Lara at the office, 1996:
Working together at Mt. Rainier in 1996 was one of the most fun summers in my life. Our schedules always had us together at Camp Schurman for one day and one night per week, just the two of us. I remember her super psyched reports from her latest sends at Index, some adventure in the Cascades, or her next big plan, and it helped fuel my own psyche for my personal climbs on days off at a time when climbing was taking full hold of my life. Most of all I remember the great talks we would have over dinner while watching the sun sink over Seattle from the porch of the hut. She had so many friends who'd come visit us, I was so impressed by the social network she engineered. A great number of my friendships today were made through Lara.Our first real climb together occurred in June of that year when we climbed Liberty Ridge. I had done it before but she was so psyched to do it I agreed to repeat it with her. I remember after a long tiring day we settled into an open bivi at Thumb Rock and ate a cold can of baked beans for our dinner and dozed off as the sun set. What seemed like minutes later, she suddenly sat up and exclaimed, "I can't believe the sun is still up!" But...it was 5 AM, the sun was rising, and we'd overslept by several hours. We jammed to Liberty Cap in 4 hours- I was impressed by her strength, skill and confidence. As we sat upon the Cap in a bright morning sun eating, she teased me about a woman from Alaska with whom I was corresponding about a fall trip..."You know you like her!!" Of course, that woman was Lisa!
Once while ascending Inter Glacier she goes blasting by some male climbers, snowboard strapped to her large pack. The 2 got agitated and started hiking faster to keep up, even once trying to say something to her like "don't worry it's not too much farther". As she left them in the dust, she said something like "whatever, I'll see you when YOU get up there, dude."
That summer, she had Lippy and Greedy staying in the White River trailers down below, when we got a call from George Beilstein on the park radio: "uhhhh, we have a little problem down here..." in George's trademark drawl. Lippy had ripped the screen out of the trailer and was running loose all over the compound, and it was like keystone cops trying to catch him.
In more recent years, Chad Lara and I became regular climbing partners, and it has just been awesome and inspiring watching Lara's skills and confidence grow with time. From Squamish, to Lillooet to the Rockies to the Cascades, and most recently Trout Creek, Lara led us on the whirlwind tour. This past winter in particular, I have never had a more motivated partner, nor one for whom the companionship was more loyal and extensive beyond the climbing. She would email me by 9 AM every morning to talk about the coming weekend, we'd chat throughout the day. "What are you doing tonight? Go to the gym? Wanna go climb Si after work? Wanna go running?..." We trained, we ran, had a lot of dinners, even more coffee. My inbox at the end of each day was a string of 12-15 "Lara-Karena Kellogg"'s. We got out climbing plenty, but I also had to turn her down a lot of times, more "no's" than I've had to do with anyone, I'd have to work some saturday, Lisa and I had other things planned..."Fair enough...how bout the weekend after this one then?" She led WI4+ with confidence this year and couldn't wait to try a WI5. Her rock and mixed climbing just went OFF also, she cranked. After any one of her many impressive leads, Chad would look at me at the belay with his one raised eyebrow look and say "did you see her footwork? Dude!" Sharing belays with her was always a treat and we'd banter so much we'd forget how cold we were. She brought a special, cohesive dynamic to every situation, climbing or otherwise, that few could match.
On road trips, Lara was all at once: Operations, Logistics, Security. If you needed to stop for snacks, well, that bag next to you in the back seat had 5 bags of chips, oh and she made a half dozen PB+J's for us all, help yourself. Need coffee? Say no more. She knew all the stops, and schwag coffee was unacceptable. And don't be late or you'll get an earful. Forget to make reservations? She already handled that. She was always 10 steps ahead.
A few shots of Lara in action from trips the past 2 years:
Lara always prepared: Hot tea break on Lacy Gibbet in the Ghost, Rockies:
Getting psyched on Super Bock, Rockies:
Doing the business on Super Bock, WI 5:
Crushing it on Icey BC, Lillooet. She was so psyched after hiking this pitch.
Lara and Chad on Goldfinger, Ruth Gorge, Alaska, last June. I've never had so much fun on a trip where weather thwarted all the big plans.
Good times and great friends!All smiles, all the time-
Chad and Lara with Mt. Dickey, Ruth Gorge.
Lara, looking rad at usual. Belaying on The Stump, Ruth Gorge, Alaska.
While Lara was a great partner, what I most value was the companionship she offered no matter where we were, and I'm ever grateful for the amount of time I got to spend with her the past few years and especially this winter.
Lara knew everyone you did, and she knew them longer. A few of us always used to joke about Lara's oft-used phrase, "oh, he's my best friend!" Well the truth is, the longer I knew her, the more I understood that each time she said it, she was in fact totally serious. Everyone was her best friend because when she was with you, she gave you 100%, every time. This sort of friendship is just irreplaceable. Lara was truly the kind of person you only meet once in a lifetime. I will always remember her, and I will always miss her.
With much love- to her memory, and to all her amazing friends-
Mark Westman
