Dasán Shantidas Marshall | June 30, 1990 - Jan.18, 2015

At 24, Dasan passed away doing what he loved, climbing mountains. On January 18th, while climbing Mt. Yukla, Dasan slipped and fell to his death. Mt. Yukla is located just outside of Anchorage, Alaska, where Dasan was Majoring in Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University. He moved there in 2012, so he could continue his education, both in school and the mountains. His senior project was starting an alpine club for APU students. 

Dasan was also working as an ice climbing guide in the Wrangells and Southcentral Alaska. 

It has been said that Dassan was a student of climbing. If he wasn’t climbing, he was planning his next adventure, reading books, watching videos, or studying maps. That is part of the reason his untimely passing came as such a shock to all who knew him. 

The thing you need to know about Dasan is this: the great outdoors are where he was happiest. His climbing partner on that fateful day remembers hearing Dasan’s laughter fill the mountain air just moments before the fall. He loved the mountains. 

Athough a recent addition to the Mazama family, Dasan was a fixture in the Portland climbing community. He worked two seasons at Mountain Shop, and practically lived at Portland Rock Gym. 

In 2009, Dasan graduated from Portland Waldorf School. The Oregonian wrote, “He was remembered there as an enthusiastic student with an affinity for the outdoors and for art.”

His teacher and academic advisor, Tracy Trefethen, described him perfectly when she said, “With Dasan there was no pretext. There was no mask. He was just himself, and he wasn’t apologetic about it. He could pull it off because he was just so earnest.”

Dana is survived by his parents, Bhadra and Glen, who were very supportive of their son’s passion.

Friends are planning a climb of Mt Hood to celebrate Dasan’s short but full life in May. For more information visit the event page.

Here is a video some of his friends put together to remember him.

Here is a blog post where Jeremy Rooper from the Mountain Shop shared his memory of an adventure with Dasan.

Dasan’s climbing resume:

Ascents of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, the West Buttress of Denali, multiple routes around Kahiltna Base Camp, Pike Glacier, and more in the Western Chugach.