I've just found out that Dave Pitchford died last Friday.
As one of the leaders of the outdoor ed program at Narrabundah College, Dave was part of the community that got me into the bush and contributed to the life I'm living now. His enthusiasm for the outdoors and his insistence on safe, smart practises and a conscious and deliberate approach to risk has shaped the way I and many of my friends climb, hike, ride and ski. The opportunities he gave young people to experience the bush have and will shape many lives for the better.
I will never forget the time I climbed with him on the Narrabundah wall, and he mistook my terrible climbing after months of training for the moves of a novice with natural talent. If only.
Thanks Dave. Rest in peace.
Dave is survived by his partner and two children.
Many people will miss Dave, most will know him as a great mentor for life, through the examples he set in the outdoors, but also his healthy lifestyle, friendship and natural cheekiness, which never really left him, and which was quintessentially 'Dave'.
ReplyDeleteSome will remember that Dave was an Australian Sailboarding champion (Raceboards), and subsequently an enthusiastic slalom and wave sailor.
On a beach, in a canyon, on a rock face or heading out for a dive, Dave's enthusiasm and encouragement were infectious,
He will of course, be most sadly missed by his wife and two children, whom he loved without bounds.