Friends and extended family members of Canmore climber Carlyle Norman, who died after being struck by a falling rock while climbing in Argentinean Patagonia on Jan. 15, are saddened to lose a woman who exuded a special energy and passion.
Norman, 29, and climbing partner Cian Brinker were climbing a route called Last Gringo Standing on Aguja Saint-Exupéry as a warm-up in preparation to attempt a new route on another spire, Aguja Bifida. At the 2011 Banff Mountain Film Festival, an exuberant Norman had accepted the John Lauchlan Memorial Award in support of their adventure.
After caring for an unconscious Norman for two hours, Brinker made the wrenching decision to descend alone for help. The following day, climbers aboard a helicopter spotted her, but were unable to land. On Jan. 17, a strong team of experienced alpinists climbed into the evening in an attempt to reach her, but stormy weather and a rock fall forced them to retreat.
Norman’s body was found at the base of Aguja Saint-Exupéry on Saturday (Jan. 21) by Bow Valley mountain guide Josh Lavigne, who had flown to Patagonia. It would appear Norman regained consciousness, unclipped from the anchor Brinker had secured her to and fell 450 metres to the mountain’s base. Lavigne gave his close friend a mountain burial.
A highly-trained yoga instructor and talented writer, Norman penned sharp, humorous blog posts for Highline magazine, and wrote insightful articles for the Canadian Alpine Journal. Having lost both parents to unrelated outdoor accidents by the age of 11, Norman was embraced by a ‘family circle’ who nurtured and encouraged her, including long-time Canmore locals Marnie Virtue, Steve de Keijzer and Sharon Wood.
In Norman, said Wood, the first North American woman to summit Everest in 1986, she recognized a kindred spirit reminiscent of her younger self. Thoughtful, deliberate and introspective, Norman never wanted to be defined by her tragedies. As a climber, Wood said she showed grace beyond her years.
“She was just this picture of elegance in motion, not wasting a single speck of energy on anything other than what was right in front of her nose,” Wood said. “At 29, to see that, you thought, she’s going somewhere.”
“Carlyle could bring a bright spark of light and laughter to any situation, but she could also be serious and highly disciplined,” said Virtue, an aunt to Norman since she was 12.
Virtue, Wood and several others hosted a send-off dinner for the climbers before they departed for Patagonia.
“We were so excited for them, we were all clucking, we were feeling so nurturing,” Wood said. “We wanted to lift them, give them air beneath their wings.”
“Carlyle found great solace in wild places,” Virtue said. “She was extremely happy that day in Patagonia.”
News of her accident dealt an especially painful blow.
“We’ve had a lot of bad news by now in this game,” Wood added. “But this one was another degree of intensity.”
A memorial for family and friends will be held, Feb. 3 at the Radisson on Bow Valley Trail at 7 p.m.
