The name Jack Roberts is once again making waves within the climbing world, thanks to Broomfield High School’s beloved Spanish teacher, Pam Roberts, and Jack’s climbing partner, Simon McCartney. McCartney’s book, The Bond, was released in late July and is already nominated for two major awards for mountain literature.

McCartney and Jack Roberts became famous for their innovations in climbing on their ascents of Mt. Huntington and Mt. Denali, but they lost touch after McCartney quit climbing. After Jack passed away, Simon reached out to Pam and learned how well known the climbing duo had become to other climbers. With Pam’s help, McCartney wrote The Bond, detailing his experiences with Jack and how climbing affected their lives.

In 1978, Simon McCartney met fellow climber Jack Roberts in a bar in Chamonix, France. The two quickly became friends and decided they would embark on a brand new route up Mt. Huntington in Alaska. Roberts and McCartney came up with new climbing techniques that put them on the map in the climbing community. They went at a much faster pace than was done before, and their climbing was much more intense with no fixed ropes. They were the first to ascend this route, and to this day no other climber has even attempted it. After solidifying themselves as genuine mountaineers, they did a few of their own climbs throughout the rest of the year, eventually joining forces to take on Mt. Denali (aka Mt. Mckinley). Little did they know, Mt. Denali would be a whole new experience compared to Huntington.

Jack enjoys the first day of sun after a spell of bad weather on Mt. Huntington.

Roberts and McCartney began their next big climb on the southwest route of Mt. Denali near Anchorage, Alaska. Once again, this route had never been attempted by another climber, but the two were up for the challenge. Things took a turn for the worse near the peak when McCartney came down with cerebral edema, a dangerous progression of altitude sickness. Roberts was also frostbitten, and the two had been out of food for six days. The Bond recounts the actions Roberts took in order for the two of them to survive their ascent up Mt. Denali.

McCartney quit climbing after this traumatic experience, but he would eventually return to the climbing community through The Bond.

After Denali, McCartney not only disappeared from mountaineering but seemingly the world in general. McCartney moved to an island off of the coast of Hong Kong, which made it difficult for other climbers to reach him, especially Roberts. “Jack was conflicted by losing touch with Simon,” said Mrs. Roberts. “Here they had done two of the most significant climbing routes of their time, and Jack’s partner was nowhere to be found.” Although Jack Roberts and Simon McCartney never crossed paths again, McCartney would later form a great friendship with Pam Roberts.

During her pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Mrs. Roberts stopped in a Spanish cafe to grab a cup of tea and check her email. She received a message from McCartney who was looking for his late climbing partner, Jack Roberts. McCartney and Mrs. Roberts formed a strong bond, and about four years ago Simon decided he would write a book about his climbing adventures and how it changed their lives. Mrs. Roberts helped connect McCartney with the other climbers they knew and their rescuers on Denali, along with providing photos and other information necessary for the book. After almost five years of work, McCartney and Jack Roberts’ story is out for the world to read.

Simon and Pam together at Mt. Huntington.

The Bond is nominated for The Boardman-Tasker Award and the Grand Prize in the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival; both highly prestigious nominations in the climbing and literary community.  Pam and Simon will be heading to Banff, Canada in the beginning of November to attend press conferences for the book and see if The Bond will be victorious at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. They’ll also be flying to Kendal, England to do the same for the Boardman Tasker Award. Simon’s been reunited with the climbing world thanks to The Bond. Mrs. Roberts said, “The Bond is our gift to Jack, and that feels pretty great.”

The Bond is available online and at your local bookstore in paper and hardback editions.