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This is Part Three of what is likely a 5-part series. You can catch up on Part One and Part Two by following the links.
Recent news has me thinking about safety, trust, and the relationships that are important to me. There was just an accident on Tahquitz where two young climbers fell to their deaths. This hit close to home because I was supposed to climb there a few days before, and I have a mountain rescue connection to the team that helped with the body recovery.
A climber recently committed suicide. He wasn’t someone I knew well, but he put out a lot of great climbing-related teaching materials. I messaged him recently to thank him for sharing his knowledge. A few weeks later he ended his life. For some reason, I keep pulling up that message, and his response.
I don’t know exactly how to explain why I feel like these two events are somehow connected. I feel like we need to take the same care of our relationships that we do with our climbing routines. There are systems in place, but there is always that risk of failure, so we do what we can to mitigate that risk. I’m trying to check in with people more and to double-check that knot when they say they are fine.
These relationships are the most valuable things that we have.
My mom is the oldest of ten children. Her brother, Derek, is about 12 years older than me. I grew up spending summers in a small town in Southern Idaho hanging out with my older, but not too much older uncles. We spent the mornings…
