The world loses a true outdoorsman and an amazing person: Garrett Smith

The world becomes a lesser of a place when a good person is taken from us on this earth.  I knew Garrett Smith from interactions at church and inviting him and his wife over for a gathering of friends.  It's odd when you can just sense that someone his great.  There is greatness about them.  Despite Garrett's great size at 6'7" I could still feel that he was a great man.  We chatted about life, the outdoors, and what we wanted to do with ourselves.  He always wore a scarf.  Garrett was truly man enough to wear a scarf.  We talked about the purpose they served and how in the desert they are essential to keep all the sand and sun out.  I thought he was just talking but later when I learned about his life and what he had done and seen our conversation made more sense. 

Garrett was a world traveler, a photographer, a mountaineer, a climber, a skier, a husband, a brother, a son, an uncle, and a friend.  Garrett traveled to Morocco, Israel, Africa, Europe, lived in Spain, spent a lot of time in Central America, skied backcountries and saw many other parts of the world that most people can't even imagine.  Garrett ultimately lost his life doing what he loved, he was backcountry skiing in Central Utah around 11,000 feet on Saturday March 26th and passed away on the 27th.

I can honestly say he affected me however little I knew him. He had the ability to affect people with minimal interaction, he did it with a big smile and quiet confidence.  When the world loses someone good we all are affected.  I was deeply touched by him and by his wife.  They were and she still is, avid outdoorsmen and amazing people.  I admire him for what he accomplished in life.  He has an amazing gallery of photos on his website www.hammersincphoto.com.  We had reached an agreement to refer people to each other to do work with the outdoors clients. Garrett worked for Petzl the maker of quality headlamps.  He saw the world differently.  He was a falconer and had a pet hawk that he trained when he was a teenager.  He ran the Wasatch 100 without much training.  He did things we only dream about.  He was quiet and sarcastic.  He was stoic and strong.  I want to remember him and think of how what he did and his outlook on life.  Ever the optimist, he valued each day and lived it to the fullest.  This life was about the journey for him.  We all need to be a little more like Garrett.

Here is the story told by the news in Utah.