On February 3rd, my friend, Matt Nyman was tragically killed in an avalanche in Alaska along with two other hikers.
I met Matt in 2011 when he took part in our first Soldiers to Summits (now No Barriers Warriors) program as part of the 10-year anniversary of our 2001 Summit of Mt. Everest. My Everest team agreed that our lives had been transformed by the mountains and we wanted to share that experience, believing our experiment could work for other folks who were struggling. (Read more about the origins of Soldiers to Summits) We recruited a team of injured Veterans with the ambitious goal of bringing them to Lobuche, a 20,075 ft. peak in Nepal. Our climb was ultimately made into an award-winning documentary, High Ground that was shown to the U.S. Congress at the invitation of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Matt was a Sergeant First Class with the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Forces, and he had deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was during his first deployment in Iraq in 2005 when his helicopter crashed on a rooftop during an attempted landing. Matt suffered severe injuries that required his lower right leg to be amputated and mangled his left foot, as well as causing head trauma. He spent the next two years in a wheelchair, but Matt was determined. He endured extensive physical rehabilitation and surgeries and was fitted with a prosthetic that enabled him to walk.
Matt joined our team of 10 other Servicemen and women with the goal to summit Lobuche. My first impression of Matt was that he was quiet and soft-spoken with a very reserved demeanor. But as we spent more time together, I realized he was one of the most driven people I had ever met. It was an insanely difficult ascent for Matt with his prosthetic, nerve damage, and a crushed foot. But he doggedly pushed to the summit with the help of SideStix – high-tech crutches, enhanced with incredible shock absorption and designed for steep rough terrain. Matt had a burning intensity inside and simply refused to quit.
His internal fire was officially stoked with the close of our expedition, and he went on to summit Denali, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, and Gran Paradiso. But climbing mountains and athletic achievements were not the ends of Matt’s ambitious journey. He went on to get his MBA in 2015 and rose the ranks at Mastercard and American Family Insurance. He was responsible for leading efforts to stop huge cyber-security threats on a global scale, and his work led to a transformation of American Family Insurance’s entire security network. At both companies, he was highly esteemed for the contributions he made.
Matt had recently been remarried to his wife, Kris, and they were a beautiful couple with an unshakeable bond. At his memorial service, Kris described how he would get up before her each morning and bring her a fresh cup of coffee in bed. She would hear him groan due to the residual nerve pain in his leg as he’d laboriously put on his prosthetic. However, He insisted on this daily ritual. Kris also recalled the many hours he spent helping mentor kids who were unsure what to do with their lives and careers, accepting their phone calls at all times of the day and night. And that’s just who Matt was – kind, generous, always looking for opportunities to serve others. Kris and Matt only spent one year together as a married couple, and even though it was brief, they found happiness and fulfillment in each other. Matt’s demeanor, and their relationship, was summarized in this poignant Bob Marley quote Kris shared with us:
“He’s not perfect.
You aren’t either,
and the two of you will never be perfect.
But if he can make you laugh at least once,
causes you to think twice,
and if he admits to being human and making mistakes,
hold onto him and give him the most you can.
He isn’t going to quote poetry.
He’s not thinking about you every moment,
but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.
Don’t hurt him.
don’t change him,
and don’t expect for more than he can give.
Don’t analyze.
Smile when he makes you happy.
yell when he makes you mad,
and miss him when he’s not there.
Love hard when there is love to be had.
Because perfect guys don’t exist,
but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.”
Matt was an understated, brilliant, driven man. it was as though he knew he could have died at the scene of the helicopter crash, but instead of dwelling on his pain, he used it as a catalyst to pioneer forward. The result was another 16 years of purpose, perseverance, and love.
I am so grateful to have known Matt. My prayers go out to his wife, Kris, and children, Aiden, Maddox, and Wesley. We’d all be fortunate to live a life like his. Goodbye, dear friend.
Matt’s obituary: https://www.horancares.com/obituary/MatthewMatt-Nyman
If you would like to donate to Matt’s memorial fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/matt-nyman-memorial-fund
