Adam Webb, 30

Adam Dane Webb, age 30, of Hampton Bays, had a thirst for adventure. Having just received his MBA this spring from the University of Buffalo, he went off to Alaska to work this summer for Coastal Helicopters in Juneau. He was staying with his aunt. Webb was reported missing on Monday, June 13. His aunt said that he had not returned home and his car was still at the Herbert Glacier Trailhead. He was found dead late Tuesday morning, June 14, on a rock face adjacent to the Herbert Glacier. Alaskan State Trooper Sgt. Tim Birt, spotted Webb’s body during a search flight aboard pilot Eric Main’s Temsco helicopter about seven to eight miles from the highway on a rock slope accessed by an unmarked path off Herbert Glacier Trail. Coastal Helicopters provided air transportation and air search.

The trooper’s report said, “The area he was in was more of a route, a natural route through the terrain. There was not a clearly-defined trail as there is at the trailhead.” According to the state trooper, the Herbert Glacier Trail near the highway is almost wide enough for a car, but up in the far regions it becomes more of a path. The trail stops before it gets into troubled areas. It was explained that Webb tumbled off the glacier and landed in some rough, rocky terrain in those troubled areas; his death has been labeled an accident. Authorities believe Webb’s inexperience, along with his fascination with the Hebert Glacier, lead to his death. He was not wearing crampons, had no ropes, nor other specific glacier gear such as an ice ax.

College friend Katrina Bytschkow of Buffalo has created a Facebook page, “Memorial for Adam Webb,” and said she held a memorial gathering for him last Monday at the University at Buffalo, where he had recently earned his MBA degree. She was reported as saying, “He was one of the most adventurous people I ever met. He was up for anything and wanted to see everything.” She noted that he raised funds for various cancer organizations and that he had spent the last two spring breaks in New Orleans, volunteering to help rebuild homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.