Condolences - Squamish Climber Amy Stein killed in fall

[squamish climber]

Sorry to hear this tragic news. Condolences to her family and friends.

From the Lake Chelan Mirror newspaper:
May 16, 2013
5/15/2013 3:05:00 PM
Sheriffs update about hiking fatality

The Chelan County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Unit recovered the body of the female hiker/climber that fell while descending the base of the Snow Creek Wall Tuesday near Leavenworth. Amy R. Stein 37yoa currently of Squamish, British Columbia fell off a ledge and into a steep ravine while attempting to avoid a large rock falling from above her Tuesday evening. The other four members of the hiking/climbing party advised they had descended the Orbit route of the Snow Creek Wall earlier in the afternoon and were hiking down from the base.
Stein was the lead hiker on the descent when a large rock broke free above her. Stein was positioned in a narrow ravine at the time and moved to avoid the falling rock. During that maneuver, Stein accidentally fell off a ledge and landed 70 - 100 feet below.
Other members of the hiking group responded to Stein's location and determined her injuries were substantial. One member hiked out for assistance while others attempted to revive her as vital signs failed. Stein was pronounced deceased as rescuers arrived on scene. Stein's body was recovered by a Chelan County Sheriff's Office helicopter
working with a ground team at approximately 9:00am this morning (Wednesday).

Stein is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Her family has been notified. Sheriff Brian Burnett reports a 42 year old woman died Tuesday evening in a fall while descending the lower portion of the Snow Creek Wall located approximately 5 ½ miles southwest of Leavenworth, WA. At 6:52pm, the RIVERCOM communications center received a 911 cellular call advising of the accident. The caller informed dispatchers that one of the climbers in their party had fallen at least 100 feet during the final descent and was severely injured. Sheriff's Office search and rescue personnel requested a hoist capable helicopter and a ground team respond to the scene. One of the SAR coordinators was able to make direct phone contact with the reporting party and it was determined the victim had sustained mortal injuries in the fall. Efforts to revive her were not successful.

The exact cause of the fall is still under investigation. SAR coordinators are interviewing other members of the climbing party and will be checking the victim's equipment.
Question concerning this incident can be directed to Sergeant Kent Sisson in the Special Operations Division.

And this story on cbc.ca/bc

[Chris155]

Damn,
So sad....
Condolences to family and friends and also thoughts to those that were with her at the time of the incident.

[squamish climber]

Amy Rachel Stein : December 30, 1975 - May 13, 2013


There is a very moving write-up about the tragic events around Amy’s fall in the Chief Newspaper. I am posting it in its entirety because I think it's a fitting and lasting tribute to a fallen member of the Squamish Climbing Community. She sounds like an incredible woman who warmed hearts and put smiles on faces. I am sorry I never met her. To all her friends in Squamish, especially Jessica Evans and Nathan Kukathas -- whose lives are forever changed -- the community is there to support you in your grief.

For everybody who wants to honour and remember Amy, there is memorial fund in her name at the The Women's Wilderness Institute. “The Girls' Wilderness Program uses the challenge of wilderness experience to help girls discover the power of their own voices and build the personal and interpersonal skills to successfully navigate the challenges of their lives. The Girls' Program provides scholarships to girls in need, and provides opportunities for girls to learn their own power through climbing, hiking, and outdoor experiences.”

Squamish residents mourn lost friend

• She was there one moment, then gone the next.
  
  But friends of a Squamish resident who plummeted an estimated 70 to 100 feet to her death said she will never be forgotten.
  
  Avid climber Amy Stein died after falling off a ledge into a forested area near Leavenworth, Wash. on May 14. She was part of a group of five climbers who had gathered in the town to celebrate the birthday of one group member.
  
  “The goal was to do this specific multi-pitch route on my friend’s birthday,” said Squamish resident Jessica Evans, a close friend of Stein’s. “We got a bit of a late start and decided to make a descent and not continue up any further because we were losing daylight.”
  
  Evans, Stein and another friend descended the Orbit route on Snow Creek Wall and were hiking down to the base when they noticed the rock starting to slide on their path.
  
  “There appeared to be a good descent gully and we started walking down that – Amy was first,” Evans said. “The rock started to slide so we were kind of deciding what to do — should we go one at a time or all at the same time.”
  
  As the group was deciding what to do, a large rock tumbled toward the five and Stein reacted.
  
  “We don’t know if she was struck or moving to get out of the way, but she was swept over a ledge. It all happened very fast. It was a short scream and then nothing — she never spoke again.”
  
  Evans made her way down the gully to locate Stein, but the results were grim.
  
  “I saw where Amy had landed and I saw the height of the ledge. I told my friend that our lives had just changed,” she said.
  
  After rappelling down, Evans found Stein unresponsive but still breathing. Evans tried her best to comfort her friend in her final moments.
  
  “I was with her — I promise she left peacefully,” Evans said. “I made sure she was covered and warm, and surrounded her with love.”
  
  Emergency responders were contacted, but the damage was done. Evans said Stein died within 30 minutes of her fall, with Search and Rescue officials pronouncing her dead when they arrived on the scene.
  
  Evans said Stein was a special person to so many people in the Squamish community, noting that more than 40 people showed up at an impromptu wake on May 15.
  
  “I wish I could have known her my whole life,” she said. “She was really smart and funny — she was a classy American who chose to live here in Squamish.”
  
  Stein grew up in Boston and received an undergraduates degree from Darmouth College in New Hampshire and her Masters in Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. She lived and worked in San Francisco, then moved to Vancouver before eventually ending up in Squamish.
  
  Nathan Kukathas was Stein’s roommate this past year in Squamish.
  
  “It was surreal and really hard to believe,” he said, upon hearing of the news of Stein’s death. “I met her through the great community of Squamish and one day she said, ‘Let’s be great friends’ and we were – it was as simple as that.”
  
  Kukathas said Stein was well known in both the climbing community and elsewhere in Squamish.
  “She had fallen in love with Squamish,” he said. “She had so much experience living in so many parts of the world and made friends everywhere, but she loved Squamish. She had adversity to the weather here but loved the people. She liked the fact that people chose to live here.”
  
  Stein’s funeral took place in Boston on Monday (May 20) and the event was watched via webcast by a group of her local friends that morning. Later that evening, a group of her close friends hosted a dinner in her honour.
  
  For more information on the Amy Stein Memorial Fund, visit http://www.womenswilderness.org/amy-stein-memorial-fund.