Summiting Mountains Together Forever

Carly & Hamish met at Challenge Buttress, a SLC local climbing crag in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Hamish was interviewing an employee for a wilderness therapy adventure position. Carly was there to climb a local classic, Choose to Rage. CTR had a line-up, so Carly and her friend decided to wait in the shade, where Hamish was hosting his climbing-interview. Taken by his English accent and chiseled triceps, she chatted him up, forced him to take her number, and subsequently talked him into a long-term committed relationship. Unbeknownst to him at the time, she would be the best thing that ever happened to him. And he to her.

Hamish and Carly went on their second date to Mount Superior in 2019. They did a three-hour rock scramble up the south ridge to the summit. On par for both of them, they opted to back-scramble the way they had come up rather than do the chill walk-off that most climbers would choose. On March 17, 2024, they returned to Mount Superior for a winter ascent. Skinning up on their skis, they enjoyed a bright, blue-bird day. The ascent was icy, requiring crampons, and a steep boot-pack toward the top included some mandatory mixed snow/rock climbing. Atop the summit, they snapped a few photos, discussed descent options, and then Hamish got down on one knee and asked Carly to marry him. Before she agreed, she requested a more thorough explanation and then pulled a note card from her pocket with a lengthy, prepared response. They laughed and cried and agreed that this relationship was the best thing to ever happen to both of them. They then transitioned to downhill mode, assessed the avalanche danger, and skied & snowboarded the South Face of Mount Superior - a feat neither had accomplished before.