Monday, June 15, 2009

Touched.

The last real conversation I had with Micah Dash was about our fathers. He had met my daughter the previous weekend, and when I told him that my worst fear was becoming my father, he laughed out loud. "Dude, no way. Every kid wants a cool dad like you." Then he cracked some joke, smiled that gigantic smile, threw back his bottle, and we forgot all about the seriousness of 2 minutes earlier.

Last week, the search for Micah's body, somewhere in the mountains of China, was called off. The search party had found and identified the bodies of his two companions, Wade Johnson and Jonny Copp. Up to that point, everyone had hoped beyond hope that he'd be found, somehow alive. I think that for most, it took a few days to really sink in.

I only met Jonny once, but it was instantly obvious that he was a guy you WANTED to know. I never met Wade, but I knew his work, which will always be a great, lasting tribute to how he lived his life.

These three have touched, inspired, and will be sorely missed by the climbing community they dedicated their lives to. And they'll never be forgotten.

Below is a segment from "The Sharp End", which features Jonny and Micah, and was associate produced by Wade for Sender Films. It doesn't get anymore badass than these guys...

Micah Dash and Johnny Copp segment of "The Sharp End" from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.