ALAMO — Scott Dinsmore, an Alamo native, entrepreneur and adventurer, was killed Saturday while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, a feat his family says was to fulfill a lifelong dream.
Dinsmore, who was hiking with his wife, died doing what he loved, something he preached through his work, on a blog on his website and in a widely viewed Ted Talk.
Before he reached the summit, a cascade of boulders rolled down the mountain and one of them hit and killed the 33-year-old.
“He lived more in his short 33 years than most do in a lifetime,” his father, William Dinsmore, said from his Alamo home Tuesday.
The climb of Mount Kilimanjaro was part of a yearlong trip Dinsmore was taking with his wife, Chelsea Dinsmore, to travel the world. The husband and wife sold all their belongings in January, stuffed their lives into a couple of backpacks, and left their home in San Francisco.
They visited 20 countries before they ascended the mountain in Tanzania, his wife said. He was killed on the sixth day of an eight-day trek.
“He always said, ‘I want to live a life of no regrets,’ and he did,” said Chelsea Dinsmore. “He left us in one of the most beautiful places either of us have ever been, he was so happy he was disconnected from everything other than nature and me. It’s a tragic loss.”
A native of Alamo and graduate of Monte Vista High School, Dinsmore was the founder of Live Your Legend, a company that encourages people to find jobs they are passionate about and pursue them, and the company’s website, http://liveyourlegend.net/, includes links to books, weekly articles, videos and other resources. A TedX Talk he gave in 2012 and posted online has received some 2.5 million views.
A week before his death, Dinsmore announced in his blog that he was taking a “digital sabbatical” for the first time in five years.
“Last week Chelsea and I spent a few days in Dubrovnik, Croatia, celebrating our five-year wedding anniversary, in the same hotel we’d stayed in during our honeymoon,” he wrote. “Being there reminded me of something. During our honeymoon we were totally off the grid. No computers, phones, Wi-Fi, social media, nothing. It was perfect.”
Ozan Karan, Dinsmore’s college roommate, said Dinsmore was the kind of friend who would push him when he needed a push and cry with him when he needed some comfort.
“He was larger than life,” the 36-year-old Karan said. “A passionate person who wanted to know everyone on a personal level.”
Chelsea Dinsmore, who returned to the Bay Area Monday, said they are arranging to bring her husband home, and his father said they are making plans for a memorial.
“His legend and spirit is living on and I’m seeing it everyday,” Chelsea Dinsmore said.
In his blog post dated Sept. 4, Scott Dinsmore said he almost decided against booking the Tanzania trip because he didn’t think he could go on a digital break.
“How ridiculous is that? To pass up an adventure I’ve talked about for years — because I’d convinced myself I couldn’t disconnect. Or more truthfully, because I couldn’t find the courage to do it. That would have been a tragedy.”
David DeBolt covers breaking news. Contact him at 510-208-6453. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt.
