Close Call on Rooster Rock

Rooster Rock (Bureau of Land Management photo)

From Lightbulb Coffee:

The Goldline climbing rope looped down thirty feet behind me, through an aluminum carabiner, then thirty feet more, down to Susie Selkin, who was belaying. Her upturned face, wire-rimmed glasses, and dark braids showed vividly against her red down jacket. Below her were the deep green tops of Douglas firs, growing up from the shore of the Columbia River.

My partner Susie was eighteen and inexperienced in climbing. I was two years older, with a little experience, and eager to share the joys of the mountains with my beautiful young girlfriend.

“How does it look?” she called up to me.

To tell the truth, I was a bit worried. I had never led a serious climb before, but I answered “It looks okay”

I then made a stupid mistake which should have killed me, but didn’t. What’s more, Susie would have seen my violent demise. When I realized my mistake, I felt sick inside. Susie was unaware of my close call, and we finished the climb.

I went on to have other close calls in The Cascades, The Sierra Nevada, and while hopping freight trains. Once Susie slipped on glacier ice and disappeared into a crevasse on Mount Hood, but my belay held, and she was able to climb out unscathed.

I’ll be reading the Rooster Rock chapter on Saturday, April 24th. I hope to see you in Duncans Mills, the gem of the Russian River…