Elite Seattle Climber Chad Kellogg Killed on Argentine Peak
Patagonia, Argentina
Revered climber and Outdoor Research athlete Chad Kellogg, 42, died on Friday, Feb. 14, in Patagonia, Argentina.
“Sad weekend for everyone here and the climbing community as a whole,” said Outdoor Retailer marketing director Charles Lozner. “Chad was an awesome guy and truly an inspiration.”
Several sources report that a falling rock crushed Kellogg as he and his climbing partner, Jens Holsten, descended Mt. Fitz Roy. Holsten was forced to descend by himself.
Kellogg was a former climbing ranger at Mount Rainier, and he once held the record for the fastest ascent-descent of Mount Rainier with a time of under five hours. In 2003, he entered his first speed-climbing contest – the Khan Tengri mountaineering race in Kazakhstan – which he won.
Kellogg holds the record for the fastest round-trip climb of Denali’s West Buttress route in Alaska at 23 hours and 55 minutes. He also had numerous first ascents, including a solo climb of Nepal’s Lunag Ri in 2012.
Kellogg, who ran a construction business in Seattle, was a colon cancer survivor and gave motivational speeches to other young cancer survivors. In 2007, his wife, Lara, died in a climbing accident in Alaska.
