Don Jensen

Not to be a nit-picker, Fritz, but how could the E and N ridges be directly opposite each other?

Quote HereThis has been a wonderful thread to read and enjoy. Takes me back to my years of growing up in Bishop. When we moved there my father was a schoolteacher. Teachers around the east side often have interesting summer jobs and my Pop was no exception. He became for the next few summers the ranger at Big Pine Creek. I would hear tales from him about rattlesnakes in the campgrounds, cleaning outhouses, and stories long forgotten by me now about the Mountaineering Guide Service and Larry Williams. I believe I was twelve when I met Larry, his wife, and their daughters at the base camp near First Falls. Shortly after I was asked to help at camp and fill in as a cook's helper at Sam Mack Meadow. I could barely cook popcorn or heat soup but I said yes and gave it a go. Larry's daughter Gail and I trailed and coaxed a burro they had (Jingles?) up to Sam Mack with a load of supplies. After unloading and packing stuff away in metal cans, I was wiped out. I'd never been at altitude before. Gail took the burro back down below and returned again that same day. She was 12 as well but not tired at all. The next person I remember meeting was Don Jensen. He came up the next day carrying a huge pack loaded with dog food. Within an hour he was headed for the upper camp on the shoulder overlooking Palisade Glacier and I was prodded to go along and help. This didn't work out too well. While I was inspired and overwhelmed by the landscape (feelings that inspire me to this day) I got a real bad case of altitude sickness and had the worst crippling headache of my life. Had to just lay down in the tent at high camp while Don went about his chores. Useless kid I was. Over the rest of the week I watched Don, Frank Sarnquist, Larry, and I think Bob Swift train clients and take them on outings. It was a journey of a lifetime for most everyone. What did I bring back? A lifetime of memories from that week. A small understanding of mountaineering. Memory of a group glissading and yodeling into Sam Mack from above after a day attempting a peak. I developed respect for the guides, especially Don. He did have that fat lip thing going that summer, which I thought was a curious look to have. All the guides sacrificed themselves. Mosquito bites, sunburn, blisters and callouses. Later I learned that Don was designing packs and tents. That seemed fitting. That the company was called Rivendell struck me as being silly and romantic. Even though I had read the Hobbit by then and was caught up in the psychedelic lifestyle I just didn't always share the same romance. I'm glad to have memories of Don Jensen, following his burly legs as they carried him easily to Palisades High camp. I was very sad when I learned that he had died. And while I'm at it, R.I.P. Larry Williams.