Charlie

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nature

climber

Tuscon Again! India! India! Hawaii! LA?!?!

Dec 7, 2010 - 01:07pm PT

Time does seem to fly by at times, Ron.

A week or two ago I was telling Tina about how you and I first met and what that day still means to me.

It's the people in our lives that make it real - everything else around is superficial. And though once they are gone and only a memory we still hold them close.

My friend Dave Stringer related to me the concept of neurological half-life shortly after Summit passed. Essentially your neurons are still connected to that life that has passed for about a third of the time they were connected to you while living. So for you, with Charlie, it will be many many more years. And that can be both good and rough - you don't want to forget them ever but you'd like to forget the pain of their passing.

For me it explains the pain I still feel which is good but it also tells me there will be more years of it. And that's OK too. At least I understand.

steveA

Trad climber

Wolfeboro, NH

Dec 28, 2013 - 08:04am PT

I missed this thread 1st time around.

I wanted to comment on the only time I ever climbed with Charlie, in 1976. As many have already said, Charlie was the kind of guy who would give a kind word,
and wasn't "stuck" on himself.

I was on my honeymoon, in the Tetons, and Yvon Chouinard introduced Charlie to my wife and I. I was heading into the Wind Rivers, and told Charlie of this great un-climbed line, just begging to be bagged, and convinced him to join us.

He and Mike Munger met us in there, and I ended up leading the 1st pitch.
I was out of shape, but managed it O.K. and when Charlie came up, he was kind to say that I did a good job on it. His compliment kind of surprised me, since I felt pretty sketched out, being so out of shape.
In hindsight--I wish that I had a camera along.
We called the route Golden Dihedral, which follows the right edge of the buttress.