Tragic News about Ben Manfredi

[gregm]

cross posted from teletips:

 

Regretfully, I am sorry to post that Ben Manfredi (Benman) died yesterday while WW kayaking yesterday. I am a little sketchy on the details, but apparently he was on the Grand Canyon section of Elwha.

Ben was arguably the best/ballsiest tele skier in WA with numerous first descents. It is easy to say he went out doing what he loved, but he will be truly missed. My deepest sympathies go out to his brother Troy Manfredi and his folks, the Hummels (Josh, Jason and Kurt), and to all the other people who have been blessed with the opportunity of knowing Ben.

Please take the opportunity to take a look at the website he actively managed:

http://cascadeclassics.org/

 

http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=12123

 

this is really really sad. i'm at a loss for words. my condolences to all. he will be greatly missed.

 

[JayB]

Jesus. How terrible. I was inspired and humbled every time that I looked at his site, admired the way he lived his life, and amazed by the way he excelled at whatever he chose to do. I never met him, but this makes me very, very sad and I truly feel for those that he left behind. What a horrible loss.

[Figger_Eight]

No shit. What a bummer.

[CascadeClimber]

I feel sick to my stomach.

 

Ben was a fine human being: Kind, thoughtful, humble, and passionate.

 

We climbed together at Hyalite last winter, where he went from newbie to WI4 leader in four days. His unassuming and humble manner belied his indescribable level of fitness and athletic prowess.

 

We'd recently made plans to go back to Hyalite in December.

 

My heartfelt condolences go out to Troy, the Hummels, and the rest of his partners in play.

 

Peace be with you, Ben.

 

-Loren

[David_Parker]

I ice climb, my brother does serious ww kayaking. My mom thinks I'm the crazy one and the one most likely to be killed. I don't agree. IMO, WW kayaking is far less forgiving. Once you enter a rapid, it's impossible to back off. Shit happens in both sports, but I feel more in control of my fate ice climbing. I can almost always back off or bail if I find it's out of my league part way up.

 

I have been where he went if he started at Goblin's gate. It's fucking gnarly and once in there is only one way out; the other end. It's total wilderness and no real trail or access from above. to pushing the limits! My sincere condolences to all that knew him.

[scot'teryx]

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends

Thanks for all your contributions Ben.

 

 

[Lambone]

I didn't know Ben, but I really enjoyed reading about his adventures in ski mountaineering. Whenever I climbed on volcanos, and felt tired and whopped by altitude, I allways thought about how he would have his skiis on his back, and carve turns the whole way down, usualy unroped. Truly impressive.

 

Watersports scare me much more than climbing. Some of the kayak photos on his web site blow my mind.

 

My best wishes to his friends and family.

[dbb]

Fuck.

 

Ben was the most humble and downright nicest guy I've ever met. At the same time he was incredibly bold, and his drive and enthusiasm touched and inspired everyone he met. I know words can't describe the sorrow what his family and friends must feel right now, and my condolences to them.

 

-Dave

[cracked]

Jesus Christ. I knew Ben only through our common friend Sky, but he was an inspiration to me. I don't know what to say.

[ski_photomatt]

Even though I've never met Ben, he was truely an inspiration. This is very, very sad.

[JoshK]

Wow, how horrible. I just know Ben's name from reading some of the trip reports him and his friends put together. They were always great reads and interesting. What awful news. Does anybody know how old Ben was? I got the impression he was pretty young.

[cracked]

Around 25, I don't know for sure.

[philfort]

This is shocking to say the least. Ben's trip reports were always inspirational - the stuff he was doing was amazing. I looked forward to his future accomplishments, and hoped that I might end up skiing with him at some point.

 

very sad...

[Cpt.Caveman]

Fuck!

 

A bold dude he was. Rest in peace.

 

His known accomplishments were truly inspiring to many and well respected by everyone I know. I have only heard great comments about the man, his attitude and his life. His spirit, fortitude, determination and ability to take part to excel the skiing sport in our state in remote areas or unskied lines were fantastic. His short departure is saddening and who knows what else he may have done in the future years if they were available to him.

[mtn_mouse]

David_Parker said:

 

 

I have been where he went if he started at Goblin's gate. It's fucking gnarly and once in there is only one way out; the other end. It's total wilderness and no real trail or access from above.

 

From Goblin gate down is a nasty area, but that is called Rica canyon. The grand canyon of the Elwha goes upstream past Lillian river, and almost up to the Mary's Falls area. Like you said, it is very unproachable. I have heard of people dragging their kayaks all the way to Elkhorn 12 miles or so, and taking the river out. Too bad to lose someone so adventurous.

[gregm]

from kirotv.com:

 

 

Man Dies In Kayak Accident On Elwha River

 

POSTED: 5:57 AM PST November 10, 2003

 

PORT ANGELES, Wash. -- Authorities say a man died after his kayak capsized on the Elwha River.

 

Olympic National Park spokesperson Barb Maynes says the man was with some friends yesterday when his kayak turned turtle. The accident occurred in a turbulent area known as Goblin Gates, where the river shoots down a rock passage into Rica Canyon on the river southwest of Port Angeles.

 

A member of the group hiked out to get help, and park rangers reached the area late Sunday.

 

Maynes says a helicopter may be needed to recover the man's body.

[Jens]

Ben was perhaps one our areas finest atheletes. Anything he wanted to try he'd did well at.

 

As a partner of his since 93', I don't think I ever heard him complain once. Ben lived his life and dreams to the fullest. He'd give you the shirt off his own back.

 

Jens Klubberud

 

 

[highclimb]

horrible news.

Although i did not know him, his trip reports where amazing + inspirational and made me want to be in the outdoors everytime i read one. everytime i logged on to his site my mouth would drop in astonishment at what he had accomplished.

Aidan

Edited November 11, 2003 by highclimb

[Lowell_Skoog]

Here is a short item from the Port Angeles newspaper, posted on Tuesday 11/11. It's the first news story I've seen that mentions Ben by name. I've been a little worried that the web might have gotten ahead of the authorities on releasing his name. That could be painful for family members.

 

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/sited/story/html/148626

 

Olympic National Park: Kayaker dies after capsizing on upper Elwha River

2003-11-11

by BRENDA HANRAHAN

 

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK -- A 24-year-old Bellingham man has died after his kayak capsized on the upper Elwha River.

 

The man was identified Monday afternoon as Ben Manfredi, park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said.

 

A seven-person team from Olympic Mountain Rescue and eight park staff were recovering Manfredi's body by hiking into and out of a steep canyon Monday afternoon, said Larry Nickey, Olympic National Park's fire and emergency operations coordinator.

 

Sunday's kayaking incident happened in an area known as Goblin's Gate, where the Elwha River shoots down a rock passage into Rica Canyon.

 

Maynes said the stretch of river is a challenging whitewater area, but noted that Manfredi was an experienced kayaker and avid ``extreme'' sports participant.

 

------------------

 

The rest of the story appears in the Tuesday Peninsula Daily News.

 

[JoshK]

Lowell_Skoog said:

Maynes said the stretch of river is a challenging whitewater area, but noted that Manfredi was an experienced kayaker and avid ``extreme'' sports participant.

 

It's sad that the paper (or the authority for that matter) couldn't have left out the unescessary "extreme sports" comment. It would have been more than sufficient to mention that he was an experienced kayaker, which is all that mattered in this case.

[forrest_m]

This is a major loss to our community.

 

Ben’s accomplishments were amazing, but what really made an impression on me was his attitude that seemed to say “no big deal, just me and my friends having fun.” I first met him when Marshall and I were putting together the mountainslide festival a few years ago. We were looking for people to fill the “local” slots and he emailed me to say that he had some photos of “skiing some pretty steep stuff in the cascades.” He came in with a tray of slides and blew us away – the only show we scheduled with absolutely no need for further discussion.

 

I hope to remember Ben as a guy who was out there for the right reasons – not to impress other people (although we couldn’t help being impressed), but just because it was what he wanted to do.

[mattp]

Right on, Forrest. I generally stay away from these "fallen heroes" threads but Mr. Manfredi was indeed the impressive outdoorsman that he was for the exact reason that you stated: he was out there for the right reason -- because he loved being out there. His enthusiasm was obvious and he seemed equally able to appreciate and laud other people's accomplishments as his own; never once did I get the idea that he was taking risks in order to show off or impress other people.

[HRoark]

[nolanr]

I met Ben and the Hummels by Colchuck Col this spring. I was impressed by the guy during the short time I knew him. Very sad. My condolences to his family and friends.

[erikwilker]

forrest_m said:

This is a major loss to our community.

 

Ben's accomplishments were amazing, but what really made an impression on me was his attitude that seemed to say, no big deal, just me and my friends having fun. I first met him when Marshall and I were putting together the mountainslide festival a few years ago. We were looking for people to fill the local slots and he emailed me to say that he had some photos of;skiing some pretty steep stuff in the cascades. He came in with a tray of slides and blew us away; the only show we scheduled with absolutely no need for further discussion.

 

I hope to remember Ben as a guy who was out there for the right reasons; not to impress other people (although we couldn't help being impressed), but just because it was what he wanted to do.

 

Jens, Greg, Forrest,

 

I don't know who, if anyone, is the proper avenue for this, but I've got an audiotape of Ben giving the slide presentation Forrest mentioned, and I think that it may be of interest to the family (If not now, then possibly in time).

 

Sorry not to post earlier, but I had to go back into my tapes and make sure I still had it, and that it is still fully audible (it is).

 

The reason I have the tape I was doing doctoral research in linguistic anthropology on the topic of mountaineering and adventure narratives (yes, Ben and all others gave me express permission to tape their shows). During that time, I taped a lot of venues, professional and amateur. Forrest's show had a lot of grea talks. Ben was very unassuming, gave a really good show and let the pictures do the talking for the most part. I never knew him, but by his talk he seemed to impervious to chestbeating or hyped bravado. He was just a cool and happy kid, a junior at UW, talking about what he most liked to do.

 

To the point, I would be glad to send the tape to his family if it is something that they want. Because Ben was so laid back during the talk, it isn't super narrative, but it is his voice, and he is talking about he friends and the adventured that obviously meant a lot to him.

 

I am sorry for the loss, and just wanted to offer this. I recognize that this is a weird thing to have surface, and I understand if the family isn't immediately thrilled. If any of you think that there is, or might ever, be interest in acquiring this tape, p.m. me so that I can provide some more durable contact information.

 

This is sad. Again, very sorry to learn this. Strength to those who loved him.