2012
Lygon Stevens died in an avalanche on January 10, 2008, while climbing Little Bear Peak in the Sangre de Cristos in Colorado. She was 20 years old. “Swept downhill over 1000 feet and buried under a mass of snow, she would not be recovered until late June when the snows melted.” (This written by her mother, Sarah Stevens, in the Preface to the book.) Her brother was with her but miraculously survived, and though injured, hiked out 8 miles over 20 hours. He had with him their camera and Lygon’s journal. This book is selected pieces from her journal along with breathtaking photographs of some of the mountains she climbed, including Denali, 4 summits in Ecuador, Mount Rainier, and ‘fourteen-ers’ in Colorado. Her journal entries reflect a relationship with God and a deep love of the Lord beyond her years! It is beautiful – she is beautiful – thank you, Lygon!
Here is just one sample of her writing from the journal entry titled, ‘Windy Corner:’
…A little to the right led to nothing at all – a deep cloud was the only hint of the depth that lay below us. The act of taking off my pack would have been a difficult, cold process, one I was unwilling to do. My hands were armed with ice axe and a pole, but I felt helpless against a mighty force that seemed to just be playing games with us. Too far apart to communicate over the wind, we each pulled forward in a lonely cocoon of roaring, merciless wind…
Eventually what was happening ahead of me disappeared from view and, left alone in a whirlwind of white silence, I felt fear begin to grip my heart. I looked down at the rope at my feet and what was before a hindrance to my step became my lifeline. It was all that would lead me out of the storm. I was helpless to do anything but follow. “Lord, you calmed the storm in the raging sea. I know you can calm this storm as well.”
…So right there, aloud, though no one could hear me but the wind itself, I called on the Lord, my God, and my prayer fell on an ear bent down, listening. I prayed not only that He calm the wind, but also that He’d be with me in the storm. As fear drained from my heart, a peace rushed in that cannot be described. My eyes filled with tears of overwhelming peace as I remembered Him. He was there, in the storm. I felt His presence so strong, as if at any minute He would gently whisper in my ear. He stood directly behind me to my right – the side that would soon drop off into oblivion and crevasses. He was so strong, stronger than the storm, stronger than the mountain. And I was not afraid.
I remember speaking aloud into the storm the promise He had given me: “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” My Lord, was the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, the very same God that years ago calmed the sea with His words and commanded the winds to be still. This very same God stood beside me now and I had nothing to fear. Song after song poured forth from my heart and I praised Him through the storm. A peace as real as the wind, a presence as real as the snow. This was the difference between the servants of the Lord and those who knew not His name. This was the difference: peace.
from Windy Corner, journal entry by Lygon Stevens
Here is Lygon’s final entry, written from her tent three days before the avalanche:
God is good, and He has a plan for our lives that is greater and more blessed than the lives we pick out for ourselves, and I am so thankful about that. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me this far and to this place. I leave the rest – my future – in those same hands and say thank you.
Lygon’s final journal entry on January 7, 2008, three days before she died in an avalanche
Here is described the search for Lygon’s body:
The story of recovering Lygon’s body is filled with testimonies of divine intervention. Family, friends, and the Alamosa Valley Search and Rescue team conducted eight searches throughout the five-and-a-half month ordeal. Testimonies include: the blue-bird escorted hike in January’s sub-zero temperatures to retrieve camping gear; the discovery on Lygon’s birthday of the pink-ribbon “highway” which allowed search teams easier access to the avalanche field; the final recovery day which the coroner’s office termed “impeccable timing.” Upon recovery, it was discovered Lygon had suffered no injuries of any kind. She was found lying on a snow pedestal, hair in braids, sunglasses and hat intact. Officials stated there was simply no evidence of the cause of death. Little Bear Peak is an area considered sacred to Native American tribes, an area known as a place in which one ascends to heaven.
from page 87 of Cairns for the Climb – from the Journals of Lygon Stevens