All three lost climbers on

Mount Hood were Christian believers

By RICHARD KOE
and JOHN FORTMEYER
    HOOD RIVER — The three climbers lost on Mount Hood in early December were highly experienced mountaineers and all were Christian believers, according to Carolyn Custis James. She is sister-in-law to Kelly James, whose body was found in a snow cave Dec. 17.
    The search for the climbers was a lead item in national news media in mid-December.
    Carolyn, who is married to James’ brother Frank, grew up in Portland and is the daughter of Dwight Custis, pastor of Trinity Bible Church in northeast Portland. She reported on the lost climbers — Kelly and two climbing partners, Brian Hall and Jerry “Nikko” Cooke — in her e-mail Ezer Report in December.
    A memorial prayer vigil for Kelly James was held Monday evening, Dec. 18, at his church, Fellowship Bible Church in Dallas, Texas.
    Carolyn said the three climbers expected to complete their climb of Mount Hood by Dec. 9, but something went wrong so Brian and Jerry built a snow cave to keep Kelly safe while they went down the mountain for help.
Blizzard conditions on Mount Hood with hurricane-force winds after Dec. 10 kept rescue workers from climbing high enough to locate the climbers.
    Kelly contacted his wife Karen on Dec. 10 with his cell phone, and received a second call from his son Jason the same day. Both calls were brief and didn’t provide much detail. Rescuers pinpointed Kelly’s position a week later and found his body.
    The unsuccessful search for Hall and Cooke continued until Dec. 21, with authorities fearing that they had fallen off one of the mountain’s steep cliffs to their death.
    The three families of the climbers came together early in the search to support each other, pray, and wait through the difficult time.
    It was Frank James’ sad duty Dec. 18 to face the news cameras in Oregon and announce his brother had been found dead in a snow cave high atop the mountain.
    During the weeklong search effort, Frank James was interviewed on MSNBC, ABC, The Today Show, Nancy Grace, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360 and others.
    Carolyn said on her e-mail letter that the families believe God is in this ordeal even though it has been painful and heart wrenching for everyone involved. But she believes God loves the families and knows what He is doing with them. Their hope continues in Him.
    A blog was set up to allow people praying for the climbers to see updates of the rescue and to post notes.
    Carolyn and her husband live in Orlando, Fla., where Frank is president of Reformed Theological Seminary. He also teaches both historical and systematic theology, and church history at the school. The seminary operates six campuses in the southeastern United States.
    In a lengthy interview with anchor Katie Couric that was aired on the CBS Evening News Dec. 21, Kelly James’ widow, Karen, tearfully spoke of her husband’s love for life and love for God. “He was the biggest optimist you’d ever want to meet” she said.
    She said his faith gave him a strong hope in eternal life.
   “I remember he said once, ‘I can’t wait to get to heaven,’ ’’ she said. “Those conversations are what I hold on to.”
    Karen also related how one of Kelly’s favorite Christmas ornaments was of a simple manger scene.
   “That little baby born in the barn is the reason our family has so much strength now,” Karen told Couric.
    An international conference speaker and author of several Christian books for women, Carolyn James is also president of Whitby Forum, which encourages women in their pursuit of a deeper relationship with God through resources and conferences.
    She is also consulting editor for the Zondervan exegetical commentary series on the New Testament and is a founder and sponsor of Synergy conferences. Carolyn previously had her own business as a computer software developer in Britain.