On May 26, 2014, my husband John embarked on a guided climb of Liberty Ridge – a technical route on Mount Rainier. John had summited Rainer 3 times before and hoped to climb it once a year moving forward. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, he had a long term love affair with the mountain and in fact told me many times that, when he died, he wanted his ashes spread in one of its many crevasses. On May 28, day 3 of the climb, his group of 6 (4 clients and 2 guides) spent 2 hours digging out tent platforms in order to hole up for the night and attempt the summit in the morning. During the night, an avalanche swept them off the ridge, 3300 feet straight down onto the Carbon Glacier. They all died instantly. At that time, our children were age 5 and 9 and we had recently celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. John was 40 and I was 39.
This blog is the story of my grief.
I feel your pain – and I sit with it in the deep dark every day. Still. It’s been five years for me. A widow.
My husband died on a trip to Cabo to celebrate my oldest dauther’s graduation from high school.
Life changed forever.
Your words resonate the loneliness, darkness, pain yet light it feels to loose the love of your life.
Thank you for showing your courage to grieve in a world that denies death as part of living.
Tamara
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