| **News and Events: Carl Skoog Dies in Mountaineering Accident |
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| Wed, October 26, 2005 01:21 PM |
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UPDATE:A memorial service for Carl Skoog will be held on Saturday, November 12, at 4 p.m. The service will be held in the Olympus Room of The Mountaineers Building in Seattle.
Tuesday's Seattle P-I had an article on Carl, as did Wednesday's Seattle Times.
Carl Skoog, died in a mountaineering accident in Argentina on October 17. The following is from a post on Cascadeclimbers.com that was written by his brother, Lowell. We will post news about the memorial for Carl as soon as we have any information. In the meantime, please join us in giving our condolences to the Skoog family.
On October 17, 2005, my brother Carl Skoog died in a mountaineering accident on Cerro Mercedario (6777 m, 22210 ft) in the high Andes of Argentina. Carl was climbing and skiing with his friend Rene Crawshaw of Chilliwack, B.C. Their trip plan was to revisit and document the country described in the 1975 book by Piers Paul Read, "Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors," about a 1972 plane crash involving a Uruguayan rugby team.
Carl and Rene had already climbed a peak called Cerro Negro. That climb and descent went well. After climbing Cerro Negro, they established a camp at 14,500 feet on Cerro Mercedario. After some weather delays, they climbed the south face of Mercedario and established a higher camp at about 20,000 feet. They spent three nights at the high camp and during this period they made a successful one-day climb to the summit and back. Rene said that he and Carl were both doing well at altitude.
Around mid-morning on October 17, they began their descent from high camp. According to Rene, they were working their way down a 42-degree snow slope when Carl's fall occurred. The snow texture was uneven and they were side-slipping on skis at the time. Carl may have struck a hidden rock or other obstacle, but there is no way to know for sure. He attempted to arrest his fall but was not successful. He struck some rocks, and Rene thought he may have lost consciousness at that point. Carl ultimately tumbled 4500 vertical feet. Rene descended over a period of several hours and located Carl's body, confirming that he had died.
Cerro Mercedario is in remote country, and it took Rene 1-1/2 days to hike out for assistance. The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires notified Carl's family on October 20 and on the same day a military party on foot and with mules left to recover Carl's body. The recovery is expected to take three days.
Lowell Skoog
Seattle, WA
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