Masherbrum - Where to begin on this one....Here goes... Masherbrum is a 25,000ft+ mountain in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan (K2 is in the same region).
My best friend and I were supposed to start our love of climbing the mountains in the winter of 98, but in Dec. 97 (one year before my wedding), tragedy struck. He was 100yards from the driveway of Monrovia Nursery in Dayton, Oregon. My friend Erich (best man) was put into a 23 day coma by a F%^&*r in a lifted truck that was trying to find his stupid girlfriend's school book and not watching the road. Erich was in an Escort and the car went between the wheelbase of the truck and the truck flipped and rolled over the escort. His right ankle was destroyed from the kinetic energy from pushing on the brake pedal. His left foot was behind his neck. He was pronounced dead on the scene for 45 minutes because his pulse was that faint. The 3rd paramedic refused to declare him dead, and found a faint pulse. He was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon.
He is doing good in Tracy, California and has limited use of his right ankle (it is fused, by experimental surgery). I will climb for him and try and use my frustrations as fuel and motivation. This mountain was picked by us as the last one we would attempt. A dart was thrown at maps of the Himalayas.
Karaya - Short for "The Ace of Aces Call Sign".
