Friday, May 12, 2006
I didn't find the Summit Journal Chat until September of '97. I had just seen Bruce Herrod's summit photo published in Life magazine, I was so touched by his gorgeous self-portrait on the summit of Everest that I just wanted to write someone about it. I don't think there is or ever will be a summit photo from Everest with that kind of beauty. The Beauty and The Mess.
The caption beside the photo says: "The climber has removed his oxygen mask to pose with momentos of other conquerors; it is five p.m. - not enough daylight, he knows, to return to the safety of camp - but he is clearly on top of the world. For his girlfriend, Sue Thompson, who spent the past year in greif and rage, the picture provided some belated comfort. "Being able to look at the world as he saw it that day has lessened my anger," she says, "now I feel immensely proud of what he did".
Sue Thompson wrote in to SJC:" For magoo: Glad to know someone saw Bruce's summit photo in Life!"
dave wrote back to Sue: "Sue Thompson: Thanks for your support. Sorry for your loss. Like you, the feeling of helplessness in May 1996 was very frustrating. Seeing Bruce's summit shot and the secret plans climbers made in '97 to get his camera did certainly make my day".
Much, much later on a trip to Seattle, where I met Carrie and Lori (and took a nice trip to Mount Rainier, remember the 30' snow?), I asked David Breashears to sign my Everest: Mountain without Mercy. I had Bruce's picture tucked in it and I showed him, we spoke about it for a minute. He signed my book: "For Magod. David Breashears". It was a little later that I realized that it was David and others that retrieved Bruce's camera and thus the picture.
Also tucked away in this book, I have a Valentines Day card from Kim (she makes the best cards), she wrote: Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage".
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The winds are picking up here again in my little town in Texas. You may have seen the article on the front page of cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/05/10/texas.storms.ap/index.html That was a few miles from my house, I'm indeed a lucky one! Going through this tornado has left me with a certain kind of trauma, hard to describe, I guess it's the feeling of every nerve ending being full on for a time. After it was over and an eerie calm came over our town, in came the helicopters, I was laying there thinking - just go away, leave us alone, let us get some rest.
May 10, 1996 remembered.
The caption beside the photo says: "The climber has removed his oxygen mask to pose with momentos of other conquerors; it is five p.m. - not enough daylight, he knows, to return to the safety of camp - but he is clearly on top of the world. For his girlfriend, Sue Thompson, who spent the past year in greif and rage, the picture provided some belated comfort. "Being able to look at the world as he saw it that day has lessened my anger," she says, "now I feel immensely proud of what he did".
Sue Thompson wrote in to SJC:" For magoo: Glad to know someone saw Bruce's summit photo in Life!"
dave wrote back to Sue: "Sue Thompson: Thanks for your support. Sorry for your loss. Like you, the feeling of helplessness in May 1996 was very frustrating. Seeing Bruce's summit shot and the secret plans climbers made in '97 to get his camera did certainly make my day".
Much, much later on a trip to Seattle, where I met Carrie and Lori (and took a nice trip to Mount Rainier, remember the 30' snow?), I asked David Breashears to sign my Everest: Mountain without Mercy. I had Bruce's picture tucked in it and I showed him, we spoke about it for a minute. He signed my book: "For Magod. David Breashears". It was a little later that I realized that it was David and others that retrieved Bruce's camera and thus the picture.
Also tucked away in this book, I have a Valentines Day card from Kim (she makes the best cards), she wrote: Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage".
------------------
The winds are picking up here again in my little town in Texas. You may have seen the article on the front page of cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/05/10/texas.storms.ap/index.html That was a few miles from my house, I'm indeed a lucky one! Going through this tornado has left me with a certain kind of trauma, hard to describe, I guess it's the feeling of every nerve ending being full on for a time. After it was over and an eerie calm came over our town, in came the helicopters, I was laying there thinking - just go away, leave us alone, let us get some rest.
May 10, 1996 remembered.
