Bjarnason Erik - Surviving Logan

SURVIVING LOGAN

ERIK BJARNASON
AND CATHI SHAW

Copyright 2016 by Erik Bjarnason and Cathi Shaw

First Edition

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Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada

ISBN 978-1-77160-192-4 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-77160-193-1 (electronic)

Cover photo: Mike Danks

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in this book are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publishing company, its staff or its affiliates.

This book is dedicated to my good friend, Tim Jones.

Tim was the long time team leader of North Shore Rescue and is the reason I am alive today. I was with Tim when he tragically suffered from a fatal heart attack as we hiked down from the North Shore Rescue team cabin on Mount Seymour with his daughter in January 2014. I owe you more than I can repay, my friend. Rest well until we meet again.

This book chronicles my experiences on the North Shore Rescue 40th Anniversary Mount Logan Expedition in 2005. There were seven other team members on the expedition, and their stories and experiences may be different than my own. That is the nature of lived experience. This is my lived experience of surviving Logan.

Erik Bjarnason, 2016

CONTENTS

Foreword Cathi (Bjarnason) Shaw

Icelanders are tough. They are fiercely protective and incredibly loyal to their friends and family. The North Shore Bjarnason family embodies those qualities. I was fortunate to be raised by George, the youngest Bjarnason boy of his generation. I grew up with a crew of Viking men looking out for me. My big cousin Erik was one of them.

For as long as I can remember, I knew that if I ever found myself in need, I could call Erik and he would come to help. To date, Ive never needed to use that safety net, but I knew that Erik would give me, and any of our family members, the shirt off his back if we needed it. He is equal parts tough and caring. Friends become family. Family is a bond that cant be broken.

The same can be true of the Bjarnasons unbridled commitment and desire to help others at the risk of life and limb. There are multiple members of the family who have turned that instinct into a lifelong calling, becoming firefighters.

Erik is our world traveller. The family was never surprised to hear that Erik was off on another adventure. He started travelling the world at age 18. His parents home soon became filled with the beautiful artifacts he collected for them on his travels. Family reunions were filled with stories either about Eriks former adventures or, in his absence, about what he was up to at the time.

The more extreme the experience, the more likely Erik was to have engaged in it. He did things most of us just read about. I remember him arriving home for Uncle Bens funeral with his head shaved because hed spent time in a monastery in Nepal. I remember the concerned conversations at our grandmothers house when Erik set off on a solo bike trip from Vancouver to Mexico (with no real game plan for returning home, or at least no plan that we knew of).

But he did always return home, and Erik would always greet you with a bear hug and that Bjarnason smile. Regardless of his extensive travels and adventures, he always asked how you were doing. He genuinely wanted to know about your life. Erik has a way of making everyone around him feel special.

When Erik went to Mount Logan in 2005, none of the family really paid much heed to it. Erik was off on one of his adventures, and, to be honest, it was hard to keep track of them all. We just shook our heads and continued with our own lives. However, the nonchalant amusement the family members felt about this trip one in so many, after all quickly disappeared following the events of May 2527, 2005.

The Bjarnason brothers (Eriks father and uncles) are close, and as soon as they received the news that Erik was in trouble, the family lines of communication broke wide open. I got a call from my father telling me that Erik was most likely dead. I was leaving for a conference in Ontario, and my dad didnt want me to hear of my cousins death through the television news. There was no question in anyones minds that the disaster on Logan would be national news in Canada.

It was a long night. We were essentially told that Erik and two members of his team had perished on Logan. I waited to see if I should cancel my trip so I could be home for his funeral. I packed and went to bed, but sleep was interrupted by strange dreams of the cold and the sound of howling winds. At 3 a.m. I gave up on sleeping, rose and turned on the news channel, hoping for a report.

The report that the team was safe and Erik would survive came a few hours later after another telephone conversation with my father. We all felt incredible relief and gratitude that we hadnt lost another family member too soon. I dont think any of us was prepared for the extent of Eriks injuries.

I first saw Eriks hands at the Bjarnason family reunion in July 2005. He was on a day pass from the hospital, and his hands were encased in massive bandages. But Erik was still Erik. Despite all that hed been through, he was happy to see everyone and soon disappeared to supervise the next Bjarnason generation as they jumped off a bridge into the river (no doubt encouraged by Uncle Erik). At one point, Eriks father, Hearne, and I were chatting and then suddenly he asked where Erik had gone. We soon realized that Erik was the only adult with the kids who were in the river.

He cant get his hands wet, my uncle told me. Then he added, Oh, but he wouldnt go in the water.

I looked at him and said, If one of the kids got in trouble, do you really think he wouldnt go into the water?

We turned and ran to where Erik was, laughing and teasing the kids. The truth was, despite his significant injuries, if any of those children had been in danger in the water, Erik would have gone after them with no thought for himself. That is the type of man he is. It was how he lived his life as a firefighter and a North Shore Rescue member.

Writing this book with Erik was an emotional journey. I dont think anyone knows exactly what Erik went through on Mount Logan or afterward. But through it all, he remains pragmatic, realistic and, above all else, good-humoured. Despite all hes been through, Erik still always wants to know how