Trekking Badger

I just learned of the accident an hour ago. This is horrible, horrible news. It leaves me deeply saddened and angered. I was on Mizuki's team when she first summitted Denali in 2004 via the West Buttress. Her passion for the mountains was unmatched. When that team was assembled, there was no hesitation from her in committing to the trip. She was incredibly excited about the prospect of bagging her first Alaskan peak. Despite her small stature she was a very, very strong climber. My most vivid memory of Mizuki from that trip was when we were weighing gear the night before we left Seattle and seeing her gear weighing in at more than she did! She had the heaviest load, in terms of percentage of body weight, of anyone on that trip. And she never complained, despite the tremendous load. She put her head down, dug deep, and forged forward. She was a horse. I have been away from the Pacific NW since that climb, but I learned through my PNW friends that she became even more hard-core after that trip, returning to Alaska several times, and becoming a prolific climb leader with the Mountaineers. She was a woman of few words, but spoke her mind. Her loss is a tragic one. My condolances to both her and Brian Massey's (whom I never had the privilege of knowing) families. Here she is on top of Denali on 2004.