‘One of Idaho’s best climbers’: Friends remember man killed in rock climbing accident
An Idaho man who died in a rock climbing accident over Labor Day weekend was one of the state’s most fearless climbers and constantly shared his love for the sport, according to friends.
Kevin Hansen, 41, was climbing Granite Peak, the tallest mountain in Montana, with his dad and two brothers on Sept. 5. They were descending from the peak when a boulder dislodged from the mountain, killing Kevin and injuring his brother, Terry.
“Somehow that boulder either rolled over the top of my brother or knocked him off that ledge up there, and he fell over 1,000 feet,” Terry told EastIdahoNews.com. “He was killed pretty much instantly.”
The family had to stay overnight on the mountainside waiting for a helicopter rescue the next day, Terry said.
“It was one of the longest (nights) of my life,” he said.
Kevin Hansen grew up in Idaho Falls. He lived in Melba with his wife and four children, where he was a seminary teacher for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had degrees in geology and outdoor education from Idaho State University and was an avid outdoorsman.
Hansen remembered as skilled, adventurous
Kevin Hansen was known by other Idaho rock climbers for creating new, difficult climbing routes.
“About once every generation, someone comes along and does a lot for climbing in Idaho,” said Bob Boyles, a fellow climber who met Kevin on a trip to Mt. Borah in 2011. “In the 2000s … (it was) Kevin.”
Kevin completed several routes in the Lost River Range that have yet to be repeated — on the east face of Mt. Borah, the north face of Sacajawea, and the east face of Mt. Idaho, according to Tom Lopez, founder of Idaho: A Climbing Guide.
“Kevin was one of Idaho’s best and most active climbers,” Lopez wrote in a memorial post on his website.
Boyles said Kevin had an interest in the Lost River Range.
“It’s not the beautiful granite of the Sawtooths,” Boyles said. “It’s limestone. The big faces, they’re generally pretty dangerous — loose rock, hard to find anchors, just a fairly tough range.”
Kevin was also fascinated with Idaho’s rock climbing history. He would interview other climbers for tips and route ideas, Boyles said, and he would share that information on the Idaho Summits message board. Kevin also started a Facebook group for Lost River Range climbs. Several members of the group shared memories of Kevin there upon hearing of his death.
“If you’ve ever climbed in the LRR, you have benefited from Kevin’s expansive knowledge either directly or indirectly,” Nate Weber wrote. “I will miss our deep conversations, whether it be trudging up on approach or sleeping in the Prius or bivvying on a wind-beaten, godforsaken ledge.”
“Kevin really was an inspirational person to me,” Daniel Todd wrote. “He was a great and visionary climber and I never met anyone more stoked about climbing than him. He would always encourage me when I had ideas or act so excited whenever I would accomplish anything. I guess it would only be fair to say I hope I can be half the person and climber Kevin was.”
Many remembered Kevin’s enthusiasm for climbing and the joy it brought him.
“He could be standing on a ledge 1,000 feet up and have a great, big grin on his face because he was loving what he was doing,” Boyles said.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the Hansen family as a rainy day fund.
