climbing in Patagonia. According to local authority and guidebook author
Rolando Garibotti, Kellogg and Jens Holsten had climbed the Afanassieff Route
on the northwest ridge of Fitz Roy. They reached the top in late
afternoon on February 14 and began their descent via the Supercanaleta
route.
After the third rappel, one of the ropes got stuck, and while pulling
on the cord to try to loosen it, "the rope dislodged a block which hit
Chad," Garibotti wrote at Supertopo.com.
"He died instantly. It was 9 p.m. Jens continued the descent alone
through the night, reaching the base early in the morning to then
continue to El Chaltén, the nearest town. Because of the complexities of
the location, a body recovery will not be attempted."
Kellogg, 42, was based in Seattle and ran a construction business
that remodeled historic homes. He was best known for his speed climbs
and attempts—he set speed records on Mt. Rainier and Denali, won the
race up 7,000-meter Khan Tengri in Kyrgyzstan, and made two attempts to
break the Everest speed record. But pure alpinism was his true love, and
in recent years he had accomplished many superb ascents, going solo or
partnering with a select group of highly accomplished Pacific Northwest
climbers.
In 2008 he and Dylan Johnson climbed a 72-pitch new route on Siguniang
in China. Kellogg soloed a new route on the enormous south face of Aconcagua
in Argentina (without going to the summit) in 2009.
Kellogg and Johnson did the first ascent of 18,346-foot Seerdengpu
in China in 2010. In January 2013, he and Colin Haley did the second
ascent of the Corkscrew Route on Cerro Torre,
climbing the Patagonian spire without using any of the controversial
protection bolts placed by Cesare Maestri on the southeast ridge.
In the fall of 2012, Kellogg and David Gottlieb were in Nepal to try
the first ascent of Lunag Ri in a remote section of the Khumbu. When
Gottlieb got sick, Kellogg soloed the second ascent of 22,238-foot Jobo
Rinjang. The two men returned to Lunag Ri last fall and made two
unsuccessful attempts on Lunag Ri. Kellogg recently won a 2014 Mugs
Stump Award to return to this area with Gottlieb and Jens Holsten later
this year.
In addition to his climbing and business challenges, Kellogg had
endured numerous other difficulties. In 2007 his wife, Lara Karena
Kellogg, was killed in a rappelling accident in Alaska, while Kellogg
was climbing in western China. Kellogg also survived a bout with colon
cancer, with which he was diagnosed shortly after his wife's death. In
2011, one of Kellogg's best friends and partners, Joe Puryear, was
killed in a cornice collapse in Tibet.
Chad Kellogg: self-portrait on the summit of Jobo Rinjang in Nepal in 2012.
Date of accident: February 14, 2014
Chad Kellogg Killed by Rockfall in Patagonia | Climbing
No comments:
Post a Comment