BOULDER - His fascination of ice climbing brought New York native Gil Weiss to Boulder 5 years ago.

About a month ago, Weiss was ice climbing with a friend in Peru when they both slipped and fell. Days later rescue crews found their bodies.

On Saturday, friends and family gathered for a hike up the Flatirons near Chautauqua Park, one of Weiss' favorite spots. They shared stories of his life and there was one thing everyone remembered about Weiss.

"It's his laugh. It starts with a 'G....G-Y-A'. I will never forget it, never forget it," Weiss' childhood friend, Justin Silverstein said.

That laugh is something that brought everyone together Saturday.

More than 60 friends and family members hiked 30 minutes up the Flatirons to the Blue Bell Shelter in Boulder.

"This was his spot here," Silverstein said. "He always talked about it."

Weiss got into the sport of climbing when he was in California.

His mom was diagnosed with cancer and he used climbing as a way to raise money.

After she passed away a few years ago, Weiss started to get into ice climbing-- and that's why he moved to Colorado.

"Most of his family these last years were in Boulder," said another childhood friend, Lorenzo Pizzoli.

Weiss and his friend Ben Horne from San Diego were ice climbing on Palcaraju Peak in Peru in late July.

They went missing and a few days later their bodies were found.

It appears they fell from a ridge after ascending a glacier capped 20,000 foot peak.

"Gill was that crazy friend that you would get an email from saying that he's in South America," Silverstein said. "That's Gill he's living the dream doing all these crazy things."

"He did something right to touch so many people," Silverstein said. "He made a lot of friends, good friends."

Friends said he was an inspiration to everyone he came in contact with.

Ben Horne is the other climber that died. His memorial service will also be held this weekend in his home state of Virginia。