Chris was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and spent her childhood years keeping up with her older bothers. In high school she excelled in sports. She put herself through the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where she was one of a very few female engineering students. 

After graduating, she was hired by Lockheed in Atlanta at age 24. “I began climbing the wall at Lockheed,” she laughed, “and then realized that I could climb the walls at the indoor gym in Atlanta.” There, she met Keith Boskoff, an experienced climber, successful architect (and 15 years her senior) who cherished her. Keith took her to Ecuador, where they climbed on the country’s high-altitude volcanoes. Shortly thereafter, Chris quit her job, married Keith, and committed to climbing full time. 

I met Chris in 1997, just after the Boskoffs purchased Mountain Madness. At that time, “The Madness” was in dire financial straights. It took a ton of money and tenacity to get the company up and running again. Then, in 1999, just as Mountain Madness was beginning to turn around, Keith Boskoff suddenly died. It was a tragic death and it shook Chris to her core. His death changed Chris in profound and positive ways, but it required tremendous introspection. 

Before Chris went missing, Mountain Madness’s success and her personal relationships were the best they’d ever been. Ironically, when Chris died, she was as happy, confident and as balanced as she’d ever been. Her emotional maturation was mirrored in her climbing – she began to feel, on a deep level, a synergistic mind-body connection, and it inspired her to be the best person she could be in all areas of life. There were many other things that drove Chris to climb, including the beers afterwards. However, moving through life with grace, gratitude, humor, and humility had become Chris’ greatest commitment. Without these things in place, Chris understood she would hold herself back. Chris was many things to many people, but if nothing else, Chris defined “Make it Happen”. 

Chris was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and spent her childhood years keeping up with her older bothers. In high school she excelled in sports. She put herself through the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where she was one of a very few female engineering students. 

After graduating, she was hired by Lockheed in Atlanta at age 24. “I began climbing the wall at Lockheed,” she laughed, “and then realized that I could climb the walls at the indoor gym in Atlanta.” There, she met Keith Boskoff, an experienced climber, successful architect (and 15 years her senior) who cherished her. Keith took her to Ecuador, where they climbed on the country’s high-altitude volcanoes. Shortly thereafter, Chris quit her job, married Keith, and committed to climbing full time. 

I met Chris in 1997, just after the Boskoffs purchased Mountain Madness. At that time, “The Madness” was in dire financial straights. It took a ton of money and tenacity to get the company up and running again. Then, in 1999, just as Mountain Madness was beginning to turn around, Keith Boskoff suddenly died. It was a tragic death and it shook Chris to her core. His death changed Chris in profound and positive ways, but it required tremendous introspection. 

Before Chris went missing, Mountain Madness’s success and her personal relationships were the best they’d ever been. Ironically, when Chris died, she was as happy, confident and as balanced as she’d ever been. Her emotional maturation was mirrored in her climbing – she began to feel, on a deep level, a synergistic mind-body connection, and it inspired her to be the best person she could be in all areas of life. There were many other things that drove Chris to climb, including the beers afterwards. However, moving through life with grace, gratitude, humor, and humility had become Chris’ greatest commitment. Without these things in place, Chris understood she would hold herself back. Chris was many things to many people, but if nothing else, Chris defined “Make it Happen”. 

Chris was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and spent her childhood years keeping up with her older bothers. In high school she excelled in sports. She put herself through the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where she was one of a very few female engineering students. 

After graduating, she was hired by Lockheed in Atlanta at age 24. “I began climbing the wall at Lockheed,” she laughed, “and then realized that I could climb the walls at the indoor gym in Atlanta.” There, she met Keith Boskoff, an experienced climber, successful architect (and 15 years her senior) who cherished her. Keith took her to Ecuador, where they climbed on the country’s high-altitude volcanoes. Shortly thereafter, Chris quit her job, married Keith, and committed to climbing full time. 

I met Chris in 1997, just after the Boskoffs purchased Mountain Madness. At that time, “The Madness” was in dire financial straights. It took a ton of money and tenacity to get the company up and running again. Then, in 1999, just as Mountain Madness was beginning to turn around, Keith Boskoff suddenly died. It was a tragic death and it shook Chris to her core. His death changed Chris in profound and positive ways, but it required tremendous introspection. 

Before Chris went missing, Mountain Madness’s success and her personal relationships were the best they’d ever been. Ironically, when Chris died, she was as happy, confident and as balanced as she’d ever been. Her emotional maturation was mirrored in her climbing – she began to feel, on a deep level, a synergistic mind-body connection, and it inspired her to be the best person she could be in all areas of life. There were many other things that drove Chris to climb, including the beers afterwards. However, moving through life with grace, gratitude, humor, and humility had become Chris’ greatest commitment. Without these things in place, Chris understood she would hold herself back. Chris was many things to many people, but if nothing else, Chris defined “Make it Happen”. 

Chris was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and spent her childhood years keeping up with her older bothers. In high school she excelled in sports. She put herself through the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where she was one of a very few female engineering students. 

After graduating, she was hired by Lockheed in Atlanta at age 24. “I began climbing the wall at Lockheed,” she laughed, “and then realized that I could climb the walls at the indoor gym in Atlanta.” There, she met Keith Boskoff, an experienced climber, successful architect (and 15 years her senior) who cherished her. Keith took her to Ecuador, where they climbed on the country’s high-altitude volcanoes. Shortly thereafter, Chris quit her job, married Keith, and committed to climbing full time. 

I met Chris in 1997, just after the Boskoffs purchased Mountain Madness. At that time, “The Madness” was in dire financial straights. It took a ton of money and tenacity to get the company up and running again. Then, in 1999, just as Mountain Madness was beginning to turn around, Keith Boskoff suddenly died. It was a tragic death and it shook Chris to her core. His death changed Chris in profound and positive ways, but it required tremendous introspection. 

Before Chris went missing, Mountain Madness’s success and her personal relationships were the best they’d ever been. Ironically, when Chris died, she was as happy, confident and as balanced as she’d ever been. Her emotional maturation was mirrored in her climbing – she began to feel, on a deep level, a synergistic mind-body connection, and it inspired her to be the best person she could be in all areas of life. There were many other things that drove Chris to climb, including the beers afterwards. However, moving through life with grace, gratitude, humor, and humility had become Chris’ greatest commitment. Without these things in place, Chris understood she would hold herself back. Chris was many things to many people, but if nothing else, Chris defined “Make it Happen”.