ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Portland man fell about 1,000 feet and died while climbing Mount Yukla, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Dasan Marshall, 24, of Portland was climbing with a friend on Sunday when he fell to this death.

Marshall used to work at the Mountain Shop in Portland before moving to Anchorage to attend Alaska Pacific University.

Heidi Medema first met Marshall at a climbing gym and then worked alongside him at the Mountain Shop. She said he was a meticulous, experienced climber.

He had just come home for Christmas and also dropped by the shop for a visit.

“He was one of the most free-spirited people I’ve ever met,” Medema said. “He was happiest in the mountains and as sad as his passing is, it’s a relief to know that he passed doing what he loved.”

After news of his death spread, Marshall was immediately lauded on Facebook and elsewhere for his ability to inspire others, his courage, his humor and his work mentoring other climbers.

“Every step we shared pushing up a mountainside or climbing will be memories I will never forget,” his friend Sean Johnson wrote in a Facebook tribute. “You took me on my first climbs and pushed me to be better in everything I do in my life, not just climbing but to be more passionate, thoughtful, curious and to be full of heart and a love for life.”

Because of the terrain in the Chugach Mountains about 6 miles from the Eagle River Nature Center, a helicopter was used to recover 24-year-old Marshall’s body. The body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office.

No foul play was suspected.

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