The Madrid native died today in a parachute accident at the Villa de Don Fadrique airfield in Toledo. Carlos’s memory from Alpinismonline
News that has left the mountaineering world speechless, especially in Spain, although his activity has transcended borders. Carlos Suarez died today in an unfortunate accident while in the middle of filming a movie.
Atresmedia Cine and Mod Producciones, producers of ‘La Fiera’ (The Beast), a film about extreme sports in which the deceased participated as an advisor, announced this morning the death of Suarez—when his parachute failed to open after jumping with four companions from a hot air balloon. They described him as a man «with many years of experience» and whose death was the result of a «fatal accident.»
«The maneuvers were being carried out under the strict safety measures required by this activity,» Atresmedia Cine and Mod Producciones detailed in a statement. The accident occurred at around 9:15 a.m. when he was jumping with four other professionals for the filming of the movie. Upon landing, the airport services were collecting them and noticed that one of them was missing, and he was eventually found dead.
Civil Guard officers, firefighters from the Villacañas (Toledo) fire station, and a mobile intensive care unit were dispatched to the scene, but their crew was unable to save Suarez’s life. Private medical personnel hired to supervise the filming were on site, according to the Government Delegation in Castilla-La Mancha, which added that the Civil Guard’s judicial police are investigating the incident and maintain the hypothesis that it was an accident due to the parachute’s failure to open.
The memory of Carlos Suarez and his time at Alpinismonline
Carlos was born in Madrid and since he was seventeen, he has maintained this passion for the mountains. He has climbed all over the world and given lectures in Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Colombia.
He has also contributed articles to various specialized magazines, such as Desnivel, Escalar, Sportlife, Oxígeno, among others. He is the author of several books, including Solo, Citas Alpinas, and Marejada Alpina. He has also worked on films, such as this one where tragedy struck him: In the Footsteps, with Al filo de lo Imposible, and The Asgard Project, winner of more than twenty international awards.
But a few years ago, Noel González, editor of Alpinismonline, was fortunate enough to interview him, and they talked about his work at the time and his career. HERE IS the interview, with photographs provided by Carlos.
In my case, the author was also fortunate to have a contribution from Carlos Suarez for my book, «Everest, el convidado de piedra» in 2020. To conclude the article, I leave you with Carlos’s own reflection, opening the last chapter of the book, with his testimony, as a tribute and respect for his vast knowledge.
“For many mountaineers, whether they have climbed it or not, Everest is one of the great icons of mountaineering. Often, some of them downplay its interest and hide behind its lack of beauty compared to other mountains. It’s true that it sometimes takes the spotlight, but essentially, its interest lies in being the highest mountain on earth, and that’s reason enough to covet its summit. As simple as the fact that it’s the highest. From some angles, it’s a beautiful mountain with special sunsets when the light focuses on the highest point. Some of its faces contain some of the most impressive feats of mountaineering, such as Loretan and Troillet on its north face. Everest is not just its standard route. Over the years, my opinion has radicalized. I believe that if we couldn’t use so much oxygen, many of the problems caused by its overcrowding would be avoided. The mountain written by the classics of mountaineering taught us to respect the mountains and to treat nature. As a sacred place where we can learn about humility and the human condition. Mountains will always be more honest than humans, Bonatti and Messner wrote, when they spoke of how they were great in their youth and would be again in their old age. Personally, I think what these great mountaineers taught us was to go to and from the mountains with the bare minimum. In this way, when I go to the mountains, I always come back better.” – Carlos Suarez, 2020
Carlos Suarez interview, by Noel González, December 2019
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