Another Climbing Death in Mexico - Nolan Smythe

Direct source: instagram.com/p/B9dMoMsnr5S/

Another reminder that this sport is inherently dangerous. You can do everything right and some freak accident could be it.

I hope his friends and family are able to grieve and eventually find peace. 

Take care of what you can and be safe out there.

I have a friend who experienced a freak accident.  A rock peeled off and bounced over a ledge below his field of view.  Did not see it land.  As he was lowering down pretty fast he felt the cut end of the rope slip through his break hand and it went through his ATC.

By a miracle of fate, he had his third hand tied ABOVE the ATC and he had presence of mind to HANDS OFF and let the third hand do it's job - with less than three inches before the cut end of the rope slipped trough.  

Since hearing this story I have been tying above the rappel device.

Sometimes your number is just up.

Godspeed to him and peace to his family and loved ones.

So sorry to read this.  Life can be so beautiful and yet so cruel. 

Sad
I offer my sincere condolences to his Family and Friends.

​Bring Nolan Home​​​

Huge loss to the community. Met Nolan in Potrero and was just a very kind and stoked individual. Someone that you immediately knew was genuine. Very grateful to have met him.

I follow Savannah Cummins and Sasha on IG, and it has been pretty heartbreaking to see this all play out in semi-real time by people very closely affected by Nolan's passing.
Deepest condolences to all the family and friends on Nolan's passing.  

I can't help but wonder, though, why have the family and friends needed to put together a GoFundMe for the recovery effort?  I understand wanting to offer some support to the family for additional costs, and Savannah for time for grieving, but I'm a little disheartened by the apparent lack of material support by whatever sponsors were involved in this trip.  
It seems that Nolan was there that day to rig for a sponsored shoot of Sasha of some sort, right?  Is anyone familiar with this sort of arrangement and how it is handled from a "hiring," standpoint?  Was he a volunteer so the sponsors have no liability to help in case of accident?  Or independent contractor, so same thing?  It just seems really shitty that this is how the recovery is handled financially is that either the family goes broke to pay for it all, or they have to reach out to strangers to try and help recoup the costs, when I would hope that any big sponsors would step up and do their part somehow when they stood to profit off the work being performed.   Maybe just total naivety and over-expectation on my part.. 

Paul L wrote: I follow Savannah Cummins and Sasha on IG, and it has been pretty heartbreaking to see this all play out in semi-real time by people very closely affected by Nolan's passing.
Deepest condolences to all the family and friends on Nolan's passing.  

I can't help but wonder, though, why have the family and friends needed to put together a GoFundMe for the recovery effort?  I understand wanting to offer some support to the family for additional costs, and Savannah for time for grieving, but I'm a little disheartened by the apparent lack of material support by whatever sponsors were involved in this trip.  
It seems that Nolan was there that day to rig for a sponsored shoot of Sasha of some sort, right?  Is anyone familiar with this sort of arrangement and how it is handled from a "hiring," standpoint?  Was he a volunteer so the sponsors have no liability to help in case of accident?  Or independent contractor, so same thing?  It just seems really shitty that this is how the recovery is handled financially is that either the family goes broke to pay for it all, or they have to reach out to strangers to try and help recoup the costs, when I would hope that any big sponsors would step up and do their part somehow when they stood to profit off the work being performed.   Maybe just total naivety and over-expectation on my part.. 

Perhaps sponsors are kicking in and we just don't know about it? 

We do know they need $100k to "Bring Nolan Home", that indicates to me that the sponsors aint doing shit.

Red Bull paid for the private helicopter, according to Angela V

My condolences to all.  Great spot, great guy, lousy universe. 

sclair wrote: Red Bull paid for the private helicopter, according to Angela V

I just saw that, as well.  Good on them.  

Tradiban wrote: We do know they need $100k to "Bring Nolan Home", that indicates to me that the sponsors aint doing shit.

Tradiban wrote:

Perhaps sponsors are kicking in and we just don't know about it? 

We do know they need $100k to "Bring Nolan Home", that indicates to me that the sponsors aint doing shit.

Having recently assisted in the recovery of a body from Mexico I think that number is several factors high.

I'm really sorry to hear about his death and the accident that caused it.

Senor Arroz wrote:

Having recently assisted in the recovery of a body from Mexico I think that number is several factors high.

I'm really sorry to hear about his death and the accident that caused it.

So what might the 100k be for? 

Over 50K has already been donated! Woot!

Tradiban wrote:

So what might the 100k be for? 

More often people set up such accounts as grief mechanism. 

But according to the text they were "smack dab in the middle of the 28000 ft of wall." So it may be a bit more complicated than normal *.

Allen Sanderson wrote:

More often people set up such accounts as grief mechanism. 

But according to the text they were "smack dab in the middle of the 28000 ft of wall." So it may be a bit more complicated than normal *.

*The latter statement is a bit of black humor in an otherwise sad situation that is truly an accident.

You need to work on your humor.

Ziggy Chalkdust wrote: Posting selfies during a body recovery?
Feeling the need to write about how you easily cruised a 5.13 crux while posting a picture of you and somebody who has been dead just a few days.
The pictures of the body bag etc etc etc.
I’ve known grief intimately- and I cannot fathom this reaction to the death of a loved one. 

Everyone is allowed to grieve in their own special way.