Katie Tinnesand

Katie T. jugging on the Monkey: Smith Rocks, OR. - Ian Roth

My good friend Katie died last weekend climbing the South Ridge of Three Fingered Jack. She had already summited and passed the difficult sections of the descent at the time she fell. This was a total shocker. I saw her Friday on her way out of Corvallis and we talked for quite a while about climbing plans and life in general. I always looked forward to seeing Katie. She was such an awesome person. She was so happy so much of the time. Definitely the happiest person I have ever met. She was the only one more excited than me about my successful climb of denali. She wanted to climb it so bad.

It sounds like she just slipped on some loose scree. I hate Three Fingered Jack. It is the most pathetic worthless pile of rotten ass rock in the whole Cascades. Definitely not worth dying to climb it, or any other mountian for that matter. Everybody cruises around in exposed places, everybody slips once in awhile, Katie was just unfortunate that she did both at once. So tragic.

Both the tree dedication ceremony and the service at her parent's house were extremely good for me to heal. I hate to say that I am good at dealing with death, but I am. I have had way more experience with it than most kids my age. The philosophy class I took on death and dying from Courtney Campbell really helped also. I am actually quite fascinated with the topic. I will write more on the issue at some future time when I am not writing a thesis.

Back to Katie, the thing that embodies her spirit most in my mind is the simple fact that she was my friend. Let me explain. Katie was Jane's best friend. When Jane and I broke up and during the ensuing melodrama nobody heard more anti-Keith sentiments than Katie. She was dating Melanie's former boyfriend Ryan at the time. Relations were at best awkward, the easy thing to do would have been to not interact with either Melanie or myself. Not Katie, she could not stand to lose a friend and definitely not two. She kept hanging out with both of us and with her exuberant personality things were far from awkward in no time. Four days before her death she told me that I was the happiest she had ever known me. She was right.

I sorely miss Katie and I will always have her in my memories.