Living the Dream

YOUNG CRAIG
Photo essay by Roger Cuthbertson and Karen Criticos

^{(photo by Karen Criticos)}

This picture was taken
during Easter Break in 1973. We
think Craig was only 19 years old, at that time. Craig was already a far better
climber than any of the rest of us, even though he didn’t have the experience of
some of us. Besides being very skilled, he was very focused and safe. He was absolutely reliable. We never thought of him as a kid that
you would have to look out for. Left to right are Randy
Waslien, Linda Jones, Don Stevens, Roger Cuthbertson, Bob Denison, and Craig
Martinson. We had just finished a
climb in the Black
Hills.

^{(photo by Karen
Criticos)}

Later in 1973 Craig (back row, 4^th from the
left) was with the North Star Mountaineers club in the Bugaboos. Here we are in
front of Bugaboo Glacier. We wish we could name all of the people in the photo.
Craig, Steve Markusen, and Roger climbed Snowpatch Spire (upper right of photo)
by a route just to the left of the snow patch. If memory is serving correctly, the
route was 13 long technical pitches on the way up and six or seven 150 foot
rappels to get off the back side. Craig, of course, led the crux pitch. Roger didn’t lead at all. He just belayed and took pictures from
the middle of the rope, while Craig and Steve took turns leading. Several other peaks were climbed,
including Pigeon Spire and Bugaboo Spire. While this was probably the high
point of Roger’s
climbing, for Craig it was just a beginning. 

^{(picture by Karen Criticos)}

On the way back from
the Bugaboos in 1973, we think Craig rode with us. I don’t think he even owned a car, at
that time. So, he was one of the family. Here he is, hanging out with Karen and
Roger’s kids, Lloyd and Ann. Craig
was, and is, a nice lad. He gets
along well with everyone. Has anyone ever heard him grumble or complain or
gossip or get angry? We don’t think
so.

^{(picture by Roger Cuthbertson)}

It was a busy summer. Still in 1973, on the way back from the
Bugaboos, we just had to climb the Devil’s Tower, in Wyoming.

^{(photo by Karen Criticos)}

This picture (8/18/73) shows Roger and Craig just after a successful
climb of the Devil’s Tower. Craig
wasn’t satisfied to climb just any old route, so they had to do a 5.9 route
called Gooseberry
Jam. This was a remarkable choice, since
Roger could barely climb 5.6 rock. Somehow, the two were able to get to the top, with Craig leading the crux
pitch, of course. Craig never complained about having to wait for people to be
dragged up stuff that he could waltz around on.

^{(photo by Karen Criticos)}

You would think that climbing in
Black Hills and the Bugaboos and the Devil’s Tower would
be enough for one trip in one summer. But Craig just could not pass up any vertical rock. So, we just had to
visit the quartzite cliffs of Blue
Mound State
Park, in western
Minnesota as we were driving
by. You certainly wouldn’t be able
to say that Craig was lazy. He just
poured himself into climbing. Later, he became the only person that I know, personally, who actually
got skilled enough, and well known enough, to be paid to climb mountains. Craig is a remarkable character. We are glad to have shared his
company.