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csproul
Aug 10, 2009, 3:34 PM
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Terrible news. Some of my first introductions to climbing were slide shows and anchor clinics from Craig Luebben and Todd Skinner. It is truly sad to hear of another passing.
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abe_ascends
Aug 10, 2009, 3:46 PM
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We've lost another giant among men/women. This has been a tragic year for the climbing community. My condolences to his friends and family.
RIP.
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wonderwoman
Aug 10, 2009, 3:54 PM
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I am so very sorry to hear this! I own a lot of his books and got a lot of good information from reading his articles. This is a huge loss. My condolences to his family and friends.
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maldaly
Aug 10, 2009, 4:00 PM
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I heard this late last night and spent the whole night trying to will it to be not so. RIP, proudly my friend. You've raised the bar in the climbing world, in the community and in our hearts. I miss you so much.
Mal
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moose_droppings
Aug 10, 2009, 4:22 PM
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And the list grows.
My deepest condolences to all of his family and his many,many friends.
RIP
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curt
Aug 10, 2009, 4:33 PM
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How awful. My condolences as well.
Curt
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sandstone
Aug 10, 2009, 4:34 PM
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My deepest condolences to family and friends.
I didn't know Craig, but I had the pleasure of meeting him in Ouray many years ago. He was pull testing ice screw placements. His findings changed the conventional wisdom on placing screws, and I think (hope!) I am safer for his efforts. Thanks again Craig.
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sonso45
Aug 10, 2009, 4:36 PM
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Sad news, my condolences to his family.
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adatesman
Aug 10, 2009, 4:54 PM
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Way too much of this going on lately. Very sorry to hear it and best wished to friends and family.
Side note- I've moved this thread to In Memory Of since it seemed more appropriate than Accident Analysis.
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vegastradguy
Aug 10, 2009, 4:56 PM
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i cannot believe what i just read...another great has passed- i actually had the honor of being one of Craig's students last year in an AMGA course- i relished every minute of it and being mock guided up Ruper on Big Bros is one of my better climbing memories.
you will be missed- my condolences to his family and loved ones.
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kachoong
Aug 10, 2009, 4:57 PM
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 Oh no!! How terrible! He will always be remembered.
What is going on this year with the passing of greats!?
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therat
Aug 10, 2009, 5:02 PM
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Craig will be greatly missed. My heart and prayers are with all that knew and loved him.
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gimmeslack
Aug 10, 2009, 5:05 PM
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Very sad...
Earlier this summer I started talking with a fellow at the base of a popluar Seneca route. He was with folks from the Gendarme, so at first I assumed he was a client. We started chatting and I realized he was the instructor. We proceeded to have a very pleasant conversation and he offered some suggestions relevant to an upcoming trip out west we were planning. As we were heading out we commented on what an incredibly friendly and easy going guy he was. Later that evening I found out he was THAT Craig Luebben and had in fact authored some of the books on my climbing bookshelf!
Godspeed Sir - you made an impression in our relatively insignificant intersection. That speaks volumes to what kind of person you must have been...
Our deepest condolences to family and friends.
PS for those that don't recognize the name, amongst other notable achievments, he invented Big Bro's...
(This post was edited by gimmeslack on Aug 10, 2009, 6:12 PM)
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camhead
Aug 10, 2009, 7:35 PM
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no, not again...
I didn't know him, but RIP.
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ACJ
Aug 10, 2009, 8:09 PM
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RIP Craig. Condolences to his friends and family.
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macherry
Aug 10, 2009, 11:39 PM
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sad news.
my condolences to friends and family
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chossmonkey
Aug 11, 2009, 12:13 AM
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That is sad news.
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rockreaver
Aug 11, 2009, 3:47 AM
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More details...
http://climbing.about.com/...limbing-accident.htm
Man. I'm just...
Benegas is a hero for willingly taking a massive risk to enter into the same conditions that just killed Craig. The guy has stones to do that. I mean not to over-shadow the loss but props to Benegas for doing the right thing at great risk/peril to his own life.
(This post was edited by rockreaver on Aug 11, 2009, 3:50 AM)
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milesenoell
Aug 11, 2009, 3:58 AM
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Oh man. That sucks. Somehow it seems better to know that it was an objective hazard rather than a mistake, but it still sucks. RIP Craig.
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bill413
Aug 11, 2009, 12:48 PM
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My condolences to his family & all who knew him.
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reno
Aug 11, 2009, 2:09 PM
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I had chance to meet Craig a few years back in Ouray. A nice chap, generous of his time and wisdom, and a true class act.
He is greatly missed, and my thoughts are with his close friends and family.
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truello
Aug 11, 2009, 3:33 PM
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Very sad to hear. I owe some of my greatest multipitch memories to his book that got me started with Trad, "Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills".
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chouca
Aug 11, 2009, 3:49 PM
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I am stunned. Craig was the safest partner I ever climbed with. His contributions to the climbing community in and around Fort Collins were immense. He taught so many people how to climb rock and ice, and always had enthusiasm for every aspect of the sport.
At any hour of the day you could see him in the Lorry Student Center basement at CSU organizing gear for the next outing while juggling a hardware company (Big Bros), new routing around Grey Rock or RMNP ice, authoring climbing magazine articles and guidebooks, and finishing grad school. He was a man of action and dedication. Craig gave much more back to climbing than he ever took. He was also a super solid boulderer, and had most of the Horsetooth Gill and Holloway problems dialed.
My condolences to Craig's family and fiends. He was appreciated and admired by too many too count. RIP.
(This post was edited by chouca on Aug 11, 2009, 3:53 PM)
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the_climber
Aug 11, 2009, 5:14 PM
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RIP Craig.
Truely a freak accident. It is a sad year for the greats of our community.
My thoughts to his friends and family
(This post was edited by the_climber on Aug 11, 2009, 10:26 PM)
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wanderlustmd
Aug 11, 2009, 9:43 PM
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Missed him at Seneca, but I remember all the locals talking about what a nice guy he was. Another bad loss.
Condolences to his family.
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brent_e
Aug 11, 2009, 10:18 PM
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the_climber wrote: RIP Craig. Truely a freak accident. It is a sad year for the greats of our community. My thoughts to his friend and family
Condolences to his family and those that knew him.
I'm sorry to hear this news.
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blueeyedclimber
Aug 11, 2009, 11:40 PM
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Sad news indeed. Warm wishes to his loved ones.
Josh
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rockreaver
Aug 12, 2009, 1:39 AM
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chouca wrote: I am stunned. Craig was...He was appreciated and admired by too many too count. RIP.
In terms of kind things to say about a person. !10!
In terms of acknowledging how a person lived with respect and admiration. !10!
In terms of making others regret they didn't know a person. !10!
I think you have just said things I could only hope to hear where said about me on the day of my passing. Very cool.
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i_h8_choss
Aug 12, 2009, 2:12 AM
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RIP Craig and best wishes to family, friends, Willie, and all that, like me, will be inspired, touched, and have better knowledge about climbing. I love your photos Craig!
http://www.craigluebben.com/photography/
(This post was edited by i_h8_choss on Aug 12, 2009, 2:13 AM)
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timd
Aug 12, 2009, 8:08 AM
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Craig and his indepth wisdom of our sport will be truly missed. I am truly sorry to hear of this loss. RIP our friend.
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mr.tastycakes
Aug 12, 2009, 4:46 PM
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RIP
damn, a lot of great climbers have passed this year. condolences to craig's family and friends.
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dave76
Aug 16, 2009, 10:14 PM
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My condolences to his family friends and all of the climbing community.
I discovered his books only recently and I only started reading one yesterday.
I opened up the website today by mere chance after a few weeks and couldn't believe the sad news...
May he rest in peace.
Davide
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gimmeslack
Aug 17, 2009, 1:10 PM
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http://www.nococlimbing.org/get-involved
...in case anyone missed this - note Memorial Fund (accepts Paypal)...
(This post was edited by gimmeslack on Aug 17, 2009, 7:08 PM)
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robdotcalm
Aug 24, 2009, 4:10 PM
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It was about 30 years ago that I met Craig when he was a freshman at Colorado State University and I was on the faculty. His enthusiasm and drive were evident. He did not own a car and often pedaled from Fort Collins to Boulder (~45 miles) to climb and on occasion he would bicycle to Vedauwoo (~ 75 miles) to climb. It took about 4 years for his climbing to really improve (at that time 5.12 was world class). I can still see him thrashing to get off the ground on a 10c handcrack, which in a couple of years became an easy solo warm-up for him. This same determination was evident in his development of the Bigbro—an easy idea to conceive but taking dedication, knowledge and great effort to bring it to a successful fruition. It was his senior project as a mechanical engineering student. It’s one of the very few such projects to produce a truly useful object that has been and will be continued to be used by climbers for decades. His numerous instructional books on climbing and his teaching and guiding have helped thousands of climbers to become better and safer at the sport.
I talked to Craig a couple of weeks ago at Vedauwoo as he was teaching a class. It’s with irony that I note we talked about a book he was writing on how not to get killed climbing. (I would place "don't ice climb" high on the list. He's the third friend of mine killed in the last few years who was ice climbing and there have been many more before that.)
I've known Craig for 30 years and have seen him develop from an enthusiastic and callow youth, into a splendid climber, superb teacher, inventor of climbing gear, accomplished author, and a loving and dedicated husband and father. His death leaves a dampening on that part of my spirit that loves climbing. Craig, of all people, to perish in a climbing accident!
My sincere condolences to Sylvia and Giulia. The memory of Craig will be an inspiration for those of us fortunate enough to have known him.
Rob Kelman
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scsmit10
Aug 24, 2009, 5:44 PM
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The only time I met Luebben was at my home crag Red River Gorge in 2006. Arriving at a popular spot we were pleased that only one other party was presently nearby but we would not have to wait for our route of choice.
While we lunched on the large ledge system above the first pitch, suddenly all hell broke loose. We overheard rocks, trees, dirt, and sand being pulverized - the penultimate bane of climbers everywhere was upon us - a rockslide avalanche. We had indeed feared the worst. When we began screaming toward our neighbors to ascertain if everyone was OK, Craig came and apologetically introduced himself. Unbeknownst to us he had publicly organized the closure of Fortress Wall that day in order to safely rid 20 tons of loose sandstone above Calypso II. Although I did not "get the memo" of the cliff closure which he secured, he "surprisingly" allowed my brother and I to continue climbing out of harm's way.
We forgave our lack of warning immediately as we accepted our initial shock as a rare lesson in experience. Craig himself was surprised how soon he had made the effort necessary to detach the overhanging flake.
Immense the irony of his passing: Luebben worked hard with both climbing coalitions and industry to make climbing a safer sport for everyone. May his career as a credit to society's image at large of climbing as a SAFE activity remain unphased by circumstance; consider his a true hero's fate; the legacy of his many contributions to the sport will never be forgotten... and may we each thank his family by striving to follow his example by respecting the responsibility of our endeavors.
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