“People say that Ben lived many lives’ worth in his 32 years, and not only in terms of the mountains he climbed, places he visited or miles he ran — but also in the number of people he loved, and how deeply he loved them.” —Anne Chmilewski, Aug. 14, 2012, San Diego
catching squirrels; having philosophical discussions; being recruited to work at the radio station; and attending every kind of cultural celebration on campus. Danan met Horne when he was working at KTRU and she was the senior news editor at the Thresher. Their long relationship had just begun as Horne graduated college — they lived in four different cities at the same time and traveled to 22 countries together. They got engaged, and though they ended their engagement last fall, the two remained best friends. At the Rice service, Danan said, “I believe that Ben’s greatest strength, what allowed him to inspire us all, was his willingness to fail. This was a core value for him, a direct reflection of his deep faith. Ben was keenly aware of his own failings and limitations, and he was exceptionally willing to fight the inner struggle because he knew it was worth fighting. He believed in humanity precisely because it is broken.” DEDICATION OF THE BEN HORNE MEMORIAL STUDIO: ricemagazine.info/136 T H R E E • A S C E N D I N G A N D T R AV E R S I N G
After Rice, Horne joined the Peace Corps and went to Kyrgyzstan. Already an adept outdoorsman, it was there that he learned the sport of alpine climbing and became “spoiled, climbing some world-class mountains,” he said last June. Although he liked soloing, Horne also enjoyed the dynamic of group climbing, which forces participants to overlook fears, egos, personality quirks and bad moods. In such settings, Horne said, “You have one objective. You’re all helping one another with a common goal.” He likened climbing to an ancient practice like hunting. “In the most primal sense,” he said, “you’re tapping into something that humans have been doing for hundreds and thousands of years.” It was the “mighty Sierra Nevada” that provided a triumphant experience last spring for Horne, Shay Har-Noy ’04 and Konstantin Stoletov. All were part of the loose confederation of climbing enthusiasts called Pullharder, a San Diego-based community of skilled climbers who share their experiences online. In March, the trio successfully completed the first-ever wintertime ascent of Peter Croft’s Evolution Traverse, a route that involved nine 13,000-foot peaks and the traversing of more than eight miles of the Evolution subrange of the Eastern Sierra. Horne called this “one of the Lower 48’s greatest climbs,” yet it had only previously been completed about 15 times and never outside of prime season. The technical route took seven days from car to car (including one storm day) and involved four days on the actual route with 36 total hours of climbing. At times, the trio endured winds as high as 90 mph and temperatures as low as -7 F, making for a challenging environment in which to do such technical climbing. In a post-trip blog post, Horne admitted he was “stoked, but … tired.” Yet he also expressed great excitement for having accomplished this feat in his “home range,” at being associated with the route of one of his biggest inspirations (climber and mountaineer Peter Croft) and for the symbolism behind climbing a traverse named Evolution. In an interview last summer about the Evolution climb, Horne emphasized that this accomplishment was mostly personal. “The most important thing is that your motivation is internal,” Horne said, “If you’re doing something for external recognition, it’s just not as fulfilling. It leads to a strange culture in which [the achievement] becomes about bragging.” Horne physically held on to pieces of life experiences by way of souvenirs and ticket stubs. He also kept meticulous lists and Excel 38
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spreadsheets that not only helped him prepare for upcoming treks and climbs, but also recorded details of the number of countries he’d traveled (53 “real” visits; 62 if you count airport layovers), states he’d visited (49; only South Dakota remained), climbs completed, national parks explored, “bizarre experiences” endured. His page of “Top Ten Sights” reveals no fewer than 26 places, ranging from the Sistine Chapel and Taj Mahal to Havasu Falls and Joshua Tree. EVOLUTION TRAVERSE TRIP REPORT: ricemagazine.info/137 FOUR • LITTLE THINGS
Many remember Horne for the big things — his impressive academic achievements and astounding athletic accomplishments. Not long after the Evolution Traverse conquest and right before he set out for Peru, Horne ran an ultramarathon (100 miles) in less than 24 hours. “If Ben was going to do something,” Danan said, “he was going to do it all the way.” But it was the everyday things that mattered the most. In a eulogy delivered at his San Diego memorial service, she added, “Ben never wanted to be a superhero because of his physical achievements. In fact, he went out of his way to understate them. If we idealize his achievements, we are misunderstanding Ben.” While living in San Diego, Horne organized a series of discussion dinners around a potluck meal and an informal roundtable. He invited those representing different backgrounds and beliefs who he thought would benefit most from the conversations; together they covered topics from race and the environment to religion. Commented Har-Noy, “Oftentimes you have people who aren’t intellectually honest; they think they’re smart but don’t listen to anybody else. They shut off the willingness to accept someone. Ben fundamentally sought out alternative opinions on how things work.” Since 2007, Horne had been pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and completing his studies of conflict resolution and mediation. Eli Berman, professor of economics at UCSD, also taught economics at Rice. Horne was one of his students there. When both landed at UCSD, Horne once again studied under Berman, who ultimately served as his dissertation adviser. Horne’s research focused on the role of mediation in international conflict and how third parties can intercede to make peace agreements possible that would not otherwise happen. “Ben’s interest in this question, as far as I can tell, came from a wonderful place,” Berman said. “He cared deeply about people and believed in mediation among individuals. He also had a deep concern for the human suffering caused by unresolved conflicts. Ben’s research made substantial progress on the theory of mediation, which we hope will be of use to practitioners.” At present, UCSD faculty are working to give recognition to his research and encourage others to continue what Horne started. FIVE • PERU
On pullharder.org, Horne’s in-progress trip report titled “The Peruvian Chronicles” detailed the first climbs he and Weiss completed in the Cordillera Blanca last July. In the post, he chronicles the weather, the challenges, the lows and the highs in characteristic self-deprecating and humorous fashion. The post is accompanied by an image of a sunset of wondrous beauty. Their next destination was Palcaraju Oeste, where they would attempt (and succeed) in putting up a first-ever ascent of a new route on the mountain’s south face. On July 13, on the way back