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Mees
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 10:10am PT
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pulling for Michael
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gail corso
climber
w.htfd. ct
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Jul 15, 2007 - 12:06pm PT
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Michael Reardon did not fall from a climb. He had just completed a small climb and was watching and enjoying the crashing of the waves when a freak wave hit him and pulled him into the ocean. Waves in this area run 30-50ft high.
Keep your prayers going that they find Michael.
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ChrisW
Trad climber
boulder, co
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Jul 15, 2007 - 12:21pm PT
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Best wishes to Reardon's Family.
Somebody posted...."When is this sh#t going to end."
All I gotta say is Climbing is Dangerous!
Chris.
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Fletcher
Trad climber
Varied locales along the time and space continuum
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Jul 15, 2007 - 01:14pm PT
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Shite, I'm off SuperToop for a while and this is tough news to come back to.
Our hearts are singing for you Michael, your family, friends and all.
This is when we really come to see we are one.
Namaste,
Eric
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Jul 15, 2007 - 01:28pm PT
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Peace to Michael's wife and daughter.
I think of my kids every time I tie in.
But as someone noted above, it's the unexpected. The sea, not the seacliff; random moments on the freeway...
So Sorry,
Doug Robinson
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poop*ghost
Trad climber
Denver, CO
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Jul 15, 2007 - 01:31pm PT
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I've met Mike a couple times at the Needles - once when he was with his wife. We hiked out to the rocks together a couple of the days - chatting about this and that, his addiction to shoes and bears. That next night a bear was messing about w/ our camp sites and Mike was running around yelling at the bear wearing nothing more than some boots. We all had a great laugh after hearing about it the next morning.
He was kind and funny - motivated and caring.
I'm saddened deeply to hear this news.
Jason Liebgott
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MarthaP
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 01:40pm PT
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This press release just sent by Matt Samet:
Michael Reardon Missing in Ireland
Michael Reardon, 36, the accomplished free soloist based out of Oak Park, California, went missing off the southwestern coast of Ireland around 5 p.m. Friday. He had just completed a climb near the Valentia Marine Radio Station, on the small island of Valentia, when a rogue wave took him into the sea. He did not fall 70 feet from the cliff top, or while climbing, as earlier reports had indicated. This is a report from his friend, the photographer Damon Corso, who was there at the time:
“It was just another day of climbing on Atlantic sea cliffs in Ireland with Mike (Reardon). We had arrived on Valentia Island in a slight fog and drizzle. Mike took me around the bottom of Wireless Point to an inlet merely 15 feet above the roaring Atlantic, a situation we were now used to. We arrived at a spot he had climbed at alone two weeks prior. Mike up and downed two different climbs while I shot photos trying to combine him and the raw force of the waves crashing all around us. He finished the two climbs and was waiting, on an-algae covered platform, for the big swells to pass by so that he could walk back over to me on the opposite side of the inlet. A rogue wave came into the inlet and curved rightwards as it crashed into Mike. He tried to stabilize himself on the platform but the water was too powerful and sucked him in. The current pulled Mike out 150-plus meters in mere seconds. I ran up the hill to the Valentia Coast Guard station a mile away. Mike was still conscious in the water when I left him. The Coast Guard arrived on the scene no more than 15 minutes after the incident. Mike was nowhere to be seen at this point. Twelve volunteer rescue boats, the Coast Guard Lifeboat and Chopper were on the scene that evening.”
Rescue services worked until dark on Friday. And on Saturday, more Coast Guard boats and divers from the Naval Service combed the area, with searchers on foot looking along the shore. A helicopter with an infrared scanner searched on Friday and Saturday as well. Reardon had not been found as of Sunday, when it was reported that the search was scaling back.
Please stay tuned to climbing.com for more. The press can contact msamet@climbing.com.
Sources: Damon Corso, www.rte.ie
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nessa
Boulder climber
Hartford, CT
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Jul 15, 2007 - 02:29pm PT
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My brother was with Mike in Ireland. he was walking to get his backpack and the rocks were slippery and a wave hit him and knocked him into the sea....my bro tried to anchor in a rope but mike was too far out, he was conscious....his wife says he is a strong swimmer. My brother ran to the Coast Guard a mile down, he made it there and back in 15 mins..
The wife is arriving in Ireland @ 4pm, and they are in the recovery period, because he has been missing for over 24hrs.
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cybele
Ice climber
finally, west of the Mississippi
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Jul 15, 2007 - 02:32pm PT
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"One force of nature - Michael Reardon - swept off his feet by another force of nature - a rogue wave."
Thank you for posting this report from Damon. It is far too poignant. What an ironic and profound and godly circumstance, in light of the extreme mental places Michael's climbing must have routinely taken him, and the constantly dramatic level of physical risk in soloing. My most sincere empathy to his family.
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devaki
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 15, 2007 - 02:47pm PT
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Michael, you are in my thoughts and prayers- if anyone will come out laughing at this epic it would be you, I send all my love out to Marcie and your daughter... Saturdays in JTree and Crossroads wont be the same
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Degaine
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 03:03pm PT
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Sending some positive vibes your way, Michael, hang in there.
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Ezra
Trad climber
WA, NC
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Jul 15, 2007 - 03:48pm PT
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I never knew him, but I will miss him.
Seemed to always march to his own drum. I respect any one who does that.
Peace, and empathy to his family.
-Ezra E
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jul 15, 2007 - 05:22pm PT
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That photo says it all about Michael. Here's a bigger version of him embracing the wave.
I miss you Michael.
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Jordan Ramey
Trad climber
Oklahoma City, OK
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Jul 15, 2007 - 05:58pm PT
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I had just met michael a few months ago in josh. I'm so sorry that may never happen again. He was immediately inspiring. Good thoughts go out to everyone involved. Hang in there.
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jackass
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 07:05pm PT
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It is hard to look away from that picture. Loving and living life.
Condolences to family and friends.
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jul 15, 2007 - 07:09pm PT
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The power of film. Michael embracing life to it's fullest. I am proud I got the chance to meet you Michael.
Bob
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Jul 15, 2007 - 07:44pm PT
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This has all been pretty hard to follow and that photo is surreal to look at.
I am sorry I was unable to take his call just before he left for Ireland and was looking forward to hearing the tales when he returned, which I thought to be any day.
It’s again surreal to think I won’t hear from him again. I am very glad I had the chance to know him and even follow the rope he trailed for me a few times.
Be strong Marci, Nikki and all his friends.
Michael’s friend,
Mike Graham
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