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Chris Hatzai has been featured several times on SmithRock.com, both in a eulogy to friend and fellow route developer, Alex Reed, as well as updates on route development at in the Monument and Marsupials areas. We reached out to him for any further updates he had to share. What he shared went so much further.
Growing up at 5000 feet, surrounded by trees on National Forest land, with wildlife in abundance, stirs the outdoor spirit, no matter what your genes give you. In the case of “Summit Trail Amy,” it shook her spirit to her core. Many of you have asked to know more about this mystery woman that gives so much to Smith Rock State Park. Here is her story.
Amy Sue Matthews, AKA “Summit Trail Amy” as dubbed by SmithRock.com for her great trail conditions reporting on the Summit Trail Loop that started with last winter’s snow dump, is Smith Rock State Park’s biggest fan. Now a volunteer for the park, she attends every learning event she can to expand her knowledge to provide visitors the best experience that she can assist with. Last weekend, during the American Alpine Club’s Smith Rock Craggin’ Classic, she met up with Alan Watts, a name synonymous with the birth of sport climbing in America on his annual Walking Tour of Smith Rock for the Craggin’ Classic.
When we asked local climbing route developer Chris Hatzai to write a post for SmithRock.com on what’s been happening this past year in the Monument Area and the Marsupials, we had not realized it was the anniversary of Alex Reed’s fatal fall. Chris’s poignant piece elaborates on the route development question, expanding it into a story of evolution, both for him personally since the tragic accident, as well as an evolution for climbing at Smith.
Tiffany Larsen and her buddy Rebecca Yaguda were climbing in the Lower Gorge of the Crooked River at Smith Rock State Park when they heard an animal whimpering. Then they saw the big, shivering trapped dog in the freezing Crooked River. They sprang into action.
