You called me one night after work in Jackson and said "Come up to the pass. It's a full moon. We're going skiing." I remember saying no, I'm too tired, hanging up and immediately regretting it. I called you back, ran to my car and headed up to one of the most memorable nights of my life, chasing you up Mt Glory and skiing fluffy moonlit turns down the back. I've told the story a hundred times. That's the kind of person you were - always inviting others into the infinite joy you knew how to find out there.
I remember standing in the same spot where this photo was taken, looking out to the moonlit valley, sweating in the freezing cold, overcome with gratitude for the good fortune of spending the winter in a studio apartment sharing a king size mattress on the floor with you. We kept it sideways and your feet hung off the end. I think you were skiing too hard to ever get a sheet for your side of the bed.
Whether we were skiing or climbing or doing math homework you never made me feel like the "only girl." I pushed myself harder physically that winter than I ever had before, your infectious passion for the mountains and their magic inspiring me to step up my game 100-fold. Your courage, imagination and sheer excitement for life well-lived, full of beauty and adrenaline, have stuck with me in a million ways, as they have for so many of us that were lucky enough to have you in our lives.
A year later we arrived in the Chamonix Valley after dark. Leaning out the hotel room window (which you'd probably climbed to from the ground a few stories below), we gazed out at the mountains rising up in the moonlight. "I've dreamed all my life of being here," you said. Last year you messaged me saying "Miss ya girl. I was thinking about our Jackson living situation the other day. Always brings a smile to my face. I'm in Argentina trying to put some dreams to rest!"
Thanks for following your dreams so whole-heartedly, Caleb. You found your passion and made it your gift and your service, freely given with love. I don't think we can ask for anything more from people alive in these times. I know your example has and will continue to light the way for so many others.
Also... I want you to know that the day after you passed, the sauna in Weston unexpectedly burned to the ground. These events don't feel unrelated to me. I can't stop thinking of all the raucous and cozy Vermont memories that tie you and me to that special place.
I love you and am so, so grateful to have known you. You'll always bring a smile to my face.
