I only knew Caleb for a few days after meeting him in South America a few years back, but he left a lasting impression. He was a joy to be around and I learned much from him in only a short period of time....mostly because he was so open to answering my many questions about every aspect of mountaineering. He was kind and open, and I feel lucky I was able to spend time with him. I was in contact with him when I was last up in Yosemite just a month or so ago, but we missed each other by a few hours. When I heard the news I was stunned and crushed. I can only imagine how you feel. My heart goes out to you and all of your family and friends. The work you have done on the website is amazing and I am so grateful you put it all together. A quick blurb is below along with some go pro footage from the wild ride.
We were on our way south to El Calafate, Argentina via motorcycles, and I was doing my best to keep Caleb from hitching along with us. Not wanting to put Caleb at danger, I stated "I don't think its a great idea for you to ride on the back." I explained quite honestly "I'm really not very good a riding motorcycles, its windy as hell, and you don't even have motorcycle gear". Figuring I had talked him out of it I added.... "but hey, its your call, if you need the ride, we are happy to take you along" Caleb paused for a second, glanced down at his broken foot in a cast, looked up and said "lets give it a try....I've got full gore tex, 6000 meter boots, my climbing helmet, and some ski goggles." What ensued was a wild ride on roads so windy that we were leaning out of turns to stay upright. We arrived in Calafate, where Caleb led us to an awesome restaurant and we enjoyed a tasty meal of local food and wine, enjoying the fact that we had made the trip safely. It was one of the most memorable experiences I have had, and Caleb's fun loving, lively, and kind personality shown through the entire time.
