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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Dec 29, 2006 - 12:42am PT
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sidhi said:
"but the point i'm trying to make, and what i would like to say to charlie, is to me his photos ended up being so much like his words. they are the real thing, with clarity,and purpose. actually, his pictures were always that way. but the change i see in his later photos, is what is particularly moving, its like he grew as tall as the mountains he climbed, and he began to photograph expressing not just the rawness and beauty, of what he saw, but the spiritual quality that he was feeling too. its almost like a i want to beleive that he went to all these remote places just to bring us all together in a compassionate way."
Very beautiful...
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buster
Mountain climber
canada
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Dec 29, 2006 - 08:45am PT
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hi siddhi,i,ve travelled with charlie for 20 years now.i can only agree with your eloquent thoughts.in the last few years,charlie introduced himself as an artist.the climbing thing was still important,but he had reached a point where all of the experiences he had had as a climber,needed to be expressed in a visual way.he had stated to take polaroid pictures with an old polaroid camera{he was a camera freak}.he would transfer the images from the polaroid photos onto water colour paper for an etheral effect.we were at everest north face base camp one time when he did a bunch of these,which he showed to various climbers from all over the world who were in a big north face dome tent.everybody wanted to buy the,offering as much as $500 for one print.but he wouldn,t sell.he had a plan as an artist.i hope we can express that in some form as a memorial to him,buster.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Dec 29, 2006 - 03:49pm PT
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I met Charlie in the late 1970’s. We bouldered together a couple of times and I’d see him at climber get-togethers once in a while.I remember being awed by some of the highlights from his career during that era, his first solos of the Direct North Buttress on Middle Cathedral and the Diamond on Long’s Peak, as well as the 2nd ascent of Dave Brashear’s Perilous Journey. These tell you all you need to know about Charlie's mastery of himself and the rock.
I will never forget hearing about him jumping off the Diving Board in Eldorado Canyon and the explanation we heard at that time: he just wanted to experience what it felt like to take a 150” fall onto the rope. I was always impressed with his modest demeanor, in light of his unbelievable climbing accomplishments. He was one of the genuinely nice guys in climbing.
Farewell, Charlie.
Heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of Christine and Charlie.
Rick Accomazzo
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takedamn
climber
four corners
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Dec 29, 2006 - 04:28pm PT
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I apologize if this is redundant but some of Charlie's parts in "La Escoba De Dios" are classic and its a good short movie as well. Could be hard to find but worth the effort.
Like many climbers I would often wonder if I shouldn't move closer to Yosemite or Boulder or Jackson or a dozen other spots that people would rave about. Then I would see Charlie wandering around Norwood or at some obscure cliff near Paradox and all of those thoughts would evaporate. Because if Charlie was here in southwest CO we must all be doing something right- Charlie had literally been everywhere. As Greg Crouch put it in Enduring Patagonia, "the only places in the world that Charlie hasn't been are flat". (from memory, apologies to Greg).
He was unstoppable. He was just always climbing or travelling to climb and often putting up new routes. One of my heros.
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Jimme
Mountain climber
ulaanbaatar
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Dec 29, 2006 - 04:53pm PT
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I just got word that the search for Chris has been indefinitely called off due to increasingly bad weather conditions in the search area and concerns for the safety of the search teams.
I am so sad because of the loss of two dear friends but have peace that they are together. For days I have this poem in my head, you might recognize it from "Four weddings". The characters in the movie have the same sort of energy that bonds them as I read in this forum. I would like to share it with you all.
W.H. Auden
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
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wiclimber
Trad climber
devil's lake, wi
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Dec 29, 2006 - 05:28pm PT
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Very sad news.
Wasn't there a story about Charlie breaking up with his girlfriend in Boulder, running to Eldo and soloing the Diving Board in his running shoes?
Not sure that was him, or if it was even true, but sounds like something he'd do.
What a legend.
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BrentA
Gym climber
Roca Rojo
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Dec 29, 2006 - 07:25pm PT
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I climbed the Nose with my bestfriend Fryguy many years ago. On the pitch below the great roof Ryan looks at me and recants that story of Charlie on the Diving Board in running shoes...
He says "if Charlie can climb that in running shoes, I can climb this in them"...and then he casted off. Ryan had a rope though, lol.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 29, 2006 - 08:46pm PT
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I believe that story is about getting casual on the Diamond, not Eldo...
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Dec 29, 2006 - 09:18pm PT
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That's what I remember, too.
The diving board, that'd be crazy!
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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Dec 30, 2006 - 10:36am PT
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I was fortunate enough to run across Charlie off and on for many years and have some vivid memories. Like being with he and Tom Pulaski when they did the probable 3rd or 4th ascent of the Ames ice hose (a remarkably quick ascent in baddd conditions). Many years ago at JTree Charlie melded into our camp. He was humbly powerful, graciously supportive and wildly inspiring. You never wanted to climb poorly in front of Charlie. You always dug a little deeper. Charlie belayed me through some psychological cruxes with a patient understanding that I had not expected but greatly appreciated. He knew where I was in my head at the time and knew I had to open those doors for myself in my own time. He made me feel like being on those pitches was the most pertainent thing to him. Which is not a common human trait. One morning near the end of the trip while frying up his trademark egg quesadilla he very quietly asked if I wanted to buy any of his gear. Turns out the bloke had been running on fumes for weeks. All that previous time climbing and he never said a word or complained about being broke. He just kept being Charlie. Well I ended up giving him a ride back to Boulder on my way to Gunnison (scenic route) and bought what I thought he wouldn't miss. I still have an old 3/4 bivy sac of his from that time. My kids have used it as a full sized sleeping bag on camping trips. Like many of us it is a little worse for wear but still functional.
Charlie was a complex blend of angst and ability who blazed a trail of brilliance through the ascencionist's world. His passing leaves a monumental void. My most heartfelt condollences to the Fowler and Boskoff families. These folk did not die in vain. They lived lives of greatness and set examples that will be striven for by many future generations.
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Jimme
Mountain climber
ulaanbaatar
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Dec 30, 2006 - 03:21pm PT
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Charlie Fowler was located at 5300m on Genyen Peak, Sichuan. His body was retrieved and will be cremated in Sichuan on 1 Jan 07.
His body was located in avalanche debris. They could not find Christine Boskoff and believe she was buried by an avalanche close to where Charlie was found.
The search for Christine was called of as new snow was falling and the slope appeared unstable. Arrangements will be made to return in spring 07 to locate her via some of the China-based organizations we used and I expect a few from Telluride will go over to help.
The search committee is winding down although they agreed to be interviewed as a case study for international search and rescue by 1srg.org for their own use as well as for Mountain Funds "Climb-aid" project.
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John Moosie
climber
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Dec 31, 2006 - 01:25pm PT
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I thought this deserved to be on the front page awhile longer. I did not know Charlie. I can only say thank you Charlie, for living your life so large. It gives me hope for this world when I can see that there are people living large, with a sense of adventure and a joy to be alive. I will probably not climb any of the big mountains in this lifetime due to health issues, but I can climb them through the eyes of a person like Charlie.
Thank you fellow traveler......
John Musgrove
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Cosmin
Big Wall climber
Europe/China
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I must admitt i had little hope but still the reality of the confirmed news is so saddening... At least there is some sort of closure, albeit not the kind one was hoping for...
I never met Charlie nor Christine but i was impressed by his solo of the S face of the Siguniang shan, especially when compared to previous and subsequent attempts on the face.
After i heard the news of their AWOL i hoped, like everybody else, that they might be bogged down somewhere. I hoped, like many other climbers here in China (foreign and Chinese) that news of their whereabouts will come soon and was ready packed to head out. Sadly this didn't happen and hope started to fade... I was in a car in north Yunnan, hoping to head out to Deqing - another possible location of their dissapearance- when the news of the found body came out. All the way back to Guangzhou i have been thinking that, although in this case it wouldn't have helped much, would have been so much easier of ther search teams to have that little bit of extra info... and that a SAR network in China is a priority with the increasing number of climbers drawn to the exploratory nature of climbing here...
Rest in peace Christine and Charlie! At least it happened in the mountains you both appreciated so greatly!
Cosmin
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buster
Mountain climber
canada
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amen to all of this.charlie is gone but sure not forgotten.rest in peace my friend
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Conrad
climber
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My late husband, Alex Lowe, introduced Charlie Fowler to me in 1982. At the time, we lived in a small apartment, part of an old stone carriage house in Eldorado Canyon. Charlie arrived with Alex for a cup of tea, post climbing and I happened to have made a batch of fresh cookies, which they gobbled greedily. “Wow, these are great!” Charlie drawled as he finished them off. He didn’t say much else, but stood shifting foot to foot with dark eyes darting about beneath a scruffy mop of hair. His Patagonia shorts were tattered and his fragrance was ripe. So this is Charlie Fowler I thought. Though young, he was already legendary in some circles and most notorious for his dive off the “diving board” from atop the “Naked Edge”. His shy demeanor surprised me. A week or so later, I was equally surprised to see Charlie at our door one afternoon. Alex wasn’t home so I endeavored to entertain Charlie, offering tea. “Got any cookies?” he finally blurted, grinning. I didn’t and the larder was pretty bare but for a few stalks of celery. Ever resourceful and accustomed to starving dirt-bag climbers, I cooked him a pot of celery soup. He politely lapped it up and was on his way. Alex wasted no time making a big joke out the episode with such remarks as “ Yea Charlie- we’re opening a café, Jenni’s Soup Kitchen for bedraggled climbers.”
Jenni Lowe
Charlie in Telluride, mid 80s Photo by Alex Lowe
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A few years back I asked Charlie how he managed to climb in Tibet, which is notorious for numerous restrictions and high peak fees. In his matter of fact way of conversing he replied, “I just ride the local busses and when it stops near the mountain I get off. The bus will eventually leave and there you are.”
This little trick summed up the style of climbing Charlie preferred – low key, big on the adventure scale and self supported. Not only was this his style of climbing it also infused his life. His humble house in Norwood was about efficiency and simplicity. Charlie’s early guide books (hand penned and drawn) got you to the base of the climb. His actions were all about going light.
In the mid eighties we ice climbed in Santaquin, Utah – more of a fun day than anything spectacular. We would meet and climb in the same way over the years. After his Gurli Mandata experience I was living in Telluride. His toes, not being what they were pre trip, were on the mend. Climbing wasn’t as much a problem as walking down stairs. They were no fun.
Over the years we would see Charlie and Christine at Mountain Film. They were big love together. He always checked in on Alex and Jenni’s boys. He had a connection to Alex that covered many rope lengths and years. He was happy to see the boys growing up and was always encouraging of this unique journey I embarked on with Jenni.
Charlie was a climber’s climber. I bunched him in there with Fred Becky. Ever questing for new routes, checking in with you from time to time and sporting the polypro cologne. He was always ready for an adventure.
Of course getting off of the bus is only half the journey. When I asked him how he got back on the Tibetan bus he replied it was as simple as flagging one down. The Tibetans were too amazed by a Westie to be concerned with his doings. That smile of his… yeah it was his get out of a bind card. Here’s to Christine and Charlie for touching all of our lives.
We’ll see you out there dear friends.
Conrad
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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I didn't know him really but I remember meeting him in the Valley, what 1976 or so, and if I recall, he seemed a real nice bloke. I remember hearing about the DNB free solo and, needeless to say, I was extremely impressed.
My condolences to family and friends.
RIP Charlie and Christine
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Misa
Trad climber
SJ
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I moved to Colorado in '75 with Charlie, moving to Colorado with Charlie was Dickensian, the best of times and the worst of times. Climbing was everything for him when I knew him, and that never seemed to wear off for him, where climbing interest waxed and waned for most of us lesser mortals. He was an intelligent, complex, driven soul who pushed the limits all the time. His formidable legacy will have to be the plug for the Charlie shaped hole in the climbing world. My condolences to those who loved him. Requiescat in Pace, Charlie
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darod
Trad climber
South Side Billburg
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This is terrible news, my condolences to the families and friends, and all those closely touched by their departure.
Although I never met him in person, Charlie was a true hero, almost a legend, to myself and many others, and he'll surely be missed...
darod.
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Dougald
climber
CO
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At once a wild man and a gentleman. That's a hard combination to beat.
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