Scholarship honoree Jim Straight on Glacier Point Apron at Yosemite National Park, demonstrating the cool nerves and proper balance required to climb run-out friction slabs. Courtesy photo
BY BILL PRIEDHORSKY
Los Alamos Mountaineers
The Los Alamos Mountaineers are pleased to announce a new scholarship program for their spring 2024 climbing school, in honor of Jim Straight, 1940-2024. Thanks to a generous donation from Suzy Miller and William Straight in honor of their father, the Mountaineers are offering 2 scholarships to help climbing students with their enrollment fees.
Jim Straight was a lifetime member of the Mountaineers who played an decades-long role in heir climbing school. He first instructed in the 1980’s, and was teaching climbing knots as late as last year. The donation for the scholarship will “honor Jim’s memory and encourage others to discover a passion for climbing the way Jim did,” in the words of the family.
Jim had a lifetime passion for outdoor adventure. He was a regular organizer of the climbing school, taking particular pleasure in the “Ludwig” apparatus, which simulated a free-falling leader that the student belayer, handling the rope below, had to catch. The Mountaineers held regular expeditions to the rock walls of Yosemite in the 1980’s, and Jim was there, specializing in the nerve-wracking ascent of friction climbs, where the route is a smooth expanse of rock almost too steep to climb – but not quite. Daughter Suzy remembers that climbing was Jim’s favorite way to escape because it required total concentration and focus: “When you’ve climbed 10 feet off the ground, you’ve forgotten the problems at the office. By the time you’re 50 feet off the ground, you’ve forgotten that there even is an office.”
More information on the 2024 Climbing school, including the scholarship application form, can be found under “Climbing/Climbing School” at lamountaineers.org. Completed forms should be sent to Toni Taylor at taylortrugman@gmail.com by noon on March 24.
For further information on the Climbing School or the scholarship, please contact Toni Taylor or Mountaineers vice-president Evan Rose at evanrose999@gmail.com.