Families ‘miss everything’ after Northern California couple killed on Mount Whitney

South Lake Tahoe resident Andrew Niziol waved excitedly at his future girlfriend as snow billowed outside a craggy cave at Kirkwood Mountain Resort.

Happiness was deep snow and soaring peaks for couple Patty Bolan, 29, and Niziol, 28 — and, it was the untamed outdoors that ultimately kindled their newfound relationship. The romance began as a solid friendship built in part through hitting bars and 2 a.m. splitboarding adventures.

“They just were such a good match,” said Mac Robertson, who struck up his friendship with Bolan as a fellow graduate student in UC Davis’ physics department. Bolan had attained her doctoral degree while studying the most distant galaxies in the early universe and was preparing for a June hooding ceremony.

Before that, a little adventure was in order. Bolan and Niziol decided to trek to Mount Shasta before they would summit Mount Whitney. They died May 7 from blunt force trauma during a hiking accident on the the tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S. while descending the “final 400 feet.” Their bodies were recovered a day later by helicopter.

Warming temperatures caused the near-vertical terrain to become wet and icy, leading to shifting rocks, said Lindsey Stine, a spokeswoman for the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office.

The duo leaves behind a host of unfulfilled adventures as evidenced by Niziol’s social media posts featuring their many snowy rides.

And beneath the pair’s love for the outdoors was two happy and kind personalities remembered by the lives they touched, family and friends said.

“It’s so incredible to have someone to do all these amazing things with on a whim,” Niziol wrote on social media of his girlfriend as the couple attempted to summit Mount Shasta days before their deaths. “You make me so happy! Now onto Mt. Whitney in a few days!”

Patty Bolan: ‘A free spirit’

It was on a Hawaii research trip that Bolan enriched senior scientists with technical details about galaxies and then proceeded to run up and down the state’s highest peak, Mauna Kea. Overcome by the 14,000-foot elevation change, she passed out, a colleague fondly recalled. A Belgian man revived her with chocolate.

The astonishing work-life balancing act — due to Bolan’s efficiency and organization skills — led the 29-year-old to possess both a vision and conviction rare among graduate students, said Brian C. Lemaux, a senior scientist at the Gemini North Observatory atop Mauna Kea. He earned his doctorate from UC Davis and was one of Bolan’s mentors during her studies at the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

“The conviction of somebody like that — it’s otherworldly,” he said.

Her friends and family all rattled off a list of Bolan’s adventures and hikes lasting hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles: Driving across Canada in her van, backpacking through New Zealand and climbing mountains in Jordan. What most considered an adventure of a lifetime was just another month for Bolan, who made friends wherever her worldwide trips took her.

“I never saw the same Zoom background — she was always in a different place,” Lemaux added.

Born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, Bolan developed a love of gazing at twinkling stars and the outdoors at a young age.

Her father, Jerry Bolan, recalled how she learned to read quickly. It was a middle school teacher who played the PBS “Nova” mini-series called “The Elegant Universe,” which sparked a love for physics.

Patty Bolan rarely came home throughout her studies — except for annual visits to Milwaukee’s Irish Fest. She loved living in her van — she had refurbished it to include a bed, kitchen and living essentials — while driving for days in remote areas as Irish folk music played.

“She was always such a free spirit,” said Sandy Bolan, her mother.

But she would make it a point to call home when finally receiving cellphone service, her mom said.

“When she’s around, something is always happening,” Sandy Bolan said. “Happiness is always happening.”

Underneath the adventurous spirit was a gregarious and kind personality able to speak with anyone. Bolan struck up conversations — a practice honed waiting tables, pouring drinks and dogsitting — with ski bums and introverted scientists alike.

“She was like a magnet that attracted people to her,” said Sandy Bolan.

Patrons at restaurants and bars constantly provided her tips and wrote kind messages on receipts, said close friend Robertson, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis.

“She was just like this ... high-octane person that always had time for you,” Robertson said. “This all still feels like a shock to me.”

But along with Bolan’s hectic schedule, she made it her mission to translate dense science language for the average person. She co-hosted a group called Astronomy on Tap at Davis in which scientists gave talks about their research to residents as beer flowed.

Victoria Strait, another close friend, recalled how Bolan dressed in a galaxy-colored romper and tossed around a ball with another person at an Astronomy on Tap event.

It was a curiosity for the world and appreciation for different types of people that allowed Bolan to live a life overflowing with adventure: “The potential within her is infinite,” Strait said.

Andrew Niziol: ‘One of the best’

It was in high school when Andrew Niziol fell in love with the frigid wind rushing through him as he snowboarded down mountains.

“He wanted to do big jumps and big flips,” said Meghan Gunn, one of Niziol’s best friends. “That’s what made him happy — he was happiest in the winter.”

A desire to snowboard daily brought him to South Lake Tahoe after he graduated high school in his hometown of Lockport, New York. He was a bartender in South Lake Tahoe at night and then could spend the daytime happily climbing up soaring peaks with his dog, Kita.

“He was so freaking sweet,” mother Christi Stevens said of him, recalling he was more of a wallflower as a child.

Sitting around on the couch proved to be difficult for Niziol — he would constantly seek new adventures, while talking and laughing with his “100 close friends,” Gunn said.

Those excursions took him up dizzying heights that he would snap pictures of and send to his mother, Stevens said, while adding he was a true mama’s boy.

Another activity shaped Niziol: golfing. He lived his best life as a scratch golfer in Arizona and would move in between New York, Arizona and California.

“If Andrew does something, he has to do something 100%,” Gunn added.

The 28-year-old instigated activities for his family and friends. As the ringleader — with his memorable laugh — he rounded up everyone to partake in games such as hide-and-seek and other activities.

And Niziol nudged his family to step outside their comfort zone much to their surprise. He pushed them to experience new activities and put aside any fear holding them back.

He once texted his mother about coming back home to Lockport for a wedding and, without warning, informed her that she was going skydiving.

“I said (back to him) ‘Oh my, God, hahaha ... f--- no,’” Stevens said.

Savannah Pencille, the girlfriend of Niziol’s brother, Eythn, said Niziol motivated her to go up a double black diamond ski run at Kirkwood Ski Resort, telling her she would be perfectly fine skiing down the mountain.

But “I was not fine,” Pencille quipped, who added she made her way to the bottom of the mountain while sliding down on her rear as Niziol carried her skis.

Niziol reminded Pencille that she got an amazing picture and that now she would always remember the experience.

“I always will (remember),” Pencille reflected.

His actions, however, sought to evoke laughter from his family and friends. And many people were drawn to his charismatic and kind personality as he provided an ear to always listen.

“He’s one of the best people I have ever known,” Gunn said.

‘I will miss everything’

The couple died doing what they loved.

Bolan and Niziol were recovered by a California Highway Patrol helicopter from Mount Whitney’s north face at about 13,200 feet, Zachary Edwards, a flight operator and paramedic with the CHP, said.

Although their relationship was just over two months old, friends and family recalled the couple’s happiness. Niziol thanked his girlfriend on social media for being the most fun person he’s ever met.

“They had the same silly sense of humor,” Robertson said.

Sister Katie Bolan plans to name her future child after Patty.

“I will miss everything (about her),” Katie Bolan said.