April 1st, 2010

Heidi Kloos, one of the top female alpine guides in the United States, was found dead under 5' of avalanche debris on April 1st, 2010. 

She apparently had left home near Ridgeway, CO on the 30th to do a day of solo ice climbing with her dog Minke.  Friends began a search when she did not return that evening.  

A search team went out on the 31st and found a very worried Minke and Heidi's pack adjacent to a recently deposited, large wet slab debris pile.  Heidi was found a day later near the toe of the debris by trained rescue dogs and searchers. 

Heidi was a tremendous person with all of the best qualities one could ask for in a climbing partner and friend.  She was an incredibly accomplished mountain guide who gave her best effort to every endeavor and showed solid resolve in the face of adversity.  She loved her dog, her many friends around the world, traveling, coffee, the mountains, and steep rock of all kinds. 

Heidi worked for a number of guide services around the United States, and one of her employers, Mountain Trip has a nice photo bio of Heidi on their website here. 

The photo at right was taken on the crux of a mult-pitch 5.12, one of many that she and I climbed in Railay, Thailand together.  I love her smile despite the exposure, lack of holds, and slack belay as I'm busy taking her photo which I'm sure she couldn't have cared less about, as posing was not her style.  This was one also of the rare times that Heidi wasn't going first on a crux pitch.  

Heidi was one of the strongest rock climbers that I have ever shared a rope with and she especially excelled at the steep and pumpy limestone routes of Thailand. 

It was on the steep sided peaks of the North Cascades that I first met and trained with Heidi on AMGA Alpine Courses as she became one of the few women to become certified as an Alpine Guide by the American Mountain Guides Association.  She possessed all of the skills of a great alpinist, with the strength of mind, body, and will that most of us can only dream of achieving.  RIP my friend. 

Heidi was awarded the Denali Pro Award in 2008 for her rescue work.  There is a nice write-up on this Guide Directory that details some of her other accomplishments and attitudes about her work.  The complete report on the avalanche that took her life can be found here on the CAIC website.  An obituary/article about Heidi in the Telluride Daily Planet paper can be found here.  A Facebook page, In Loving Memory of Heidi Kloos has been started here and a tribute to Heidi has been published on the American Alpine Club website here.