OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — An Oregon climber who fell about 75 feet to his death from the summit block of Mount Olympus on Saturday was the drummer and founder of a popular Portland, Ore., musical group, Smash Bandits.
Richard “Grey” Liston, 28, of Portland, died from injuries sustained in a fall on the east face of Olympic National Park’s tallest peak at 7,980 feet.
“He was climbing up at the very top on the summit of Mount Olympus, a rock-scramble kind of thing,” park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said.
“There’s quite a bit of exposure. Sounds like they may have been on a more difficult part of the face than a lot of people use.”
Liston was climbing with a companion when he fell onto rocks and glacial ice around 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Maynes said.
Liston founded Portland ska band Smash Bandits more than a decade ago, Joey Donohue, the group’s guitar player and singer, told The Oregonian newspaper.
Ska combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a “walking” bass line and upbeat rhythms.
Donohue said that Liston was an “extremely influential force” in the band and pushed the group to improve.
“We’ve had this insane motivation, and I honestly think most of it has to do with just Grey and how he is,” Donohue said.
“The band is not going to be the same without him, for sure.”
Liston’s body was recovered by helicopter Saturday night and taken to a funeral home in Port Angeles.
Witnesses to his fall completed the 24-mile trek down to the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center later Sunday, Maynes said.
Speaking anecdotally, Maynes said it has been “at least 30 to 40 years” since a climber has died on remote Mount Olympus, which requires an 18-mile hike from the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center to Blue Glacier, followed by a 6-mile glacial ascent and rock scramble to the summit.
Liston was an accountant in North Carolina who moved to Oregon in 2010 to pursue his love of mountain climbing, The Oregonian reported.
He had summited 8,366-foot Mount St. Helens, 12,280-foot Mount Adams and 9,131-foot Mount Shuksan in Washington, and 10,085-foot North Sister and 10,047-foot Middle Sister in Oregon during his first year as a Pacific Northwest resident.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
