Calgary climbing enthusiast died in the outdoors he loved
Joel Kom, with files from Meghan Hurley, Winnipeg Free Press., Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, November 15, 2007
Colin Wooldridge got married on a mountain. Nine months later, a 200-metre fall from another mountain would lead to his death.
Wooldridge, 37, died early Wednesday morning, two days after a shelf, or slope, of snow gave out on a mountain in Kananaskis Country where he was ice climbing.
Family and friends are mourning the man described as an avid climber who was lured to Calgary by the outdoors.
Earth sciences Prof. Ted Hickin, under whom Wooldridge finished a master's degree with honours in 2002 at Simon Fraser University, called him "a brilliant student" who could have gone on to top academic pursuits.
But Wooldridge's love of climbing drew him away, bringing him to Calgary about five years ago, Hickin said Wednesday.
"I tried desperately to persuade him to pursue a doctorate, but he was called away by the outdoors," he said. "It was obviously something that was very, very important to him, and he wanted a life where he could indulge that a little. That's what he did."
He moved to Calgary and took a job with EnCana, where he used his background in geophysics and sedimentology. He was particularly good at using radar to get snapshots of structures below rivers.
It was climbing that led him to meet his wife, Hickin said, whom he married on Cascade Mountain near Banff in February.
He would climb almost every weekend he could, Hickin said, and always took it seriously.
"He was very professional about it, very careful," he said.
Wooldridge would sometimes post descriptions of his climbs for other adventurers, as well as information on safety.
Wooldridge and his climbing partner, 45-year-old Brian McMillan from Winnipeg, were prepared for problems before they began their Monday climb up Mount Sparrowhawk, about 90 kilometres west of Calgary.
They had down jackets and packs full of gear in case they got into trouble.
They ended up needing them.
They were either at or near the end of their climb up ice, rock and snow and had just unroped in preparation to begin their descent.
Then either a cornice -- a shelf of snow overhanging a cliff -- or a slope of snow above them gave way, said provincial safety specialist Burke Duncan.
That sent them plunging 200 metres down the mountain, leaving them with broken pelvises and other broken bones.
They crawled about 50 to 75 metres to a boulder field near the base of their climbing route and took shelter, both of them drifting in and out of consciousness in temperatures that dropped as low as -5 C, Duncan said.
When the duo didn't return by the scheduled time of 3 p.m. Monday, their family and friends called emergency services. That led to a helicopter search Tuesday morning. They were spotted around 9:30 a.m. and taken out by helicopter.
Wooldridge was airlifted to a Calgary hospital, while McMillan was treated for less serious injuries.
Wooldridge died Wednesday morning.
Peter Lloyd, chairman of the climbing committee for the Calgary section of the Alpine Club of Canada, said those in the climbing community were sad to hear about Wooldridge's passing.
"It hurts us hard," he said.
Photos and more memories of Colin on "For Colin Wooldridge" on Facebook under groups.
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15878550220 or
http://www.legacy.com/CAN-Vancouver/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=98460623
(Colin and Catherine at the EnCana Christmas party 2006, just before they got married...)
All dressed up and only the Telus Convention center to go...we bused it and then took the train from our new house.
We decided to avoid the professional photographers who take your money and give you nothing...so we asked Nicole and husband Ken to take a few...
I got happy when Cam stood beside the white trees.
Those glowing ice cubes were neat. We smuggled out about 10.
