Jumper falls to death
The incident took place on the Stawamus Chief Mountain in Squamish, B.C., north of Vancouver along the Sea to Sky Highway. The Canadian Press has identified the dead man as 30-year-old Gary Kremer.
The B.C. Coroner will not officially name the victim until Monday but CP reporter Laura Kane spoke with his girlfriend, Paige Anderson; Anderson confirmed it was Kremer who died.
The tragedy happened at about 10 a.m. Sunday and the Squamish RCMP report that the man jumped from what’s known as the first (granite) peak of the mountain and so fell some 540 metres to his death. He landed near the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
Dangers of BASE jumping
An emotional Anderson said her boyfriend was a devoted BASE jumper and had jumped the Stawamus Chief Mountain on many occasions. He had a community of friends that jumped the mountain and she said he loved traveling to Squamish to spend time on the Stawamus with them.
She said that family and friends of BASE jumpers are aware of the sport’s dangers and that those who do it know there are extreme risks. However, she added, the risk factor does not detract from their love of the sport.
“I just really want to make sure people don’t look at this sport negatively because of what happened to him,” Anderson told Kane over the phone from Seattle. “He loved it and he would not have changed a thing. He would have kept jumping for the rest of his life.”
In May, 34-year-old Kristin Renee Czyz of Calgary died after jumping from Perrine Bridge near Twin Falls, Idaho. Her parachute did not open adequately and it was later discovered that it had a hole in it.
Kremer worked at Boeing and was training to become a full-time firefighter.