HILLSBORO, Ore. — The Oregon hiking and climbing community is mourning the death of one of their own.
A Hillsboro man named Chaitanya Sathe died Saturday when he fell at Smith Rock State Park.
Those who knew the 35-year-old climber cannot say enough good things about him.
“Our community is just devastated,” explained Mazamas Acting Executive Director Sarah Bradham. “I've talked to a lot of his friends and the things that keep coming up, are he was just wickedly funny, smart, bright, bright shining light is the thing people keep saying. He was just an includer, infectious spirit, drew people into his orbit, and they just loved being around him.”
Chai, as he was called by friends, was an active and very involved member of Mazamas, a nonprofit mountaineering group here in Portland.
“It seemed like he derived most of his pleasure from being out in the mountains and from climbing,” Bradham said. “He was prolific, being up all of the, most of the volcanoes, you know, and going with our climb leaders as well as leading his own climbs.”
On Saturday, he was descending into the lower gorge at Smith Rock State Park when he somehow fell about 100 feet and died. His climbing partner was ahead of him so no one saw it happen, but it is being called a freak accident.
“Nobody saw this happen, could've just been a simple trip in vertical terrain,” Bradham said.
Chai's friends started a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs and the cost of a plane ticket for his dad who has to fly to Oregon from India.
KGW was told he does not have any immediate family in Oregon. Their goal was to raise $12,000, but donations continue to roll in and at last check, more than $15,000 had been donated.
“It's growing rapidly, Chai was clearly just beloved by our community and it's one of those things our community does really well, is we rally when things go wrong,” Bradham said. “We do want to make sure his family is made as whole as possible, his friends put this together and everybody is rallying around him.”
Mazamas is planning a celebration of life for him here in Portland. No date has been set yet.