Myself and my family members, spread across Canada, have taken solace in the outpouring of support that has manifested itself here. My friend Doug Hillman has often commented upon the way in which we hikers become so close so fast.
I have read each and every word of every post, PM and email and believe me, it really helps. It helps more than I would ever have thought. Sylvie and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
When I got the news, directly from the doctor in Banff, it cut through me like a buzzsaw. I believed I would never be able to hike or enter the mountains again. The irony of having taken Dominic by the hand and showed him the path to the mountains only to have it all lead to his death was too much to bear.
Since Monday, we have cried and cried, laughed some, been angry, felt guilty, held each other tight and have asked ourselves so many questions to which there can be no answers.
Today, in Lake Louise a memorial service is being held for Dominic. His boss, a lifelong friend of mine, has been telling us how Dominic was an inspiration to so many people in the Village of Lake Louise. His passion for the mountains and his goodness flowed out from him and touched many, many people.
I prepared this for him to read to the expected gathering of up to five hundred shook-up young people:
I can assume that if you are here that Dominic must have touched you in some way. Let me tell you, as Dom’s father how he touched me. Perhaps together we can find something positive in all this chaos.
I first took Dominic into the woods when he was 4 years old. It was a winter bushwhack on snowshoes and in retrospect, it was like sitting a child prodigy down in front of a piano for the first time.
He was a natural and through the years I took him on trips into the woods as often as possible. His questions and observations and his immense drive made me realize that I didn’t have an ordinary kid on my hands.
Dominic was so hardcore. I remember how at first, I was afraid of wearing him out. Once, on a 4 day winter trip north of Montreal and as we returned to the wilderness cabin at the end of a particularly long snowshoe bushwhack he said to me, “I like it best when at the end of the day I am exhausted, that way I know I got the most out of it”. He said this like other kids might say; I like the Red Hot Chillie Peppers.
I broke him in as a hiker in the Adirondacks. These little 4000 footers give you the false impression of being easy, but well-travelled hikers consider them to be the toughest hiking in the world. I myself, a well-seasoned Canadian Rockies hiker was blown away at how tough these mountains were to hike. Dominic tore through them. We would string together as many as five summits in 12 and even 15 hour-long days, starting with headlamps and finishing with headlamps. Winter and summer. I would always be sore the next day. Dominic, never.
Then, I brought him to the Rockies at age 15 and for 2 weeks we averaged nearly 4000 vertical feet of scrambling a day. It rained every day but one. Except, when we did Mount Temple there was not a cloud in the sky. We slept in a tent at Mosquitoe Creek for those 2 weeks and had no showers, no heat, cold well water only. Like I said, he was so bloody hard-core.
Dominic stood upon my shoulders and started his mountaineering life right from where I left off. He took all I had as an introduction and went much, much farther so much more quickly.
After he left home and came to Lake Louise to make his life as a Mountain Guide I reflected that the tables has slowly turned. Dominic had become my role model. I admired him so much and at age 51 I vowed to myself that I would stay in shape and keep hiking hard so I could keep up with him. He had become my inspiration.
I wanted to send Dominic a long, long letter to express my admiration and, as a father, to give him advice about life. And, to remind him of his weaker points. I thought a lot about that letter but somehow I never got around to writing it. Now, I am left with a huge emptiness as I reflect on all the things I will never do with Dominic, the things we will never say to each other.
So, the day after he died I sat down with my other boys and I told them how I much admired them and how much I loved them. I reminded them of all of their strong points. Then I did the same with Dominic’s mother, Sylvie. My suggestion to all of you here is if you have parents, brothers, sisters, children of your own or just friends that you admire, tell them. Tell them today. Tell them in the living years. If you wait, you may regret it, forever. Life is but a brief candle.
Thank you for listening,
Neil, Dom’s Dad
Some pictures of Dominic
