RIP DB

I suck at putting pictures, but you get the idea. Dave was so excited about being able to hunt Elk.
Dave and I summited San Luis the Friday before he fell. You can see the view from the camera, but climbing 14ers in person really makes it sweeter. Note how the clouds build up(we had to run down to get away from light snow/hail....and luckily no thunderstorms.

Those who've hiked with Dave see this view a lot. Not even a mountain could slow him down.

Dave and I take a break in a river while riding Hermosa Creek...a trail I've never rode before after all my time in Durango. It was amazing how peaceful it could be while out there in the middle of nowhere. He ripped it on the single speed on the way home.

Dave a week before the fall, climbing the exact mountain he fell on. You have to go up this road, a monstrosity that a 4X4 has trouble with. Dave apparently rode his bike half way and hiked the rest that fateful day.

So I messed the picture up, but you could see Daves lighter side, and like always thinking of others. He thought Aubrey and Presley would love to see him and Bugs together.
I think this is Culebra. The 1st 14er we climbed on the trip. I kinda forced Dave into these pictures sometimes, and I'm glad I did now.

Now I will explain exactly what happened. From what we gathered and were told. First I'll show you the mountain he fell off of.

<< Where the blue line is where the trail is. Where is comes out of the trees, that is where he was at 1pm and decided to climb. If you go straight up from where the blue comes out of the trees, you can see a little notch in the mountain. this is is where he fell, 200ft down to the scree where he was found.

Now that you have a picture of WHERE he fell, and what the mountain looks like, this is what we've peiced together(This is more than likely what happened, given everything we know about Dave, his GPS, what people have said, and what we concluded)

Dave started climbing early that Wednesday morning, around 5:30. He took his Spot tracker, and it automatically updates every 10min, unless the signal gets obstructed(trees, clothes, rocks can cause this). He rode his bike, or hiked his bike up the trail, as there was a bike missing from the RV, that I was riding earlier that week. He apparently locked it somewhere, as I know he bought a lock and used it when we climbed San Luis on Friday. He hiked up 2 mountains, Ellingwood, and Blanca and at 1pm he was where I showed you the blue arrow comes out of the trees. He must've decided the weather was good and had enough time to climb. He was going, at a rapid pace apparently, and got to where it says "summit" by 3pm. He was wearing his climbing helmet, as he said he was worried about rocks falling from climbers above him. This mountain apparently is a 'sketchy' one, with loose rocks, steep ascents/descents, and they even have some ropes to help you in some places.

We read on 14ers.com that a couple was climbing and saw Dave....HAMMERING, and they said a storm blew in around 3:30 that day.

Dave was not hurt, he was not distressed pushing his Spot button for help, he for some reason(probably the storms fault) either couldn't see, got blown around, slipped, or something of the like, with the fact that Dave was probably hurrying off the mountain. He fell, and was instantly killed from his sternum breaking and puncturing his heart. He was found Friday morning, and had several injuries, from a broken ankle, nose, cheek, jaw, teeth. It is frightening to tell you what his helmet looked like. To see the abuse that his clothes took, his helmet now looking like a golfball, I just cannot fathom what went through Daves mind those last moments. It often keeps me up at night playing what happened over and over in my head. I follow it up with thinking of good thoughts, which is easy to do when you think of Dave.

It was a sad day indeed when we heard the news, I feel very sorry for Cheryl, and his family. I know just being a friend of Daves is hard to handle.

I plan to help finish Daves list of 14ers for him, 16 more. And I will add one more for sure, Little Bear. RIP Dave.