The Flames.

"I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.

The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians. We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other.

I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.

When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom and protection. Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us... and to Usen.

I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures."

AMB

climber
CA

Jul 16, 2015 - 03:00pm PT
I've lurked here before, but this is the first time I've commented. When I heard the sad news about James I realized I had to say something. James was, quite simply, one of the coolest guys I ever knew. He had a serious appearance, like a college professor, but that belied his hidden, playful inner self.
We did the second ascent of Lurking Fear in 1978. At the time James had never done an El Cap route. I don't think he'd even done a wall at all, but maybe he had. We swung leads and he climbed fine. Two of his non-climbing buddies from the Bay Area met us on top with three bottles of champagne, cocaine and killer weed. We'd topped out with Bev Johnson who was finishing her historic solo ascent of Dihedral Wall.There were about 50 reporters on top waiting for Bev. While Bev was getting interviewed we were partying in the bushes about 100 yards away. Once we were sufficiently greased, we went and offered Bev some champagne. I told her I thought we had the better welcoming party. It made for a nice hike out. We walked out to Tamarack, where James' friends had parked and made it down in time for dinner at the Four Seasons.
The other memorable route I did with James was Roseanne, on Fairview Dome. It took three attempts to finish it (Tom Carter was along on one of those attempts). I think James was real happy when I suggested we name it after his newborn daughter.
I last climbed with James in the late 90s when he was visiting Josh. He, Roseanne and I hiked way up to the north ridge area of Queen Mountain and did some obscure routes that aren't in any guidebook, and likely never will be.
I hadn't seen him in years, since he sold Eastside Sports, but I was looking forward to seeing him again. Too bad I didn't make Oakeshott's birthday party a month ago. I heard he was asking about me. Now I've gotta wait until the other side. Condolences to Kay and Roseanne. I'll see you soon.
Alan Bartlett

Cragman

Trad climber
June Lake, California....via the Damascus Road

Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 16, 2015 - 05:21am PT
Just heard the news that dear friend James Wilson passed away yesterday. James suffered a stroke from which he never regained consciousness, and passed away in Renown Medical Center, in Reno. I believe James was only 67 years old.
James was a lover of the outdoors, an advocate for the wilderness, and made such a huge difference here on the eastside.

James recently became a grandfather.

I am at a loss for words.....

My deepest condolences to Kay and Roseanne.....


James, with his new grandson, Ansel...

Doug Robinson

Trad climber
Santa Cruz

Jul 16, 2015 - 09:51am PT
A complete shock and so sad. Condolences to Kay and Roseanne. It must have been shockingly sudden to you two; he was so vital.

This is a huge loss to Eastside activism for the environment. James started Friends of the Inyo, as far as I know. Certainly he was its mainspring for the formative years, and drew in the passionate and wise followers who made it into the biggest force for wilderness advocacy in the whole Owens Valley, and more importantly the wilderness areas running up the mountains on both sides. Of course politicians were quick to take credit, but you might well say that he created the wilderness that now spans the White Mountains.

I last bumped into James and Kay on the hot hillside trail low on the approach into the Palisades. I was toiling upward and they appeared lightheartedly coming down after a few days of birding (a huge passion of James') and soaking up the solace of wilderness. We both had places to be, but lingered anyway for 20 minutes of enjoying one another's company. Just chatting about our kids and what we'd been up to. They talked excitedly about special bird sightings.

James had sold Wilson's Eastside Sports, which gave him even more time for passionate activism on behalf of wilderness. I got to thank him then for the extra wildness we were both enjoying that morning, where the wilderness boundary below the Palisades had been moved a mile further down the canyon. It had been lowered along pretty much the whole east side of the Sierra, largely through the vision of Friends of the Inyo. We looked down to where the old dirt road had ended, where for years in the 60s and 70s I parked my yellow VW Bus. We could see from there how the road was being absorbed back into the wild, reclaimed by brush and flowers.

I have always felt humbled and inspired by how active and engaged -- and downright effective! -- James Wilson was at pouring his entire life into strengthening the hold that the remaining wild places have on our overcivilized planet.

Do James' memory the honor of checking out www.friendsoftheinyo.org/

And I always loved his playful, wry and subtle sense of humor. Sometimes you'd only be alerted to look for the joke by the way he'd crack half a smile followed by just the shred of a chuckle.