Partners

Interestingly enough, Taylor and I met in the emergency bivy at Camp Muir on Mount Rainier in May, 2021. We each came with our respective climbing partners, and inclement weather forced us to hunker down, mainly due to gale force winds, which prevented our summit attempts. We immediately hit it off and the next week I received an invitation to attempt Mount Shuksan in the North Cascades. We had an amazing time just doing what we both love, and we gauged each other’s experience and level of excitement while climbing that day, and this led directly to our own Mount Rainier summit attempt the following week. We turned around at the rim of the crater that morning due to a late start and some weaker climbers that we had on our rope team, but we walked away knowing that together we could accomplish our goal. We came back shortly after with a stronger teammate, and with an earlier start we finally succeeded at obtaining the summit via the Disappointment Cleaver Route. While heading back to the car from Camp Muir we hatched the plan to climb Mount Baker the next day, which itself gave its own lessons to us both, and we knew we were truly teammates thereafter. We spent more time that summer climbing, but more importantly, we planned for the future, sharing our aspirations and climbing values. Taylor taught me a great deal of what it means to be a partner, often saying, “be the partner you seek”. We made a pact to operate on a full team-oriented basis while in the mountains rather than succumbing to personal goals and summit fever, something I admittedly had much to learn about, but he has made me a better climber, leader, and teammate in that regard and I cannot thank him enough.

I first met Jan in the hopes of finding a partner for international climbing, specifically the Matterhorn in Switzerland. He was the first person to take me under his wing and show me the ropes so to speak. Our initial objective was ice climbing a route known as the Flying Buttress on Mount Hood, and he gave me the necessary advice to continue on a path to success in both the physical and mental aspects required for high altitude mountaineering. Jan is an extremely experienced climber, who by the time of my writing this, has summited two of the 8000m peaks in the Himalayan and Karakoram Ranges. It is because of him that I continue to climb to this day. He has consistently pushed my boundaries and inspires more than I can describe. A favorite quote of his is, “be bold, start cold”. In January, 2021, he invited me for my first 6000m climbs in the Ecuadorian Andes on Chimborazo and Cotopaxi. We have experienced relative success together and have plans for climbs in Bolivia, Alaska, and Pakistan. He, like Taylor, has become more like a brother to me than a climbing partner, and after my accident in April, 2021, when I was involved in a major avalanche, he persisted in doing what he does best, pushing/motivating me to do the best I can and pursue my goals at any cost. I consider myself fortunate to call him my friend and mentor, and I look forward to our future ventures as we strive to develop both our team and technical skills.

Gabe and I met during our advanced mountaineering course at Oregon State University’s Adventure Leadership Institute. We quickly became friends sharing our stoke for learning and although school work kept us busy for quite some time, we eventually met to climb Mount Saint Helens with our own separate parties. From that point, we climbed Devil’s Kitchen Variation 4 on the headwall of Mount Hood, then traversing to the classic Wy’East route, while learning several hard lessons that morning regarding start time, risk mitigation, and appropriately evaluating conditions. We steadily push each other, exchanging information to further hone our expertise as we share many of the same goals and aspirations as climbers and academics. We boost one-another’s excitement and appreciation for the mountains, gear, and surrounding climbing culture, also often participating in online forms for beta, networking, and other bits of information we can gather. We practice crevasse rescue and ice climbing techniques whenever we get the chance, and I anticipate many more excellent adventures together as we grow, building our confidence not only as climbers, but as team leaders as well. He is a great example for general fitness and the perseverance/self-discipline needed to become a superb athlete. I am proud to call him a brother and friend.