In Memoriam
Carolyn Randal
August 7, 2008
Carolyn Randall - BASART 2008 Class Photo
I was dumbstruck to hear this news over the radio this morning. Carolyn was a friend and a tribute to determination, the idea that you never stop growing, and that you never give up. For those of you who may not have known, she had heart valve replacement several years ago due to a defect, had just had a hip replacement less than 9 months before our BASART final overnight and had only taken up climbing since she had retired from nursing.
She had been chosen to be a spokeswoman for health and cardiac recovery in a nationwide campaign to inspire women post cardiac surgery. She was filled with spunk and a can-do attitude. While she died following her passion, she will leave behind many who can count themselves lucky to have known her. She was an inspiration to women and a tribute to the human spirit. I will miss you Carolyn. My deepest sympathies to her family.~~ Kai
People growing up in the late '50s and early 60's know there were no role models for the kinds of things people routinely do today. When it comes to sports and mountain adventure, this was especially true for women. Carolyn was not bound by that. There were hardly any women climbers at that time, let alone people who took up a sport like that after 50! I bet there are tons of people out there... men, women, boys, girls...of every age.. reading about her today and saying to themselves.."I hope I'm like that when I'm 57." or the simple words "maybe I could do that" regarding something they hoped to do only in their dreams. What a great gift she leaves the rest of us. Bravo, Carolyn. A life well lived. Peace to you and your family. ~~ Jill
You hear about accidents like this, but it's usually not someone you know. It is shocking news to say the least. I briefly talked to Carolyn before and after the SAR Dog presentation and was very impressed by her. I thought to myself, "this is someone I'd really like to get to know better and learn more about." Didn't think I'd be learning about her in this format but, "Wow". The more I learn...the more I am wowed by her! She spoke of her family with great pride and fondness. I feel for them and their loss. I also think how wonderful to have such an accomplished climber and amazing person as your wife, mother, grandmother, sister, or daughter. My thoughts and prayers go out to them and all who knew Carolyn. ~~ Kathy
I did not know Carolyn well, but she was on my team for our first BASART navigation day at Lory. She did mention her hip replacement, but it certainly didn't slow her down at all. As we were working on navigation in Lory we were talking about route selection. Our team decided to work our way toward Arthur's Rock. Carolyn saw a very steep icy route that I'm sure looked ridiculously easy to her that she thought we should tackle. The other team leader and myself suggested we might look for perhaps an easier way up. As I recall that easier route still involved a lot of vertical. At the end of our navigation training, I reported to the other team members that I wouldn't recommend giving Carolyn a "soft" assignment on missions because she was quite capable of covering some ground. Carolyn was definitely a go getter and inspiration to woman of all ages. I will always remember her positive attitude. My sympathies go out to her family. ~~ Robyn B
How many of us live our lives through the lives of others? We read about people pushing limits while we are safe and comfortable at home and think to ourselves "I could do that" or "someday I'll do it". Carolyn was that most unusual among us, she wasn't satisfied to say "someday", she knew that "someday" tends to turn into never if you let it. Carolyn did not let it.
Whether she was climbing on Mount Hood, in the Andes, or working on her "list" of knocking off every named peak in Larimer County, (which by the way often entailed poaching summits on private property in the dark, but we're not going to talk about that), she had fun and honestly, what more can we ask for? Once when I had asked her about her recent trip to Bali she told me that "Yea, I suppose you could go to the beach or hang out by the pool, but why would you want to? We found a really cool mountain to climb in the interior. It was dripping wet and covered with tree roots and slime. It was really, really difficult...it was GREAT!"
She believed that life is about the experiences, and I'm sure she had more experiences in the few years since she started climbing than most people have in their entire lives. But it was not just for her own benefit that Carolyn climbed. She was one of the those rare individuals who lived such a large life that she inspired others to do more with their lives.
The most any of us can hope for, is to go out with our boots on and doing what we love. Carolyn accomplished this and we should feel happy for her. Moreover, how many of us make the international news when we go? We should be so lucky. We lost her far too soon. Wherever she is now, we can be sure that the sky is blue, the air is thin, the ice is solid and she has a big grin on her face.
I feel privileged to have known her. You'll be missed. ~~ Bill H
I met Carolyn in BASART this year. We climbed the Mountaineers Route on Mt Whitney in late April and I got to know her pretty well. I'd been looking for a partner to lead a trip up Kieners Route on Long's Peak for some time, and Carolyn jumped at the chance when I asked her if she was interested. She wanted a "tune up" for her trip to the Alps. On July 18, 2008 Carolyn, Vince Boussoulaire (the other climber killed on the Matterhorn), Jeff Eisele, and I did the climb. Carolyn and I carpooled to and from the trail head and talked at length about her upcoming trip to Mount Blanc and the Matterhorn, her recent trip to visit her kids and grand kids in Oregon and California, and her plans to start splitting her time between Colorado and India, if her husband was successful in his bid for a new assignment there.
Neither Jeff nor I knew Vince before the Kieners trip, but Carolyn invited him because of the opportunity to train for the alps trip. We got to know each other a little bit on the 16 hour extravaganza up Lambs Slide, across Broadway, up Kieners, down the Cable Route, down "The Camel", and back to the cars. At one point, Vince split off and took a separate route by himself. After a few uncertain minutes we were able to track him down and we all hung together for the rest of the trip out.
Carolyn also talked about her desire to be more involved in LCSAR when her schedule settled down a bit this fall. She was excited to teach some mountaineering related classes, and was disappointed that she had not been able to participate in more of the recent missions.
Here are some pictures of Carolyn on the recent climbs; I have lots more I'd be happy to share. Number 3362 is Carolyn, Vince and me near Broadway on Lambs Slide; No. 4941 is Carolyn encouraging Vince across a narrow section on Broadway. No. 4696 shows Carolyn on the summit of Mt. Whitney (Mt. Muir in the background).
I still can't believe it. It's a terrible loss, but at least she went doing what she loved. ~~ Tom
Carolyn, Vince and me near Broadway on Lambs Slide.
Carolyn on the summit of Mt. Whitney (Mt. Muir in the background).
Carolyn encouraging Vince across a narrow section on Broadway.
Carolyn was one of the most inspiring mountaineering woman I've ever met. In spite of physical hardships she had endured recently, her perseverance to be outside was awe-inspiring. At half her age, I couldn't help but think how I wanted to acquire as many crazy mountain-related stories as her in my time. And I was always a little embarrassed to think how she could summit a peak more quickly than I could. Her smile and laugh in addition to her experience made her a valued member of the Search and Rescue community. She will be missed dearly by all of us fortunate enough to spend time with her. ~~ Laura
After hearing about Carolyn I had to do a sunrise hike to gather my thoughts because I consider her to be a true mentor and teacher even though I had known her for only a few months. There are few people in the world that you meet and feel so privileged that they walked into your life and she was one such person. I remember when I first heard that she had worked in Africa I knew that I had to talk to her more. The more she told me about her time there the more I thought how can I be her... we had talked about sitting down and talking about career possibilities in public health when she returned from all her trips. She was an inspiration, there is no doubt about that, not only because she had overcome so much but because she she had such a great spirit about her. Her laugh and her smile were contagious and it is great to see that on her birthday and on this summit she was still being Carolyn. I learned so much from her in such a little bit of time she will be sorely missed but I know she will always be around on the mountain top. ~~ Collins
"Carolyn Randall" from the Fort Collins Coloradoan Xplore
April 30, 2006 sent to LCSAR 8/14/2008 by Miles Blumhardt
FAMILY: Married to Harold Randall for 28 years, two grown children, two grandsons, cat named Rez
AGE: 54
OCCUPATION: Nurse, having worked as a public health consultant for the United Nations
PERSONAL HISTORY: Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Has spent much of her adult life living abroad, including China and many countries in Africa. Moved to Fort Collins in 2002
PASSIONS/ADVENTURES: Mountaineering, including successful summits of Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, Mount Kilimanjaro plus many others. She's done this after taking up climbing at the age of 51 and with a prosthetic heart valve. Has also traveled extensively and has climbed in Tibet. Had to be evacuated out of Africa during an uprising. Can speak Swahili.
WHAT'S IT LIKE CLIMBING WITH YOUR SON? He was the one who got me into it. When first learning, I just kind of listened to what he wanted me to do and really didn't think about him being my son. But since then, we've gone on a lot of road trips together. It's been wonderful and is a very special relationship.
NO OFFENSE, BUT ISN'T 51 A LITTLE OLD TO START CLIMBING BIG MOUNTAINS? Yes, especially for a woman. People remember us from climbs as a grandmother from Fort Collins and her son.
ABOUT HALF OF THOSE WHO ATTEMPT DENALI SUMMIT. WHICH HALF WILL YOU BE? I've been at higher altitude, but Denali's cold conditions make it very tough. It'll be mentally challenging, but you have to be disciplined and say you can do it and keep going. I've been training since October. I think I can make it.
DUMBEST THING YOU'VE DONE OUTDOORS? When I first started climbing, my son would say, "Oh mom you can do it.'' I'd get up on some of these climbs and say to myself, "What am I doing up here?" On one climb on Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, it was a really nice day in early August. It was a 5.9 route with five pitches. We were on the last pitch when it started hailing. I had shorts on and a sleeveless top. I had stuffed my warmer clothes in a pack but I couldn't get to it. The rock was very slippery and it was getting harrowing. When I finally got to the top, Ben said "See, I knew you could make it.'' I was about to kill him.
NEXT ADVENTURE? I'll be climbing Denali with Steve Dean and Steve Martin from Fort Collins, my son Ben, who lives in Oregon, and some other climbers from Denver in May. I'm also heading to Aconcagua (22,841-foot peak in Argentina) in December. We tried it last January but the weather turned us back at 21,000 feet.
PERFECT DAY OUTDOORS? Temperature in the 50s or 60 with sun, stillness all around and seeing no one else
DREAMS? Climbing an 8,000-meter peak with my son
INDULGENCES? Buying climbing gear. You get me into a climbing store like Neptune and forget about a shopping mall.
WHAT ARE YOU READING? They have nothing to do with pleasure. I'm reading "Denali's West Buttress'' and "Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue.''
WHAT'S IN YOUR iPOD? Celtic music
SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW? My heart valve thing
SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE? I'd like to stay healthy enough to do outdoor activities with my grandchildren. I'd also like to make sure that I've lived a full life. Up to now, I think I have. I've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of good and bad.
ONE OUTDOOR ACTIVITY YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE UP? Road cycling
ONE OUTDOOR ACTIVITY THAT DOESN'T INTEREST YOU IN THE LEAST? Snowmobiling, fishing and hunting
V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan, Carolyn Randall, 54, of Fort Collins has summitted Mount Hood and Mount Rainier on technical climbs and is training to climb North America's highest peak, Mount McKinley in Alaska.
