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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 22, 2007 - 02:07pm PT
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I was holding on with hope that Reardon would swim to shore. Its a sad bump.
Twisted Crank, when was Nick killed? Sad to hear of it.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2007 - 04:47pm PT
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Non American climbers are still climbers...
Bump for the Swiss.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 24, 2007 - 05:11pm PT
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Carlo Zurbriggen - I wonder if he was a member of the famous mountaineering family? Matthias Zurbriggen - first ascent of Aconcagua, etc etc. And others.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Aug 14, 2007 - 04:14am PT
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my father, Edward Hartouni 80, (7/22/07)
I had a relationship that was complex as those of us of a certain age seemed to have with our parents. They had come through hard times and perhaps didn't understand our need to find our own adventures. They wanted us to accept the more conventional life style, with less risk and much less uncertainty.
When I was a small boy my dad would tell me stories of his adventures in Iran, the country where he was born. His mother and father had somehow travelled from Armenia to Iran and settled in Teheran. His tales of adventuring around, collecting speciemens of rock, animals and plants captivated me and my imagination was all the more fired by the scrapbook of pictures he had.
I can trace my interest in mountaineering to a single picture of him climbing in the Elburz Mountains:
This image held a romantic fascination for me through my youth.
Here is a picture of him on Damavand (5671). When I was talking to him about the fact that I had never climbed higher, he reminded me that he wrote his name on a stone and added it to the summit cairn. I suspect he is standing next to his name, but I do not read Farsi so I don't actually know if the name in the picture is his.
Perhaps his greatest adventure was leaving Iran for the US to further his education and his desire to do science, which he fulfilled. Though he remained active, he didn't continue his mountain roaming activities. He married my mother and proceeded to have a family growing eventually to 5 children. He would not have done anything to put the future wealfare of his family in risk.
When I was 16 he allowed me to take a Sierra Club mountaineering class with the Riverside Chapter Rock Climbing Section. Cal and Letty French were among the instructors (and they are still active in the Sierra Club in So Cal). My father sat in too, as he drove me to the classes...
...of course he thought it was a phase I was going through, which would pass. Of course it never did. When D and I had our daughter he would scold me about climbing. I stopped talking to him about the adventures... he thought it irresponsible. Usually I would reply to his question "are you still climbing?" with the correct "not as much as I'd like to."
But occasionally I could not hide the fact from him, and he was genuinely interested in the change of technology.
That didn't mean he learned to accept it. When I was rained out of Red Rocks in March of 2006 I thought I'd drop by on my way back to the Bay Area, he had settled in the Laguna Beach area south of LA. His comment to my sister was that he couldn't understand what a 50 year old man would be doing hanging from cliffs in the rain.
On Thursday 7/19/07 my older sister called to say I should come down, he was in the ICU and not doing well. All my sisters and brother eventually showed up and we stayed with him until he died on 7/22/07.
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David Nelson
climber
San Francisco
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Aug 14, 2007 - 10:03pm PT
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Ed, you are one of the pillars here, posting with real beta and never a flame. Sorry to hear about the passing of your father; it was a very nice post.
Time passes, we lose our parents. My father has had his second stroke, is in a wheelchair, liquid food only. Talk to him a lot about what is important to him and to me.
Those of you who still have folks: tell 'em you love 'em and keep in touch. Soon you will not be able to.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 15, 2007 - 01:29am PT
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Ed, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Peace to you and your family. Thanks for sharing the photos and story.
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spyork
Social climber
A prison of my own creation
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Aug 15, 2007 - 12:23pm PT
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Sorry to hear about your Dad, Ed. I went through this also not so long ago.
Steve
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 30, 2007 - 02:34am PT
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Charles Robert Duerig
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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Aug 30, 2007 - 02:38am PT
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Just read this...so sorry Ed...
best to you....
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Aug 30, 2007 - 09:28am PT
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I'd missed this one too, Ed.
Nicely said.
My thoughts are with you.
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WBraun
climber
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Aug 30, 2007 - 10:41am PT
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All glories to Eds father, very nice.
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scuffy b
climber
The deck above the 5
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Aug 30, 2007 - 12:49pm PT
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I'm sorry for your loss, Ed.
Thank you for giving us that beautiful sketch.
The photo that inspired you to climb--that's a really evocative
shot.
Take care of yourself. Hope to see you soon.
Steve
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Aug 30, 2007 - 08:09pm PT
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thank you all for your thoughts and support
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Looney
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Aug 30, 2007 - 08:13pm PT
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I can't go past Ed's post and say how touching it is. I missed it until today. So moving to read it. I'm really so sorry for your loss.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Aug 30, 2007 - 08:19pm PT
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sorry for your loss Ed, nice story.
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Anastasia
Trad climber
California
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Aug 30, 2007 - 09:12pm PT
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Thanks for the story Ed, I agree that he is a great loss to us. I wish that I had a chance to meet him.
AF
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Aug 30, 2007 - 09:14pm PT
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Not to prolong this too long, but in the months leading up to his death I had a number of discussions with him on a wide variety of topics. What came as a surprise to me was the number of times he mentioned that life went by so fast. Even at 80 he thought that he was too young to be facing death.
I mention this to you all because while it is a cliche, it is something with a deeper truth and a lesson I need to be taught over and over again. Don't delay your life, don't wait to express your feelings, or climb that climb, or take that voyage or do the one thing you really want to do. Life is fleeting, almost by definition, and why ever it is that we have been given a chance at life, it is only a temporary thing, make the most of it.
I'm sure he was not teaching that to me directly, but like many things in our relationship, he provided an example for me to learn from.
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J. Werlin
climber
Cedaredge
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Aug 30, 2007 - 09:34pm PT
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Ed-- my condolences to you. Your words, as always on this forum, are insightful and thought provoking. Your father sounds like he was a very interesting guy. Having just flown to Chicago last weekend to spend time with my dad (68), your post really hit home. Thanks, best to you.
-Jeremy
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 7, 2007 - 02:48pm PT
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Teton Rock Gym. Do climbing institutions count?
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