Hi blog readers. It is Diana. Ben has frequently mentioned my support for his climbing in his blog entries, but I thought it might be helpful for those who care about him and our family to hear my thoughts directly.
When Ben & I met, he was a climber. In fact, one of the
first emails he sent me before we started dating was after an abandoned attempt
at Denali. The conditions that year were unsafe, as he would also find in years
to follow. Ben made several trips to Denali before he was able to summit.
I grew up with a dad who was a dreamer. He was the happiest
when he was dreaming or pursuing his dreams. My mom is very practical but also
a very supportive wife. I am also very practical and try to follow my mom’s
example as a supportive wife. Being supportive has become much easier for me
over the years. In fact, as I have listened to countless stories about other
mountain climbers, Ben’s dreams have become my dreams.
There are risks with pursuing dreams, especially with dreams
as big as Ben’s. In my job, I work in a very risk-adverse field and I weigh and
manage risk every day. For example, Ben knows I REALLY don’t want him to climb
K2. That is a risk I am not willing to take.
Ben has always had safety in mind. He has abandoned several
summit attempts because of bad weather or physical or mental health of
teammates or himself. “The mountain will always be there” and “going up is
optional, coming down is mandatory,” he tells me. There are many stories he
could tell that prove these are more than just words to him.
In 2007, Ben made his first trip to Mt Everest. While he was
gone, we found out I was pregnant with Alexander. When Ben called off his first
Everest attempt, which was his Big Dream, I was so overwhelmed by his love for me
and our baby, whom he had not even met! He was willing to put a long time dream
on hold to support my dream of having children. I know that he now thinks of
Alexander & Annelyse constantly and would not intentionally do anything to
leave them fatherless. I trust Ben’s climbing skills and his judgment. I know
he puts himself through mental tests while climbing at high altitudes to ensure
he is still thinking straight. (If he can remember our anniversary at 20,000
feet, then he will never have an excuse for forgetting it at home!)
So what about accidents? What about avalanches or other
situations out of his control? My response to that is... first, situations happen
every day that are outside of our control. We all come across situations every
day where we are 30 seconds away from an accident. I can’t worry about these. I
can only pray. Which brings me to my final response. My trust is in God. God controls Ben’s life and my life and the
lives of our kids. If God’s plan is for our children to be fatherless, I only
have the option to trust that there is a reason for that. I know it sounds
morbid. But it doesn’t feel morbid to me. If feels like complete trust.
So for those that have asked questions and voiced concern,
thank you. Thank you for caring for our family enough to be concerned. And
thank you for joining me in prayer as Ben continues to pursue his climbing
dreams this fall.
Climb on Ben! Your biggest fans are supporting you! We love
you!
