f--- you... i'm sick of every f---ing thing that this goddamn country supports, believes in, etc. all we care about is ourselves and what we can benefit from. i don't give a f--- about you or any other goddamn american asshole... i was not talking about death when i said that we don't give enough recognition to people from other countries. i was talking about climbing in general. so f--- you

f--- you... i'm sick of every f---ing thing that this goddamn country supports, believes in, etc. all we care about is ourselves and what we can benefit from. i don't give a f--- about you or any other goddamn american asshole... i was not talking about death when i said that we don't give enough recognition to people from other countries. i was talking about climbing in general. so f--- you

because they're american, we acknowledge them? don't get me wrong, it is a terrible tragedy... but i've just noticed that we always give credit to the american climbers... but other climbers that are from other countries hardly get recognition. in magazines they name off the americans and then say "and a french climber" or "and a german climber" etc... it's kind of degrating
that's just what i've noticed

My sympathy to the friends and faimly of the three.


From Calgary Sun

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/News/2004/02/14/pf-347285.html



BANFF -- Three Americans, including two dedicated to rescuing others, were killed when an avalanche swept over them during an ice-climbing outing. The bodies of John Ray Miner, 53, James William Andrues, 66, and 42-year-old Russ Howard were recovered from Mount Wilson, 80 km north of Lake Louise along Hwy. 93.

All three worked for the police force in Redmond, Wash. -- Miner was a lieutenant, Howard served in public works, and Andrues left Redmond police to work as a Pierce County community services officer.

Yesterday, as the third body was found on the mountain, friends and co-workers in Pierce County, Wash. -- where the men worked and lived -- were devastated and shocked the men died the way they did.

"The weird thing is they spent their whole entire lives rescuing people off mountains," said Pierce County police Det. Ed Troyer, where Miner and Andrues were on a volunteer search-and-rescue team.

Howard had more than two decades of climbing experience.

"Anytime Miner went on holidays it was to the mountains," said co-worker Stacey Holland, public affairs officer with the Redmond city police, where Miner was a lieutenant.

"He was the ultimate survivor -- a disaster-awareness guru, from earthquakes to floods, if there was some sort of emergency he taught officers about it," said Holland.

"When we first got the news we were holding out hope he would survive, that he would be the one under 50 feet of snow, the Superman-type of thing ... he would be the one to make it out."

The trio were to be back in Washington Feb. 22.

Mike Mixon, part of a second climbing party that was at Mount Wilson with the group, said the excursion was an annual event.

"These were very experienced people with lots of skill not only in climbing but search and rescue," said Mixon, an engineer from the Seattle area who's been with the volunteer Tacoma Mountain Rescue Society for 15 years.

The three were killed Thursday when an avalanche swept down their Midnight Rambler climbing route on Mount Wilson.

Two were found soon after and the third was located yesterday morning after a dozen park wardens using avalanche dogs and probes combed the debris at the bottom of an ice waterfall where the trio had been climbing.

Mark Ledwidge, a public safety specialist for the national mountain parks, said a temperature inversion Thursday probably contributed to the avalanche.

"Things were warming up quite quickly above them without their knowing."