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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Feb 12, 2009 - 09:40pm PT
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You know James, I don't think you should worry much about your amazing story of survival and comeback having an influence on Raliegh's choice.
I climbed with Raliegh more than a few times. Several of our days were spent with Hidetaka Suzuki as well. What an odd trio...
As were many, I was shocked by his suicide, to the point where I have not gone to that area under Leave It To Beaver ever since.
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chez
Social climber
chicago ill
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Feb 12, 2009 - 11:00pm PT
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I'm sure your fall had nothing to do with Raliegh.
Just as sure you probably would of had a better day at Baby Apes
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Feb 12, 2009 - 11:55pm PT
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Pat Warren emailed me and made a poignant point. "I think that everybody that knows someone that commits suicide or dies around them blames themselves in some way or another. No fault of anyones."
I sleep restlessly when I have guilt on my conscious. I wish I could have helped. It's a sad thing to learn to live with.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Feb 12, 2009 - 11:56pm PT
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He looks so familiar, I'm sure we met somewhere back in the day.
There is some really deep and beautiful stuff written here.
I got totally absorbed into this thread earlier tonight.
I lost a good friend to suicide once too. A very sad time.
Some guys that live life the hardest just can't figure out how to reel it in a few notches.
Someone, or numerous people have said that those that burn the brightest......
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Rankin
climber
Bishop, CA
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Feb 13, 2009 - 12:09am PT
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I met Raleigh at the Happy Boulders about eight years ago. I remember thinking he was kind of a ham, but a nice guy. I could feel him rooting for me to climb well. Whenever he fell off a problem, he would complain about 'an old sex injury' that was holding him back.
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scuffy b
climber
just below the San Andreas
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Feb 13, 2009 - 12:13pm PT
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James, don't do this to yourself.
He had his own demons. They were bigger than you.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Feb 13, 2009 - 12:41pm PT
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What Scuffy said.
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spyork
Social climber
A prison of my own creation
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Feb 13, 2009 - 12:51pm PT
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James, what the Warren guy said.
I started to relate a personal story about the subject (taking ones life), but its still too painful and I dont know how to write it down without screwing it up.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Feb 13, 2009 - 01:40pm PT
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When James resurrected this thread I went looking back to see if that slideshow of him and a few others heading to Vegas for a night on the town was still up. Unfortunately, not.
If you saw that, James, you would know beyond doubt that Raleigh was "his own man," and whatever drove him was emanating from within.
Too bad the slideshow's gone - that was FUN-NY. Apparently, Raleigh had got the idea to go to Vegas and paint the town red. He hooked two friends into the escapade..... He decided it should be done with style, and so they went to thrift stores and dolled up in vintage "oh yeah," white wannabe gangsta/sipping Julips in the Sun" attire....
Raleigh drove. An airplane.
And that was just the first tenth of the slideshow.....
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Feb 13, 2009 - 07:16pm PT
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Funny...Been seein' that old yellow truck of his around town lately.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Feb 13, 2009 - 11:08pm PT
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Hey JEM - Thanks. I only met Raleigh once, but this slideshow really does show his personality ....
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Feb 14, 2009 - 01:28am PT
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I've been enjoying his routes at AHills. Good stuff.
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DrCrankenstein
Social climber
too many places, actually
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Nov 22, 2010 - 02:43pm PT
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This is my first post to this link and my first comment of my friend RC's death. After random web-surfing today, I was compelled to write a comment on mountainproject under the route Levitation 29. I recalled a memory of that climb with Raleigh. So I decided to re-post it here too:
Great memories of this route! Did it once with Raleigh Collins (RIP) in 1996. After a late drive from his hang in JTree, we crashed at a lady friend of his' house in Vegas. The plan was to get up super early and hike in to do a couple routes including L29. While I slept, Raleigh and said lady friend partied it up with lots of alcohol and some funny stuff and much crazy sexual exploits which I learned about later...Anyways, my alarm woke me up to the low hum of some music from the bedroom. I banged on the door and after a "Yo dude!!!" or two, RC comes to the doorway looking like, haha, well he looked like he had quite the evening! After half sleeping in the car and excitedly telling me some details of the night, we got to the trailhead. Part way up the hike, Raleigh hurls and painfully continues for a few minutes. At this point, I don't feel sorry for him but I do ask if we should continue. Anyone who knew him would know his pride. We continued to the base and after he puked again, we started up the route. I led every pitch and he followed clean. It's not a particularly difficult route but in his condition, that's like a different situation. I remember him really trying to hold back another hurl-episode while I was leading...lots of muffled coughing until I got to an anchor up high...then he released more bile in a convulsion of sorts-Yikes! We topped out, gave a high-five and proceeded on the descent. I told him that even though we were only doing one route, unlike we had planned, I was still psyched and proud of him for trooping up there and keeping it together. Raleigh was a proud man, in my eyes. Even though I did know of some of his personal troubles, I never knew what really ate away at his core. It really rocked me when I heard of his death in 2006, which appeared to be suicide. Raleigh was a great friend to me, I still miss him!
-Alex
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Iron Mtn.
Trad climber
Corona, Ca.
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Nov 22, 2010 - 02:53pm PT
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I met Raleigh at Williamson Rock about 15 or 16 years ago.
He was one of the coolest people/climbers i've ever met.
Full of enthusiasm and encouragement.
Such a drag......
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John Dale
Social climber
Foster City
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Jan 21, 2015 - 12:09pm PT
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I met Raliegh in 1994 when I was on a windsurfing trip at San Carlos Baja California. We spent the week windsurfing on the Pacific, surfing head high waves, telling stories and having a great time! I remember he would wear this red helmet on the water that we called "the beacon". He was always smiling, telling jokes and just enjoying life. I also remember he had a van he called the "Gray Whale". I never forgot Raliegh over the years and saddened to hear about his passing.
RIP Raliegh
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Boar
Trad climber
San Diego. California
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Sep 11, 2016 - 07:08pm PT
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Well it was in like 1980,85? we flew in light airplane out of Brown field, San Diego. CA. we flew out 13,000 foot right past the foot hills to where he gave me the controls. I flew around a big Cumulus cloud, or I'll try to post the pic of the day in like 1980,85 again to where me and another friend that was Mr. Collins to and had climbed with him many times in Joshua Tree and we lived in Ramona at the time of to where he was flying a light plane to where he ran into engine trouble and had to land in a vacant field and my friend Mr, T. Wold called me and said Mr.R. Collins had landed a plane in a field just south of downtown Ramona, Ca. an excellent grat climber and friend who will be sorely missed!
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