Walt Hampton, J.D.

Creating the Work & Life You LOVE

I See Dead People
August 20, 2009

Adventure has risk.  But life itself is risky.  No one makes it out alive.

Sunday’s New York Times carried the obituary of legendary climber Riccardo Cassin.  Cassin, who was 100 years old when he died, climbed more than 2,500 routes over a career that spanned more than six decades. Many of the climbs were first ascents; many of them are still considered  the most challenging, difficult and classic routes in the world.

After a heart condition sidelined him from a K2 expedition in 1954, Cassin went on to establish one of the most sought after climbs in the Alaska Range that now bears his name.  Finding great joy in the mountains, Cassin climbed well into his 80s.

This summer’s issue of Alpinst announced that  John Bachar had fallen to his death while soloing near his home in Mammouth, California, leaving a wife and a son.  Bachar was 51 years old. Bachar established some of the most astounding big wall routes in the world.  He was an idol and an icon for those of us who came of age to climbing in the ’70s and ’80s.

As I reflected on the lives of these two great adventurers, my mind drifted back, as it often does when pondering “big questions,” to to a warm Sunday afternoon in February.  Although many years ago now, the images and the sensations of that day are not diminished by the passage of time.   Called to the scene of an accident as an EMT, I crawled into the back of a crushed car to discover that the young driver was my climbing partner Chris.  I held his head and watched his life ebb.  He was 28. The oncoming car had crossed the yellow line. That driver walked away.

It is the arbitrariness that is so troubling, isn’t it?  And even more, the brevity of it all.

In Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan, Don Juan tells Castaneda “to take death as your advisor.”  It is in the shadow of death that life becomes so precious; to be enjoyed and lived; not deferred; not at some time in the future; but right now.

And what is the point?  Alpinist’s Editor-in-Chief Michael Kennedy, in his piece about Bachar, said it so eloquently:  “it’s the need to engage ourselves fully, joyfully and vehemently, as he did, in each moment, each climb, each passion and ideal, that will resonate from the fierce and perfect grace of an uncompromising life.”

Psychologist and meditation teacher Jack Kornfield in his beautiful book A Path With Heart says this: “What matters is how we live.  This is why it is so difficult and so important to ask the question of ourselves: ‘Am I living my path fully, do I live without regret?'”

The Hebrew psalmist chants: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” Buddhism teaches:  Be. Here. Now.

This is an image I made of my friend Jess.  Yes, she’s wearing mountain boots and crampons; yes, she’s at 11,000 feet; yes, she’s doing a handstand in the snow.

Let’s live – and adventure – with joy.  Fully.  Here.  Right now.

Jess-Handstand

3 Comments

  1. cstrain

    hi walt this is such a great post. i read about cassin a few days ago in a local paper (he has got coverage all over the world) and spent a bit of time reflecting on everything he achieved. If i achieved 1/3rd of this in my lifetime, i’d die a happy woman!!!! keeps these posts flowing, they are great

    Reply
  2. cstrain

    by the way fantastic picture too

    Reply
  3. admin

    Thanks for your comments Caitriona! What a career Cassin had! Glad you’re enjoying the posts.

    Reply

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