On December 4, 2006, Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler did not return on their flight to the United States from China. Chris had met up with Charlie after guiding Cho Oyu, and together they had traveled to Sichuan, China, to climb a few 6,000-meter peaks. Although Chris was an exceptionally strong climber, when her e-mails suddenly stopped her business partner Mark Gunlogson, at Mountain Madness, and best friends started to worry. Chris always kept in touch. The last e-mail Gunlogson received was November 8; she sent an e-mail that same week to me and admitted to being “ready to get home” and “feeling tired.” In a phone call to her mother she said she hoped to come home early.

Funds for an on-the-ground search were raised quickly, and on December 27, searchers found a body buried in the snow at 5,300 meters, about three hours above the Lenggu Monastery in the Genyen region of China. The following day it was confirmed to be that of Charlie Fowler, 52 at the time of his passing. He was swept away in an avalanche and Chris, meanwhile, remains missing. 

In 1999, I introduced Charlie to Chris and the sparks began to fly. They climbed non-stop and hung out together more often than not. After Charlie introduced Boskoff to his hometown of Norwood, Colorado, she felt an instant connection with the locals and land. Norwood is small town and friendly, and offers exceptional year-round climbing and skiing. Chris was in heaven.

Seattle had never been a good fit for Chris. It was big, wet, clogged with traffic, expensive, and sorely lacked small-town friendliness. That said, Chris’s commitment to Mountain Madness and climbing in the wildly rugged North Cascades kept her well connected to the Northwest. As time went on, she began to divide her time between Seattle and Norwood, but Norwood was home.

Although Chris was receiving media attention for her climbing accomplishments, like Charlie, she was always understated about them. At one point, she considered going for all 14 8000-meter peaks, but after Ginette Harrison died on her fifth 8,000-meter peak, Chris reevaluated her desire to climb all 14. “There are so many great unexplored lower-6,000-meter peaks to climb. Those seem like the most fun to me  – not to mention all the great rock in Colorado!” she’d say.

Chris summited six 8,000-meter peaks, including Mount Everest and Cho Oyu twice each. She attempted to climb K2 (the second highest 8,000-meter peak, located in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan), but the weather was horrific that year. She was also the first woman to climb Lhotse (the fourth highest). 

On December 4, 2006, Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler did not return on their flight to the United States from China. Chris had met up with Charlie after guiding Cho Oyu, and together they had traveled to Sichuan, China, to climb a few 6,000-meter peaks. Although Chris was an exceptionally strong climber, when her e-mails suddenly stopped her business partner Mark Gunlogson, at Mountain Madness, and best friends started to worry. Chris always kept in touch. The last e-mail Gunlogson received was November 8; she sent an e-mail that same week to me and admitted to being “ready to get home” and “feeling tired.” In a phone call to her mother she said she hoped to come home early.

Funds for an on-the-ground search were raised quickly, and on December 27, searchers found a body buried in the snow at 5,300 meters, about three hours above the Lenggu Monastery in the Genyen region of China. The following day it was confirmed to be that of Charlie Fowler, 52 at the time of his passing. He was swept away in an avalanche and Chris, meanwhile, remains missing. 

In 1999, I introduced Charlie to Chris and the sparks began to fly. They climbed non-stop and hung out together more often than not. After Charlie introduced Boskoff to his hometown of Norwood, Colorado, she felt an instant connection with the locals and land. Norwood is small town and friendly, and offers exceptional year-round climbing and skiing. Chris was in heaven.

Seattle had never been a good fit for Chris. It was big, wet, clogged with traffic, expensive, and sorely lacked small-town friendliness. That said, Chris’s commitment to Mountain Madness and climbing in the wildly rugged North Cascades kept her well connected to the Northwest. As time went on, she began to divide her time between Seattle and Norwood, but Norwood was home.

Although Chris was receiving media attention for her climbing accomplishments, like Charlie, she was always understated about them. At one point, she considered going for all 14 8000-meter peaks, but after Ginette Harrison died on her fifth 8,000-meter peak, Chris reevaluated her desire to climb all 14. “There are so many great unexplored lower-6,000-meter peaks to climb. Those seem like the most fun to me  – not to mention all the great rock in Colorado!” she’d say.

Chris summited six 8,000-meter peaks, including Mount Everest and Cho Oyu twice each. She attempted to climb K2 (the second highest 8,000-meter peak, located in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan), but the weather was horrific that year. She was also the first woman to climb Lhotse (the fourth highest). 

On December 4, 2006, Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler did not return on their flight to the United States from China. Chris had met up with Charlie after guiding Cho Oyu, and together they had traveled to Sichuan, China, to climb a few 6,000-meter peaks. Although Chris was an exceptionally strong climber, when her e-mails suddenly stopped her business partner Mark Gunlogson, at Mountain Madness, and best friends started to worry. Chris always kept in touch. The last e-mail Gunlogson received was November 8; she sent an e-mail that same week to me and admitted to being “ready to get home” and “feeling tired.” In a phone call to her mother she said she hoped to come home early.

Funds for an on-the-ground search were raised quickly, and on December 27, searchers found a body buried in the snow at 5,300 meters, about three hours above the Lenggu Monastery in the Genyen region of China. The following day it was confirmed to be that of Charlie Fowler, 52 at the time of his passing. He was swept away in an avalanche and Chris, meanwhile, remains missing. 

In 1999, I introduced Charlie to Chris and the sparks began to fly. They climbed non-stop and hung out together more often than not. After Charlie introduced Boskoff to his hometown of Norwood, Colorado, she felt an instant connection with the locals and land. Norwood is small town and friendly, and offers exceptional year-round climbing and skiing. Chris was in heaven.

Seattle had never been a good fit for Chris. It was big, wet, clogged with traffic, expensive, and sorely lacked small-town friendliness. That said, Chris’s commitment to Mountain Madness and climbing in the wildly rugged North Cascades kept her well connected to the Northwest. As time went on, she began to divide her time between Seattle and Norwood, but Norwood was home.

Although Chris was receiving media attention for her climbing accomplishments, like Charlie, she was always understated about them. At one point, she considered going for all 14 8000-meter peaks, but after Ginette Harrison died on her fifth 8,000-meter peak, Chris reevaluated her desire to climb all 14. “There are so many great unexplored lower-6,000-meter peaks to climb. Those seem like the most fun to me  – not to mention all the great rock in Colorado!” she’d say.

Chris summited six 8,000-meter peaks, including Mount Everest and Cho Oyu twice each. She attempted to climb K2 (the second highest 8,000-meter peak, located in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan), but the weather was horrific that year. She was also the first woman to climb Lhotse (the fourth highest). 

On December 4, 2006, Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler did not return on their flight to the United States from China. Chris had met up with Charlie after guiding Cho Oyu, and together they had traveled to Sichuan, China, to climb a few 6,000-meter peaks. Although Chris was an exceptionally strong climber, when her e-mails suddenly stopped her business partner Mark Gunlogson, at Mountain Madness, and best friends started to worry. Chris always kept in touch. The last e-mail Gunlogson received was November 8; she sent an e-mail that same week to me and admitted to being “ready to get home” and “feeling tired.” In a phone call to her mother she said she hoped to come home early.

Funds for an on-the-ground search were raised quickly, and on December 27, searchers found a body buried in the snow at 5,300 meters, about three hours above the Lenggu Monastery in the Genyen region of China. The following day it was confirmed to be that of Charlie Fowler, 52 at the time of his passing. He was swept away in an avalanche and Chris, meanwhile, remains missing. 

In 1999, I introduced Charlie to Chris and the sparks began to fly. They climbed non-stop and hung out together more often than not. After Charlie introduced Boskoff to his hometown of Norwood, Colorado, she felt an instant connection with the locals and land. Norwood is small town and friendly, and offers exceptional year-round climbing and skiing. Chris was in heaven.

Seattle had never been a good fit for Chris. It was big, wet, clogged with traffic, expensive, and sorely lacked small-town friendliness. That said, Chris’s commitment to Mountain Madness and climbing in the wildly rugged North Cascades kept her well connected to the Northwest. As time went on, she began to divide her time between Seattle and Norwood, but Norwood was home.

Although Chris was receiving media attention for her climbing accomplishments, like Charlie, she was always understated about them. At one point, she considered going for all 14 8000-meter peaks, but after Ginette Harrison died on her fifth 8,000-meter peak, Chris reevaluated her desire to climb all 14. “There are so many great unexplored lower-6,000-meter peaks to climb. Those seem like the most fun to me  – not to mention all the great rock in Colorado!” she’d say.

Chris summited six 8,000-meter peaks, including Mount Everest and Cho Oyu twice each. She attempted to climb K2 (the second highest 8,000-meter peak, located in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan), but the weather was horrific that year. She was also the first woman to climb Lhotse (the fourth highest).