Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2010 - 07:29am PT
|
Roger-
I signed for Frank using Jan Sacherer which is my legal name and the name I publish under.
I put both names on my email so old students who knew me from years ago can still find me.
: )
|
|
Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
|
|
Thanks for the clarification, Jan. Good to meet you. Thanks for signing the Yosemite Climber book.
|
|
Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2010 - 07:52am PT
|
Roger-
It was a pleasure to contribute to a worthy cause.
|
|
Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2010 - 10:58am PT
|
Miscellaneous Thoughts on the Memorial
Obstacles
It seemed that there were no end of obstacles placed in the way. The most nerve wracking was having my old friend Rodger Raubach end up in the hospital three times in the two weeks before I left for the Valley, since he was in charge of the camping gear and Frank’s remains, which were mailed from Japan. Thanks to his heroic efforts between hospital stints, I was able to fly out of Denver on schedule, but our carefully thought out camping gear remained in Colorado, leaving Hope Meek and I to regroup in Reno on the spur of the moment.
The weather was miserable for at least the week before and the week after, making the lack of down gear and other amenities even more noticeable. Hope and I ended up sleeping in the back of her car when the temps went down to the ‘30’s and we fled to a motel during the 24 hours pouring rain. We had hoped to stay in Camp 4 and meet more people (including Susie Fisk Stern) but had had enough by the time the memorial was over. Even so, we were stopped three times by the police between the memorial and Merced where we finally spent Saturday night. And we had to pay a big fine for rushing off and leaving food out the day before the memorial – to the “Central Violations Bureau” no less.
Hope and I had spent the week before the memorial familiarizing ourselves with everything and then got lost in a traffic jam the day of. Thanks forevermore to Glen Denny whom we picked up walking by the side of the road, who was able to call Ken for directions and then help us find the place.
Thanks also to Glen for his wonderful enlargement of the photo of Frank from his book on Yosemite in the ‘60’s. The fact that we had to move from the outdoor amphitheater to the auditorium shortly after the memorial began as sleet and then torrential rain fell, was totally in keeping with the whole scene and meant that Glen’s photo was never displayed as intended but did make it back to Okinawa with me where it is treasured and soon to be framed. Likewise the beautiful dream catcher that Neebee (Lizzy) sent which we tied to the microphone at the amphitheater before it started raining.
Highlights
The tremendous coming together of everyone involved to provide so many different kinds of support for the endeavor and to bring the whole exhumation and repatriation process to an honorable conclusion.
Special thanks to Steve Grossman who volunteered to take on the task of finding a final resting place for Frank’s remains, close to what was Frank and Chuck Pratt’s favorite climb. This involved two days of strenuous activity and a lot of discernment on his part.
Special thanks also to Hope Meek who provided her house as a staging area, her car and her driving, and her companionship through rain, snow, and sleet. We both came seeking resolution of relationships and tragedies of long ago and found friendship, laughter, and wonderful times along the way. We especially had a good time the two nights we camped with Steve Grossman.
Thanks also to Salvatore and Shea and their daughter of Sal’s Mexican Restaurant of Mariposa, for their excellent catering at the memorial and for going out of their way to serve the leftovers to climbers in Camp 4 afterwards. Also to Tom Cochrane who helped me walk through Camp 4 to announce the free food available in the parking lot. One of the comments Sal's family overheard was “Thank you so much, this is the first hot meal we’ve had in two months”. Of all the things said and done at the memorial, this is probably the one that would have pleased Frank the most.
Thanks Also Due
1. To everyone who persevered through snow, sleet, rain, and long drives to get there.
2. To everyone who spoke and in many cases, contributed anecdotes I had never heard before (Ed Hartouni, Tom Cochrane, Eric Beck, Dick Erb, Jeff Dozzier, Gary Colliver, Rodger Breedlove, and Dean Rosnau).
3. To Ed Hartouni who started the ST thread that began it all.
4. To all of the many contributors to the ST thread.
5. To Klara Weis, the widow of Joe, who helped me understand the accident and shared all the trials of the exhumation, becoming a new friend in the process but oneof several who couldn’t make it to the memorial.
6. To Jean-Claude Bourigault, Christine Petit-Jean-Genaz and Gottfried Schemel of Geneva for their emails and phone calls to various levels of the French bureaucracy.
7. To John Rander and his wife Brigitte for their many phone calls and their English translations of lengthy French legal documents.
8. To Ken Yaeger who organized the permit process after initial help from climbing ranger Jesse McGahey and Christina Thorpe of Special Park Uses. Thanks also to Ken for the backup alternatives when the weather fell through.
9. To the people who contributed their films to be shown (Tom Cochrane, Pat Ament, Hope Meek).
10. To John Stannard and Anders Ourom who cleaned up the auditorium before hand and the unknown people who cleaned up afterwards.
11. To Anders for bringing his Baldwin and Cooper heritage beer all the way from Canada along with his introduction of the Cooper and Baldwin film.
12. To the Yosemite non profit group who provided the other drinks.
My apologies to anyone I’ve left out. Feel free to note any errors and I will be sending out private emails to the many people involved as soon as I finish a professional article I’m editing against a deadline.
Jan
|
|
Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
Special thanks to Jan, Hope, Ed, and all the others who put in such an effort to make the event happen, and travel from great distances.
It was pretty poor weather for late May in Yosemite, and I was very impressed that Hope and Jan nonetheless mostly camped. The weather perhaps kept the attendance down, but everyone who was there contributed, and was moved. It really went very well.
I visited the area Jan mentions last Tuesday, and took photos which I've sent to her and Steve.
Yes, Roger actually recited the mantra "I'm Mark Hudon, and I'm badass" as his inspiration. But I thought a bit of poetic licence was in order.
Happy to have attended and helped a bit with the event, although in the end the auditorium was already tidy when I got there at noon Friday, ready to clean. There were enough other things to do anyway.
|
|
Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 6, 2010 - 06:36am PT
|
Since the issue has come up, I wanted to verify that I did have permission to scatter the ashes and in fact it is perfectly legal within the park subject to certain constraints (see below).
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/ashes.htm
Scattering Cremated Remains
The National Park Service normally grants permission to those wishing to scatter cremated remains within the borders of Yosemite National Park.
To receive permission, please send a letter to Special Park Uses, National Park Service, PO Box 700-W, El Portal, CA 95318. Include in your letter your name, address, and daytime phone number. Also include the name of the deceased and his/her relationship to you (e.g., sister, husband, mother, friend, etc.).
With a letter of permission, you may scatter cremated remains with the following conditions:
All such activity must be done out of sight of any public access, such as roads, trails, parking areas, etc.;
All such activity must be at least 100 yards from any watercourse;
Cremains must be spread over an area large enough that no single portion is accumulated in one place.
No markers of any kind may be left to commemorate the event. However, the Yosemite Chapel keeps a Book of Memories and the deceased's name could be entered in that book. Please call the chapel at 209/372-4831 for more information.
Yosemite National Park is under federal jurisdiction and is, therefore, sovereign in its lands and not subject to the limitations regarding land use by the State of California. Permission by the National Park Service to scatter cremated remains assumes that necessary permission from the state has been secured for the disposition of cremated remains.
|
|
Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
|
|
who is Aaron Fresh and why is he hosting my YouTube videos?
|
|
Majid_S
Mountain climber
Bay Area , California
|
|
sue him Ed
|
|
Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 8, 2010 - 01:55pm PT
|
I had the same question Ed.
At least he give you credit for them.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!