Goran Kropp Dead

Swedish climber and adventurer Goran Kropp has been killed in a fall while climbing in in Vantage, Washington.

Kropp, who was sponsored by Helly Hansen, was best known for his 1996 exploit when he cycled 7,000 miles from his home in Sweden to Everest, climbed the mountain without supplemental oxygen, then cycled back to Sweden with his gear.

Anyone who read Judy Armstrong's fascinating interview with Kropp in last year's TGO magazine will have sensed that he was a remarkable and interesting man. Very sad news.

Full Helly Hansen Press Release Text

SEATTLE, Wash. (October 1, 2002) - Professional adventurer Goran Kropp died from a fall yesterday while climbing a popular route called Air Guitar near Frenchmen Coulee in Vantage, Washington. The Grant County Coroner's Office in Yakima, stated that head injuries were the cause of death. Kropp, who was belayed by climber Erden Eruç, Seattle, reached the exit point of the climb when his gear ripped out from the crack and he fell 75 feet. Eruç said that Kropp died on impact. Kropp and Eruç were airlifted by a M.A.S.T. helicopter to Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima. The Grant County Coroner's Office took jurisdiction of the body from the Yakima County Coroner's Office and he was brought back to the Grant County Forensic Institute where an external examination was performed.

Kropp relocated earlier this year from Sweden to Seattle with his fiancée, Renata Chlumska. Chlumska was guiding a group of clients to Mt. Everest base camp at the time and was contacted via satellite phone by friend Kaj Bune in Seattle, a photographer and Helly Hansen sports marketing manager who recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with the couple. Chlumska is in route to Seattle. Bune also was in contact with Kropp's father in Sweden this morning. Helly Hansen sponsors both Kropp and Chlumska.

"Goran Kropp was the brightest light the world of adventure may ever know," Bune said. "The power of his unique vision-in-action was matched only by his charismatic and magnetic personality, which reached its highest expression when addressing a crowd of admirers. Goran's great contribution to the world, as anyone who knew him or attended his presentations will confirm, was his ability to inspire. His astounding deeds are only a small part of his legacy. The adventurous spirit he awakened in thousands of people will live on for many years to come."

"Everyone who met him became a friend. Goran Kropp is sorely missed," he said.

Kropp is recognized around the world for his epic 1996 adventure when he rode his bike 7,000 miles from Sweden to Nepal, climbed Everest without porters or supplemental oxygen, and biked home with all of his gear. He was a popular motivational speaker and was frequently covered by the international press. National Geographic Adventure magazine named him "The Most Entertaining Adventurer on Earth" in a May 2002 feature story and in its current issue, Outside Magazine called him "a role model for the next 25 years of adventure". Kropp co-authored a book about his adventures with writer David Lagercrantz titled Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey, and his documentary film I Made It: Goran Kropp's Incredible Journey to the Top of the World won the distinguished Best of Banff Award at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, the grandfather of all outdoor film competitions, in 1998.

Kropp and Chlumska were planning a 10,000-mile kayaking and hiking circumnavigation of the United States starting next July from their home in Issaquah, Washington. Within the next four years he was planning his ultimate adventure to sail solo from Seattle to Antarctica, ski unsupported to the South Pole and back, and sail home.

Goran is survived by Gerard, his father, Sweden; Sigrun, his mother, Sweden, and Chlumska, Issaquah, Wash.