Hayden Kennedy Dead

[JasonG]

Ugh.

[ivan]

for every one of us living in this world

means waiting for our end

let he who can achieve glory before death

when a warrior is gone

that will be his best and only bulwark

[Whatcomboy]

He had quite the climbing resume for such a young guy. I enjoyed the interviews he did on the Enormocast talking about Cerro Torre. Very sad to hear this.

[Bronco]

I liked Hayden after reading this article on him. https://www.outsideonline.com/1896531/chopped

 

Really sad to think about the torment he experienced that would drive him to take his own life.

 

 

[num1mc]

An account of the events. The slide happened on the Saturday the 7th, and he looked for three hours, then hiked home. S&R was notified at 10pm on Sunday, under conditions which remain unclear but were probably from the suicide note, text or call.

 

http://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/17/10/12

 

The time line is chilling

Edited October 14, 2017 by num1mc

[JasonG]

This accident, and the aftermath, has been haunting me all week. I can't shake it.

[ivan]

i can rest easy knowing not one of my partners would feel so awful about getting me greased

[Rad]

This accident, and the aftermath, has been haunting me all week. I can't shake it.

 

Yes, when bad things happen to really great people it shakes the foundation. What is it all for anyway? What constitutes a meaningful life? As a parent, I can't imagine much worse than having your only son take his life. Their hearts will forever be broken.

[matt_warfield]

The old timers or history buffs may recall that Hayden's father Michael nearly died in a rock climbing accident at Granite Mountain in Arizona a few decades ago.

[genepires]

I have never met Hayden Kennedy but a thought keeps running through my head. I would imagine that someone who excels at hard climbing, especially as such a young age, may be someone who is obsessive about the activity and maybe obsessive in general. Nothing shocking there of course but I could see how someone who is prone to being obsessive getting in a loving relationship that regular folk may never feel. Can't imagine the grief he went through searching for hours to no avail.

 

let us all remember this when one of our friends goes through something tragic. hold them close. stay with them. be present even if it means staying with them instead of work. choose life and friendship. Their life and your emotional well being could hang in your choice.

 

(from what I understand, friends could not have helped with Hayden's situation)

[keenwesh]

Hayden was thoughtful and analytical. I knew him as part of the crew who we'd get a beer with, or boulder at the gym and talk about whatever. I remember a day where he wanted to see how many harder problems he could climb consecutively, while never climbing up or down a problem more than once. After 3 routes he popped off a hold, rolled off the ground, and with a big goofy grin said "now that's how you get a pump!".

 

At the bar or dinner, even though we weren't very close, he always took the time to have a one on one conversation with me, asking how I was doing, my plans, basic stuff. I work for another christmas lighting company, and we would swap stories about my boss (Hayden had received a few calls to his company over the years from our clients that had been completely ghosted by our company, 'Get me out of Christmas light hell!" had been the opener for one such call).

 

Hayden was so wonderful and special, not because of his talents as a climber, but for the way he moved though and interacted with those around him. He didn't talk himself up, only wanting to hear about what you were doing, and thrived on the success of those around him.

 

All I got out him before he left for the Kashmir was that he was going to India, afterwards he was similarly stoic. The alpinist piece, published the following summer, was shocking, not only for what they climbed, but for the way it was written. I have felt the same way on big climbs that I have done, but have never been able to express those emotions to another person. He wasn't obsessive, but he was a wonderful person who I and many others will miss dearly.

 

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17f/wfeature-light-before-wisdom

[Rad]

Hayden was thoughtful and analytical. I knew him as part of the crew who we'd get a beer with, or boulder at the gym and talk about whatever. I remember a day where he wanted to see how many harder problems he could climb consecutively, while never climbing up or down a problem more than once. After 3 routes he popped off a hold, rolled off the ground, and with a big goofy grin said "now that's how you get a pump!".

 

At the bar or dinner, even though we weren't very close, he always took the time to have a one on one conversation with me, asking how I was doing, my plans, basic stuff. I work for another christmas lighting company, and we would swap stories about my boss (Hayden had received a few calls to his company over the years from our clients that had been completely ghosted by our company, 'Get me out of Christmas light hell!" had been the opener for one such call).

 

Hayden was so wonderful and special, not because of his talents as a climber, but for the way he moved though and interacted with those around him. He didn't talk himself up, only wanting to hear about what you were doing, and thrived on the success of those around him.

 

All I got out him before he left for the Kashmir was that he was going to India, afterwards he was similarly stoic. The alpinist piece, published the following summer, was shocking, not only for what they climbed, but for the way it was written. I have felt the same way on big climbs that I have done, but have never been able to express those emotions to another person. He wasn't obsessive, but he was a wonderful person who I and many others will miss dearly.

 

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17f/wfeature-light-before-wisdom

 

Thank you. Very poignant. This echoes words from many others and shows us that the key to a life well lived is radical kindness. The good news is that we don't have to climb 5.14 to be kind to our friends, family, and strangers.

[ivan]

wise sir, do not grieve

it is always better to avenge dear ones

than indulge in mourning

[Rad]

wise sir, do not grieve

it is always better to avenge dear ones

than indulge in mourning

 

Avenge suicide? Your empathy muscle has atrophied.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

wise sir, do not grieve

it is always better to avenge dear ones

than indulge in mourning

 

Avenge suicide? Your empathy muscle has atrophied.

 

That's the quote Ivan always posts when someone dies. But yeah, not very a propos this time around

[Rad]

I'm sure he's a very well read dude. How about quoting another great author?

 

"He was a man, take him for all and all, I shall not look upon his like again"

Hamlet

 

[ivan]

i would say we avenge dear ones who died climbing by climbing ourselves - ya know, not letting the bastard world have it's way on us, scaring us into becoming chicken-shits?

 

fwiw, that excerpt comes from the scene in beowulf where grendel's mother has just killed hrothgar's best friend to avenge her own son's murder at beowulf's hands - beowulf's trying to cheer up a distraught king by encouraging him to focus on something he can actually do

 

empathy? i think i read about that somewhere once - a human thing, no?

 

[Buckaroo]

[video:youtube]