Mountain Clients

In the spring of 1999, Peter Terbush and Kerry Pyle were enjoying a little mountain climbing on Glacier Point in the Yosemite National Park. It was a beutiful sunny Sunday evening. Peter, a student at Western State College in Colorado, was standing on level ground below Kerry – fastened to his climbing rope. Suddenly, there was an awful, thunderous sound. It was a rockslide coming his way. Tons of rock came hurtling down around Peter. Kerry was high enough to avoid the slide.

Peter could have run from the oncoming rocks, but in the process he would have torn Kerry off the stone wall far above him. That would have surely resulted in Kerry’s death. What did Peter do? Did he cut the rope and run, taking a leaf out of the world acclaimed book: Touching the Void? What would you do? Having tied to someone else with a rope – what would you do?

Peter did not run. With amazing courage, he grasped the rope with all his strength and accepted his own loss of life so that his friend might live.

Later, when his lifeless, broken body was dug out from the massive pile of rocks, this discovery was made: Peter’s hands, which had kept the rope steady for Kerry, were still clenching his friend’s lifeline!