RIP, Gene. We had matching smiles that day.
Laura, thank you for your tribute to Gene. I did not know him personally, but now I do through your encounter. I thought these quotes from the mountaineering literature were appropriate for you and Gene. Harvey
You go not for the people, not for the mountains, but for them together. Peter Boardman, Sacred Summits page 15
The man who knows how to laugh will always prevail, be it on a mountain or in life George Ingle Finch
George W Rodway, ed
George Ingle Finch's The Struggle for
Everest, page 128
The impression made by his companions is the single biggest element in a man's memory of such a party, bigger than the mountain itself. Wilfrid Noyce, South Col page 15
And this last quote - Laura I wish it could happen with Gene. Sadly not.
One way - and it is the best - is to summon our mountain back with the help of those who have special powers of doing so, the companions who have climbed with us. R.L.G. Irving, The Mountain Way, page xvii
