as a novice climber, i haven’t yet tackled big wall or alpine climbing. as such, i can’t speak directly to the risks that kelly james, brian hall, and jerry cooke were taking when they began their ascent of mount hood, nor can i speak with any type of authority on the steps they took to minimize those risks. what i can say, without hesitation or doubt, is that they knew this could happen. it’s the shit part of the deal. even as a sport climber, you know that part of the thrill and joy of the sport is that you are pushing yourself to your physical and mental thresholds and that injury or death are very real possibilities.
i climbed yesterday. on the way to king’s bluff, my friend and i were discussing the mt. hood climbers and the recent controversy & uproar over an everest expedition.** i remarked that i thought the search & rescue team missed their window when they didn’t find anyone on saturday. little did i know that while i was roped up and enjoying an afternoon climbing, rescuers were discovering the body of kelly james. had i known, maybe i would’ve passed on climbing yesterday. maybe it would’ve been weird to talk about another climber’s death while i was putting my life, literally, on the line. or maybe i would’ve climbed scared (probably worse than climbing with too much confidence). as it were, i climbed very well; i had one of my best afternoons at the crag. i climbed with confidence, balance and vision.
my thoughts, prayers and condolences are with the friends and family of kelly, brian & jerry this morning.
Godspeed the safe rescue & return of brian and jerry; God’s mercy and grace on kelly james and his family.
(**forty people on a commercial everest expedition, FORTY!!!, passed a dying climber while en route to the highest point in the world. allow me to restate that – passed and left a dying man, not dead – dying, WHILE ASCENDING to the summit. on the way up, while they still had plenty of oxygen and supplies and could’ve possibly saved his life. if you want to see assholes in action, watch everest: beyond the limits. those are the guys for the job…)
