Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tyler's Memorial in Bend
Hello to all of Tyler’s friends around the world,
The gringos have done it! On August 27th and 28th friends and family gathered to give Tyler one last send off and celebrate his life in the only way we could think of, by having a party and going on an adventure. On Friday night people gathered over a keg of beer and some barbequed chicken and ribs. People began arriving around 6 o’clock and as the night progressed more and more of his friends arrived in town to come and honor Tyler one last time. From my prospective, Tyler’s life seemed to come together at various times during the night and not in chronological order. First it was the Liedeckers, whom I greeted (these were his Sun Valley Day ages 14-16 where Tyler was exposed to the great outdoors, exploring the wonders of Southern Utah, climbing in the Sawtooth Mountains, and learning to fly on the snowboard at Bald Mountain). Then I saw Shayon, Claire and Monty. These were friends from his Salt Lake City days where he had access to the Wasatch Mountains and experienced all they had to offer with so many friends. This is also where he become a life long Jazz (NBA basketball team) fan along the way. Mixed in with his past were cousins from Washington and California. These are his cousins who battled him in Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly, (board games) jet skiied with him at Lake Berryessa, traveled up and down the west coast in a motor home, and to whose wedding Tyler showed up dressed as an Indian. Then Bonsai arrived!!! There was Mark, Chad, Sarah, John and Charmaine (Tyler’s girlfriend). These are the people Tyler worked with in the trees of North America building amazing courses for people to experiencing the rush of zipping through canopies, walking over bridges, and perched on platforms taking in the surrounding environment. And then the boys (and Gina) from Santa Rosa arrived. (Richard, Nick, Ryan, Eric, and Mark) These are the people who Tyler grew up with playing with Snoopy, defeating the Germans down in the creek by our house on Kjell Court, saving bees from dying in our neighborhood pool, skateboarding, running from the police, thinking outside the box, and not afraid to do it. There were aunts and uncles, family and friends, Chris Kelley making gin and tonics for as many people as he could, all coming together to share what Tyler had meant to them and it was wonderful.
On Saturday morning people crawled out of their beds and made their way to either a hike or bike along the Deschutes River. The hikers were a civilized group, leaving at 10:00 (much too early for the biking crowd) from Farwell to Bend Park and completed a loop that took them through some great scenery and allowed people to chat and reminisce along the way like civilized people do. The bikers met at 11:00 and headed out to a place called Benham Falls. With two vans and a truck filled with bikes I’m sure we looked pretty funny coming down the road. Somehow everyone was able to find a bike when we arrived and with a few words of encouragement we were off. 45 people on a single track trail along the river ranging in age from 8 to 72 (or close to). We were a mass of humanity, all there to do something Tyler loved, in a place he enjoyed being, and from the rearview it looked amazing. I could almost hear Tyler saying, “Holy Shit!” With laminated pictures of Tyler taped to our helmets, we continued on the trail for about 15 miles stopping along the way to have a beer and snack and finally ending at Meadow Picnic area where we had lunch by the river. It was a great way to start the day.
At 6:00 people gathered at Sheri’s house (Tyler’s Mom). Everyone got a little piece of duct tape to wear in honor of Tyler and by around 6:30 we headed out by foot to Shevlin Park, which is right next to were Sheri lives. The group meandered its way single file along a winding trail. As we slowly approached the memorial site for Tyler, clouds parted and the sun was lightly coming through, bagpipes could be heard playing softly in the background, and Sheri was standing at the site waiting for others to come and say goodbye to Tyler one last time. We formed a semi-circle around a bench that was made for Tyler. Sheri was somehow was able to compose herself and say some wonderful things about her son and I said a few words too. Popcorn was distributed to everyone in attendance as a way to represent Tyler. Then a bell was rung (by Shayon) eight times to symbolize the end of a watch. This is a maritime tradition which has been observed in many Anderson good-byes. Will (Charlie and Michele’s son) then played Amazing Grace on his recorder for his uncle. It was a final send off that started in Huaraz, Peru and ended in Bend, Oregon. Tyler now rests in many places where friends and family can gather to remember and honor a person that touched so many people along the way.
After the service people slowly made there way back to Sheri’s house were we all gathered to try and celebrate the life of Tyler one last time. John Walker and David Murray saved the day with photos and video of Tyler. Chris Kelley was on his best behavior. Even though his favorite whiskey was left back at Charlie’s house the evening was truly “Something Special.”
Thank you to everyone who went to great lengths to be here in Bend. Throughout this whole process I have been overwhelmed with the generosity of so many people coming together for a person that meant so much to them, the one an only “TY.”
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A short note from Jas
Tyler, Tyler,
Yo, what's up man? What is all this stuff I hear? Where are you, what are you doing? They say you took a digger up in Peru.
I don't know, maybe you did... I think maybe your still up there doing what your always doing, going and being in all the places that the rest of us want to be.
I heard that you had a family with a real mom and dad...
Guess I always thought that you came and went out of some mysterious mountaintop somewhere in a snowy place full of rock and sky.
Some of the guys are going out to Oregon to see your family next week, I'd like to go and meet them and see John and everyone, but I think I'll hang back this time. You know how it is.
So I just thought I'd write a quick note and say some things to you dude. I know that you don't need to hear them and that you are pretty good at taking things for granted while fully appreciating them at the same time. But I think now is a good time for me to say them.
Hell man, I gotta start off by saying, dude, we're all in love with you. I mean, especially the girls but us guys too. You know... None of us can get enough dude, your just so freekin cute, and a little cool too! I never met anyone who did get enough of your time come to think of it... everybody always wanted more. Well okay, maybe not Jake. But you know what. He was just pissed because you came up Big H in your tennis shoes and told him there was no reason for spikes on your first day in the trees. He got over it though, he was just a little jealous I think that he didn't realize it first.
Tyler man, you will always be one of my best friends,.. For sure my favorite.
You know, one of the greatest times for me was that Giants vs Patriots Super Bowl when we were in Columbus, Ohio. 2008 I think. When the Giants had that spectacular ending... I knew then that you were just a mortal. I was rooting for the Giants because I knew that I'd be moving to NY and just to be giving you a little challenge, but I never thought that they would win. You kept a close eye on football during the season and I fully thought that you knew how it was going to end. You took it like a man though and was happy for me even though I rubbed it in a little. I really don’t even like football but that was a great game huh?
But you know it's a funny thing about you man. Something that I’ve always sort of noticed. Whenever we go out to some place in public I always get the feeling that even though the rest of the people there might be milling around doing whatever they're doing, their spirits are kind of leaning in close to yours trying to catch a whisper of the secret that might put that same light in their own eyes. The one that comes in from up at the top of the world, clear blue and white with a hollowness that comes straight through from heaven.
I want you to know too that your spirit is in me strong dude. It's in my daughter Kaia . She was a bit young last year to really remember you now, but she's got it in her and she'll keep it.
I like to ask her sometimes... " Kaia, do you remember Tyler?" She says "Uh huh" and I say "What does Tyler do?"... "Climbs" she says. She's only twenty six months now but she's more capable than most of the kids twice her age dude, I swear. We've got a couple of nice boulder projects going on out at the preserve right now.
Sky bridges?... Dude, enough said.
And Carhartt bibs?... Who would have guessed.
Well whatever they say, I don't know. For sure we'll have to catch up during the second round. Maybe we'll meet just before sundown, split an apple and have a couple shots of peppermint tea and watch the eagles teach the kids how to soar.
It's been great man, we've all been privileged for sure.
I read something recently and it reminded me of you. Thought I'd share it here.
“Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with a passing whisper. They come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.”
Cheers to Tyler's family and all who are going to be at the memorial. Wish I could be there with you guys...
See Ya,
Jas
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tyler Memorial Fund
(from Charlie, sent as an email, on 8/24/2010)
Many of you have inquired as to if there was a certain organization where donations can be made in Tyler’s name. Here are my thoughts….
On the morning of July 31st, Tyler Anderson was involved in a mountaineering accident in the Cordillera Blanca. The culmination of a series of events left him at the bottom of a crevasse, needing immediate medical attention. Because of the lack of common use of satellite phones, his party was unable to communicate the emergency without climbing down the mountain. By the time authorities were able to be notified it was late in the day and their response was to wait until the next morning. The response from Tyler's friends in the climbing community was vastly different. Trained in high mountain rescue, Tyler's friends used their expertise and immediately mobilized a group that set out shortly after receiving the call. They took with them all the necessary equipment for a high mountain rescue mission, not knowing what they would find, but prepared for anything. Through close communication with the party of people Tyler had been guiding and their own expertise in the finite details of the mountain, they were able to climb through the night and locate my brother's body the next morning. As they came down the mountain with Tyler, they came across the high mountain police unit who were only then setting out on their 'rescue' mission, more than 14 hours later and armed with only a camera. In Tyler's case, this lapse in time probably would not have made a difference. But each person climbing on that mountain deserves a safety net that will provide help and assistance as safely and quickly as possible.
Our goal is to work with the Huaraz guide training organization (the Casa de Guias) to provide the necessary communication equipment and rescue training which develops the abilities of the local guides, the Casa de Guias managment team, & the owners of local agencies to effectively run a rescue from start to finish, as well as develop a common emergency response plan for everyone working in tourism in Huaraz. We would like to offer a Wilderness First Responder course (which is the guiding industry standard everywhere in the world except Peru) that teaches guides how to evaluate, stabilize, and evacuate in the event of a medical emergency in a wilderness setting and then a separate course on the nuts and bolts management of a rescue scenario. As part of this second course, we would like to introduce an Emergency Response Plan which every company has on hand and utilizes if and when an emergency call comes in.
Through these professional development opportunities, we address the general organizational deficiencies of Emergency Responses in the Cordillera Blanca as well as the actual medical care that a person receives if they've been hurt.
We believe this is a great solution that keeps everyone involved and truly raises the bar here in Huaraz for dealing with the inevitable accidents that occur in the mountains. The WFR course alone will alter the way the every guide who takes it thinks, acts, and cares for their clients. It makes the Cordillera Blanca an exponentially safer place.
Without financial support, it's nearly impossible to convince the guides here to take these courses because they are living on such a shoestring already they simply cannot pay. The emergency response course and development of a common response plan will inject organization into chaos; it will help people understand the essential elements to efficient and effective rescue and give them an outline to follow when the unfortunate time comes that they need it. When Tyler's call came in, the first thing his rescue team did was get out their own plan and begin to follow the steps...
Supporting this cause would be the perfect way to honor the memory of Tyler, who loved his community in Huaraz and the amazing mountains above it. To make it safer for those who wish to experience their beauty would be a great legacy for this man who loved using his experience, appreciation & dedication to this corner of the world to share it with others. If you wish to support this mission, donations can be made to the following:
Anderson Foundation
c/o Kacy Murray
537 10th Avenue
Kirkland , WA 98033
Monday, August 16, 2010
Portland ACCT conference 2009
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Words from Kirk Watkins
From Kirk Watkins, on Monday, August 2. Later, Kirk hung a brass plaque on the North Georgia Canopy Tour with "This Skybridge was built by Tyler Anderson" inscribed.
Dear John and the Bonsai family,
Please accept our deepest sympathies for the loss of your dear friend and colleague, Tyler Anderson. Tyler was a wonderful man – soft spoken yet passionate, diplomatic yet uncompromising, principled yet caring, socially adept and loved to sleep in his tent. He lived his life with a closeness to nature as no one else we have known. There were not many minutes of any day which he did not pack the full measure of living. Tyler was always ready to smile. He was a combination of seriousness and humor that blessed everyone who knew him.
We kidded Tyler about the cow that systematically escaped from the nearby pasture only to come stand by his tent each night. That cow, who escaped from our neighbor’s pasture with regularlity while Tyler was on site, has not once left its pasture since Tyler removed his tent. Like the rest of the Bonsai people we worked with, Tyler loved to build fine structures in the forest while fully respecting the trees environment and animals that inhabitat the area. He had great joy in what he did and was secure in the knowledge that the structures he was creating would bring joy to thousands as he moved on to some other great experience of life.
Tyler was a free spirit with love and purpose. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Kirk & Leah
Sunday August 8, Photos
Saturday August 7, Photos
Charmaine and Brandon, reflecting
Charlie and Richard, after the visit to the crevasse
Tyler's view, right side
Tyler's view, left side
YanapacchaJohn's report from Huaraz
Here is the report that I sent from Huaraz on Sunday, August 8:
A lot has been going on since we arrived here in Huaraz on Thursday morning and the situation still seems surreal. indeed none of us can still believe he is not with us anymore, and it is further difficult to comprehend because we are in this place that is so strange and beautiful to everyone. Here is a summary of events.
Friday:
We made a final decision on the location of what will be our largest gathering so far, to remember Tyler with all of his local friends and acquaintances. Charmaine, Charlie, Naresuan and I rode bikes up to a climber's lodge to get approval to visit with the lodge owners who were acquainted with Tyler. The bike ride was challenging for me, but Charmaine held in there and was an inspiration for me to keep pushing. Charlie sped up the hill with ease, making us all wonder what is in those Anderson genes that makes them so darn athletic. Our decision on the use of the lodge area was easy. It is a great spot.
A memorial will be built from Tyler's closest possessions, rocks and prayer flags, and many Huarizinos will gather to pay respect to Tyler's passing. This will occur on Sunday.
After our scouting of the location, we attended the local church ceremony back down in Huaraz. Tyler's buddies at Galaxia Adventures prepared a photo-layout of a few pictures of Tyler and a shot phrase of remembrance. This sat below the altar in the church, framed by flowers and a circle of candles. The ceremony ensued. It was in classic Peruvian style, as the minister spoke a few broken English words and the rest of the sermon was in Spanish. Throughout almost the whole ceremony, a loud festive band was playing just outside, and a huge party was going on, in celebration of some local holiday, of which there are many in this town. Fireworks were blasting off outside, while the Peruvian choir of 5 women inside was singing sad, slow funeral ballads. We all knew that Tyler would be smirking in his way that he does given the state of events. After the ceremony, we were all invited to bring a burning candle to the candelabra at the side of the church nave.
We re turned to our rooms at La Casa de Zarella, the guide hostal where I met Tyler at in 2004. This was tough for me because we spent so much time in that place. Zarella was there, and this was the first time I had met her. She is a vivacious, happy and smart woman, and she speaks great English. She has been extremely supportive and helpful throughout our stay and, since she was a friend of Tyler's, has been grieving with us too.
Saturday:
A few of us woke up at 1 am and headed out to the basecamp near where the accident occurred. Charmaine, Charlie, Brandon and I went into Huascaran National Park to visit the mountain. We were with Richard, a very good climbing guide friend of Tyler's who was pivotal in Tyler's decision to move to Huaraz way back in 2002. After a 3-hour drive through small towns on rough roads, we began hiking. This trip took us about 5 hours round trip from the trailhead. We began in the dark, and on our way in, the moon rose over the mountain, and then was followed by the sun shortly thereafter. The name of the mountain is Yanapaccha, a Quechua word meaning "black waterfall".
When we got to basecamp, Charlie and Richard roped up, hopped onto the glacier and headed up to the crevasse, while Brandon and I worked on feeling better at the altitude. We had a quick chat with Ted, the owner of Skyline Adventures and the lead man on the recovery team. We got some more details on the incident, and we all had a moment there with him.
After a while the three of us, Brandon, Chow and I ascended some rocks for a look at the scenery and at the mountain. Charmaine was helping to describe the locations of the climbing team and the events that took place on July 31st. That was tough. Meanwhile at the crevasse, Charlie had his moment. He left flowers, photos, cards, and a stuffed snoopy animal, apparently Tyler's favorite when he was little. He also spread some of Tylers ashes and a little "Something Special", the actual name of a scotch whiskey that Tyler had become fond of recently. The total experience of this visit was extremely cathartic for all of us.
We all made it back to Hauaraz in the afternoon and commenced napping, running more errands, stopping off at Tyler's place. We linked up with Charisse and Shari. They had gone to the Way Inn to look of the exact location of Tyler's permanent memorial.
At the Way Inn, on the ridge that we had previously located, Shari had been wandering around the ridge, looking for a "sign" to determine the exact spot. Charisse had her fingers crossed and the sign came when Shari was atop one rock and a hummingbird flew right up to her, hovered for a while and then flew off. Hummingbirds have a special meaning to Shari, and have been known to symbolize the connection of the Earth to the heavens, so, at that point the spot was marked.
After the day's activities, Brandon and I headed to Tylers, to meet up with Charlie and Shari, who had started to pack up his belongings. This was also extremely difficult. Many things found a home with Richard, and other items were decided upon with recognition that there were many other friends and family that may want a memento or items to help their grieving process. Brandon and I picked out some lucky carabiners and climbing gear from the stashes, and I built a package of the most personal, well-worn and distinctive items in the room. The idea was to create a box of tangibles that others could go through at any time in order to honor and remember this great guy we knew as Tyler. Included were his orange jacket, some old Bonsai notebooks, his Spanish English dictionary, his old map of the Cordillera Blanca, a coin collection, some pitons, a pair of climbing shoes, and his old army helmet.
The evening found us back at Naresuan's, Tylers good friend who operates the best Thai food place (probably) in all of Peru.
Sunday:
This was the day of Tyler's ceremony, to be held at the Way Inn, a climber's hostel, an extremely well-built compound, set alone on a ridge smack in the middle of Tyler's prime mountain biking terrain. We arrived with his memory package assembled the day before, and an inscribed chunk of granite that said "In memory of Tyler Anderson" and then gave the dates of his birth and death. We assembled his memorabilia on the large rock that Shari had chosen the day before, and added the rest of the stuff, flowers and moss picked from around the area. It was a beautiful little assembly of items that anyone would be fortunate to have put together. We were all pleased to tears.
About twenty or thirty people were then showed up for the ceremony, and Shari gave the eulogy. It was translated to Spanish by Carlos throughout, and this gave it an interesting touch. It had an air of humor that Tyler would appreciate, and essentially honored the people, culture, and mountains that Tyler had come to know so well. Shari referred to Huaraz and the Andes as Tyler's soulmate, and proposed that Tyler's life had really started when he moved to Huaraz. Then Charlie explained what was to happen next. A batch of popcorn was made at Tyler's house the day before, and was to be tossed by everyone in attendance. Tyler loves popcorn, and ate it religiously. So, I walked around with the bag of popcorn, and it was slowly emptied. Many of his friends began to eat their handful and this was comical. Charlie said a few words and grasped a large wad of Tyler's ashes and threw then to the wind while everyone else chucked their popcorn. Once that was done, a little music began and everyone was invited to walk up to the shrine and visit with Tyler and his stuff.
After the ceremony, we all retired back t the Way Inn to socialize in the sunny beautiful weather that has prevailed throughout this trip. A lot of beer was being drank, and there was general merriment in the air. Our crew said good bye after a while and got into the combi-van to head down the hill. We were just waiting for our last person, and we all noticed that a small brush fire burning down in the valley had increased in strength and was heading toward the area with a lot more force. Some folks were shouting and pointing, and so just as we were about to pull out, we stopped and hopped out of the van to rush over and see what was up.
As we rounded around to the back side of the Inn, on the ridge that we were just seated, we saw the fire coming up the valley towards the house. A hectic situation then broke out, with some donning shovels, and other donning buckets full of water to try to put out the wild brush fire. The fire was headed straight for the house, and the wind kept shifting back and forth, making it hard to stay in one place. There were about thirty people fighting this fire and protecting the house, connecting random hoses, running buckets of water, and hacking down lines of brush in order to defend the house. At one point the wind changed and engulfed the whole house and the posse of fighters with thick smoke, and we all had to run away. That part was pretty scary because we could not see each other. Then the wind changed back and we all ran back to the burn area to discover that Tyler's remembrance area was completely charred. The fire ensued and so did the fight. Charisse and Charmaine were running buckets of water up and down the hill with scarves around their faces, Charlie was linking up 2-inch pipes to douse the thatched roves of the houses. And I was running a hedger, trimming down brush grass in a line, with an eye to which trees i would chop down near the house in a last ditch effort to save the house if that was necessary.
It was an apocalyptic scene, and we were all worried that at some point the Inn would be taken. But after two hours, it was saved. We had a few more beers with the owners, and none of us could believe the total events of the day. Many of us were shaken, but it seemed that the locals here, Tyler's good friends, thought little of it, as though these kinds of things are normal. Normal people put down whatever they might be doing to deal with a fire because there is no fire department.
We spent the rest of the evening relaxing at Naresuan's, and speculating on the meaning of the fire, if any.
Fortunately, the contents of the memorial were removed before the fire came through, and after the chaos ended, Tyler's boots were returned to the rock, and were left sitting on top of it with a view of Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca.
And that completes the update for those three days.
John
Tyler in Alaska
Tyler loved his trips to Alaska, which began in 2005. He apparently did some mountaineering in 2008, albeit super mellow snow-shoe hiking. These pictures show Tyler with good friends, Brandon, Mark, and Fern-dog.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tyler's Memorial in the states
Tyler's family will be having a memorial for him on August 28 in Bend, Oregon. More details to come later.
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