Hi everyone:
I feel it important to pass along this information: Adam Helman perished on Friday, January 9th, at his home in San Diego, CA. He was 54. Although he had no presence here at SummitPost, he was a prolific climber, hiker, peakbagger, author, webmaster, and friend to many in many areas. He is best known for creating the County Highpointer's Website, http://www.cohp.org, but he also could claim high peaks in South America such as Aconcagua, in Mexico, the Carribean, Japan, and all over the United States. He was the second person (after Bob Packard) to climb/visit every one of the 441 county highpoints of the western United States, a feat he completed (deliberately) on Mount Adams in Washington in 2012.
Ponder that for a moment: this feat went beyond just climbing a whole bunch of mountains. Access issues, the sheer amount of time, the variety of skills needed. It is surely a profound feat. His entire list of peaks, along with trip reports are here: http://www.cohp.org/geocities/climbing/peaks.html
He also advanced Prominence to a wider audience, playing a big role in making that metric as common as a peak's elevation. He constantly championed it and wrote the definitive book on it: http://bookstore.trafford.com/Products/ ... Peaks.aspx
He was a gourmand who loved to describe recipes and foods he had prepared. He was arguably the best camp chef ever, and well known for celebrating a successful climb with a pint of ice cream. His trip reports sometimes give more detail about the foods he ate rather than the climb! Yet, he was a slight man, about 5-ft-3 and 110 lbs, but he could hold his own with the best of them. He had endless energy.
I met him in 2000 and hiked a number of peaks in the southwest with him. We passed the time talking mathematics. I recall in Nevada having to stop and scratch out a line of a proof in the trail dirt until he "got it", and of course, ran with the rest of the logic.
Many people here may have met him, or seen his name in a log book, or know someone who knows him. For those who met him, you would agree he was unforgettable... in the most literal sense. He talked loudly with great excitement. If you gave him ten minutes, you would immediately sense he was a good guy with a good heart and truly loved life in the mountains.
I enjoyed his company and will miss him.
Scott Surgent