# Victoria, BC Aug 21, 2004. Rescuing cat, climber falls to his death.



## sdillen (Aug 23, 2004)

I've been generally lurking around here for a year or so. I saw this today...thought it belonged here. 

http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/news/story.html?id=596f3e7d-1ff2-4f43-8344-a02aff2a206d

Text...in case the link doesn't work.

Rescuing cat, climber falls to his death

Scott Petersen 
Times Colonist 

Monday, August 23, 2004

A life spent conquering mountains and cliffs came to a tragic end on the weekend when renowned Victoria rock climber Daryl Hatten fell to his death from a tree.

Hatten, 49, slipped from a rain-soaked arbutus tree in Langford Saturday when a cat he was trying to save took several swipes at him, friend David Parsons said.

The cat's owner called a tree-climbing company owned by Parsons, who recommended the job to Hatten, and lent him some climbing gear. But Hatten wasn't safely strapped in when he climbed around a large limb and came face-to-face with the large, black house cat, said Parsons.

"The cat was swiping at him and he moved further out on the limb, lost his balance and fell," said Parsons, after talking with West Shore RCMP about their investigation into the accident.

Hatten fell about 20 metres to a rocky patch below the tree near Swallow Place, he said. An ambulance and the Langford Fire Department were called to the scene at about 1 p.m. to stabilize him and take him to hospital. He was pronounced dead from internal injuries about an hour later, said Parsons.

"He was happy-go-lucky and was going to get paid $75 for rescuing that cat," said girlfriend and roommate Debbie Graham, who knew Hatten for the past 11 years.

Working mostly as a tree climber, Daryl Hatten used his dual Canadian and American citizenship to obtain search-and-rescue work at Yosemite National Park in California for a short stint, said Parsons.

He was well-known as an adventure-seeker by climbers around the world and wouldn't hesitate to blaze new paths up the side of rocky cliffs.

His mountain climbing days recently ended after he suffered an injury.

"He was sort of semi-retired but he's way up there," said Parsons, about Hatten's climbing reputation.

"He's known worldwide as Cro-Magnon man in rock- climbing books."

One of the books featuring Hatten's climbing work is Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering, written by Calgary-based climber and author Chic Scott. Also known as Hacker, Hatten had friends all over the world in the mountain climbing community, said Parsons.

"He was a heck of a good guy and everybody knows him. He doesn't have an enemy in the world."

Graham said the coroner's office will be investigating the death and an autopsy will be performed. West Shore RCMP was still completing its investigation Sunday afternoon and was unavailable for comment.

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2004


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## MasterBlaster (Aug 23, 2004)

Bummer. Like RJS said awhile ago, ya gotta expect the unexpected. It a squirrel ran across your face suddenly, what would happen? It your properly tied in, the worst you might do is poop yur pants.
What happened to this poor guy is a perfect example of that. What an unnecessary waste of life.


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## Husky372 (Aug 23, 2004)

i could never see the sense of trying to rescue a tree cimbing animal (cat) from a tree when the cat gets hungry it will come down. if it is to stupid to climb back down then it deserves to die in that tree. JMHO


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## sedanman (Aug 23, 2004)

Any of you climbers ever encounter a cat skeleton in a tree? Didn't think so.


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## OutOnaLimb (Aug 23, 2004)

Never ever tried to rescue a cat from a tree, I have however climbed a tree to shoot a racoon that kept gettin in my garbage.

Kenn


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## okietreedude1 (Aug 23, 2004)

> _Originally posted by sedanman _
> *Any of you climbers ever encounter a cat skeleton in a tree? Didn't think so. *



Nope, but i have seen a squirrel skeleton.


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## Koa Man (Sep 8, 2004)

And I have seen numerous bird skeletons. 

I had a large rat jump on my face while trimming a coconut tree.
I had to grab it and rip it off my face because instead of running down like all the others I have encountered do, this idiot was trying to climb up and couldn't get around the brim of my hardhat. Rat claws can scratch pretty good. I had scratch marks on my face and even on my inner lip after that episode.


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## OutOnaLimb (Sep 8, 2004)

That sucks Dude, I have heard some pretty nasty stories about guys trimming Palms. Rats I can deal with, Snakes, thats a different story

Kenn


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## Koa Man (Sep 8, 2004)

Luckily so far, no snakes in Hawaii. If the brown tree snake or other types of snakes ever get established here, you can be sure my price for trimming palms will go up at least 50%.


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## John Stewart (Sep 9, 2004)

Ya what about Bee's!
I'm allergic to the little blighters! 
I haven't been stung in a tree yet but I know plenty who have!
Keep me in your prayers 
Hey Kenn what did you shoot him with?
Later
John


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## NeTree (Sep 9, 2004)

I guess the pu$$y really wasn't worth it after all.


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## John Stewart (Sep 9, 2004)

OOHH!!!!!
Tastless 
But Funny


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## NeTree (Sep 9, 2004)

I just couldn't resist, John.


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