Many years ago, I saw Jack Tackle give a slideshow in Anchorage. I was in my early to mid-twenties at the time, and mountain climbing was the only thing that mattered. That evening, I listened intently as Jack described icefaces, corniced ridges, and run-out pitches that had long captured my imagination.

But it’s funny how life works. Shortly after the slideshow, I sustained an injury climbing, that effectively ended my career, and irrevocably changed my life forever. Although I went on to make a new path in art and music, I can say without a doubt, that my life was never the same without climbing.

There was also the accident on Mt. Augusta in the Wrangell-Saint Elias, where jack was struck by a falling rock. The impact broke his neck, leaving him paralyzed on the face, and stranded fifty miles from the nearest road. The ensuing high-stakes rescue would become the stuff of legends in the mountaineering world, but for Jack, it was an opportunity to move forward in life, with a new perspective.

Fifteen years later, and despite some limitations from his injuries, Jack is still climbing at a high level around the world. Over the years, I’ve watched his career from afar, and often wondered how his brush with Guillain-Barre and the accident on Augusta affected him.

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