Posted on 09/30/2022 5:53:31 AM PDT by Red Badger
Escobar, who spent the bulk of his NFL career with the Cowboys, was only 31 years old
Former NFL tight end Gavin Escobar was one of two people found dead, at Idyllwild, Calif., on Wednesday after a rock climbing accident, according to USA Today. He was only 31 years old.
Per the report, firefighters found the bodies of Escobar and 33-year-old Chelsea Walsh in the San Bernardino National Forest after a climbing accident was reported around noon, local time. Escobar and Walsh were reportedly climbing a rock face (the vertical surface of a rock). Rain and thunderstorms passed through the area prior to the accident, though it's unclear whether they played a role in the incident. The extent of Escobar and Walsh's rock climbing experience is also unclear
A second-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2013 NFL Draft, Escobar played four seasons for Dallas before ending his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens in 2017. He recorded 30 catches and eight touchdowns over that stretch, all with the Cowboys.
After his NFL career, Escobar joined the fire department at Long Beach, Calif. The department paid its respects shortly after Escobar's tragic death.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the off-duty death of Long Beach Firefighter Gavin Escobar. Hired on February 5, 2022, Firefighter Escobar was assigned to Fire Station 3 on B-shift," read a social media post from the department. "Firefighter Escobar leaves behind his wife and two young children."
Sad. RIP.
Ping........😢
“Former NFL tight end Gavin Escobar one of two found dead after rock climbing accident in California”
Would have been safer for him to stick to running drugs.
Escobar joined the fire department at Long Beach, Calif.
Your comment was out of line.
Sudden Death Syndrome, for sure.
NFL, firefighter, rock climbing. You can’t say he didn’t live life to the fullest.
I was really impressed to read that he joined the FD.
Over the decades, I have known a couple of people who seemed to take outrageous chances. They were, as a rule, bright, funny, athletic and of the ones I kept up with, they tended to die or get disabled young. (Car racing, scuba diving, etc.) You might argue that living on the edge is the only way to experience life. I began to see such people as having a death wish. It seemed they kept pushing the edge to see if they’d fall off.
Of course, here’s the differences and this may be the reason. I am happy/satisfied building a car, reading/writing a book or having a great conversation. None of this was true of the ones I got close enough to notice what they liked.
Correct link to story:
Thanks, I don’t know how that happened!.......................🤦♂️🤷♂️
Some of us make it to old age, unfortunately, the injuries do add up.
It’s a pretty hinky web site, at least right now. It seems to link multiple stories with the same url.
That’s too bad.
After seeing what happened to Tua last night, he needs to quit. It's not worth it.
Escobar and Walsh were reportedly climbing a rock face (the vertical surface of a rock).
Thank you, journalist, for defining a second-grade term for me.
Journalists assume we are all as ignorant as they are....................😉
“Firefighter Escobar leaves behind his wife and two young children.”
This is a tragedy for a number of reasons. At some point - say, when you’re married with kids - you have to stop doing some recreational activities that involve taking potentially fatal risks.
We did a climb there, he lead, and we didn't go too high; I was a green horn, he was a great "lead climber", and never put us in a unsafe position. Kind of scary and exhilarating at the same time!
For the uninitiated, realize climbers usually act in pairs. A lead climber, who usually is the best, will initiate the ascent, scramble up, and he/she places the pitons, or chocks that fit into cracks or slits in the rocks. Then, lines are attached to the pitons, and of course, to the lead climber. The other end of the rope is attached to the follower.
In practice, the pitons/line are anchored in a way to allow the lead climber, if he/she slips, to be caught by the line and the pitons. If the leader slips while climbing, the follower just "tensions" the line, and the pitons and the line will prevent the leader from a major fall.
As the lead ascends, he/she finds a good, stable platform/place and then provides assistance (and encouragement) to the following climbers. The climbers are joined with a line (rope) which is attached to a safety sling called a "swami" which is worn around the waist and weaved around the upper thighs. As the followers come up, the lead climber can "assist" if needed by pulling the lines to help the followers, or "catch" them if they slip and fall. As they successfully complete each step in the ascents, it then repeats, that is, as high or as far as the leader is comfortable with. As the followers come up, they can "clean" the rock and remove the lower pitons as they go higher. With each new ascent, the leader goes up first, puts in the pitons, sets the stable platform, etc.
You can see, then, if the leader does not have a good, stable base of support, how easy it would be for a catastrophic event could occur if something happened. Maybe, for instance, the follower slipped, and the leader couldn't assist, maybe he/she got fatigued, or if the leaders stable base was compromised. Yeah, a nasty chain of events that could really create havoc.
I am going to assume something like that happened up on Tahquitz that day.
That is a very good assumption.....................
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