Monika Johnson missing near alpental....

Monika was a beautiful person, and without a doubt one of my biggest inspirations. I can only imagine the pain and emptiness those closest to her must be feeling. My heart goes out to you all. It was an honor to have a brush with this angel during her time with us.

While I didn't know her as well as some, I felt we did have a connection.  Never one to criticise my ideas, always encouraging. and fond of my optimism and sense of adventure. She cared enough to call me on more then one occasion to make sure I made it home safely.

here is a recent voice mail(she was worried I got caught in a white out on shuksan) with some pictures from lichtenberg. some one from a  recent return to say goodbye to someone I will never forget.

(click on picture)

my reaction to Monika’s plight affected me more profoundly than I ever expected it to

While I haven't spent a lot of time with Monika, I taught alongside her for years in the Crevasse Rescue class. She was an inspiration as a person and a skier. My memories of her will be a part of me forever.

My condolences to Monika's family and friends.

Thank you for posting the voicemail. The recording evokes how kind and sweet Monika's voice was. She had such a cute, little voice too, you'd never guess that same voice was produced from a person of massive strength and stamina.

She was truly up for anything, including a dip in a glacial lake or a freezing river on the drives home from spring tours. She'd wrap up in a XXL down puffie to help thaw out.

As you can see from all the pics, she was always smiling. All of my pics with Monika show me sitting on my ass exhausted, and Monika on her feet (skis on) ready for more skiing!

I appreciate all who posted and all who shared photos. I felt a duty to do the same. We will miss you Monika.

I didn’t get to know Monika nearly as well as I would have liked.  We did a handful of trips together, including a trip last summer when Pete and I met up with her and Gregg C. on the Oregon Coast for a bit of surfing.  The conditions were pretty crappy so after a brief spell of flailing in the water doing a whole lot of nothing, Monika and I decided our time would be better spent making tea and eating the pie that she and Gregg had purchased at a farmers market in Manzanita the day before. There were no objectives to be met, no trail to be broken. It was just a peaceful and relaxing morning getting to know her better and I looked forward to spending more time like that with her.

My mother and grandmother happened to visit this weekend from San Diego.  My days were spent trying to reconcile my utter sadness over the loss of Monika with my joy at being able to spend time with family I only get to see a couple times a year.  The only sense I could make of it is that I need to really appreciate and cherish every moment I get to spend with the people I care about and to let them know how I feel because in an instant, that opportunity could be gone.  When I dropped them off at the airport this morning I hugged them both a little longer and told them a couple extra times how much I loved them.  I wish I would have told Monika what a special person I thought she was and how much she inspired me both as a female athlete and as a generally super cool person.

Peace.

Wow. What a tremendous loss.

I met Monika and her climbing partner on top of Adams last climbing season.

I was really looking forward to seeing her again on top of some other random peak. I had told my wife about her and she was also hoping to meet her some day. Looks like that won't happen now. I really feel for those of you who were closest to her.

RIP Monika.