CLIMBER KILLED IN US ROCK FALL
MOUNTAINEER FROM CARDIFF WAS ON ‘BIG DREAM’ ADVENTURE WHEN TRAGEDY STRUCK
A CLIMBER was crushed to death by falling rocks at Yosemite National Park as he was about to start a yearlong dream adventure with his wife.
Andrew Foster, 32, was trapped when more than 1,000 tonnes of rock fell from the face of the El Capitan monolith, US officials confirmed yesterday.
Mr Foster and his wife Lucy, who was also injured in Wednesday’s incident, were planning a dream adventure next year to travel around the Alps in a converted transit van.
The couple, who lived in Cardiff, ran their own blog Cam and Bear in which they described their love of the outdoors.
“We are a young married couple who enjoy nothing more than getting out and having adventures in the mountains together,” they wrote.
“We are not extreme athletes and describe ourselves simply as passionate weekend warriors.”
He had proposed to his wife during a skiing holiday in the Alps in 2015 and they married last year.
Mr Foster worked for clothing company Patagonia and was previously employed by Cardiff outdoor store Up and Under.
Staff at the shop, on Cowbridge Road East in Canton, said in a statement: “Andy Foster was an inspirational member of the Up and Under family.
“He was a highly regarded member of staff for five years, before he took a job with Patagonia.
“He remained a dedicated friend of Up and Under, and was regularly to be found in the store. His passion for the outdoors, and mountains in particular, was enormous and infectious.
“Andy and Lucy’s intentions upon returning from Yosemite were, with the help of Andy’s father, to convert a van into a motorhome to enable them to explore the European Alps for the next 12 months.
“It was then our hope that Andy would return to Up and Under in a part-time consultative role, whilst he also chased other ambitions.
“Andy was highly respected, loved and his loss will be sorely felt by us all. Our thoughts are with Lucy and his family.”
Friend Jess Spate wrote on Facebook: “Rest in peace Andrew Foster. Always cheerful, never a mean word to say about anyone, up for anything, anytime.
“Never so much as a cross word even when he must have been as cold and tired as it’s possible to be while still walking.
“There’s nobody I’d rather climb a rapidly thawing frozen waterfall with at 2am on a work night.
“Nobody better to play hangman with at midnight in Cardiff City Hall, waiting to impersonate beautiful female ninjas. Nobody better to be topping out of a mountain route with when the weather turned.
“Those times will never be forgotten because they are part of who I am. I know that everyone who met Andy liked him because it was impossible not to.
“Everyone who climbed with him will remember his good humour and his unrivalled sense of adventure.
“Go hard my friend. May the skies always be clear for you and the thermometer stay below -5.”
Mr and Mrs Foster, found with climbing equipment, are believed to have been scouting out the ascent from a trail when a “sheet” of granite around 40m by 20m plummeted from a height of 200m.
They are the only known casualties despite being with a group of other climbers when the series of collapses struck, but a search was continuing yesterday.
A Foreign Office spokesman said officials were providing support to the families of Mr Foster, who grew up in Cheltenham before attending Cardiff University, and Mrs Foster, who is originally from Shropshire.
A spokesman for Cardiff University Students’ Union said: “Andy and Lucy were both active and much loved members of Cardiff University Mountaineering Club (CUMC).
“Both took on leadership roles within the club, teaching beginners to climb and playing a key role in the fabric of the club over a number of years.
“Former Athletic Union president Olly Birrell remembers Andy as one of the first to ever teach him to climb and welcomed him into the club in his first week at university.
“Andy was a big character in the club. He was a seasoned climber who introduced many, many Cardiff students into the great sport of mountaineering.
“He always had an epic story to share, a new adventurous challenge ahead and he never failed to make his friends laugh.
“He’ll be truly missed by the generations of climbers he has influenced and encouraged.
“We would like to extend our condolences to Lucy and to Andy’s family and friends. We’re sending our best wishes to Lucy and hope that she is able to make good and speedy recovery.”
A spokesman for Cardiff University said its “thoughts and sympathies” were with the couple’s family and friends.
Alex Beasley, Patagonia’s country manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “Andy was a much-loved member of our team and a passionate climber, mountaineer and skier who loved being in the outdoors.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife Lucy and their families. We offer them our deepest sympathies.”