The Nightstand Climber

"The Nightstand Climber" follows Janet Christiansen's climbing adventures as she copes with congestive heart failure. Unpredictable weather, large hurricanes menacing the lower latitudes, and threats of planned power outages in 90/90 weather gave that summer a unique 'signature' and made for an unforgettable experience. Her attempts to keep climbing in the face of health scares led her to self-discovery, reconciliation, and unbelievable strength.

Unpredictable weather, large hurricanes menacing the lower latitudes, and threats of planned power outages in 90/90 weather lent a unique set of challenges to Janet Christiansen's first summer rock climbing. Something else began that summer as well, as her replacement mitral (heart) valve from 2016 began showing signs of failure. As her condition worsened, she learned to adapt her climbing routine to compensate for her situation. She left all her gear, not just climbing rope, stashed where she anticipated climbing next and switched to dawn patrol for her hikes up into the hills, but eventually there was nothing more she could do. Janet closed out her climbing days with one last climb on a perfect day. A farewell to arms but with no regrets. She had done more with climbing than she ever thought possible, embracing the sport to the fullest for as long as she could. How well one climbs or what one climbs is merely a context for doing what you love most.

Janet Christiansen graduated from Cornell University in 1983 with a B.S. in Biochemistry. She started a doctoral program in Pharmacology at Cornell but moved to California in 1989 and never completed the program. After several years of a nomadic existence as an itinerant bike race and triathlon junkie, she settled into software engineering for twenty-five years. She picked up the sport of climbing later in life and became a fulltime outdoor junkie after retiring in May 2020.