Dear UKC
It is with sadness, that I am posting to let you all know that Goucho (actually my dear friend Nick) suffered a massive heart attack several weeks ago, and passed away.
He'd had a double heart bypass a few months ago, and seemed to be recovering well, but unfortunately, he took a turn for the worse, and had to have further surgery, from which he never really recovered.
Considering the adventures he had both on and off the mountains, a great number of the mountain one's which I shared, I always thought he was indestructible. Apparently not.
An enigma wrapped in a conundrum is an apt description of him. He had his demons, and sometimes they got the better of him.
A restless and adictive personality meant he often took things to extremes.
He was a fiercely private person, with a mistrust of the human race, which apart from family and close friends, he kept at arms length, sometimes to the point where he became reclusive.
Yet to his family (who he utterly adored) and close friends, he was incredibly warm, affectionate, generous and unwaveringly loyal.
He always said his goals in life were simple. Climb, make enough money to not have to think about it anymore, wrap himself in a loving family, and be magnificently anonymous.
I think he succeeded in all of them.
He was always self depriciatory regarding his climbing achievements, putting them down to a combination of a long reach, luck and better partners. As someone who climbed hundreds of routes with him over many years, I can say this is not true.
He was a superb climber, technically gifted and bold, with huge stamina, endurance and toughness. He could be a really hard bastard when the chips were down.
He was also a great raconteur, with a never ending supply of stories, several of which I imagine he may have posted on here. Like most people with a dark side, he could also be very funny.
They say it's not the years in your life, but the life in your years that matters.
Well he certainly packed an awful lot into his years.
It's just a shame he never managed to finish the book he was writing containing them all. It would have been a great read.
Like all those close to him, I am shattered by his passing, and will miss him terribly.
The world is a bit darker for his passing.
Mike.