Asheville climber dies in 50-foot fall

ASHEVILLE - An ardent conservationist, expert rock climber and mother of two died in a 50-foot fall Sunday while climbing near Hidden Valley Lake in southwest Virginia.

Jennifer Kendall "Kayah" Gaydish, 36, had been working as the Linville Gorge Wilderness Ranger for Asheville-based conservation group Wild South since 2013. She was promoted to North Carolina conservation coordinator in October. She was on a rock climbing trip with friends at the time of the accident.

According to a statement from Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman, the dispatch center received a call about 4:15 p.m. Sunday, of a rock climbing accident in the Hidden Valley wildlife management area.

Detectives reported that Gaydish fell approximately 50 feet from a rock cliff while rappelling, according to Elaine Smythe with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Laura Boggess, one of two friends climbing with Gaydish when she died, said the accident happened on a risky part of the climb.

"She was at the top of the climb, the time when you switch from the anchor you build to the permanent anchor," said Boggess, of Burnsville. "It's always the riskiest part of the climb. We think there was some mistake with the way the rope was tied in. There was no failure with the equipment."

Though Gaydish's friends attempted to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Smythe said the cause was considered "an accidental fall."

The area near Abingdon, Virginia, is remote and is popular with rock climbers, Smythe said, but she does not know of other fatalities having occurred there.

Gaydish's body will be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke for an autopsy.

"She was a selfless person. She was extraordinary," Boggess said.

That sentiment was sadly affirmed by everyone who knew Gaydish, a single mother to two teenage children, who was quiet and humble, yet a tirelessly aggressive defender of the environment.

"What made Kayah wonderful is how unassuming she was," said Pat Byington, executive director of Wild South. "She worked with so many people and pulled so many people together in a silent, and effective and beautiful way."

"She and her friends and volunteers for Wild South worked on removing acres upon acres of the invasive princess trees in Linville Gorge. They can grow 20 feet in a year. She pretty much helped save the rare habitat for plants found in Linville Gorge, found nowhere else in the world. It's not easy work. You gotta do it for love. It’s a real tribute to her – it’s her legacy – that unconditional love of the wild."

Gaydish’s mother, Ann Kendall, flew to Asheville on Monday, from her home in Tampa, Florida. Kendall said her daughter, who used to work as a doula and at that time took on the name “Kayah,” was born in Richmond, Virginia. When she was 6, the family, including her father, Roy Kendall, and older brother, Jason Kendall, moved to Tampa, where she grew up.

Kayah was married to Joe Gaydish who died a few years ago, Ann Kendall said. The couple had two children – son Caleb, 17, and daughter, River, 14. They moved to Asheville about 15 years ago.

“I’m still in denial that this happened,” Kendall said. “She was an expert climber and she did not take chances. She just went out to Moab, Utah, to climb there. The detective told me that normally that is a survivable fall, but she probably hit her head on a rocky area."

Kendall said she will be the legal guardian to her grandchildren. She wants people to remember her daughter as a smart, strong, compassionate person who survived many trials in life, but was excellent at her two favorite things – being a mom and protecting the environment.

“She’d give you the shirt off her back, and everyone who knows her knows that to be true,” Kendall said. “She was a very good mother. She loved Western North Carolina and she loved Asheville. I tried to get her to come back to Florida to live, and she wouldn’t consider it.”

Gaydish did not attend college, but was self-taught and took training in many trades, including work as a dula, as an herbalist, and as wilderness ranger, Kendall said. She was considered an expert rock climber, fastidious about safety, and had even taught others the skill.

Ben Prater, who formerly worked for Wild South, first met Gaydish several years ago when she volunteered for the regional environmental nonprofit. Prater was able to hire her on part time as the Linville Gorge Wilderness Ranger – an extremely difficult and demanding job.

“She came to the job as a rock star. She took on this daunting project of eradication of this invasive (princess tree), which was symbolic of her work on the landscape that needed every ounce of her energy, and she did it, she gave her all,” said Prater, who is now director of the Southeast Program of Defenders of Wildlife.

“I’ve hired and worked with a lot of people. She didn’t have a traditional college degree, and I remember we talked about whether that would be a roadblock, but it wasn’t. She was a self-made woman, she was self-taught, and the wisdom she gained by getting her hands dirty was all she needed.”

Gaydish was also a volunteer with the Carolina Mountain Club and with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, where she performed trail maintenance and natural resource management work, and was an Appalachian Trail community ambassador for Hot Springs, said Julie Judkins, ATC director of education and outreach, who was also a close friend of Gaydish's.

Judkins said Gaydish worked as a part-time employee with the ATC, as well as with Wild South, until taking on the full-time position with Wild South this fall.

“I think that the community outpour of love and support shows the kind of generous person that she was. I think she was a really strong mother and was always looking for ways to provide service to others and especially to our public lands. I can’t think of anyone more humble and compassionate.”

Prater said Gaydish took her job as a wilderness ranger very seriously, and planned every trail maintenance, invasive-eradication project or rock climb down to the letter.

“She would have been the last person I would ever think would be in an accident like this,” Prater said. “She was exceptionally careful. When you think about what it takes to be a wilderness ranger, especially in a place as rugged as the Linville Gorge, she was meticulous about safety and making sure folks were prepared. She was frustrated when she had to call off trips because people were not as serious as she was about safety.”

Prater said in addition to admiring Gaydish’s work as a colleague, as a single parent himself, he was inspired by her strength in raising children on her own, and her selflessness as a human being.

“We became fast friends. She was one of the kindest and gentlest person I ever knew, wise beyond her years, always quick to give praise, but never one who needed it,” he said.

Peter Barr, a friend of Gaydish’s for about four years, said she was one of the region’s environmental heroes. He said last year Gaydish helped organize a fundraiser with the Carolina Climbers Coalition to help open climbing access in the area where she was climbing Sunday.

“Kayah was one of the most sincere people I ever knew, and cared for our mountains and trails as much as anyone. She devoted herself to stewarding our wild lands and building and maintaining our trails,” said Barr, trails and outreach coordinator for the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy.

“She left us doing something she loved and believed in, in a place she worked hard to protect," Barr said. “She was a hero of mine. She was inspiring in everything she did in her life. I feel like the region will not be the same without her.”

Judkins said a fund has been set up to provide for Gaydish’s children. Details on a memorial service are in the works.

Want to help?

To donate to a fund set up to help support Kayah Gaydish's two young children, visit www.youcaring.com/kayahgaydish.