Finding Jim
Page 27
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Sue demonstrating the Katadyn water filter for the local kids en route to rafting the Karnali River, Nepal, 1995.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Sue and Jim taking a break from the rapids on the Karnali River, Nepal, 1995.
Rafting the Karnali River, 1995.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Jim and Sue on the summit of Mount Edziza, BC, 1995.
Jim piggybacking Sue to keep her blistered feet dry, Mount Edziza Provincial Park, BC, 1995.
Sue climbing in the Tantalus Range, BC, 1996.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Sue mountaineering in the Tantalus Range, 1996.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Sue exploring Denali National Park, Alaska, 1996.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Sue gazing at Mount Denali, Alaska, 6196 metres, the highest peak in North America, 1996.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Sue and Jim’s wedding, the whole Haberl family, at Cecil Green House in Vancouver, BC, June 30, 1997.
PHOTO BY BOB HERGER
Sue and Jim exchange wedding vows, 1997.
PHOTO BY BOB HERGER
Sue and Jim’s home in Whistler, 1997.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue trekking in Morocco, 1998.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Digging in deep on Klutlan Glacier, Alaska, 1998.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue after the descent from Mount Bona, Alaska, 1998.
PHOTO BY JIM HABERL
Keith contemplating the melted-out camp of their ill-fated April expedition. Mount Ultima Thule, Alaska, June 1999.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Packing up the Beaver to fly back to the lodge after saying goodbye to Jim. Ultima Thule, Alaska, June 1999.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
The first time Sue and Jim met, in Gwaii Haanas National Park in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), 1982. Jim, far right; Sue, middle back.
Sue and Susan paddle in Haida Gwaii, July 1999.
PHOTO BY TRISH SMYTH
Sea lions in Haida Gwaii.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Haida Gwaii.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue with Dad Haberl and Habby on the first anniversary of Jim’s death, spreading his ashes at Blueberry Point in Whistler, April 29, 2000.
Sue with Jim’s younger brother Kevin at Mawenzi (4300 metres) on Mount Kilimanjaro, August 2000.
Sue and Habby, climbing at Red Rocks, Nevada, spring 2001.
PHOTO BY TERRI DAVIES
Skiing the Haute Route in France/Switzerland, April 2001.
On the Haute Route in France/Switzerland, spring 2001.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Scott explores the wilds of Fiji, 2002.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue leads the Ascent for Alzheimer’s team up the Gokyo-Ri valley, Nepal, 2001.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Almost at the summit of Gokyo-Ri, the team takes a quick break and then pushes on to their goal.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Villa Delia in Tuscany: Umberto’s cooking school, 2003.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue sampling wine at Villa Delia, 2003.
Art school at the hillside village of Anversa, Italy, 2003.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Art school in southern France: the lavender fields of l’Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque, 2003.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
“Mama Banana.” 100 × 75 cm. Acrylic painting by Sue Oakey.
Ski touring at Powder Creek, BC, and meeting Joe for the first time, 2004.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Preparing for a day of ski touring at Powder Creek. Joe is on the far left.
PHOTO BY SUE OAKEY
Sue and Joe’s wedding reception at The Edgewater in Whistler.
PHOTO BY STEVE BRITTEN
Sue and Joe snowshoe to Rainbow Lake at Whistler with their siblings on their wedding day, January 15, 2005.
PHOTO BY STEVE BRITTEN
Sue and Joe raise the first wall panel of Jim’s memorial hut in the stunning Tantalus Range near Squamish, BC, 2006.
PHOTO BY PETER TAYLOR
Jim’s memorial hut in winter.
PHOTO BY DAMIAN CROMWELL
The grand opening of Jim’s memorial hut in the Serratus–Dione col of the Tantalus Range, June 2006. Elevation 2073 metres.
Samuel Remember Baker is born on August 24, 2006.
PHOTO BY JOE BAKER
Acknowledgements
This book has been years in the making, and I am grateful to many people who have given me courage along the way. The Vicious Circle, a group of talented, compassionate writers, read my first draft at a time when I was still raw with grief, and then saw it through to the twelfth draft, over seven years. Stella Harvey, Rebecca Wood-Barret, Sara Leach, Libby McKeever, Mary Macdonald, Nancy Routley and Katherine Fawcett, thank you for your brave critiquing and friendship.
Thank you to Paulette Bourgeois, Candas Jane Dorsey, Wayne Grady and Fred Stenson for their careful and thoughtful critique. As a first-time author, I asked questions of many people in the field. I thank Angie Abdou, Merilyn Simonds, Jack Christie, Shelley Adams, Stacy Allison, Jennifer Lowe-Anker and Chic Scott for their advice.
For adding depth to my story with their writing and photography, thank you to Bruce Allen, Steve Britten, Damian Cromwell, Jayson Faulkner, Kevin Haberl, Bob Herger and Rob Orvig.
A warm thank you to Honorable Madam Justice Wailan Low, who generously granted permission for the use of Earle Birney’s poem “When we must part.”
I received my share of rejection letters but one publisher took the time to write to me suggesting I submit to Rocky Mountain Books. Thank you to Joan Coldwell of Hedgerow Press.
Thank you to Don Gorman and the staff at Rocky Mountain Books for supporting a first-time author. Thank you to my editor, Meaghan Craven.
When Jim was killed, I realized what sustains me from the inside out: love and how my heart is connected to everyone in my life. These connections keep me breathing. To my family, Jim’s family, my dear friends and my dog, Habby, thank you for your love and support.
Finally, I thank Joe and Sam, the loves of my life.
More Titles from Rocky Mountain Books
Freedom Climbers
Bernadette McDonald
Freedom Climbers—the most honoured book of mountaineering literature published in Canada—tells the story of a group of extraordinary Polish adventurers who emerged from under the blanket of oppression following the Second World War to become the world's leading Himalayan climbers. Although they lived in a dreary, war-ravaged landscape, with seemingly no hope of creating a meaningful life, these curious, motivated and skilled mountaineers created their own free-market economy under the very noses of their Communist bosses and climbed their way to liberation. At a time when Polish citizens were locked behind the Iron Curtain, these intrepid explorers found a way to travel the world in search of extreme adventure—to Alaska, South America and Europe, but mostly to the highest and most inspiring mountains of the world. To this end, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nepal became their second homes as they evolved into the toughest group of Himalayan climbers the world has ever known.
Keeper of the Mountains
The Elizabeth Hawley Story
Bernadette McDonald
Beginning in 1946, Elizabeth Hawley worked for Fortune magazine as a researcher. Shortly thereafter, she left both her job and the United States itself to travel the world, and thus began her lifelong attraction to the exotic and remote sovereign state of Nepal. In the years that followed, she began reporting on the political and cultural events taking place in her adopted homeland for the likes of Reuters and Time Inc., letting the world in on the strange community of mountaineers, pilgrims and politicians who were descending on Kathmandu, whether in search of adventure, enlightenment or prestige.
Despite the fact that Elizabe
th Hawley has never climbed a mountain or visited the hallowed grounds of Everest base camp, she has become the most important record keeper and inspirational authority figure regarding the expeditions, stories, feats, scandals and disasters in the Nepal Himalaya. Now 90 years of age, she has commanded the respect of such legendary personalities as Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington, Tomaž Humar and Ed Viesturs.
With production under way on a film examining her life and legacy, it is likely that Hawley will continue to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of all visitors looking to experience the legend and grandeur of the world’s most celebrated mountain landscape.
The Glittering Mountains of Canada
A Record of Exploration and Pioneer Ascents in the Canadian Rockies, 1914-1924
J. Monroe Thorington
Completely re-edited, re-designed and containing with an impressive collection of archival photos and maps, The Glittering Mountains of Canada is a must-read for anyone interested in mountain literature. The book's position in the pantheon of outdoor writing as a "classic" is only further enhanced and supported by the passionate Foreword by well-known mountain historian and environmental writer Robert William Sandford, who urges the contemporary reader to embrace Thorington's belief in the importance of landscape and the poetry of place. This is a book that deserves to be read and appreciated alongside the work of Wallace Stegner, Henry David Thoreau and Sid Marty.
Copyright © 2013 Susan Oakey-Baker
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (ACCESS Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca.
Distribution of this electronic edition via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal. Please do not participate in electronic piracy of copyrighted material; purchase only authorized electronic editions. We appreciate your support of the author’s rights.
Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada
Published by RMB in hardcover in 2013
ISBN 978-1-927330-70-8
This electronic version published in 2013
ISBN 978-1-927330-71-5
Cover photo: Brooks Range, Alaska by Jim Haberl
The poem “When we must part” (1977/1986) © Earle Birney, was published in the collection Last Makings, with an introduction by Al Purdy (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1991), 116, and is reprinted with permission.
Rocky Mountain Books acknowledges the financial support for its publishing program from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) and the Canada Council for the Arts, and from the province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Rocky Mountain Books
www.rmbooks.com