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DeAnn Masin
Sport climber
CO
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Jul 15, 2007 - 07:58pm PT
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Absolutely sucks.
I got to know Michael from the Ogden climbing fest where a handful of climbers were staying in the same house for a weekend. That man loved his wife, daughter and life. I respect him for who he is and what he does. I pray for a miracle but I also send my sympathy to his family and friends. He will be missed.
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JMC
climber
Tucson
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Jul 15, 2007 - 08:54pm PT
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Wretched news. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
-John
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WBraun
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 09:03pm PT
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So big Ocean captures him.
Why no body found? Did his body sink?
Or big fish there swallow?
Maybe later body rise?
R.I.P. Michael you were loved by many.
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cintune
climber
Penn's Woods
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Jul 15, 2007 - 09:24pm PT
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"The most western land of Europe is in County Kerry, Ireland and the extreme point extending into the Atlantic is Valentia - a small island which formerly no doubt was part of the main land and was separated there by the surging tides of countless centuries. The western coast of Ireland is the first line of defense against the warring waters in a stretch of three thousand miles and the scare of the ever persevering enemy are abundantly evident in the broken and irregular coast line where the surge and wave of the angry billows ever play a mournful dirge in the rocky caverns of its veteran cliffs."
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlker/hagerty.html
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Jul 15, 2007 - 09:27pm PT
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Just got back from another weekend upstate, and came to check in with Supertopo. What a sad thing.
I only sorta met Michael once; he was sitting in Crosroads with someone else, waiting for Crimpie to get there. My partner recognized him and was so excited to be able to meet on of the superstars of climbing that he jumped up and introduced himself, gushing exuberantly. This was just after the Romantic Warrior climb was covered in the magazines. I know that my friend remembers that meeting as one of the highlights of his trip to JTree.
We had camped at Ryan across from Headstone Rock, and another morning a few days later we noticed someone out there pretty early. Long yellow hair, red shirt, downclimbing one the the routes on the south face. No belayer, at least that we saw. We guessed it was Mike, and figured he was coming down Cryptic.
Strength and courage to his wife, family and friends at this time. It must be unimaginably painful to bear.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Jul 15, 2007 - 09:32pm PT
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RE:
"Why no body found? Did his body sink? "
an article said underwater caves, ledges - that w/ high power wave - water surge - not good.
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Jul 15, 2007 - 10:12pm PT
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My wife and I are deeply saddened to hear this news. Only a few months ago we ran into him atop a climb at Josh. We extend our sincere sympathies to his family.
S. & R. Vogel
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Slakkey
Trad climber
From a Quiet Place by the Lake
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Jul 15, 2007 - 10:29pm PT
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" Why not Body found"
Werner You know all too well that Nature is a powerful thing. Ocean, Rock, River etc. I hope for the family sake that Michael can be found as it can bring some sense of closeure for them in the future. If not just know that he was doing what he loved best. My thoughts are with the family. I know all to well what it is like to lose a loved one.
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Lost Arrow
Trad climber
The North Ridge of the San Fernando
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Jul 15, 2007 - 10:37pm PT
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Very sad news. I saw Mike a few times at Stoney Point, he seemed like a nice person. Makes my feel sick, I just read this post in the last few minutes. I wish he had slowed down a bit with his dangerous game.
Jeff
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Indianclimber
climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 15, 2007 - 10:38pm PT
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Taken in February at his slide show in Vegas
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Wild Bill
climber
Ca
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Jul 15, 2007 - 11:27pm PT
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Where did you go?
Why were you taken?
To Reardon and all the other early departers, lounging away like carefree bastards . . .
A postcard or phone call would be nice. There's hard times back here ya know.
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Matt
Trad climber
the land where lois don't roam
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Jul 15, 2007 - 11:43pm PT
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don't be too suprised if van halen sports a new lead singer in a few months...
the one time i ever met the guy he patiently watched me flail on left ski track, trying to get a flaring jamb where folks grab the fin (i had never seen it go and had no idea, i wanted to stay in the crack...). he was back near the parking lot, just hanging out between scrambles and watching me for a bit. i knew who he was and i knew he was watching me, i kinda figured maybe i was clogging his solo circut or something.
finally i took an lowered off to try again from the ground, and when i sheepishly glanced in his direction, all he said was "trust your gear, you're fine on that, you'll be fine, you have it no problem..."
(after another try i asked him for the beta and it was only then that it was no problem)
the impression he made upon me was that he was the nicest guy in the world, and fully supportive and encouraging of some random climber he had never met. i wish i'd known him better.
best wishes to those who were close with him, and to his family of course.
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wildone
climber
Where you want to be
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Jul 16, 2007 - 12:07am PT
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From the previous newspaper article link...
..."Sometimes Reardon's talent mixed with comedy.
This Thanksgiving, Reardon was about 25 feet up a rock wall in Joshua Tree National Park outside Indio when he looked ready to fall, said Weston Ureda, a climbing instructor at Boulderdash.
Instead of falling, the pro merely cursed, complained that his daughter put Abba on his iPod and changed the song, all while hanging on by only a sliver of rock, Ureda said."...
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ruby
Boulder climber
new orleans
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Jul 16, 2007 - 12:24am PT
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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 rouge 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."
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James Doty
Trad climber
Idyllwild, Ca.
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Jul 16, 2007 - 12:43am PT
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I encountered Mr.Reardon briefly at Josh. He came off as playfully arrogant, the type of arrogance that comes with being goodhearted and light years ahead of EVERYONE else. I did not know him, as I shed tears for him and his family most of all. He was a Complete And Total Stud with balls like grapefruits. Hope he is alive, kind of doubt it. Climb on,Hoka Hey!!
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GrandMastaD
Social climber
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Jul 16, 2007 - 12:54am PT
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I also met Michael at Josh a few times. I found it suprising that such a high profile indivudal could be so down to earth. The times we talked, he was genuinly interested in who I was as a person and what I was climbing.
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T2
climber
Cardiff by the sea
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Jul 16, 2007 - 01:20am PT
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Sheesh! This is really sad news. This story is proof that the playgounds we visit (The crags, mountains and ocean) can have serious consequences.
Having casually known Mike (last seeing him in the Pallisades last summer) there was no question about his love and enthusiasim for life, climbing and his family. He once told me at Humber park a few years back on how gratefull he was to have a wife that loved him and gave him the freedom to do what he did, this comment came as he was snacking from a lunch she had packed for him that day.
I have openly crtiticized Mike for some of his claims and his style of signing Sierra summit registers by leaving womens panties in the register. I will not miss having to remove any panties in order to read or sign a register again, but I will miss his very apparent lust for life. His passing does not change my views but has affected me none the less. The people in this world that are afraid of dieing, are the same ones that are afraid to live. Mike was certainly afraid of niether. Another one of the tribe I hope continues to climb on the other side.
Mikes family and friends are in my prayers.
Best Regards
Tommy Thompson
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Echo
Trad climber
San Diego, CA.
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Jul 16, 2007 - 01:45am PT
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Its really hard to accept this. I had met Mike a few times and had the pleasure of watching him climb once. Through our brief conversations at times, he made quite the impression on me and I just know that Tahquitz and Josh won't quite be the same now. My thoughts are with his wife and daughter.
Cheers to you Mike!
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Jul 16, 2007 - 01:51am PT
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Marci and Nicki-
Michael has had a big and positive impact on me. He spoke about both of you with obvious and absolute pride and love. It made me respect him even more than his climbing talents, which were huge. I've tried to hold out hope. For Michael. For you. He loved Ireland, his ancestral home. His energy seems to have blended with the sea on that beautiful, rugged coastline.
I miss him already, but I can't fathom the depth of your loss. If there is anything I can do, I'm available at any time.
With much love,
-Jeff Lowe
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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Jul 16, 2007 - 01:55am PT
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So very sad... all the best to those that remain.
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