Friends (Loss of friends)

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ameristrat
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by ameristrat »

Beautiful tributes. Thanks for posting, all!
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. - Rene Daumal
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wildlobo71
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by wildlobo71 »

Thanks Brit... Having known all four of them, Kevin even so briefly in the amount of one hike and planning for another, it is never not a bad thing to remind us how fragile we are and to take care of one another while you can.

RIP Curt Dale, Jason Pettigrew, Kevin Hayne, Sean Wylam, Rob Jansen, Chris Gray, Howard Scotland, Terry Matthews, Steve Gladbach, and Jim DiNapoli. You all directly or indirectly affected my life, and you all left too soon.
Bill W.

Time for the next great losing streak to begin.
#forcedrefocus
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summitstep
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by summitstep »

What a great post, Britt, and a gift to us all, as were all these lost friends so many of you shared. Well done and a blessing, sir!
"In this high country that we love, trails are steep. We climb each mile, breath by breath, and at the threshold of pain, bliss overtakes us."

"It's called CRAZY. And somehow, when you are bent over your poles, staring at your boots- heart heaving and trying not to cough your lung onto a rock= you look up...and you are looking down over all those beautiful mountains....and you wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"For all the richness of normal, everyday life, it is good sometimes to trespass high in the sky, and live with uncommon intensity, experiencing something that gets close to the sublime."
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DanR
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by DanR »

Tremendously thoughtful and touching. Thank you, Britt!
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painless4u2
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by painless4u2 »

Often, we don't realize the friendships we have until they are gone. Can anyone relate to this?
Yes. I sadly didn't know any of those mentioned, but I did have 2 very close friends who were also my climbing partners, both now deceased.

Preston Goforth actually introduced me to the idea of climbing 14ers almost 20 years ago. Along with his two sons, we scaled many wonderful summits together. In spite of being tremendously fit, he died of a massive heart attack after a bike run. A great friend who is sorely missed. One of his sons (Doug) recently joined me on my 58th 14er, Culebra.

My next-door neighbor was also introduced to this great sport with Preston, and after his passing he became my go-to climbing partner, always ready to plan the next trip to the mountains. Craig Clanton was the sort of guy you could depend on for anything. He and his son, Cody continued our tradition of climbing 14ers every year, until leukemia suddenly took his life with little warning. I continue to climb with Cody; in fact, we are about to embark on a 100 mile journet to Mt. Whitney together.

Yes, there is a season for everything, even death. But friends such as these will always be there in our memories. I hope to continue to celebrate those memories with each summit I reach.
P8210023 - Copy.jpg
P8210023 - Copy.jpg (90.27 KiB) Viewed 4321 times
Craig Clanton (right)
Bad decisions often make good stories.

IPAs + Ambien = "14ers" post (Bill M.)

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9
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USAKeller
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by USAKeller »

globreal wrote:Often, we don't realize the friendships we have until they are gone. Can anyone relate to this?
Yes, and on the flip side, when we are spending time with those people, we often forget how empty we might have felt before. Like we discussed in our chat today, lack of time and selfishness are major contributing factors to that. And afterwards feelings of regret or "if I had seen him/her one last time, then...", creep in. That all was very evident to me when David passed on (the first major traumatic death I had experienced). Situations like that make you grow up faster and unarguably realize that yes, life really can cease in a fleeting moment. So I (we) have to adjust life accordingly, and part of that included making more effort to be in touch with those I care about.

I wasn't sure I could be dealt anything more traumatic than his accident, and then my mom's unexpected passing a few years ago left an even bigger cavity of pain. I miss her so much and talk about an endless list of reminders that enforce realization of exactly how much she meant to my life. A small part of my denial holds on to the impossible little hope that I'll wake up someday and they'll be here.

Nothing will ever fill those holes of the departed, and I think it's safe to say that unfortunately experiencing a loss makes us genuinely believe that. It's comforting knowing that their presence manifests itself in earthly life in so many ways though. And I guess [for me at least] that the hope of seeing them again ultimately overcomes the grief, however long that may take.

Excellent post Britt; another sobering reminder to put in a little extra effort.
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Zambo
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by Zambo »

Love the thoughts, vulnerability, and reflections on all this, Britt. It is a lot to think about and brings up so many rich things.

Appreciation you putting this up here.
"Human beings climb at their peril. Some might think that by climbing a great mountain they have somehow conquered it, but we can be only visitors here."
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Nelson
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by Nelson »

From USA Keller:

"A small part of my denial holds on to the impossible little hope that I'll wake up someday and they'll be here."

...or we will be there. I don't much mind as long as I'm with them again.
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globreal
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Re: Friends (Loss of friends)

Post by globreal »

Ben…Ryan, I just now watched your video tribute to Rob Jansen. Well done! It's obvious he lived life to the fullest. Thanks for sharing.
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