Peter Dedi

Fair enough, Snoboy. thanks for the wishes.

Hey you guys, Again, thanks for all your wishes and responses, they are helpful especially for a non-climber, that is why I posed them. I understand most but find ones like the following a little odd... "My condolences for your loss, but this medium has historically demonstrated itself as volatile and insensitive and I feel that your quest here for understanding about such a tragic event may lead you in the wrong directions." First, there is no other forum that I know of to learn more about this and second the sort of veiled threat that by asking questions or trying to learn more about what happened that we (his friends and family) will learn or some dark secret will be revealed about my brother... what could that be... what could be worse than what happened... this was the attitude of some during his celebration of life party... we though it was just because his partner worked at MEC... strange kind of scare tactics that actually make you want to know more... Anyway, not to end on a bad note... thanks for discussing this. P.S. of oourse we checked that the phone reception was good, and most of us just thought his pack would be more useful left on the hill or trail where if he did come down that single way available it would have been useful to him. cheers, safe climbing

Dear Don, you sound like a professional with your "get over your mode of thinking" talk. I don't feel a need to blame, I asked a question of more experienced climbers, I do often feel the need to try to understand. I don't think a phone call on your way down is too much to ask for someone who is your partner and I just was trying to understand why.

hey, you guys, thanks for the responses and the wishes, but don't forget it is also easy to just dismiss me as the grieving relative trying to blame someone, - I never said that my brother never made a mistake stricking out on it own - and leaving his pack behind and his phone - very very uncharacteristic of him - and you can interprete by tone how you use wish - but I still don't see how you can walk down on your partner - without at least making a phone call - a minimum of effort, something you would do for someone on the street, let alone someone on a freezing mountain alone - and I did try to talk to his partner and I did ask him why he didn't use the phone and his response was "I don't like mobile phones, I don't trust them and I don't use them" - a rather Luddite and insensitive response, but I'm sure he has his own principles and reasons - I just have a tough time understanding them - and I have tried to get information from him but it was extremely difficult - but that is a differnt story, no problem, that's his choice - I also know Paul suited up and took his chances, I'm not an idiot - it's just I think a lot of guys read a lot of heroic climbing books and then just walk away... my question was just as I stated and no one really anwsered (maybe you guys can't, we - Paul's friends and family - can't) why you just walk down...

Don Serl, and others, I'm Paul Dedi's brother, Peter. Maybe some of you who have more experience in ice climbing and mountaineering can explain to me why my brother's “partner” would leave my brother up there in the cold and descended with all of my brother’s warm clothes, gear and mobile phone. I have asked that question, and so have Paul's family and friends. The only response we ever got was that his partner told the police that he didn't feel comfortable going to look for my brother after they separated and Paul became late and didn’t show up at their appointed rendezvous. If he decided to descend because he was afraid, not confident or was panicked, that's something he has to deal with -- we weren't there and don't presume to put ourselves in his place. But what none of us can figure out is why he didn't bother to use my brother's mobile phone to call for help once he decided to descend; my brother’s partner was in possession of my brother’s phone, he knew it was in his pack, and if was there for just this purpose, and I have been informed that mobile phones work well in this area of the mountains. Isn't there a code that you look out for your partner? Or am being naive? One more thing - at my brother's celebration of life party people seemed to be under the impression that my brother died from head injuries. This is not true - he had a broken hip and might have taken a hit on his helmet, but as his doctors confirm there were no serious head injuries and he died from hypothermia. He might have been saved if the rescue team had got to him earlier, but as it was the accident probably occurred mid-afternoon and he was not reached by the rescue team until 1 AM the next morning. The rescue team seem to have only been contacted as the result of a chance meeting of my brother's climbing partner (after he had descended) with a safety or rescue official in a parking lot; it was the official who called the rescue team after hearing the story that my brother was up there alone, late and thinly dressed. How do you leave you partner up there and just walk down and do nothing, What did he think my brother was doing up there? Playing in the snow. Thank god, she (the S&R official) had the presence of mind to get things rolling and give him at least a chance. I - and my family and Paul's friends - would also like to deeply thank all of the search and rescue people who got so quickly mobilised and headed out on a Friday night on their own time to make an attempt at getting Paul down in time to try to save him. These are the type of people you should climb with. Paul was a great guy to me and his friends, a funny guy, full of laughs, and someone who deeply loved the mountains and climbing.