Another Sad Day For Climbing

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 Adam Lincoln 11 May 2004
From http://www.8a.nu

Elie Chevieux murdered 2004-05-11

We just got an email with terrible news:
"I have very, very bad news from Switzerland.
Elie Chevieux was murdered in Afghanistan a couple of days ago. Elie Chevieux, 31 years old, first climber to onsight 8b+, winner of many competitions, creator of the holds "Blate" and a really nice and cool guy was horribly murdered with stones in a public garden in Kaboul. He was on his way back home. Elie was a passionate photographer and he was travelling in Russia, Siberia, Japan, India, Nepal where he was around the Anapurna and finally in Afghanistan. He was there with a friend who was murdered as well.
Elie we will never forget you."

 Ropeboy 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

Sad news indeed.

J
Anonymous 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

ffs...

..cant we all just get along?
LurkingPaul 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

echo that
sad
 Jus 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

Oh Jesus. I saw a story on the news about two people in Kabul being murdered. Fcuking horrible bastards.
Ian Dunn 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln: If the goverment of Afghanistan want climbers to visit their country they need to ensure these killers are brought to justice and that this kind of appalling behaviour is not tolerated and will be stamped out. Elie Chevieux was an amazing climber with one of the best on-sight records of any climber ever and his death is a terrible lose to the climbing world in particulary tragic circumstances. I can only say I was lucky enough to have met him and seen him climb.
 Andy Farnell 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln: Very sad news.

Andy F
virgil 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:
and of course amnesty will be launching an investigation into this....
Ian 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:
thats really horrible. really horrible

condolances to his family, and to the family of the other victim
 TobyA 11 May 2004
In reply to Ian Dunn:
> (In reply to Adam Lincoln) If the goverment of Afghanistan want climbers to visit their country they need to ensure these killers are brought to justice and that this kind of appalling behaviour is not tolerated and will be stamped out.

I'm not sure that visiting climbing expeditions is a priority for the Karzai government just at the moment!

The death of Chevieux is a great shame, but there have been numerous murders of western aid workers in the last couple of months, and the Taliban is clearly growing in strength again. The failure of reconstruction and the pledged billions that have failed to arrive are not endearing westerners to Afghans currently.

I heard the news about the bodies being found on sunday night. Does anyone know what they were doing there? Traveling independently in Afghanistan seems a very risky thing to do currently.
Iain Ridgway 11 May 2004
In reply to TobyA: I thought it was photography, no?
 Tom Briggs 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

Horrible news.

I met Elie in N Wales about 12 years ago. He was quiet and unassuming and I remember being blown away watching him flash Jerry's Roof in the Pass.
johncoxmysteriously1 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

Horrible.
 Carless 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

Jesus wept! Grim
 Michael Ryan 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

That sucks big time. Total sadness.

Mick
charles ming 11 May 2004
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:
gnarly dude
Anonymous 11 May 2004
In reply to Anonymous: no the answer is to remove troops from Afghanistan, their country has been invaded and understandably they are not too chuffed about it.

but the death of an innocent person isnt nice, ill give you that
 helix 11 May 2004
i think you may be confusing afghanistan with iraq
 Bruce Hooker 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

I suppose these are the two mentioned briefly on the BBC news site, it didn't give any names or details and the story is now well buried.

It seems when two tourists are brutally murdered it's not "news". Perhaps it would have been covered better if British troops had done the deed. Who said in war the first victim is the truth?

As for the idea of climbers returning to Afghanistan, I fear it will be impossible for generations, the passes and valleys of the Hindu Kush must be covered in anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance.

SteveG 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

It's just sickening. So sad.
Met him in the forest a few years back. He seemed like a lovely bloke.
andychap 11 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln: Grim news and a sad loss!These people are Evil and heartless, and what did they achieve by murdering a climbing legend?
Father Faff 11 May 2004
In reply to virgil:
> (In reply to Adam Lincoln)
> and of course amnesty will be launching an investigation into this....

Virgil you are an arse.

 TobyA 12 May 2004
In reply to andychap:
> ...and what did they achieve by murdering a climbing legend?

I'm pretty certain the poor guy didn't get killed because he was a "climbing legend"! More like because he was a white European.

Bruce - I think the story got more attention on BBC World than the murder of various aid workers in Afghanistan recently have, partly because of the mystery aspect that originally no one knew who they were, or why they were there. How many people heard about the two Brits who were helping to organise the upcoming elections in Afghanistan being killed?

 Bruce Hooker 12 May 2004
In reply to TobyA:

I didn't for one. That's my point, when I criticise the BBC for bias it's not so much a question of actually giving false information it's the choice of subjects reported and the weight given to them. This is not confined to the Beeb of course, we all learnt at school the difference between putting a false story on the front page then apologising for the slander on the back one.

I think it's particularly obvious on the BBC web site concerning the way they treat the whole Middle East, Islam, minority thing though. I don't watch British TV so I don't know if the slant is present there too.
 TobyA 12 May 2004
In reply to Bruce Hooker:

> I think it's particularly obvious on the BBC web site concerning the way they treat the whole Middle East, Islam, minority thing though. I don't watch British TV so I don't know if the slant is present there too.

Interesting what you say about the BBC website... if you have cookies in use on your computer they ask you the first time if you are in the UK or outside and if you say outside they give the world headlines (which are the basically the same order on World Service radio and BBC World TV) and that tends to always have some Iraq or middle east story on the top... Hence I always have to click on "UK" to get UK news.

I think that middle east is dominating the world media at the moment to the cost (as ever) of stories from particularly Africa. Its not certain but there are probably as many people dying in Darfur as there are in Iraq at the moment but who pays any attention to it?

virgil 12 May 2004
In reply to TobyA:
commercial news is little more than an offshoot of the fashion industry.
Anonymous 12 May 2004
Muppet, the bbc isnt commercial news.
andy chap 12 May 2004
In reply to TobyA: never said that was the reason!
OP Adam Lincoln 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

It was in fact a mistake, and Elie is alive
 CragHead 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

How you know? if that is true, that is great new.
Anonymous 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln: Countries are like climbs,one does some research and then takes a calculated risk.All of us in the West know that Afghanistan is dangerous.......
Peter Walker 14 May 2004
In reply to CragHead: 8a.nu have it. He's phoned his parents.
Anonymous 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:
oh, well thats alright then
Ian 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:
still - lets not forget that 2 people were stoned to death - not nice
OP Adam Lincoln 14 May 2004
In reply to Ian:

Indeed. That goes without saying
Removed User 14 May 2004
In reply to TobyA: ..and Bruce Hooker

The deaths of the British election obsevers was reported on BBC Radio Scotland in some depth on the drive time news programme shortly after their deaths.
rain dog... 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln: so elie is alive then after all?

I'm confused!
 Bruce Hooker 14 May 2004
In reply to Removed User:

Why were British election observers sent to Scotland, isn't it part of Britain any more?
Ed Douglas 14 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln:

Wire services are reporting that Elie Chevieux arrived at the Iran-Pakistan border today unaware that he had been identified as a Swiss man murdered in Kabul this week. He had been travelling as planned but was apparently out of contact while Swiss authorities attempted verify that the body found was his with his family at home.

I'm not sure where confirmation that the body was Elie's came from originally, but at the very least it appears that he is alive.

Ed Douglas
harryP 15 May 2004
In reply to rain dog...:

From 8a.nu...

We got a new wonderful email from 8a.nu member Steve Amstutz: (The email has been confirmed by Swiss newspapers.)

"I have wonderful news. Elie Chevieux is alive. He just called is mother. The informations we have got from the Foreign Affairs Department were wrong. A swiss passport were found on the dead body and a misunderstood was done. I had a discussion with Elie's friends and he is fine, he is right now in Pakistan.

Good news for all of us, but we must not forget that two people were killed."

This news has been all over the world and his father has been interviewed in newspapers etc. It's a terrible mistake by officials! In this case, everything seems to have turned out to the best, but think about how Elie's family and friends must have felt... It's impossible to even begin to understand...

Swiss teletext reported this afternoon - "Genevan Elie Chevieux was not stoned to death in Kabul. His mother received a telephone call on Friday from the Swiss Ambassador in Iran, who announced that her son was alive and that he had been contacted."
Ken 17 May 2004
In reply to Adam Lincoln: Seriously though, whether alive or dead, what was he doing there in the first place? Even aid workers are in serious danger out there. Its not like climbing, as an earlier response held it, you cannot calculate the risk out there if you are travelling independently. In the military the risk goes with the job. For an independent there are too many variables.

Travelling to such a destination, although adventurous, is irresponsible, given the current climate.

Unlike mountaineering where, should a tragedy unfold, it will be of a recognisable nature, a fall, avalanche, succumbing to AMS But being stoned to death, kidnapped, beheaded or shot in a war torn country, will be tremedously difficult for relatives to deal with. It would be much harder for them to understand/comprehend. Nevermind the obligatory gruesome news coverage.

Ken

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