Finding Jim (39 page)
Authors: Susan Oakey-Baker
Preparing for a day of ski touring at Powder Creek. Joe is on the far left.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue and Joe's wedding reception at The Edgewater in Whistler.
PHOTO BY STEVE BRITTEN
Sue and Joe snowshoe to Rainbow Lake at Whistler with their siblings on their wedding day, January 15, 2005.
PHOTO BY STEVE BRITTEN
Sue and Joe raise the first wall panel of Jim's memorial hut in the stunning Tantalus Range near Squamish, BC, 2006.
PHOTO BY PETER TAYLOR
Jim's memorial hut in winter.
PHOTO BY DAMIAN CROMWELL
The grand opening of Jim's memorial hut in the SerratusâDione col of the Tantalus Range, June 2006. Elevation 2073 metres.
Samuel Remember Baker is born on August 24, 2006.
PHOTO BY JOE BAKER
This book has been years in the making, and I am grateful to many people who have given me courage along the way. The Vicious Circle, a group of talented, compassionate writers, read my first draft at a time when I was still raw with grief, and then saw it through to the twelfth draft, over seven years. Stella Harvey, Rebecca Wood-Barret, Sara Leach, Libby McKeever, Mary Macdonald, Nancy Routley and Katherine Fawcett, thank you for your brave critiquing and friendship.
Thank you to Paulette Bourgeois, Candas Jane Dorsey, Wayne Grady and Fred Stenson for their careful and thoughtful critique. As a first-time author, I asked questions of many people in the field. I thank Angie Abdou, Merilyn Simonds, Jack Christie, Shelley Adams, Stacy Allison, Jennifer Lowe-Anker and Chic Scott for their advice.
For adding depth to my story with their writing and photography, thank you to Bruce Allen, Steve Britten, Damian Cromwell, Jayson Faulkner, Kevin Haberl, Bob Herger and Rob Orvig.
A warm thank you to Honorable Madam Justice Wailan Low, who generously granted permission for the use of Earle Birney's poem “When we must part.”
I received my share of rejection letters but one publisher took the time to write to me suggesting I submit to Rocky Mountain Books. Thank you to Joan Coldwell of Hedgerow Press.
Thank you to Don Gorman and the staff at Rocky Mountain Books for supporting a first-time author. Thank you to my editor, Meaghan Craven.
When Jim was killed, I realized what sustains me from the inside out: love and how my heart is connected to everyone in my life. These connections keep me breathing. To my family, Jim's family, my dear friends and my dog, Habby, thank you for your love and support.
Finally, I thank Joe and Sam, the loves of my life.
Freedom ClimbersBernadette McDonald
Freedom Climbers
âthe most honoured book of mountaineering literature published in Canadaâtells the story of a group of extraordinary Polish adventurers who emerged from under the blanket of oppression following the Second World War to become the world's leading Himalayan climbers. Although they lived in a dreary, war-ravaged landscape, with seemingly no hope of creating a meaningful life, these curious, motivated and skilled mountaineers created their own free-market economy under the very noses of their Communist bosses and climbed their way to liberation. At a time when Polish citizens were locked behind the Iron Curtain, these intrepid explorers found a way to travel the world in search of extreme adventureâto Alaska, South America and Europe, but mostly to the highest and most inspiring mountains of the world. To this end, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nepal became their second homes as they evolved into the toughest group of Himalayan climbers the world has ever known.
Keeper of the MountainsThe Elizabeth Hawley Story
Bernadette McDonald
Beginning in 1946, Elizabeth Hawley worked for Fortune magazine as a researcher. Shortly thereafter, she left both her job and the United States itself to travel the world, and thus began her lifelong attraction to the exotic and remote sovereign state of Nepal. In the years that followed, she began reporting on the political and cultural events taking place in her adopted homeland for the likes of Reuters and Time Inc., letting the world in on the strange community of mountaineers, pilgrims and politicians who were descending on Kathmandu, whether in search of adventure, enlightenment or prestige.
Despite the fact that Elizabeth Hawley has never climbed a mountain or visited the hallowed grounds of Everest base camp, she has become the most important record keeper and inspirational authority figure regarding the expeditions, stories, feats, scandals and disasters in the Nepal Himalaya. Now 90 years of age, she has commanded the respect of such legendary personalities as Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington, Tomaž Humar and Ed Viesturs.
With production under way on a film examining her life and legacy, it is likely that Hawley will continue to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of all visitors looking to experience the legend and grandeur of the world's most celebrated mountain landscape.
The Glittering Mountains of CanadaA Record of Exploration and Pioneer Ascents in the Canadian Rockies, 1914-1924
J. Monroe Thorington
Completely re-edited, re-designed and containing with an impressive collection of archival photos and maps, The Glittering Mountains of Canada is a must-read for anyone interested in mountain literature. The book's position in the pantheon of outdoor writing as a "classic" is only further enhanced and supported by the passionate Foreword by well-known mountain historian and environmental writer Robert William Sandford, who urges the contemporary reader to embrace Thorington's belief in the importance of landscape and the poetry of place. This is a book that deserves to be read and appreciated alongside the work of Wallace Stegner, Henry David Thoreau and Sid Marty.