Megan and Fred at Icicle Canyon after a day at the crags, 2007. Photo courtesy of the Fred Beckey Archives.
THE SPEED OF LOVE
Going the Distance With Fred Beckey By Megan Bond
W
hile traveling solo to remote and wild places, I had been in some dicey situations. The risks were real, but I knew of no one else interested in exploring the nether regions of wilderness, nor the Himalayan front range from east to west, nor the ancient trade routes that connect Tibet to India through massive ranges, passes that cut deep, from north to south where borders often go unmarked – and so I had gone alone. Almost six feet tall, with hair that typically looked like a yellow hayfield post-windstorm, no - I would never blend in with the people of the Himalaya, which might have allowed me safer passage. I was in Seattle, and making plans again, enthused about another return to the collar of the Indian Subcontinent; it was here I met Fred. He was in his early eighties, also alone, and stalling when our paths crossed. He looked road-weary from outrunning time; it seemed he needed a jump-start and a push, and this I could provide. Fred quickly jumped on board, sharing his maps, giving advice – and jokingly offered to carry my bags as he highjacked my trip. He was eager to explore, and vibrated with restless energy and a brilliant mind. He had made multiple trips to the Himalaya and was also anxious to return.
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mountaineer | spring 2021
We were immediately joined at the hip, and then the heart; friendships are sometimes sudden - just like that! Our heads were conjoined, and our brains synced. Fred was thirty-five years my senior, and I was a mid-life fortysomething. Neither of us was ever alone again. We made a great team. We became inseparable and laughed and wisecracked constantly. Fred was the master of side-splitting one-liners and kept me grinning from ear-to-ear, the sort of smile that went on for so long that my face hurt. We shared jokes and wordplay, and everything from meals to secrets to books and warm clothes. But the greatest thing we shared was that we each loved mountains. Fred was Fred Beckey, the most famous mountaineer and explorer most people have never heard of. He gave everything to the alpine world, and in return, the alpine world gave him breath and life. Through a lifetime of dedication and commitment to his passion, Fred had studied and climbed mountains the world over, creating new routes, and ascending rock walls and monoliths that challenge his followers to this day. He shared his findings and routes generously with other climbers, authoring intensively researched guidebooks and contributing
