Neel Parikh

A couple days ago a message appeared in my Facebook inbox.  Climbers Micah Dash and Johnny Copp had gone missing from Mt. Edgar, China along with Sender Film’s Wade Johnson who was filming a new piece. Donations were being accepted to help in the Search and Rescue, and immediate there was a huge outpour of support from the community.

From Adventurefilm.org’s blog:

• At midnight last night, a notoriously impoverished local climber – and good friend of the team – showed up at search headquarters, threw his passport on the table and said that for the first time in his life he has two thousand dollars to his name, and he wants to spend it on a flight to Chengdu to be one of the first Americans on the ground to help out with the search.
• This morning at 9 AM, a guiding client of Micah’s wired $25,000 to search headquarters to make sure the search did not slow down due to a financial bog-down.
• Companies who compete with the sponsors of these athletes are paying for their own athletes with Chinese visas to get to get to China as quickly as possible.
• People have offered up the 65,000 frequent flyer miles needed on United to get to China.
• Senators have pressured the Chinese embassy to expedite visas for American search volunteers.

It’s so incredible to see a community get together under times of stress, but it saddens me to hear that the bodies of both Johnny Copp, and Wade Johnson have been found, burried by an avalanche. Blizzard conditions are hampering the search efforts, but here’s hoping for the safe return of Micah. I have never met any of them personally, but this event has resonated across the climbing community. As my own personal tribute, I’ll be throwing my copy of The Sharp End and having a drink in their honour. Rest in Peace.