IAN WATTS 1960-1988

Ian Watts died on January 17 while attempting the Zurbriggen Ridge on Mount Cook in New Zealand. He was last seen at the foot of the ridge near dawn. It is believed that he and his two companions were struck by an avalanche during the early stages of the climb.

In 1983 he graduated from the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo. He was a maritime engineer and had just concluded a six-month stint on a U.S. Navy oceanographic research ship, the USS Harkness, in the South Pacific. He had made numerous climbs at Lover’s Leap, Joshua Tree and Yosemite. He had also made ascents of the Cassin Ridge on Denali, the Kain route on Bugaboo Spire and Mounts Kenya and Kilimanjaro. He is survived by his father Jeff of Pinole, California, his mother Helen of Reno, Nevada and his brothers Brian and Glenn.