingly endless boulder hop up Windom, I asked him how bored he got with having to repeat the same mountains multiple times every summer, and especially one like Windom, which may have some aesthetic value but sure didn't seem to be a whole lot of fun for anyone, especially such a skilled climber as him.

He answered that he never got bored with the mountains, that there was always something interesting about them. I was already certain he was going to get my recommendation for how patient he was with an acrophobic nervous wreck like me on Sunlight, but the sincerity of his enthusiasm about Windom, of all the peaks, sealed the deal on whose name I'd offer if anyone asked me about professional guides. Peace and strength to all affected by the loss of him and his companions.

[blazintoes]

Fairy slippers, cool!
Some call me a holy fool.
Tiger lily, too.

Only Kurt would understand this haiku.

He was more than a mountain guide. The more I get to know someone, the more I wished I didn’t. He broke that saying of mine and I’m fortunate to have organically met him and have a genuine friendship. I won’t give up on him until he is found and wish I could be there looking for him. I am so, so sad.