Dutch mounteneering icon Ronald Naar died today on the Cho Oyu. Ronald Naar fell ill during the climb and passed away while descending the mountain. Full text in Dutch at http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Bin ... nier.dhtml

Ronald was known as a responsible man who did not take uncalculated risks. Before the climb, he had an elaborate medical exam to ensure he was in good health. Ronald was the first Dutch man to climb all 7 summits. He was an ambassador for mounteneering and led expeditions to a.o. K2 and Nanga Parbat. Ronald Naar's website: http://www.ronaldnaar.nl/

Thank you for the inspiration and courage. Rest in Peace.

As i posted over on UKC, that is sad news. I spent some time with Ronald climbing on the Antarctic Peninsula some years ago. Despite some controversial elements of his past, I found him an honest and likeable bloke.

As the obits outline, his climbing and adventure career was almost unparalleled, combining success on 8000m peaks (including a solo summit of Nanga Parbat via the Schell Route on the Rupal Face) with some much wilder locations, plus the Poles etc. He had managed to carve out a successful career as a professional adventurer, based on a high level of competency, a lot of drive and ambition but still a clear love of being in these places.

I remember him proudly showing me a photo of his wife and kids, and I remember him not giving a shit about knocking rocks and ice down on me as he climbed above

Vale Ronald.

http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/ ... p?id=20173