It was as if, The Denver Post said, John Elway or Peyton Manning had died.
But shift sports from football to professional rock and ice climbing, and trade the names of those Hall of Fame quarterbacks for Mark Miller, a 1982 graduate of Annandale High School who flourished on the craggy peaks of Colorado as a guide and rescue team guru.
That comparison was how Colorado’s largest newspaper illustrated the impact of Miller’s death on the climbing community in the state’s rugged San Juan Mountains last week.
Miller, 50, had been guiding a pair of Europeans on the fourth and final day of an ice climbing expedition in Eureka Canyon near Silverton when the accident occurred. According to reports, he was climbing "off rope" around 1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, when the section of ice he was on collapsed. Miller fell 800 feet to his death.
Family members he left behind, including his wife Colette, participated in memorial services last week in Ouray, Colorado, where he lived, and in Clearwater. According to Miller’s sister, Marsha Rouch of Coon Rapids, they took comfort in the knowledge that Miller was pursing his passion when he died.
"That’s who he is and what he loved to do," she said. "And he was happy, all the way to the end."
Born climber
The son of Don and Diane Miller of South Haven, who still live in the area, Miller grew up on a farm in Lynden Township.
One of the first glimpses of his climbing prowess came when he managed to scale one of the farm’s silos when no one was looking at the age of 5.
"He really shouldn’t have been able to reach the lowest rung, but somehow he managed to get up there," said Rouch, who graduated from Annandale High School in 1988. "And those rungs were about three feet apart. No one was there to see how he did it. That silo had to be 50 feet tall. He climbed all the way to the top of the silo and peeked his head over the top and said, ‘Hey guys.’ No one told mom until later."
In high school Miller wrestled and ran cross country, and also played some football for the Cardinals. Always looking for tests of agility, he was disappointed that gymnastics was a girls-only sport and volunteered to help spot the gymnasts.
During harvest season he had more opportunities to practice.
"When we were doing hay baling in the fall on the farm he’d always be climbing all over everything, the tractors and trailers, and would ride up the elevator to the hay mound," said Rouch.
Still, there was little to indicate a future career in rock climbing.
"Living here, you don’t know such a thing exists," said Rouch. "We didn’t go anywhere; we lived on the farm."
Miller eventually left the farm to join the Navy after his high school graduation, serving on the U.S.S. Long Beach, a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser as a nuclear machinist mate.
While training in Idaho he tried rock climbing for the first time, and the experience fueled a passion that never faded.
Following his six-year stint in the Navy Miller returned to the area and worked at Northern State Power in Monticello for five years. He also started a climbing club that took trips to Taylor’s Falls, but the real climbing opportunities lay to the west.
Scaling peaks worldwide
Eventually, with the support of his wife, Miller quit his job and headed to the mountains to become a climbing guide.
Even before leaving his job, Miller had accumulated a wealth of climbing experience through mountaineering courses and other adventures. At various times he climbed Mount Rainier in Washington and Denali in Alaska, where he rescued a fellow climber and was inspired to pursue rescue work for the rest of his career.
He also scaled peaks in Tajikistan and Ecuador, and made the first American ascent to Tilicho Lake in the Himalayas of Nepal.
Back in the states, Miller made a name for himself as an iconic member of the San Juan Mountain Guides. He was also an instructor with Rigging for Rescue, was an Ouray County EMT, and was a member of the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team.
"When he showed up on a rescue it was like ‘Problem solved, Mark is here,’" a fellow rescue team member told the Denver Post at a memorial service last week.
"He gets some of that from my dad," said Rouch. "If dad sees a problem with something he just invents something to fix it. He’s always been like that."
Miller’s profile with the San Juan Mountain Guides company said he was an original member of the group, and had been teaching ice climbing longer than any other active guide in Ouray, where he was also a superintendent at the Ouray Ice Park. He was a professional guide for 20 years.
"Well known for his calm and no nonsense approach to ice instruction, Mark is one of our most requested guides," said the company profile. "A true water ice master, Mark makes climbing steep and delicate ice look easy."
Because of the physical distance between Minnesota and Colorado and unfamiliarity with the unique niche of the climbing world, Rouch said she was unaware of the reputation her brother had established in the industry.
"Honestly, I’ve learned a lot just in the last few days from reading things online, because he was way out there and we weren’t in touch every day," she said. "I had no idea how big and famous he apparently was out there, but I’ve been learning."
Family connection
Rouch said her family understood that climbing could be dangerous, but by nature Miller was never one to shy away from all-out activity. It was always full speed ahead.
"I’m not that kind of person, but he was just the opposite," said Rouch. "Back when he lived at home he’d just go out for a bike ride and come back 60 miles later."
Miller and Colette did not have children, but he made a point to play with his young great nieces and nephews whenever he traveled back to Minnesota, which was generally every year or two. This past year was atypical in that Miller was able to return home twice – once for the Fourth of July, and then both he and Colette came back for Thanksgiving.
Now Rouch is counting that extra time with her brother as a blessing.
"This was an unusual year, for him to come back twice," she said. "So (the kids) were able to play with him and get to know him. He loved that."
■ Memorial services were held on Wednesday, Feb. 4, in Ouray, and the mayor of the city of 1,000 issued a proclamation declaring it Mark Miller Appreciation Day.
A celebration of life was also held in Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Clearwater United Methodist Church.
To read Miller’s obituary, see page 4B.