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Charlie Fowler: A Climber's Life
Kelly Sjölander was a sometime climbing partner of Fowler’s on the sandstone bluffs of the Paradox Valley, in western Colorado, from 1998 to 2000. They also shared climbs together in the Pacific Northwest after that time. Here, she shares her memories of Fowler from a speech that was to be delivered at a January 21 memorial service for both Fowler and Boskoff, held in Seattle, Washington. Dreams of 16ZBy Kelly Sjölander Back in the late 1980s, and very shortly after my introduction to climbing, I saw a television program about a group of people climbing El Cap. Their leader was Charlie Fowler, and immediately I was in awe: of him, of climbing, of the West. My hometown of Baltimore was not exactly a climbing hub. Climbing and other outdoor pursuits were rather obscure in those circles, and big-name climbers were even more so. Charlie was the first “celebrity” climber to whom I was exposed, and I watched the video tape I made that day over and over. Ten years later, I had the honor and the privilege of meeting Charlie in person. By then I was living in Telluride and pursuing dreams that he unknowingly played a hand in inspiring. We met at a book signing and became friends – not because of who I was, for among the elite climbing community I am no one, but because of his most sincere passion for climbing and exploration and because of his willingness to share that passion with anyone who was interested. As proof of the purity of his passion was Charlie’s unlimited enthusiasm for climbing anything, no matter the quality, and for exploring the unknown, no matter how remote or how near. For those of you who have climbed at Naturita or 16Z (two areas in Colorado that Charlie developed) you know what I mean. Let’s face it - these areas are far from high-quality climbing areas! But that did not deter Charlie or dampen his excitement for these places. He exuded as much joy telling you about places like this, in his back yard, as he did telling you about exploring remote parts of places like Bhutan. And he would round up anyone he could find for a weekend of climbing his new routes. Nor did his enthusiasm or interest in your excitement for climbing waiver or change depending on your level of experience or number of mountaineering accomplishments – or in my case lack thereof. He was a kind soul and very giving in a sport where selfishness and ego seem to prevail more and more. As long as you were excited to go climbing he was excited to go with you. And if you hung around with him long enough, you were certain to have an adventure of epic proportions. Whether it was arriving at the top of one of his sandy and crumbly Naturita routes scared out of your mind only to find that he’d failed to place any anchor bolts at the top of his so called “sport” climbs — or whether you were crisscrossing the canyon country of southwest Colorado on a dark Friday night looking for this place he called 16Z only to find yourself crossing paths with three escaped murders who you later found out triggered the largest manhunt in Colorado history – climbing with Charlie was always exciting to say the least! The time I spent with both Chris and Charlie was way too short and not nearly enough. But I will always cherish it and I feel so fortunate to have known them both.
Kelly Sjölander was a sometime climbing partner of Fowler’s on the sandstone bluffs of the Paradox Valley, in western Colorado, from 1998 to 2000. They also shared climbs together in the Pacific Northwest after that time. Here, she shares her memories of Fowler from a speech that was to be delivered at a January 21 memorial service for both Fowler and Boskoff, held in Seattle, Washington. Dreams of 16ZBy Kelly Sjölander Back in the late 1980s, and very shortly after my introduction to climbing, I saw a television program about a group of people climbing El Cap. Their leader was Charlie Fowler, and immediately I was in awe: of him, of climbing, of the West. My hometown of Baltimore was not exactly a climbing hub. Climbing and other outdoor pursuits were rather obscure in those circles, and big-name climbers were even more so. Charlie was the first “celebrity” climber to whom I was exposed, and I watched the video tape I made that day over and over. Ten years later, I had the honor and the privilege of meeting Charlie in person. By then I was living in Telluride and pursuing dreams that he unknowingly played a hand in inspiring. We met at a book signing and became friends – not because of who I was, for among the elite climbing community I am no one, but because of his most sincere passion for climbing and exploration and because of his willingness to share that passion with anyone who was interested. As proof of the purity of his passion was Charlie’s unlimited enthusiasm for climbing anything, no matter the quality, and for exploring the unknown, no matter how remote or how near. For those of you who have climbed at Naturita or 16Z (two areas in Colorado that Charlie developed) you know what I mean. Let’s face it - these areas are far from high-quality climbing areas! But that did not deter Charlie or dampen his excitement for these places. He exuded as much joy telling you about places like this, in his back yard, as he did telling you about exploring remote parts of places like Bhutan. And he would round up anyone he could find for a weekend of climbing his new routes. Nor did his enthusiasm or interest in your excitement for climbing waiver or change depending on your level of experience or number of mountaineering accomplishments – or in my case lack thereof. He was a kind soul and very giving in a sport where selfishness and ego seem to prevail more and more. As long as you were excited to go climbing he was excited to go with you. And if you hung around with him long enough, you were certain to have an adventure of epic proportions. Whether it was arriving at the top of one of his sandy and crumbly Naturita routes scared out of your mind only to find that he’d failed to place any anchor bolts at the top of his so called “sport” climbs — or whether you were crisscrossing the canyon country of southwest Colorado on a dark Friday night looking for this place he called 16Z only to find yourself crossing paths with three escaped murders who you later found out triggered the largest manhunt in Colorado history – climbing with Charlie was always exciting to say the least! The time I spent with both Chris and Charlie was way too short and not nearly enough. But I will always cherish it and I feel so fortunate to have known them both.
Kelly Sjölander was a sometime climbing partner of Fowler’s on the sandstone bluffs of the Paradox Valley, in western Colorado, from 1998 to 2000. They also shared climbs together in the Pacific Northwest after that time. Here, she shares her memories of Fowler from a speech that was to be delivered at a January 21 memorial service for both Fowler and Boskoff, held in Seattle, Washington. Dreams of 16ZBy Kelly Sjölander Back in the late 1980s, and very shortly after my introduction to climbing, I saw a television program about a group of people climbing El Cap. Their leader was Charlie Fowler, and immediately I was in awe: of him, of climbing, of the West. My hometown of Baltimore was not exactly a climbing hub. Climbing and other outdoor pursuits were rather obscure in those circles, and big-name climbers were even more so. Charlie was the first “celebrity” climber to whom I was exposed, and I watched the video tape I made that day over and over. Ten years later, I had the honor and the privilege of meeting Charlie in person. By then I was living in Telluride and pursuing dreams that he unknowingly played a hand in inspiring. We met at a book signing and became friends – not because of who I was, for among the elite climbing community I am no one, but because of his most sincere passion for climbing and exploration and because of his willingness to share that passion with anyone who was interested. As proof of the purity of his passion was Charlie’s unlimited enthusiasm for climbing anything, no matter the quality, and for exploring the unknown, no matter how remote or how near. For those of you who have climbed at Naturita or 16Z (two areas in Colorado that Charlie developed) you know what I mean. Let’s face it - these areas are far from high-quality climbing areas! But that did not deter Charlie or dampen his excitement for these places. He exuded as much joy telling you about places like this, in his back yard, as he did telling you about exploring remote parts of places like Bhutan. And he would round up anyone he could find for a weekend of climbing his new routes. Nor did his enthusiasm or interest in your excitement for climbing waiver or change depending on your level of experience or number of mountaineering accomplishments – or in my case lack thereof. He was a kind soul and very giving in a sport where selfishness and ego seem to prevail more and more. As long as you were excited to go climbing he was excited to go with you. And if you hung around with him long enough, you were certain to have an adventure of epic proportions. Whether it was arriving at the top of one of his sandy and crumbly Naturita routes scared out of your mind only to find that he’d failed to place any anchor bolts at the top of his so called “sport” climbs — or whether you were crisscrossing the canyon country of southwest Colorado on a dark Friday night looking for this place he called 16Z only to find yourself crossing paths with three escaped murders who you later found out triggered the largest manhunt in Colorado history – climbing with Charlie was always exciting to say the least! The time I spent with both Chris and Charlie was way too short and not nearly enough. But I will always cherish it and I feel so fortunate to have known them both.
Kelly Sjölander was a sometime climbing partner of Fowler’s on the sandstone bluffs of the Paradox Valley, in western Colorado, from 1998 to 2000. They also shared climbs together in the Pacific Northwest after that time. Here, she shares her memories of Fowler from a speech that was to be delivered at a January 21 memorial service for both Fowler and Boskoff, held in Seattle, Washington. Dreams of 16ZBy Kelly Sjölander Back in the late 1980s, and very shortly after my introduction to climbing, I saw a television program about a group of people climbing El Cap. Their leader was Charlie Fowler, and immediately I was in awe: of him, of climbing, of the West. My hometown of Baltimore was not exactly a climbing hub. Climbing and other outdoor pursuits were rather obscure in those circles, and big-name climbers were even more so. Charlie was the first “celebrity” climber to whom I was exposed, and I watched the video tape I made that day over and over. Ten years later, I had the honor and the privilege of meeting Charlie in person. By then I was living in Telluride and pursuing dreams that he unknowingly played a hand in inspiring. We met at a book signing and became friends – not because of who I was, for among the elite climbing community I am no one, but because of his most sincere passion for climbing and exploration and because of his willingness to share that passion with anyone who was interested. As proof of the purity of his passion was Charlie’s unlimited enthusiasm for climbing anything, no matter the quality, and for exploring the unknown, no matter how remote or how near. For those of you who have climbed at Naturita or 16Z (two areas in Colorado that Charlie developed) you know what I mean. Let’s face it - these areas are far from high-quality climbing areas! But that did not deter Charlie or dampen his excitement for these places. He exuded as much joy telling you about places like this, in his back yard, as he did telling you about exploring remote parts of places like Bhutan. And he would round up anyone he could find for a weekend of climbing his new routes. Nor did his enthusiasm or interest in your excitement for climbing waiver or change depending on your level of experience or number of mountaineering accomplishments – or in my case lack thereof. He was a kind soul and very giving in a sport where selfishness and ego seem to prevail more and more. As long as you were excited to go climbing he was excited to go with you. And if you hung around with him long enough, you were certain to have an adventure of epic proportions. Whether it was arriving at the top of one of his sandy and crumbly Naturita routes scared out of your mind only to find that he’d failed to place any anchor bolts at the top of his so called “sport” climbs — or whether you were crisscrossing the canyon country of southwest Colorado on a dark Friday night looking for this place he called 16Z only to find yourself crossing paths with three escaped murders who you later found out triggered the largest manhunt in Colorado history – climbing with Charlie was always exciting to say the least! The time I spent with both Chris and Charlie was way too short and not nearly enough. But I will always cherish it and I feel so fortunate to have known them both.
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