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sweetaabuelita
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sweetaabuelita
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PostFri Aug 11, 2006 11:45 am 
tazz I was touched by your letter. Having lost someone suddenly, I know the shock,and the just wanting to cry out, "Damn, why did you leave me!" But just before I read this news about your friend Ed, I had oddly been thinking about my own passing, and thinking how I would like to be cremated and my family take my ashes down the Skagit river and spread them on the waters , and then, ride down the shovelspur rapids. That image of my love ones enjoying what I enjoy, the River, and them understanding what even my eloquent poetry cannot explain, well not to be too morbid, it takes a little fear out of death. Is that crazy or what? The whole thing about dying is the suffering of the ones you leave behind. And the whole horrible thing about being left behind........oh, it took me two years to get out of my miserable grief. I just lost another loved one, and I am sad to say, I am getting used to grief. So I write poetry, I sit by the river, I ride the river, I let the grief pour over me, and I embrace it. Don't forsake the mountains, don't forsake the rivers....we will always meet the Maker there, and it is there that the peace and comfort will come. Comfort to you Leeann Kelley

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shirley
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shirley
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PostFri Aug 11, 2006 4:47 pm 
I am sorry for your loss also.. What you and ALL these wonderful folks have said about Ed shows how well you knew him and truely cared about him......I am a friend of his Mother and have known him since he was little, and things said of him in this forum is beyond wonderful,and true.. The peace Ed must have had while climbing is not achieved by everyone... many folks never achieve a zest and love for something as Ed did climbing ..Thank God he found it.. and shared it with Ben and the wonderful folks that belong to the climbing community. I hope he sees every word in this forum.....

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Dayhike Mike
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Dayhike Mike
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PostFri Aug 11, 2006 4:57 pm 
sweetaabuelita wrote:
That image of my love ones enjoying what I enjoy, the River, and them understanding what even my eloquent poetry cannot explain, well not to be too morbid, it takes a little fear out of death. Is that crazy or what?
Leeann, not crazy at all... Thanks for the post...you expressed beautifully exactly what I needed to hear.

"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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JohnE
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PostFri Aug 11, 2006 11:55 pm 
I was having a bad day when I heard of Ed's passing.......shocking....and it put the rest of my life in perspective. I met Ed through OSAT, I was an instructor and he was a student. I had the opportunity to hike with Ed a couple times and his kindness and gentle demeanor impressed me. We talked about work but mostly we talked about climbing and photography. Ed was nice enough to take some candid pics of me during the conditioner I lead up to Camp Muir last year. He spent a lot of time behind the camera and it was amazing how his talent was transforming as time went on. Emails from Ed frequented my inbox, always with a link to his photos and an apology for not culling out the extras......I started to view that comment as a joke.....of course you didn't cull the pics Ed, did you ever? I loved looking at every one and I'd keep them in my inbox for weeks and look at them again and again. I was amazed and jealous about how often Ed got out. I remember the first time I went to the website with his photos and I thought "my God this guys a student? look how many climbs he has done - he's out all the time". We never think these people will leave us so soon. It's weird and it doesn't seem fair. But I'll tell you this, when I go, I hope I go doing what I love or that I at least would feel that I didn't short myself. Ed - thanks for sharing the mountains with me on those days I couldn't be there myself. JohnE

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gyngve
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PostSat Aug 12, 2006 12:38 pm 
My condolences to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Ed. The mountains usually open their gates so we may be guests in their magnificent fortresses, but occasionally they exact a harsh, indiscriminate seemingly unjust toll. I am reminded of a few excerpts from previous Accidents in North American Mountaineering: ANAM 1996, p. 67:(Mt Stuart) "One climber said the rock should have been there for another 100000 years." ANAM 1999, p. 75-76: (Mt Logan) "...[he] dislodged a loose boulder. I watched horrified as he fell and was overwhelmed by crashing rocks. When the avalanche stopped, I scrambled down and found him lying on his back, his leg and right arm buried, and a suitcase-sized rock on his torso." -- after his partner dug him out, the subject (one of the original Bulgers) miraculously was capable of limping out to the TH and made a full recovery. "[We] both gained more respect for the dangers of moraines." -- that's with over 50 years of collective mountaineering experience already between the two of them ANAM 2002, p. 81:(Dome Peak) "This was clearly an accident caused by an act of nature. This group happened to be in the path of the sliding snow block. This was a random unforseen event, though one that should not be completely unexpected." "[They were] traveling in reasonable terrain and conditions. They were keeping in line with NOLS Accepted Field Practices and general mountaineering practices."

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seawallrunner
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seawallrunner
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PostSun Aug 13, 2006 1:26 pm 
my deepest sympathies to Ed's family, to his friends, and to the NWHikers who had the pleasure of his company on trails and off. What a shocking surprise and what a sad loss.

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sue
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 1:16 pm 
Edd Miller
This is Sue, one of the climbers who was on Formidable right after Edd's accident. (I was the one who lent him my hiking pole, because I really wanted to see him finish the traverse). I am so sorry for your loss, and though I only talked with a Edd a while, I could see that he was a gentle, humble man. It was extremely sobering and heartbreakening to deal with, and I'm sure much more intensified for all of you!! You who were with him, his family, and friends have been in my prayers since the moment I knew about his death.

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Dayhike Mike
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 1:18 pm 
Thanks Sue...your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated!

"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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Don
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 2:00 pm 
Wow. Like others, I am in shock. I just returned from an 8 day trip and learned of this terrible news from a fellow member. I'm at a loss for words. I never met Ed in person, but exchanged several communications with him via this board, most recently providing him with beta for this very trip. Ed struck me as a very down to earth guy who loved life and certainly held his time in the outdoors with high value. His messages to me always contained an element of humor, which did not go unnoticed. I had hoped to meet Ed sooner than later and hopefully share some experiences together in the outdoors. Wow. Tom, I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said, and said quite well. Many years ago I had an experience on Mt. Torment where part of the mountain literally gave way above us and we were all sure we were done. We were stuck on the glacier with a gaping moat in front of us and no where to go. The rockfall hit a ridgeline directly above us and the rock bounced over us, imbedding itself in the glacier and saving us. Still the experience haunted me for a long, long time. I can't imagine having to deal with the other possible outcome. My heart and sympathy go out to you, as well as Ed's family and close friends. Hang in there. Don Geyer

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naturealbeing
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 2:24 pm 
The thread that documents the Ed Miller's Traveling Summit Register Memorial can be viewed here.

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Tom
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 3:41 pm 
One of the things I have not mentioned here, but a few of you know, is Gerard and I recovered a memory card from one of Ed's two cameras. I knew how much Ed would have wanted his pictures shared, and I didn't want to risk the pictures getting lost. Unfortunately, the card from his other camera had jarred loose at some point during the fall. There wasn't time to search for a needle in a haystack so to speak and we felt it was important to make it back that day, but I told myself if I ever returned to the area, I'd search for that card... After paying our respects, Gerard and I agreed it would be best to not inform any other parties on our way out of the accident. There was no need to cast a dark shadow on anyone's trip. His body had come to rest at the bottom of a grassy heather area downslope of the route and we had covered him with his jacket - it was unikely anyone would stumble upon anything until the authorities arrived. As we were leaving the area, we saw another party approching to climb the south ridge. For whatever reason I felt complelled to tell them the tragic news, despite what Gerard and I had agreed earlier, if only to ensure they remained safe. Today I recieved a private message from Sue, who was one of that party, and was kind enough to post above. We had not told any of them about the missing memory card, it was the furthest thing from our mind at the time, but as it turns out, one of them stumbled upon that card while crossing the heather slopes, unbelievable... I have Rick's blessing to post some of the choice images from the two memory cards, as time allows. Knowing Ed, I'm sure he got some great shots!

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Backpacker Joe
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 4:07 pm 
Thanks Tom. I cant wait to see them.. How about you? You must have some good shots of all of you prior to the accident... Do you feel comfortable sharing them?

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Dayhike Mike
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 4:13 pm 
That's incredible news, Tom. I'm tearing up thinking about the photos on those cards. I'll also look forward to seeing them when you've had some time to extract and sort through them.

"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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Tom
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 4:37 pm 
BPJ, I didn't get that many good shots. This is my favorite, taken the day before.
At times the lighting was difficult and I was saving my camera batteries for later in the trip. I'm sure Ed got some nice ones, he had a way of capturing the light at the right moment, but I hope I'm not setting expectations too high. We were just getting into the more scenic sections of the trip.

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Backpacker Joe
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PostMon Aug 14, 2006 4:59 pm 
That is a beautiful pic. Im not good with this sort of thing. What lake is that in the picture?

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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