Today I was saddened to learn of the passing of a great man. I was privileged to have contact with Doctor Charlie. He was a gentleman of the old school and one of the finest kind considerate humans I have known. Ironically I have a book waiting for his signature, something he often did for me with great courtesy. One year he sent a journal from his Banff conference unasked for on my part. When his 5th edition going higher book camp out I once again called him and he graciously spent a lot of time on the phone talking about teaching high altitude with me. I told him that I thought he had written the most amazing book and he proceeded in real modesty to tell me, no it was me teaching the altitude knowledge to students that was more important. This past July at the WMS meeting I talked about him to another Wilderness Medicine Gentleman Doctor, Blair Erb [about Doctor Charlie] and I asked Him why he thought He was such a gentleman of great kindness, Blair said he thought it was a because he had lived through so many hard times in the world that he saw the correct way to live. Blair in my opinion is in the same fine vain as Doctor Charlie. Both of them reminds me of both Sir Edmond Hillary and Warren Bowman [the great ski instructor Doc- what a writer] who I was also fortunate to have been with on several occasions. These Men are precious but passing national, nay world treasures. Doc Charlie was one of the finest-30-