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girlyoutalkto
Jan 13, 2010, 2:57 PM
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Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239
"Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28.
English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said.
English recently returned from a tour of Iraq.
He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said."
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agdavis
Jan 13, 2010, 3:03 PM
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girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said."
sounds like he rapped off the ends of his rope.
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trenchdigger
Jan 13, 2010, 3:48 PM
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girlyoutalkto wrote: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 ..."He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department." ... In reply to: I wouldn't call this a "rock climbing accident". I'd call it a botched attempt by a hiker to retrieve a dropped tent.
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Adk
Jan 13, 2010, 9:00 PM
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Sad news.
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JAB
Jan 14, 2010, 7:09 AM
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agdavis wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." sounds like he rapped off the ends of his rope.
That, or that he rapped as long as the rope would take him, then tried to scramble the rest of the way.
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majid_sabet
Jan 14, 2010, 9:39 PM
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girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said."
I would be very suspicious to this particular incident and just would not consider it as a "typical climbing accident" till proven otherwise.
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seatbeltpants
Jan 14, 2010, 11:16 PM
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majid_sabet wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." I would be very suspicious to this particular incident and just would not consider it as a "typical climbing accident" till proven otherwise.
i'm trying to work out how the line your highlighted from the article relates to your comment - are you suggesting that it's a suspicious death because he was arrested at political protests?
steve
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majid_sabet
Jan 15, 2010, 12:25 AM
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seatbeltpants wrote: majid_sabet wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." I would be very suspicious to this particular incident and just would not consider it as a "typical climbing accident" till proven otherwise. i'm trying to work out how the line your highlighted from the article relates to your comment - are you suggesting that it's a suspicious death because he was arrested at political protests? steve
since he was part of the Army, I am sure military does a fine job investigation this incident like all the others and we will know what went wrong so I could be wrong.
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hafilax
Jan 15, 2010, 12:39 AM
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Where's USNavy?
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moose_droppings
Jan 17, 2010, 4:27 AM
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hafilax wrote: Where's USNavy?
Good question.
Has he posted since this happened?
My condolences to all family and friends.
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socalclimber
Jan 17, 2010, 4:52 AM
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Sorry to hear this.
Having done guided jobs with the military in the past, you would be amazed how most of them do not know how to rappel.
They learn this in basic training, but after that they have more important things to learn and train for. There are exceptions like the special forces types, but not for your basic ground troops.
I recently worked a large military group (90+) who were doing a rap exercise and when I asked each person when the last time they did a rap was, the answer was almost universal, "During basic training".
The other thing we had to keep reminding them was that "Jumping" down the rap was not acceptable. Slow and steady was the rule. It's understandable why they are taught to take giant leaps while rapping, people are likely trying to shoot them. Their sitting ducks otherwise.
This isn't the case while climbing.
My guess he just didn't have the skills to handle things properly.
(This post was edited by socalclimber on Jan 17, 2010, 5:00 AM)
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tradrenn
Jan 17, 2010, 5:49 AM
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hafilax wrote: Where's USNavy?
My thoughts exactly.
V.
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USnavy
Jan 25, 2010, 9:50 AM
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This is sad news, my condolences to his family.
This is the first I have heard of the incident. We do have one crag in the area he was in however its location is known only by a very select few individuals, all of which I know personally. Additionally, the tallest line in the area is only 140 feet thus the maximum fall distance possible would be 140 feet (the link said he fell 400).
It’s my opinion that he was not at an actual crag, but possibly hiking. There is a large sum of hiking in the area and the location is right in the middle of a mountain range and there are many steep, chossy cliffs around.
Regardless, my best regards go to his family.
(This post was edited by USnavy on Jan 25, 2010, 10:06 AM)
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dingus
Jan 25, 2010, 1:49 PM
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agdavis wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." sounds like he rapped off the ends of his rope.
I saw no mention of rope at all, in this report. Did you read something I missed?
Where's the rope?
DMT
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dynosore
Jan 25, 2010, 2:35 PM
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dingus wrote: agdavis wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." sounds like he rapped off the ends of his rope. I saw no mention of rope at all, in this report. Did you read something I missed? Where's the rope? DMT
I read that as he didn't have enough rope, so he scrambled down instead. Or maybe he rapped to the end of his rope, then tried scrambing down the rest of the way? Cliffs in Hawaii are for the most part superchosserific, not the place to scramble.
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dynosore
Jan 25, 2010, 2:36 PM
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majid_sabet wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." I would be very suspicious to this particular incident and just would not consider it as a "typical climbing accident" till proven otherwise.
I hope you're not seriously suggesting someone offed him for his political beliefs? Shame no matter what to die over a stupid tent. Condolences.
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agdavis
Jan 25, 2010, 3:09 PM
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dingus wrote: agdavis wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." sounds like he rapped off the ends of his rope. I saw no mention of rope at all, in this report. Did you read something I missed? Where's the rope? DMT
The article which the link goes to has this quote:
"English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said."
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desertwanderer81
Feb 2, 2010, 6:55 PM
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girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said."
Wow, this guy seams to be an incredibly awesome human being. There is something special in my heart about people who are peace loving indivisuals who also choose to serve their country.
However, I am curious, is this actually a climbing accident, or a mountaineering one?
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USnavy
Feb 3, 2010, 12:35 PM
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desertwanderer81 wrote: girlyoutalkto wrote: Anyone hear anything about this? The news story is lacking in details. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=888239 "Garland English, a humanitarian from Wynantskill [New York] who became an Army platoon leader, died Sunday after falling about 400 feet in a rock climbing accident in Hawaii, where he was stationed, his friends said. He was 28. English grew up on Oberlook Avenue and graduated from Averill Park High School before attending Columbia University in Manhattan. He was proud of being arrested at political protests, tried his hand at acting and writing poetry and traveled extensively before joining the Army in 2007, which he thought could lead to a career in politics, friends said. English recently returned from a tour of Iraq. He and a friend Sunday had returned to a rocky cliff in the remote and rural Makaha Valley near Honululu to try to retrieve a tent one of them dropped days earlier while hiking, said Capt. Terry Seelig of the Honululu Fire Department. English, who had a fearless side, didn't have enough rope to climb down, and died trying to reach the gear, Seelig said." Wow, this guy seams to be an incredibly awesome human being. There is something special in my heart about people who are peace loving indivisuals who also choose to serve their country. However, I am curious, is this actually a climbing accident, or a mountaineering one?
(This post was edited by USnavy on Feb 3, 2010, 12:36 PM)
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desertwanderer81
Feb 3, 2010, 6:10 PM
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That was my take on it.
I just don't like that the name of rock climbing gets sullied by instances like this.
Tragic as it might be, it does harm to the community.
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