Obit watch: October 17, 2025.

The archiving service I use has been having issues all day, so I’m going to put this up without some links. If they fix the problems in the next day or two, I’ll go back and add them.

Kanchha Sherpa has passed away at the age of 92. (Paywalled link. Sorry.) He was the last surviving member of the Hillary-Norgay team that climbed Mount Everest.

Mr. Kanchha carried 60 pounds of gear, fixed ropes and scouted the trail for the team. Despite injury, cold, illness and hardship, “I got good work,” he told Climate Wire in 2011. “I got good clothing. It was good for me.”

…

More recently, he expressed concern about the large numbers of people climbing Everest and the environmental damage they caused.Still, as a mountain guide, he told Climate Wire: “If we stop the tourists to save the mountains, we don’t have anything to do. Just grow potatoes and eat and sit.”

Ace Frehley, of KISS. NYT (share link, should be free).

I don’t have much to say about Mr. Frehley, and I feel a little bad. But I was never a fan of Knights In Satan’s Service.

Susan Stamberg, NPR host famous for her “cranberry relish” recipe. Recipe here. NYT (non-archived, paywalled link. Sorry.)

American Handgunner, the print edition. The brand is going to continue in the form of online “newsletters”, and I think Guns is still going to be around.

But to me, this is awful news. AH is one of the few gun magazines I subscribed to, and I’m not sure if signing up for all the newsletters will get me the content I want. Sure, Dr. Dabbs will still be around, but what about the “Ayoob Files” and Ayoob’s monthly column? Will the “Guncrank Diaries” still exist? If not, who’s going to tell me stories, like the one about Elon Musk’s dad killing three cannibals with two bullets? And what if I want to go back and refer to something? The website is a little skirty about pulling up older articles, even if you are a paid subscriber.

I think I understand the reasons, and I still support the AH staff. But the older I get, the more change stinks.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 17th, 2025 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Guns, History, Media, Music, Obits, Radio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Obit watch: October 17, 2025.”

  1. Pigpen51 says:
    October 17, 2025 at 10:28 pm

    I subscribe to both magazines, have for a long time. I too was sad when the announcement was made. I get pretty much all of their online content and their newsletters. But it will no doubt not be the same.
    As with you, I understand the reasons but I don’t have to like them. I actually have seen a couple of smaller magazines that I used to buy at the stores have also seen this happen. I suppose it is the way of the digital age, but I still like to have a copy of what I am reading in my hands, and not on a screen.

  2. cm smith says:
    October 17, 2025 at 10:38 pm

    One thing to do before they too are gone is to download all of the Classic Issues in PDF format of American Handgunner and Guns magazine.

    The note on the newsletter sign up page hints that the new business model will include selling subscriber information.

    Also, the publisher responds to inquiries by saying a decision has not yet been made as to how subscribers will be treated. Apparently keeping the money is an option.