Good Times in the Mountains

When I first met Luke, late spring last year, he was only known to me as Belayerslayer, his nickname on CascadeClimbers.com. I was attempting Mount Baker with my son, and was a little nervous about only having two of us on a rope. I found out that he was climbing with a group at the same time, and he said we'd get together on the mountain.

Sure enough....he came and found me a few days later while I was setting up high camp. We agreed to sorta follow each other up to the summit the next morning. We all got to the top at nearly the same time. I thanked him profusely for keeping an eye out for us, as I know he certainly didn't need me to help him.

A few weeks went by, and he wrote me and asked if I'd like to join his group on a summit attempt of Stuart Peak. I agreed and spent the fathers' day weekend with him on that climb. That was when I realized how patient he was. Some of us were slower than others. He climbed up high to where our camp was located, then retreated back down the mountain to help some of the others reach the camp.

A couple of weeks went by, and my son and I joined his group for an attempt to reach Mount Rainier's summit via one of the not standard routes (I'm drawing a blank as I write this about the name). We spent three days together on the mountain, and tho we failed to reach the top, we all had a great time with each other.

His love of the mountains was evident by all the time he spent outdoors. He also wanted to share that passion with all he spent time with.

We were planning some climbs together in 2010. He had mentioned Glacier Peak in late spring, and we had even talked of a possible 2012 Denali climb. Tho it's too late for him to realize those, he accomplished more in his 26 years than many people do in a lifetime.

I'll miss you Luke. I hope heaven has some ultimate climbs for you.

Dave