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csproul
Jul 31, 2012, 5:40 PM
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http://www.mtairynews.com/...ark?instance=popular
There has been another death in NC. This time it was someone familiar to anyone who has spent time climbing at Pilot. Lloyd Ramsey posted here on RC.com as Rmsyll2 and was a permanent fixture at Pilot.
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healyje
Jul 31, 2012, 6:02 PM
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Man, that is a total drag and adds to a July which has taken a huge toll on the U.S. climbing community nationwide. Be careful out there!
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deltav
Jul 31, 2012, 6:11 PM
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Very sad indeed. I talked with him for nearly 30 minutes just Thursday. Any word on what happened?
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will certainly be missed
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chezdillon
Jul 31, 2012, 6:25 PM
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Very sad news. My condolences to friends and family.
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potreroed
Jul 31, 2012, 6:38 PM
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Dang--wonder what happened?? Sincere condolences to family and friends.
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lena_chita
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Jul 31, 2012, 6:53 PM
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Very sad indeed. my condolences to his family. I hope to hear what went wrong.
He was the guy who posted lots of photos of various anchors and asked a lot of questions. He seemed to be a very detail-oriented person. He was not very experienced, but I never thought I would see this report.
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Gmburns2000
Jul 31, 2012, 6:58 PM
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csproul wrote: http://www.mtairynews.com/...ark?instance=popular There has been another death in NC. This time it was someone familiar to anyone who has spent time climbing at Pilot. Lloyd Ramsey posted here on RC.com as Rmsyll2 and was a permanent fixture at Pilot.
ah damn, that sucks. condolences to his family and friends. RIP.
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wonderwoman
Jul 31, 2012, 7:26 PM
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I am so sorry to hear this news. Condolences to family and friends.
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JasonsDrivingForce
Jul 31, 2012, 8:38 PM
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Condolences to his family and friends. I didn't know him personally but from the interactions I had with him on here he seemed like he knew a lot about the routes on Pilot.
It seemed like he passed away at a place he dearly loved.
He listed his homepage as.
http://www.climbpilotnc.us/
I wonder why it took till after midnight to find him? Isn't "Three Bears Gully Trail" the first place you come to when walking down to the climbing areas?
(This post was edited by JasonsDrivingForce on Jul 31, 2012, 8:50 PM)
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alhowel
Jul 31, 2012, 10:39 PM
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Lloyd was a good man. He left us doing what he loved in his heart, and helped many find their climbing heart. He was a real character and never met a stranger. Its hard to imagine this happening to him considering he knew that place crystal by crack. If I find out funeral info, I will pass it along.
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notapplicable
Aug 1, 2012, 2:18 AM
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Terrible news. My condolences to all his friends and family.
Does anyone who climbed with him regularly know if he rope or free soloed out there?
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MtPilot
Aug 1, 2012, 3:14 AM
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He didn't free solo, but he would often rope solo. One article about his death mentions he had some gear on when they found him, but if it was a failure of his grigri (which he used exclusively for soloing), then I would assume that information would have been made public very quickly.
Very often he would not tie into anchors or even put on a harness when near the cliff edges. I've personally seen him do what some, if not most, would consider very dangerous things right at the cliff's edge. I don't mean to say this to denigrate him in any way - I'm just trying to come to terms with and figure out what happened.
Lloyd was an amazing guy. You'd always know he was around by his gregarious laughing, then you'd notice some plaid moving through the trees and down the trail, and then once he noticed you he would immediately say hi and ask about your recent climbs.
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chezdillon
Aug 1, 2012, 3:26 AM
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I met Lloyd in 2007 while working on a small online guide for Pilot Mountain. He had recently become a regular up at Pilot and had already amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the routes. He provided thorough editing for the guide and humbly gave his opinions on the route descriptions. I asked him if I could add his name to the credits in the guide, but he refused.
Over the years I have met Lloyd up at Pilot countless times. We have climbed routes, walked the cliff together and had many discussions about climbing. We haven’t agreed on everything, but Lloyd’s intensity and singular focus on rock climbing at Pilot were constants throughout. He was incredibly outgoing and social at the cliff - always ready to drop what he was doing and help out climbers that were new to the area. He was a constant source of genuine enthusiasm and encouragement for climbers of all ability levels.
I have a lot of good memories of Lloyd. I remember his backpack – an old, tattered school backpack crammed full with all his rope soloing gear. I remember his first time climbing Crackin’ Up at Pilot and his genuine joy of lay-backing a crack for the first time. I remember watching him scramble up gullies countless times to help some young climbers with their top-rope setup.
I have heard from many climbers today that have good memories of Lloyd. He has shared his enthusiasm and knowledge of Pilot Mountain with countless climbers. Lloyd was a colorful character, and very much a part of the climbing community. He will be missed by many.
- Jeff
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Lrstacks
Aug 1, 2012, 3:59 PM
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I am Lloyd Ramsey's sister, and I wanted to thank the climbing community for its support of Lloyd and for the wonderful comments I have seen about him here and at other sites. He did, indeed, leave this life doing something he loved in a place he adored.
I also wanted to note that, although the investigation into Lloyd's fall is not complete, it is reasonable to think that it was not caused by an error or equipment failure, but by an underlying medical problem.
Again, thank you for your good thoughts, and please continue safe, wonderful, eco-conscious climbing--what Lloyd would most have wanted.
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seanb
Aug 1, 2012, 4:21 PM
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^ very sorry for your loss. rest in peace Lloyd Ramsey!
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cracklover
Aug 1, 2012, 5:00 PM
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To Lloyd's sister: I'm so sorry for your loss.
I never knew him in real life, but here on rockclimbing.com Lloyd was always colorful and outspoken. He provided fodder for many interesting conversations, with copious photographs and lots of interest in discussion, particularly about rope climbing anchors. His presence will be missed here by many.
Take care,
Gabe O
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chotoken
Aug 1, 2012, 7:59 PM
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I was lucky enough to meet Lloyd, but only once. His knowledge of Pilot, and climbing was obvious. He was a very nice man, and knew the history of Pilot quite well. He had collected and shared much information over the years. The climbing community, as well as Pilot Mtn. State Park certainly have lost an important figure.
I will say this, for a 70 y/o old man to be able to get out and do what made him happy every day. I'm very happy for him. In the end, he died outdoors, doing what he loved, in a place he loved, where he was loved by many. You can't ask for much more than that. As much as everyone hates to see him go. I say; good for him.
Lloyd, you will be missed.
Chotoken
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JasonsDrivingForce
Aug 1, 2012, 8:17 PM
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Lrstacks wrote: I am Lloyd Ramsey's sister, and I wanted to thank the climbing community for its support of Lloyd and for the wonderful comments I have seen about him here and at other sites. He did, indeed, leave this life doing something he loved in a place he adored. I also wanted to note that, although the investigation into Lloyd's fall is not complete, it is reasonable to think that it was not caused by an error or equipment failure, but by an underlying medical problem. Again, thank you for your good thoughts, and please continue safe, wonderful, eco-conscious climbing--what Lloyd would most have wanted.
Your brother helped a lot of people and he always tried to protect Pilot Mountain's natural state. That is very commendable. He will be missed and never forgotten.
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moose_droppings
Aug 1, 2012, 8:51 PM
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I'm so sorry to hear this.
My most sincere condolences to his family and to the many friends he had out there.
I would have never guessed him to be 70. Quite an outgoing person.
RIP Lloyd.
Edit:
Thank you SAR's, Rangers, volunteers and medical personal for all you did and continue to do on a daily basis.
(This post was edited by moose_droppings on Aug 1, 2012, 9:05 PM)
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alhowel
Aug 1, 2012, 11:53 PM
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To Lloyd's sister...
I'm deeply saddened by Lloyd's passing and very sorry for your loss. I had met Lloyd awhile back at Pilot, as many of us had, and he immediately treated me as a friend. Not long ago, I introduced a new climbing partner to him on her second time on real rock and Lloyd was instantly willing to help out with valued instruction on safety and moves, and even seemed to delight in setting up anchors for us, or in belaying each other. That's the thing that stood out most about Lloyd was his openness and knowledge, and I would imagine he had made more friends at Pilot in the time he climbed there than about anyone I've known. My partner was deeply saddened by this loss, as was I, and wanted to mention how much she appreciated Lloyd taking the time to help, and being such a warm and hospitable person even though they just met. He had mentioned some health problems to me and it makes sense that it was likely the cause of the accident. He was quite experienced and always focused on safety so this news was quite a surprise. He left us doing what he loved though, and that offers us a sense of peace.
As a side note, many thanks to the park rangers/staff that aided in the recovery and search.
- Alan
(This post was edited by alhowel on Aug 1, 2012, 11:54 PM)
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gblauer
Moderator
Aug 2, 2012, 2:43 AM
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Mitch and I are very sorry for your loss. You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
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charley
Aug 3, 2012, 3:39 PM
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So sorry to hear this. My condolences to family and friends. I only knew him from this site and he seemed like a good person who cared about Pilot.
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curt
Aug 7, 2012, 10:03 PM
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For some reason, I didn't notice this thread until today. My sincere condolences to all of Lloyd's friends and family.
Curt
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socalclimber
Aug 8, 2012, 12:56 AM
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Very sorry to hear this!
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chotoken
Aug 18, 2012, 11:26 PM
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What was the final word on this? Was this a medical issue that caused his death?
Just curious.
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