On June 24, 1999, I stood on the top of Denali (a.k.a. Mt. McKinley, 20,300') with my gloves off holding out my small Swiss Army knife from KeyCite while my climbing partner took a picture. Why would I do such a silly thing after 13 cold days of hard work to reach the summit of this highest peak in North America? Because Mernie Buddie, the University of Colorado's WestLaw representative, made a special effort to give me his own personal Keycite knife for the climb after I lost the one I originally received from West. I want to thank Mernie for his kindness and also for the excellent service he gives our library. And, please know that I used that pocketknife many times throughout the climb and so did my tent mates who were constantly borrowing it. Thank you Mernie!
On December 26, 1997, I carried a Shepard's gray insulated mug to the high camp on the slopes of the highest peak in South America. Aconcagua, at 23,000 feet on the border of Chile and Argentina, presents climbers with another cold challenge. Large insulated plastic mugs are used to keep drinks and food warm on such climbs. The perfect mug for my trip was the one each of us CoALL members were given when we met in Colorado Springs for a visit to the Shepard's headquarters. Unfortunately, my mug was stolen, along with some other gear that I left in a car at the trailhead when skiing to one of the 10th Mountain Division Huts near Leadville. However, Bev Agnew, a Shepard's editor who I met at the AALL annual meeting in Indianapolis, heard my tale of woe and surprised me one fine fall day with a visit to my office and a brand new Shepard's mug! That mug served me well for the entire climb on Aconcagua and I treasure it to this day. Thank you Bev! (Yes, this is the same Bev Agnew who later joined our library faculty at the University of Colorado.)
I know we CoALL librarians all rely heavily on the products of Westlaw and Lexis in our jobs at work and we value the service we receive from our sales representatives. But I wanted to report that I also rely on Westlaw and Lexis while I'm recharging my batteries climbing the highest peaks I can find.