Hardwear Sessions

F*** I hate this s***. I know a lot of you have lost close friends and relatives in your lives as have I and I'm sure you can attest to this. It never gets any easier and it shouldn't. Friendship and love are some of the hardest things to find but when we do it's everything and when it disappears it hurts like fucking nothing else.

After finding out that they called off the search, I didn't know what to think. I was sad to hear that they had and I also knew that conditions were dangerous enough as to put others at great risk. I can't imagine how hard that decision must have been.

People like Micah and Jonny don't come around that often. I've actually never met Wade but from what I've heard and read, he fit right in. All three had already accomplished so much with their lives with much more waiting in the wings. They were forces behind a community and helped to guide it by envisioning its future, being creative and moving it forward in a positive direction, and growing it by inviting others to experience it through their creations and relentless positive attitude.

Micah was as passionate as they come and his enthusiasm drove you to be as motivated and focused on whatever you were passionate about. It didn't matter what it was: climbing, surfing, work, film, art...whatever. He was genuinely interested in your stoke and would often follow your thoughts with "Wow, that's cool Man!"

I started to get to know Micah only after we began working together a little over two years ago. I didn't know much about him before but it didn't take too long to realize how lucky all of us here at Mountain Hardwear were to be a part of his life. He filled our heads with ideas, crazy schemes, and new ways of looking at things and he filled our hearts with laughter and well....heart.

Walking that line of being a manager and being a friend has always been difficult for me. I don't think there is a line really. It's just a vast blurry something or other. But after numerous phone calls, emails, tradeshows and other outings and events, I'm honored to have been a friend of Micah Dash. He had a huge heart, a great perspective on things and like many of you have said, he was able to make light of some of the most serious situations.

I sometimes wished I'd had a tape recorder around when Micah was in the room. I don't know how many one-liners, crazy stories, impersonations, or jokes I've heard come from Micah, but I think I spent most of my time around him laughing my ass off and just being drawn into his world. This was a touch he had with everyone whether he was guiding, presenting to an audience, talking on the phone or at the bar, or through his writings. I will truly miss him.