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Beave
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Location: Woodinville
Beave
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PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:24 pm 
I only had the great fortune to climb with Ed a couple times. The "Calvin and Hobbes" (which to me was quite fitting for his adventurous and fun-loving personalitly) avatar appearing under my trip reports meant I was doing something right photographically or otherwise. I hold great respects for people like Ed, and I always smiled on the inside when he took interest in my sometimes random mountain wanderings. I second everything said; He was just a genuinely cool guy and I looked forward to future trips in the mountains with him. It is greatly disheartening that I will never again have that chance, and that I did not more eagerly pursue it while he was still with us. Tom, glad to hear you made it out ok. Perhaps after this has settled a bit, those of us who knew Ed can get together for a more personal goodbye than this forum can provide. And Tom, if you hear anything regarding memorial services please let us know as I would be honored to attend. Craig

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:31 pm 
I am so terribly sorry, our heart is with you all. Rest in peace.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Trevor
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Joined: 31 Jan 2004
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Location: Edmonds, WA
Trevor
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PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:34 pm 
This is very shocking news; completely transformed my night. Ed's courage was very admirable. I'll miss the moods his photos brought with each tr. RIP. Maybe we can collect some of Ed's top images as a remembrance gallery.

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ActionBetty
Im a dirty hippie!



Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 4807 | TRs | Pics
Location: kennewick, wa
ActionBetty
Im a dirty hippie!
PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:36 pm 
That is a good idea Trevor

"If you're not living good, you gotta travel wide"...Bob Marley
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Adi
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Adi
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PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:42 pm 
Because words are not enough, my heart is with you Tom, Gerard and all Ed's family and friends. Rest in peace, Ed.

Now it occured to me, as I awoke from deeper dreams... All this evolution and still I don't know what it means. Dirty dreams or purity? How can so many people think they're right when everybody's wrong?
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scot'teryx
Armchair Alpinist



Joined: 27 Dec 2001
Posts: 183 | TRs | Pics
Location: Livin' large in Mill Creek
scot'teryx
Armchair Alpinist
PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:44 pm 
This is a horrible evening for me. I met Ed 2 years ago when he took a glacier course that I was helping to teach. He had an incredible amount of exuberance for a late 40's guy, and could always kick butt in a serious way. I have posted a link on my home page and will post it here that goes to his Fototime photo page. http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid={D8C37AE6-AC52-4E63-90CF-194A4FEEAA11} If you have not seen his pics, then your in for a true treat. He was a great photographer
Ed helped me and others with the glacier course this year. When one of the students hurt her leg real bad in a fall, he wound up carrying 2 full packs (50#) back down to cascade pass from the lower sahale arm. He did everything he could to help out and make her happy. Ed went back up with us a few weeks ago to summit sahale, only he could not wait for us, so he drove up the night before and went up the previous day. While we f'ed around at home, he climbed to cache col to scope the PT route, then up to Sahale Camp for the night. We then knew we would meet him at high camp and rope up together and climb to the summit. 2 guys at high camp mentioned that Ed could not wait and headed up w/o us. He then waited for us on the top of Sahale for 2.5 hours!! Ed's passion was phenomenol, and his pictures show his love for the sport. He was an incredible person and I had a great time with him every time we went out. The PT was his last big hoorah before he was to have shoulder surgery that would take him out for the remainder of the summer. Unfortunately, Formiddable was his last mountain. I am deeply saddened. Let us all please have a moment of silence for him. RIP
Ed on Granite Mountain 3/2005 Some of Ed's Pics, there are too many awesome ones to choose from

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Randy
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Randy
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PostTue Aug 08, 2006 11:50 pm 
Pretty cool Scott. Thanks for the words and pictures.

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Oren
Grampa Murphy



Joined: 27 Jun 2004
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Oren
Grampa Murphy
PostWed Aug 09, 2006 12:41 am 
In memory of a true friend. You will be forever missed. Thank you for encouagement and inspiration. I have been blessed to have know such genuine person.
Black Peak
Black Peak
Dragontail
Dragontail
ED
ED
ED & Mike Black Peak
ED & Mike Black Peak
Enchanted Valley
Enchanted Valley
Enchantments
Enchantments
Entiat
Entiat
Gunn
Gunn
Prusik Morn
Prusik Morn
Maude
Maude
Maude2
Maude2
Oren,ED,Chris
Oren,ED,Chris
And thank all of you for you kind words. I know he has touched so many hearts.

Long since I've been amongst majestic peaks nor side mirrored lakes where awe so speaks. Blanketed valleys the dawn awakes and blinking stars to fade. My soul is called to see these things, the Hand of God has made.
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Allison
Feckless Swooner



Joined: 17 Dec 2001
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Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes
Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostWed Aug 09, 2006 12:52 am 
Yay, thanks so much Oren. Please accept my condolences, I know you two were close. I didn't know Ed very well, but I'm deeply saddened by his passage. He was a super cool guy out in the hlils for the best reasons.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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Tazz
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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Tazz
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PostWed Aug 09, 2006 12:53 am 
bawl.gif This is very sad news. Tom, Dan and I send our thoughts your way. Our hearts are with you I had been communicating and planning with Edd about climbing Thielson and Broken Top down here in Or. He mentioned was excited about this trip. We had great conversations about climbing in general. I was looking forward to meeting the most humble, caring and nice guy on this forum. It would have been an honor to climb with such a great guy! His photography was some of the best I have seen in the NW. We are all lucky to to have had the privilege to see his works posted on this site. His works moved me in ways I cannot put into words. I know many of you here know and love Edd and my heart goes out to you all. Words just can't describe how truly sad this is......

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Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer



Joined: 02 Mar 2003
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Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer
PostWed Aug 09, 2006 1:06 am 
Oren...those are really good shots of Ed. Bring a tear to my eye. I really like the Black Peak ones...those bring back some great memories. I'm gonna miss him, buddy. Here's my favorite pic of Ed:
Plans for the Stuart Glacier...
Plans for the Stuart Glacier...
And here are some more pics showing him what he loved to do most...
Lounging in the 'Chants
Lounging in the 'Chants
Me, Ben, and Ed on the brush bash to Elbow Lake
Me, Ben, and Ed on the brush bash to Elbow Lake
Dad and Ed at Copper Lake, on our infamous West Fork Foss to East Fork Miller "Dayhike"
Dad and Ed at Copper Lake, on our infamous West Fork Foss to East Fork Miller "Dayhike"
Ascending Chikamin. Ed was kind enough to come back for us after dropping his pack up top. *grin*
Ascending Chikamin. Ed was kind enough to come back for us after dropping his pack up top. *grin*
Chilliin on the Chikamin summit
Chilliin on the Chikamin summit
Pondering Snowking from Chaval
Pondering Snowking from Chaval
Above Big Heart
Above Big Heart
Ascending Big Snow
Ascending Big Snow
And resting on the top.
And resting on the top.
Black Peak summit. Ed's second time that day, our first.
Black Peak summit. Ed's second time that day, our first.
Ed's first view of the Enchantments
Ed's first view of the Enchantments
Gib Wons
Gib Wons
Descending to Hi-Low and Lunker
Descending to Hi-Low and Lunker
Mission Accomplished: Hinman and Dutch Miller Gap
Mission Accomplished: Hinman and Dutch Miller Gap
Lewis Lake
Lewis Lake
En route to Malachite
En route to Malachite
Above Short Bus
Above Short Bus
On top of Daniel, waiting for the fog to clear
On top of Daniel, waiting for the fog to clear
Traversing to Coney
Traversing to Coney

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke "Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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dicey
custom title



Joined: 11 May 2004
Posts: 2870 | TRs | Pics
Location: giving cornices a wider berth
dicey
custom title
PostWed Aug 09, 2006 1:28 am 
I cannot belive it......... I'm so sorry Tom. I just returned from an absolutely unbelievable trip to hear this. It breaks my heart, and puts life into a totally different perspective. God, this just sucks so bad.....
ed on rappel
ed on rappel
glacier touring
glacier touring

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostWed Aug 09, 2006 1:44 am 
My sympathy to Ed's family and friends. And my prayers.

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Andrew
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Andrew
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PostWed Aug 09, 2006 2:23 am 
His pictures and postings exuded just how much passion he had for the hills. I looked forward to crossing paths with such an enthusiastic individual. My prayers and condolences to friends and family...

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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Aug 09, 2006 2:24 am 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I talked to Ed's brother today, and I don't think his family was fully aware of how many lives Ed had touched here in the last few years. I know it means a lot to them. I remember when Mike and I first started hiking with Ed. He was pretty rough around the edges in terms of backcountry skills. That changed over the years. Ed immersed himself in knowledge and training and by our Berdeen trip last year he was teaching us a thing or two. Not that we really knew all that much to begin with, grin, but he thought so. On the Ptarmigan Traverse I knew I would be relying on Ed's knowledge and experience. I was really proud of him, and admired what he had accomplished in such a short time. On the second day of the Ptarmigan, enroute to the red ledges, Ed discovered he did not have his ice axe. Not wanting to slow us down, he dropped his pack and ran back toward Kool Aid Lake searching in vain for his axe in the hot sun. An hour later I saw him in my binoculars returning from Kool Aid Lake carrying something in his hands. I was relieved that he had found his axe. Knowing he would be exhausted from the heat and lack of water, I went down to offer to carry his pack up the red ledges, only to find he was carrying a trekking pole someone offered him. He stated he could not find his axe in the sea of talus and was going to bail on the trip. He would not risk it. I settled him down and told him we would both go back to find his axe. We would find it. I knew how much this trip meant to him. After looking a little more carefully where we had last filtered up, Ed was never so happy to find his axe. In hindsight, I wish we had never found it, but at the time it made me happy to return a fraction of the kindness and patience Ed extended to so many... Thanks for posting the shots! Mike, I found the picture of Ed and his son Ben very touching. Ed always talked about Ben with pride, and was looking forward to spending the next 3 months together while recovering from his impending shoulder operation. Here are a few of my favorite shots of Ed...
Watson Lakes Trail
Watson Lakes Trail
Traversing Watson
Traversing Watson
Swiss Cheese Glacier
Swiss Cheese Glacier
Rafting Berdeen
Rafting Berdeen
Ladders on 3 Fingers
Ladders on 3 Fingers
Atop Chikamin
Atop Chikamin
Ascending Columbia
Ascending Columbia
Ed at Spade Lake
Ed at Spade Lake
Ed and Gerard Above Kool Aid Lake
Ed and Gerard Above Kool Aid Lake
Ed on Middle Cascade Glacier with Axe
Ed on Middle Cascade Glacier with Axe

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