Memories of 1998: $3675 raised thus far!!

Several people have asked about some of the "Memories" listed on this year's letter. If you haven't seen it (you can find it on the left under "The Official 2008 Whitney Classic Appeal Letter), I created a table that lists significant moments for each of the 9 previous WC's we've been to. I'd like to explain some of those. . .

It was 1998. Ginger and I had moved to California to work with an organization based out of El Portal (on the west side of Yosemite National Park), but things didn't really work out as we planned. In May, we moved about an hours drive east to work seasonally with Summit Adventure. It was our first experience with the organization, and we were hooked. We stayed in Bass Lake through the end of August, and since we had 4 unplanned months ahead of us (we were planning on moving back to Bass Lake for good in January), we headed back to El Portal to spend the remaining few months.

I should mention that we were volunteering for this organization. They provided us with a place to live, but we had jobs in the small town as well. Ginger & I were both working at a local hotel, the Yosemite View Lodge, and for some strange reason, we were working opposite shifts. Ginger would work from 7-4, and I would work from 4-11. We didn't like the schedule, and had repeatedly asked for a change. As October (and the Whitney) approached, we had decided that I would go volunteer and Ginger would stay in El Portal and work. I had requested the days off, and had received assurance that I would not be working; in turn, I had committed to Summit and they were counting on my being available to help. The week arrived, and I was told I had NOT been given the weekend off and I was expected to be at work that weekend. A choice had to be made.

Every now and then you come to a crossroads in life, where seemingly small decisions have major consequences. Alex Raffe once said, "We had no knowledge that our lives had just changed. You seldom sit at a crossroads and know it's a crossroads. But from (that moment) forward, my life was not going to be the same."

That's the way it was for us. I informed my boss that I would not be showing up for work that weekend. She informed me that if I didn't show up, I'd be fired. My witty response was that since I was going to be fired, I might as well quit right then, hung up the phone and walked out the door. It's the only time in my life that I've ever walked out on a job, but it felt good! So technically, I might have quit rather than been fired, but the point is the same...I gave up my job so I could be involved in what we felt was a worthwhile cause. Eleven years later, I'd do it all over if the opportunity arose.

I don't really remember much else about that year. I vaguely recall riding through Tuolumne Meadows and the beauty of Tioga Pass while Chris Johnson read a surfing magazine. I vaguely recall eating a bunch of chocolate chip cookies homemade by Barb Kelley. Other than that, I have no other recollection of anything else that happened that year. They must have been really good cookies.