Dan Fredinburg: Google Executive Killed On Mount Everest Had Survived Another Avalanche While Climbing Last Year

Dan Fredinburg was an avid mountain climber who had actually survived an avalanche while climbing Mount Everest last year, but the Google executive wasn’t so lucky this time when a massive earthquake hit Nepal during his trek up the famous peak.

Fredinburg was the first American confirmed dead in the quake that killed close to 2,000 people, including at least 10 who were climbing Everest. The earthquake set off a series of avalanches on the mountain, including the one that took Fredinburg’s life.

Dan Fredinburg worked as head of privacy for GoogleX, but he was perhaps better known for dating actress Sophia Bush. The pair split last year but remained close.

When Bush learned the news of Fredinburg’s death on Saturday, she took to Instagram to post a picture and a note remembering Dan.

“Dan Fredinburg was one-of-a-kind. Fearless. Funny. A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world. His brain knew how to build it. His heart was constantly evolving to push himself to make it so. He was one of my favorite human beings on Earth. He was one of the great loves of my life. He was one of my truest friends. He was an incredible brother, a brilliant engineer, and a damn good man. I’m devastated and simultaneously so deeply grateful to have known and loved him, and to have counted him as one of my tribe. I was so looking forward to our planned download of “all the things” when he got home. I am crushed that I will never hear that story. I am crushed knowing that there are over 1,000 people in Nepal suffering this exact feeling, knowing that they too will never hear another tale about an adventure lived from someone that they love. Disasters like this are often unquantifiable, the enormity is too much to understand.”

Fredinburg’s death was announced both by his climbing outfit, Jagged Edge, and his sister, Megan. They noted that Dan suffered a major head injury during the avalanche and did not survive.

Dan Fredinburg also climbed Mount Everest in August of 2014, when an avalanche struck that killed 16 sherpas.

At the time, Bush tweeted, “For all concerned, @danfredinburg & team are safe at Camp 1 on #Everest after the avalanche. Please keep the Sherpa’s in your prayers”

This climb on Mount Everest was part of a project called Google View, and Dan Fredinburg was with three other Google employees when the avalanche hit. Google’s director of privacy, Lawrence You, issued a statement on Saturday, mourning Fredinburg’s death and announcing that the company was committing $1 million to the earthquake response.

[Image via GalleryHip]