Avner Magen and Andrew Herzenberg had many things in common. They were both academics, they were both athletic, they were both loving fathers and they will both be missed.
The two University of Toronto professors were killed by an avalanche on May 29 while climbing the Rouge Gorge glacier at Denali National Park in Alaska.
The good friends, who arrived at the park on May 24 and were flown out to the gorge, were descending a steep snow and ice gully when the avalanche hit.
The pair was spotted covered in snow, ice and rocks in full gear by another group of climbers, who called the U.S. National Park Service. Rangers flew in by helicopter and pronounced the two men dead.
Maureen McLaughlin, spokesperson for Denali National Park and Preserve, said avalanches are common during the spring.
“The snow packed from the winter and the spring that’s sitting up higher in these peaks gets very heavy this time of year,” she said, adding that rain and warmer weather caused the avalanche.
She said most avalanche warnings are spread by word of mouth, and the area Magen and Herzenberg were scaling, which can only be reached by plane, is typically populated by experienced climbers.
“There’s miles of peaks and rocks, it’s maybe a good 10-to-12-mile stretch,” she said. “We don’t prohibit people from going into the park, but we make people aware of what the conditions are like.”
Herzenberg, 39, taught and specialized in renal pathology research at the University Health Network.
Born in South Africa, he grew up in Windsor, Ont., and studied at U of T’s medical school, as well as at the University of British Columbia, where he focused on pathology. He joined UHN in 2003 as an assistant professor.
While Herzenberg was known for his research both nationally and internationally, Cathy Indig, director of early childhood education at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre’s nursery, will remember him as a family man.
“He would do anything for his children,” said Indig, who taught one of Herzenberg’s two daughters.
“He just was always there for his children… he just loved people, he loved life, he loved adventure and exercise. He was always smiling, always hugging.”
Magen, 42, did his undergraduate and graduate studies at Hebrew University and received his PhD in computer science in 2002. After holding a postdoctoral fellowship at NEC Research in Princeton, N.J., he joined U of T in 2002, first as a postdoctoral fellow, and then as an assistant professor in 2004. He was promoted to associate professor last year.
“Avner was a wonderful colleague with a terrific sense of humour and great energy,” U of T’s department of computer science said in an online tribute. “He was a dedicated research supervisor and a superb teacher whose mentorship inspired his students and all those around him.
“The loss of such mathematical brilliance will have a profound impact on his colleagues, collaborators and the entire research community”.
Magen, who was an experienced mountaineer, also sent a child to the JCC’s nursery.
Indig remembers him as being devoted to his three children.
“For each child, he had something special. He used to drive his son to school in the winter. In the summer [he’d ride] on his bike, singing to him the whole way to school. You could just see the love this man had for his child.”
Itay Heled, a friend of Magen’s, met him in 2002 through their children’s daycare, where their daughters became friends.
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“He was very charming, he was a brilliant researcher and very, very unique in his way of thinking,” he said.
Heled knew Magen as an adventurer, someone not afraid to take risks.
“Let’s say he went to Turkey. Some people learn about… where they are going. He just learned how to speak Turkish [and left],” Heled said.
When thinking about his friend, Heled remembered one cold December day when they met up at a pub.
“It was a very cold day, everywhere is snow, people are afraid to get out of the car… He came on a bicycle, he had a T-shirt and very light coat. I was freezing when I came with the car, and his hands were totally warm. And he smiled,” he said.
Heled compared his friend’s personality to Ali G, the larger-than-life character created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
“This is Avner, full of energy, full of surprises and lots of fun. That was meeting Avner… You always want more,” he said.
Magen leaves his wife, Ayelet, and three children, Ofri, Noa and Roy.
Herzenberg leaves his wife, Leanne Shafir, and their daughters, Talia, 11 and Gabrielle, 8.
A fund has been created for Magen’s wife and children. To donate, visit his tribute blog at www.avnermagenmemorial.com. A fund has also been created in Herzenberg’s name to support renal pathology research at the UHN. To donate, call 416-340-4430.
