Daihong Chen marveled at the majesty of mountains.As an avid climber, she believed she was the company of nature.
Daihong Chen marveled at the majesty of mountains.
As an avid climber, she believed she was in the company of nature, not a conqueror of it.
“Based on her upbringing, being raised in a small town in China, walking over mountains, miles to see family, that's what she grew up with,” said her husband Bryan Digel.
Chen would offer a prayer to a mountain before a big climb – a humble acknowledgment that she was there to enjoy its beauty and majesty, requesting safe passage.
Chen grew up in rural China and pursued education, which led her first to Georgia and then to Seattle. She met Digel while running on Queen Anne, and when he asked what her goals were, she said she wanted to climb Mount Rainier.
Chen went on to summit Mount Rainier five times. It was one of 100 peaks she climbed across three continents.
On July 19, Chen was attempting another summit of Mount Rainier along with Digel and his son, Terrance.
They had planned to trek up the Disappointment Cleaver route – 1,200 vertical feet of rock.
“You start in the middle of the night, because that's the safest time,” said Digel. “The mountain is kind of glued in place as much as it can be.”
Digel took the lead, Terrence was in the middle, and Daihong was at the back.
“It was probably 2:15 in the morning,” said Digel. “I heard yelling up above and actually like a scream.”
Digel said he saw rocks coming down. He yelled, “Rocks!” and stepped to the right.
Among the smaller rocks, he saw a boulder – about the size of an SUV – tumbling down toward them.
He looked back and saw that Terrence was safe, but Daihong was down. Her eyes were closed. She had taken the impact of the boulder.
“We started performing CPR,” said Digel. “If you know anything about CPR, it helps for 15 or 20 minutes. I gave her CPR for an hour and a half because what else are you going to do, right?”
Daihong died on the mountain. Digel and others sat with her body until daylight and an airlift could safely arrive.
“Our last moments with her were one of the more beautiful sunrises we've seen on the mountain,” said Digel. “Which, in reflection, is poetic in a way.”
Mount Rainier National Park completed its investigation, saying natural mountain activity typical for this time of year caused the rockfall.
“For whatever reason at that exact second in the universe the mountain decided this rock is gonna go,” said Digel. “Ten seconds before or after it's a story we share.”
Digel says Daihong would want him to keep climbing, but he won't – he can’t – at least for now.
He and Daihong shared a 7-year-old daughter who Digel says he wants to focus on.
“It's survival mode, and just kind of blocking things out is what we need to do in these weeks to find a sense of normalcy and put things back together,” said Digel.
