The Bow Valley climbing community was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of well-loved Canmore climber Anna Smith just days after she and her climbing partner, Alison Criscitiello, began an expedition in the Indian Himalaya.
“Anna was truly inspirational,” said her close friend Derek Cheng. “She sought adventure and had a love of the high and the wild, and threw herself into these amazing places with courage and wonder and joy, taking many of us along for the ride. She made my life, and so many others, so much richer for that, and actually changed the way I live.”
Smith, 31, died suddenly on Oct. 1. She and Criscitiello, also from Canmore, had established a base camp at 3,950 metres elevation (according to Criscitiello’s inReach satellite communicator) in the Miyar Valley in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The two climbers had climbed up to a higher camp (about 4,486 metres), Cheng said, where Smith reported headaches and feeling the effects of altitude. The climbers descended to base camp to rest and acclimatize for a couple of days.
Smith recovered, so, feeling good, the two climbers returned to their higher camp. This time Criscitiello complained of headaches, but since she was feeling good Smith prepared dinner for them both. With just one small tent, Smith slept in the tent while Criscitiello opted to bivy outside. By morning, Smith did not wake up. The cause of death is unknown, and an autopsy is being planned to take place in India. Criscitiello has been working with Indian officials and others to manage the challenging logistics of recovering Smith’s body.
A former longtime Parks Canada employee, Smith had left her job to pursue life in the mountains. A tireless adventurer, she climbed difficult rock routes from the Bugaboos and Squamish in B.C., to Colorado’s Indian Creek, to Yosemite in California and Chamonix, France. In her home mountains, the Canadian Rockies, she tackled challenging ice and mixed climbs with her trademark determination and infectious energy, adventures she related on her blog, https://annaclaresmith.wordpress.com.
In July 2015, with the help of The Alpine Club of Canada’s Jen Higgins Memorial Fund and MEC’s Expedition Support Fund, Smith partnered with strong Rockies climber Michelle Kadatz for an expedition to the towering granite spires of Baffin Island, where they succeeded in climbing two big wall routes, becoming the first all-female team to free climb Mount Loki’s South Buttresses route.
In preparation for their Himalayan expedition, Smith and Criscitiello – who had previously climbed in the Indian Himalaya where she led the first all-female ascent of 6,930m Pinnacle Peak – were awarded the prestigious U.S. Mugs Stump Award, and the ACC-administered John Lauchlan Memorial Award.
“But Anna was so much more than a climber,” Cheng said. “She was smart and witty, caring and warm, had a love of the little things – like wine from a bag around a fire after a hard day climbing, or thrashing some hip hop at 3 a.m. from her truck to enliven a pre-dawn start. She was a generous soul who would move nations if she could to make your day better. And she knew how to have fun.
“Her laughter is somewhat legendary, rambunctious and joyous on a transcendental level. You could hear her laugh shattering the serenity of climbing crags the world over.”
A celebration of Smith’s life will take place Sunday (Oct. 16) at the Canmore Seniors Centre’s Creekside Hall beginning at 2 p.m.
