A 24-year-old climber based in Squamish and his friend have died during an expedition in Alaska.
On a Tuesday night Facebook post, Marc-Andre Leclerc's father Serge wrote, "Sadly we have lost 2 really great climbers and I lost a son I am very proud of. My heart is so broken...Part of me is gone with him..."
“I gotta say, I loved that young guy, almost like my kids," says one of Leclerc's mentors in a GoFundMe campaign that has been set up to help his family. "His energy and enthusiasm were unparalleled, and infectious. his skills were amazing, of course, but that wasn't what made MA special - it was his ability to 'see' possibilities where no one else could even begin to imagine.”
Alaska State Troopers were notified at 10 p.m. on March 7 that, following a major snowstorm, Leclerc and Ryan Johnson, 34 of Alaska, were late returning from a climb in the Mendenhall Ice Field in Juneau.
Everyone knew the two experiened climbers had summitted the towers because on March 5 Leclerc posted a photo of the snow-capped mountains on Instagram.
Juneau Mountain Rescue personnel and the U.S. Coast Guard were deployed to search for the two men by ground and by helicopter.
The search party found the mens' ski gear, but there was no sign they had managed to get to it after their climb.
“We did locate gear that would have been used to allow them to get back to Juneau," said troopers spokesperson Megan Peters on Friday afternoon. "From where they were dropped off, it would have been a good day’s worth of skiing and hiking to make it back to the community.”
The search of possible descent routes continued but was called off on Sunday due to bad weather. It was to resume on Monday.
Leclerc's friends started a GoFundMe page to help the families travel to Alaska during the search. The campaign raised close to $40,000 in just three days. A second GoFundMe campaign to support Johnson and two-year-old son has raised over $22,000.
Money raised in what is now called a closure fund will now go to Marc's family and partner Brette, campaign organizers say.
With files from the Squamish Chief.
