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Marc and partner missing in AK

olyclimber

By olyclimber
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Rad
Rad

From LeClerc's blog on his Emperor Face ascent on Mt Robson:  "It was now my fourth day alone in the mountains and my thoughts had reached a depth and clarity that I had never before experienced.

ivan
ivan

wise sir do not grieve it is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning for every one of us living in this world means waiting for our end let he who can ac

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Rad Boulderer

Rad

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Oh, I really hope this is just a shiver bivy followed by a cold walk out and an awesome story to read in Alpinist. Fingers crossed.

Off_White Gumby

Off_White

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I keep looking everywhere for good news, or at least more news. I want to hope for a good outcome, but we all know the time elapsed and the odds. Fuck.

 

As an aside, Alaskan newspapers do a better job of reporting on this stuff than down here in the lower 48.

Rad Boulderer

Rad

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From LeClerc's blog on his Emperor Face ascent on Mt Robson: 

"It was now my fourth day alone in the mountains and my thoughts had reached a depth and clarity that I had never before experienced. The magic was real.
 I thought to myself that the essence of alpinism lies in true adventure. I was deeply content that I had not carried a watch with me to keep time, as the obsession with time and speed is in fact one of the greatest detractors from the alpine experience. I was happy that my entire experience had been onsight, on my first visit to the mountain, and that the route had been in completely virgin condition. One of the greatest challenges of mountaineering is in dealing with the natural obstacles the mountain provides. So often in modern alpinism, routes will be fearsomely difficult for the first party of the season, and then once the obstacles have been cleared, a track established or the ‘tunnels’ dug it becomes easy for those who follow.
Climbing routes that have been cleared, with an established track,simply in order to attain the summit, or keeping time in order to set records is in fact reducing the adventure of alpinism more to that of a sport climb, and strips the route of its full challenge making it more of a ‘playing field’ of a team sports athlete or like a barbell at an indoor gym where a jock tries to lift his personal best.
 
As a young climber it is undeniable that I have been manipulated by the media and popular culture and that some of my own climbs have been subconsciously shaped through what the world perceives to be important in terms of sport. Through time spent in the mountains, away from the crowds, away from the stopwatch and the grades and all the lists of records I’ve been slowly able to pick apart what is important to me and discard things that are not.
Of course the journey of learning never ends but I’ve come to believe that the natural world is the greatest teacher of all, and that listening in silence to the universe around you is perhaps the most productive ways of learning. Perhaps it is not much of a surprise, but so often people are afraid of their own thoughts, resorting to drowning them out with constant noise and distraction. Is it a fear of leaning who we actually are that causes this? Perhaps so many of us are afraid to confront our own personalities that we go on living in a world of falseness, filling the void of true contentment by being actors striving to be perceived by the world around us as something that we ‘supposed to be’ rather than living as who we are."
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jon Gumby

jon

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Marc has really been on my mind the last two days. Thursday night I was thinking about reaching out to him about doing more writing for us. Really hope they are dug in and just waiting out the weather.

olyclimber Experienced

olyclimber

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This is the last update from the page Off mentions above:

 

-- Update 3/11/2018 ---

Juneau Mountain Rescue was able to fly with the Alaska Army National Guard today. The helicopter and crew searched the Mendenhall Glacier for any sign of travel, and searched several possible descent routes on the South side of the Mendenhall Towers. Weather conditions deteriorated and the flight returned to base after 2 hours of searching. The helicopter was then grounded for the remainder of the day due to severe wind shear and winter weather conditions on the ice field. The Alaska Army National Guard flight crew and Juneau Mountain Rescue are prepared to resume air operations at the first available weather window tomorrow morning (3/12).

CPesci Gumby

CPesci

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On 3/9/2018 at 5:16 PM, Rad said:

From LeClerc's blog on his Emperor Face ascent on Mt Robson: 

"It was now my fourth day alone in the mountains and my thoughts had reached a depth and clarity that I had never before experienced. The magic was real.
 I thought to myself that the essence of alpinism lies in true adventure. I was deeply content that I had not carried a watch with me to keep time, as the obsession with time and speed is in fact one of the greatest detractors from the alpine experience. I was happy that my entire experience had been onsight, on my first visit to the mountain, and that the route had been in completely virgin condition. One of the greatest challenges of mountaineering is in dealing with the natural obstacles the mountain provides. So often in modern alpinism, routes will be fearsomely difficult for the first party of the season, and then once the obstacles have been cleared, a track established or the ‘tunnels’ dug it becomes easy for those who follow.
Climbing routes that have been cleared, with an established track,simply in order to attain the summit, or keeping time in order to set records is in fact reducing the adventure of alpinism more to that of a sport climb, and strips the route of its full challenge making it more of a ‘playing field’ of a team sports athlete or like a barbell at an indoor gym where a jock tries to lift his personal best.
 
As a young climber it is undeniable that I have been manipulated by the media and popular culture and that some of my own climbs have been subconsciously shaped through what the world perceives to be important in terms of sport. Through time spent in the mountains, away from the crowds, away from the stopwatch and the grades and all the lists of records I’ve been slowly able to pick apart what is important to me and discard things that are not.
Of course the journey of learning never ends but I’ve come to believe that the natural world is the greatest teacher of all, and that listening in silence to the universe around you is perhaps the most productive ways of learning. Perhaps it is not much of a surprise, but so often people are afraid of their own thoughts, resorting to drowning them out with constant noise and distraction. Is it a fear of leaning who we actually are that causes this? Perhaps so many of us are afraid to confront our own personalities that we go on living in a world of falseness, filling the void of true contentment by being actors striving to be perceived by the world around us as something that we ‘supposed to be’ rather than living as who we are."

What a great perspective to have at such a young age.  This mimics a lot of what Hayden Kennedy spoke of before his passing.

olyclimber Experienced

olyclimber

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Update 3/12/2018
Juneau Mountain Rescue was able to fly with the Alaska Army National Guard today. However, the helicopter and crew were only able to briefly search the Mendenhall Towers before weather limited visibility and forced the crew to return to base. The helicopter was then grounded again for the remainder of the day due to foul weather. The Alaska Army National Guard flight crew and Juneau Mountain Rescue are prepared to again resume operations at the first available weather window tomorrow (3/13), and look forward to a more promising forecast.

ivan Gumby

ivan

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Posted

wise sir do not grieve

it is always better to avenge dear ones

than to indulge in mourning

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

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olyclimber Experienced

olyclimber

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The GoFundme page (https://www.gofundme.com/592fn8w)is now updated with this message:

 

It is with great sadness we update this page tonight. Marc’s dad sends this personal message below. 

“To all of our friends near and far who have been supporting us and praying for Marc André I wanted you all to hear it from me first hand before it’s in the news. Sadly we have lost 2 really great climbers and I lost a son I am very proud of. Thank you for the support during this difficult time. My heart is so broken...Part of me is gone with him... 
Our family appreciates all of your prayers and we would like to ask for a time of privacy as we come to grip with these devastating developments... Marc-André was an amazing, loving man and he has touched many lives in so many ways. He will be remembered and loved forever. I know he is with our Lord and I will be with him again one day. ❤️”

All support for this page will now go to the family and Marc’s partner Brette to manage and deal with the multitude of items they now have in front of them. As well as much needed respite and closure costs. 
Thank you to everyone for all your messages and contribution. Our community is strong and we will get though this as a loving collective. Our gratitude goes to the Juneau Mountian rescue for all the effort and care they gave to search. 

I received this message from a mentor of Marc’s tonight. Speaks to who Marc was for so many. 

“I gotta say, I loved that young guy, almost like my kids. his energy and enthusiasm were unparalleled, and infectious. his skills were amazing, of course, but that wasn't what made MA special - it was his ability to 'see' possibilities where no one else could even begin to imagine.”

Arcteryx Marc’s sponsor has been by the families side and doing everything possible to help. Thank you Justin and John. 

Please do not send news inquires to me. All inquires should be sent to John Irvine John.irvine@arcteryx.com he has been appointed as spokesperson for the family. 


Please also see Ryan’s page and support Ryan son Milo, who will need our support and love. 

https://www.gofundme.com/ryanandmilo

Nathan and I have created this page to help support Marc’s family and friends and his partner Brette travel to Alaska to search for Marc Andre Leclerc and Ryan Johnson. Both climbers did not return as planned from their climb in the mountains on Monday. 

As the days go on the need increases to help with search efforts, travel expenses and bills that need to be covered as they are away from home. 

Today Juneau Mountian search and rescue managed to get up in the air. We are waiting for word and are so very thankful for their commitment and hard work. 

See article below from local news. 

Search and rescue officials are looking for two experienced climbers who are overdue to return from a climbing trip in Juneau. George "Ryan" Johnson, a 34-year-old Juneau man, and Marc-Andre Leclerc of British Columbia were dropped off near the Mendenhall Towers on Juneau's Mendenhall Ice Field on Sunday, Alaska State Troopers said in a written statement. The two men last communicated with family and friends Monday after climbing to the top of the towers. They had planned to return to Juneau via the West Mendenhall Glacier Trail by Wednesday evening. 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/03/08/search-and-rescue-underway-for-2-men-on-juneaus-mendenhall-ice-field/%3foutputType=amp-type 

Please help with what ever you can. We are a connected outdoor community who can, these men are our men. Thank you for caring and making a difference.

Your contribution will help in many ways right now. 

I am updating this page daily as I receive them. 

Thank you for your love, prayers and support. 

Nathan and Treya 
G7

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