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TAS climbing fatality?? 16-Feb-2006 At 11:01:33 AM ithomas

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Ken McConnell was not a bushwalker or inexperienced climber. He was a gentle soul with a wicked wit. Many Tasmanian climbers such as Lyle Closs, Ian Lewis, Bob McMahon, Bryan Kennedy and loads of others enjoyed days out with Ken in the early and mid seventies. Mainlanders including Peter Morris and Ben Maddison were also very good friends of Ken. Ken was a noted repository of Tasmanian rockclimbing folklore up until the point where sportclimbing accelerated change. He completed his medical degree and was a highly competent, supportive and socially progressive doctor. Although he never climbed at the highest levels on rock, he became a very skilled mountaineer. Unlike many of us, Ken never blew his own trumpet and so, rather than having him be remembered in a forum such as this as - "some guy called Ken", I feel that someone should blow it for him. Ken was a good bloke and a climber - a real climber.
Ian Thomas