I cannot believe how quickly ONE year can pass by. This time last year a community of people had their lives turned upside down. On April 29, 2007 we lost our good friend Alan Rooney to a climbing accident in the Tetons. Another good man, Jonathan Morrow, also lost his life in the same accident.

Losing Alan to the mountains was not a big surprise to most who knew him well. He lived and played hard in the hills. It was his life, his religion, his true love. The real surprise was the major void that was left in a community of people who were deeply affected by Alan’s life and friendship.

It is common to try to connect with loved ones that have passed on. In sort of a selfish manor we are trying to grasp onto some sort of connection. You might think that a rainbow, a lightning strike, a bird, a gust of wind is actually that person showing you a sign. A sign that they are okay. I am not one for oogie boogie, but I do feel deeply that we are connected to people we love through various signs.

Over the past year, various stories of Ravens and a very rare North wind has been reported by many of us when Alan has been on our minds. Again, we might just be trying to grasp on to any connection we can, but the similarities and energy is enough to make us all believe it’s Alan.

This past Tuesday, 5 of us and my dog, Wrigley headed out into Teton National Park to remember or buddy Al. Al’s ashes came along for the ride. Like usual the wind was nuking from the southwest. Therefore, we were pushed right along North along the Park road. The road is closed to cars until May 1 so it was beautiful and quiet. We chose a perfect spot to view the Grand and then cracked open some beers. At this point the memories, the stories, the laughs and the tears started flowing. We all grabbed a bit of Alan’s ashes and set our intentions. We tossed them to the wind, over some trees and even sprinkled some into an amazing mountain lion track that that was near by. During the time the wind would occasionally just stop, then start nuking again, and then it would shift. The clouds would blow in and out of the Grand view. Then, the wind starting blowing from the North. Normally when pedaling out on the park road you get the wind at your back and then you suffer the entire way back. Well on this night the wind shifted just as we headed back to our cars. We were deeply touched and amazed at how close we felt to Al. Considering Alan’s nickname was “EPIC AL”, we figured he would bring on extra winds, rain and snow just to keep up with tradition. Not this time, we all rode back together, just as it got dark, in total peace.

We miss you Alan. I’ll be seeing you with the next North Wind.