Mountaineer Hayden Kennedy commits suicide unable to bear the loss of his girlfriend in an avalanche
Famous for his free ascent of Cerro Torre in 2012, Kennedy committed suicide the day after his girlfriend was killed in an avalanche
Faced with the incredible sorrow of losing his girlfriend in an avalanche in Montana, renowned mountaineer Hayden Kennedy “chose to end his life” the following day, his family said on Tuesday.
Gallatin County sheriff’s officials said Kennedy, 27, and Inge Perkins, 23, were skiing on Imp Peak in the southern Madison Range on Saturday when they triggered an avalanche in a steep, narrow gully about 3,048 metres above sea level.
Perkins, also an accomplished mountain climber, was buried by the 46-metre-wide slide. Kennedy, who was partially buried, pulled himself free and hiked out for help after he could not find his girlfriend.
The area had received 0.3 metres of snow since October 1, which was on top of about 1.2 metres of dense snow that had fallen over the previous two weeks, according to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Centre.
Kennedy, who had recently moved to Bozeman, was found dead in his home on Sunday as search teams prepared to recover Perkins’ body.