My climbing partners and I were kidnapped and held hostage for a week before we conspired to throw a guy off a cliff to escape. AMA!

Every time I see documentaries/movies/tv shows about guys like you, people who spend their time climbing mountains, travelling around the world, being kidnapped by Kyrgystanians (?), the very first thing that comes to me is not how awesome it is (and it is), by how do you support yourself financially?

If I put a backpack on my back right now and go live some amazing life adventure on a foreign land, I know that one month from now I will be poor, hungry and with a lot of bills to pay. And on the top of some mountain, which is not the best place to be poor, hungry and with bills to pay.

So... whats the secret? Is there some organization paying people for travelling around the world? Are you a treasure hunter like Lara Croft? Are you super rich? Are plane tickets cheaper for you for some esoteric reason?

Thanks in advance.

Actually, I am into metal detecting but it has only netted maybe $1000 loose change and one gold ring.

I was a professional climber working for The North Face. They sponsored this trip. I also had a job in the RD&D department (I'm called Singer because I sew and build things). Afterward, we sold the story for a book and movie. Cheap countries made more sense.

Wow! How did you net a sponsorship? I'd imagine they don't approach random climbers on a regular basis.

I was basically insane.

Do you still resent your kidnapper? It seems like you took what he did remarkably well.

I never did. Of the four of them, three were super cool kids who were psyched to be hanging out with foreigners. They were actually having a struggle between being good kidnappers and being good hosts.

Even in the middle of it, I completely understood their position. The hard part was the reality that they had to die. It is pretty black and white as soon as people start hitting the ground dead.

How did the other guys die?

Firefight, if i recall, when they went to kill a goat for us. And Adbul attacked a soldier taking a dump and got shot.

I don't know why, but just in the middle of all this seriousness, reading that Abdul attacked a soldier taking a dump and got shot made me laugh out loud. Although it really isn't a laughing matter for the situation as a whole, but just the way you put it almost as a foot note "oh yea and Abdul got shot by a soldier on the shitter"

Yes, we had a good laugh about it with the special ops soldiers. Imagine the guy with his pants down wrestling with him.

Why did your kidnappers kill a goat for you?

They were (they said) going to get one so we could all eat.

Have you heard of Stockholm Syndrome?

Yes. Not what we had going. Those guys were willing to run in front of police gunfire to protect those guys. I was using deception to kill them.

You can't judge a person's motivations by their actions. Just because you understand where somebody is coming from doesn't make what they do right, and doesn't mean you support them.

For what reason were they holding you hostage?

Their story was that they just wanted to live in the mountains, herd goats and pray. There's a guy who is president in their country who is real bad (fact, he's called Karimov). Their boss was going to get on the phone with Bill Clinton and sort it all out. I didn't have a lot of faith in that so stuck with the plan of killing them and escaping.

So did they think Bill Clinton was going to pay your ransom?

Yes. I did not.

What...How does kidnapping some mountain climbers help them live on a mountain with goats?

Money to devote to fighting their evil government, I assume.

I have often wondered why regular people like yourself wander so casually about in dangerous areas of the world that are rife with political turmoil, corruption, wars and populated with people whose religions are so against westerners. What were you thinking? Seriously, what outcome were you expecting and how did your overall experience meet up with that expectation.

First of all, thank you for you kind tone even though you're skeptical. People are people; if you treat them with kindness you'll usually get it in return. Oakland is way scarier than most places I've been and 4 people were robbed at gunpoint in the Mission last week. The idea that everybody hates us is an absolute myth. The Quran teaches that travelers are a gift from God and that it is their duty as good Muslims to take care of you. The hospitality is off the charts in many Islamic countries; you can't stop people from giving you everything. Also, they all have governments that they hate too and they don't tend to associate people with their government like we do. 15 years ago, I could never have imagined how much worse things would have gotten; it is really heartbreaking.

Obligatory double gold edit: Thanks! I just want to add that people don't normally do things to harm other people, they do things to help themselves. Here is one of the relevant verses (22:46)

"Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts."

can you tell a bit more about the hospitality of your kidnappers? looking back on it, do you think you could have won them over somehow?

We did win them over; that was my strategy from the start. To close the distance that they were comfortable having us near them; to convince them that we were on the same side and working together. When we would get to rock that you had to climb up or down, they would call me up to the front, ask what to do, then give me their guns which I would wear and we'd all coach them through.

When we escaped the major gunfight on day one there was still four of them and four of us. At the first point we got to where we could rest and consider that we were still alive, Obert pulled five pieces of hard candy (like Jolly Ranchers) out of his pocket and took a good long look at them in his palm. This was about the only food we had (we had 1/2 a Powerbar each for the first 3 days). He looked at us, looked at his friends, then took one and gave the rest to us. That when I knew they could be won over and we were going to beat them.

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tell us more about the gunfight: who was shooting who, who got killed...

The Army was shooting at us. Them on one side of the valley, us on the other. I don't know how many of the soldiers, if any, they plugged but none of us got tagged although it was extremely close with mortars raining around us.

Four in the beginning, then two left on the first night - after the hard candy exchange- and got killed. No English whatsoever.

Were the guns they gave you loaded? If so did you think of using them?

Presumably. Of course. Low probability outcome - too many variables, like not knowing if they were loaded.

Jeez, and that split second decision to move the log from under Abdul's feet in the river or help him pass. But then you don't know if the other guy will shoot you. That was the hardest part of reading that story for me.

Glad you guys got out of that safely.

Low probability. He may have washed up on our side of the creek 20 feet away, still with his pistol and hand grenade. Yes, Su standing guard on the other side.

I don't understand. Elsewhere in the thread you said they fired a few warning shots at you and you got the message and they took you captive, but yet here you're saying you were in a major gunfight? Were these two separate events?

Yes. Capture vs 6 hours later and miles away in another valley.

There's a couple of Amazon reviews that point out other things.

A few are fairly convinced that this situation didn't actually happen like the book makes out:

"another version puts it this way: They got kidnapped, the kidnappers were not prepared to babysit four climbers and did not have enough food or water for everyone. They got no support from local villagers so they let the climbers go. End of Story.

The climbers say they pushed a kidnapper to his death and then ran the equivalent of a marathon across mountainous terrain with no food or water, after having had no food or water for days.... not likely. In Kyrgyztsan at the time, most ex-pats had the same opinion of these four: "Stupid rich kids in over their heads who greatly exaggerated their story." "

What do you think of these stories? how have they come about?

People say crazy shit based mostly on what they want to believe and because it makes them feel good to spout negativity. News story are almost always incorrect, even though they contain some element of truthiness. Then people latch onto imperfections in what they read and suddenly the whole thing is fake. These kind of things used to really upset me but I've gotten over it. Nobody says that stuff to my face. Read the comment section of any newspaper story on the internet. How anyone else, like some guy who worked in Bishkek and heard us slandered at expat dinner parties, purports to know anything about what happened out there is sure a mystery.

I experienced this first hand in 1999; a family member drowned in a national park. Three different news stations ran to the scene, spoke to people who claimed they were witnesses, and ended up reporting three different versions of "how" she died.

I had to go to the park service to pick up her personal effects, and I spoke to the first park ranger to be on the scene, and the ranger who built the rescue rig to pull her out of the rocks. They both told me NONE of the three reports were true. These poor souls were very traumatized by trying and failing to save a life, and all I could do is be there to listen to their story.

Why wasn't their story on the news? Because the news crews weren't supposed to interfere with the scene, so they just grabbed passersby. Those passersby said whatever they guessed had happened without knowing for certain, and the crews beamed their "breaking report" back to HQ before any corroboration.

It really infuriated me for a time; 15 years later, I can put myself in the shoes of all the different parties a little better. The reporters were expected to send a report back ASAP because their bosses wanted it on the air sooner than the other stations. The passersby wanted to know exactly what happened themselves, so had their own ideas, and were encouraged to share them. And after the initial break, the facts were just inconvenient - and ultimately, didn't change anything.

You know in your heart what happened. If you misrepresented your story for profit, you have to live with that. If you have presented all things as objectively as you can, then anything other people say to challenge that is just noise.

Thank you, you are exactly correct. This is how reading the news can actually make people less informed about the world because they get infected with the belief that they know what happened. Critical thinking is all too absent in society and not taught in school anymore. People are drone that are programed to work and produce so the government can tax eventing they they do and keep the machine going. Journalists have to sell a story, a story people want to buy, a story that looks good on their resume. You always have to stop and consider what a person's motivations are for what they are doing. Watch what people do, their words are nearly meaningless in interpreting their actions.

When they shot at you guys, were they warning shots or fortunate misses?

Two warning shots in the air. Then one into the rock between us, about ten feet above. That got the message across.

1) What exactly was going through your head when you made the decision to throw a man off a cliff?

2) What was it like being out of society? Peaceful? Stressful?

Glad to see your improving!

1) What exactly was going through your head when you made the decision to throw a man off a cliff?

It took us about four hours to figure out that we were hostages. After that realization, it took me about 30 seconds to realize that at least one, and probably all four, of these guys had to die. My partners were completely opposed at first and Tommy was completely until the moment he snapped and did it. It was a complex situation that is hard to describe briefly, but John and I had been looking for the right spot for two hours as we moved up the mountain. When I knew it was happening that night the feeling was pure elation. The hard part was that I liked the kid.

2) What was it like being out of society? Peaceful? Stressful?

You can never understand yourself, and your own culture, fully until you step completely outside of it for a significant period. That's the difference between holiday/vacation and traveling. I went where the wind blew and had no plans whatsoever. I was all about getting to know people, their families, their villages, there children, helping in the rice fields, asking a gazillion questions. Cutting loose like that for years is pure peace. I used to sometimes travel for a few months with all my stuff in a plastic bag from 7-11 [one extra shirt, toothbrush/paste, sarong, iPod/headphones, current stock of books).

Thanks! Rock on!

How does it take four hours to realise you were kidnapped?

They were shooting at you, then you sat down and had a chat for some reason, then you tried to leave and they stopped you? I'm having a hard time comprehending all this?

How can women not know they are being raped, when they are actually being raped? The human mind is very powerful and can rationalize just about anything (take Dick Cheney, for example). When you're dealing with an even that is completely outside of anything you ever thought was possible for yourself, and it's something that's extremely unpleasant to accept, you can tell yourself lots of things that simply are not true. We weren't tied up and they weren't poking us with guns and saying, "Dirka muhammad dirka dirka." I was in a boat once with my wife that was clearly sinking and none of the other 12 idiots wanted to accept it and start helping us bail it out even though we were screaming at them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns

"Psychoanalytic philosopher Slavoj Žižek says that beyond these three categories there is a fourth, the unknown known, that which we intentionally refuse to acknowledge that we know"

Who would you cast to play you in the movie of your life?

Bill Murray

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Haha. I'd definitely go that route! He was nice, but the other two who got killed were cool as shit. The commander Adbul wasn't the worst, but he could have been if he wanted to.

What are the next three things you want to accomplish, see or learn?

Very good question, thank you.

I want to spread my story though speaking. The message is centered around how to understand the world, other people and why they do the things they do. Everybody does what is in their own best interest and understanding leads to mutual kindness and benefit. You can't judge other's motivations by their actions.

The Horn of Africa, by foot.

I study languages and would like to be fluent in Arabic.

I love this specific question/answer, thank you for answering it and for the AMA.

I just poured through this entire AMA, so, what books do you recommend reading? (Not climbing-related)

Also, as a fellow lover and student of languages, Arabic is really freaking fun. Weird constructions, but they're fairly easy to grasp and sound really nice (eloquent). Be careful with correct pronunciations! Goodluck!

The classics of Greece and Rome. Roman history. Shooting at the Moon, about Laos. Will teach you a lot about the bad things our government does that people have no idea about. The first 10 or so chapters of Human Action.

Holy crap Jason, it's Jason from Pangnirtung this summer! I had found a Telegraph article about your story, but you definitely know it better than anyone else!

Do you have any tips on becoming a better climber? I've gotten much more serious about it after I got back, and had a great trip down to Joshua Tree National Park in California for some bouldering with my friends last month. I'd really like to improve my skills to one day make it up Mount Thor (though not solo as you did...).

For anyone who doesn't know, Mount Thor's main face is the world's largest natural vertical drop at 1,250m! I've been told that Jason climbed this face when he was just 19!

Hey dude!

Man, it was epic up there this year after all the sea ice and bad weather. I soloed Asgard in around 3 hours but didn't take a rope to get down and had to wait for 18 hours for my friends to catch up. Almost froze to death, again.

Slacklining and top-roping hard stuff over and over again until you have it wired.

Great to hear you're getting after it! Stay in touch.

Wow, what a story! Let me ask a basic question - like how did you guys get to go to the bathroom? Did they let you pee and poop? Not kidding, I am always curious. Is it like the movies where they watch you or did they just expect you to defecate on yourself?

Thanks for the AMA!

We didn't shit for over a week because we weren't eating. We had half a Powerbar a day for the first three days then nothing. We only got water once a night, usually, so we wouldn't have been peeing a lot either. Anyway, six people fan out over 10 or 15 meters hiking so it's easy to step aside and they were quite decent guys.

What did you you see in your nightmarish hallucination?

I was back on the mountain when we were literally passing out from hypothermia and seconds away from death. The ice was closing in around me and I knew I had to break it to get out. I started screaming, running forward, and windmilling my fists.

In reality, the ice was the window in the emergency shelter we had got to that Cedar was sleeping under. So imagine his surprise.

Holy shit dude. That is an intense story. Thanks for doing this AMA.

I know by your 2001 story that you hiked after your kidnapping. How did the kidnapping affected your hiking experiences?

Also, how was your life before the kidnapping?

Thanks again for doing this. Hope your life is only filled with happiness from now on.

How did the kidnapping affected your hiking experiences? I appreciate the journey and the people I meet along the way rather then being focused on my own goals and an arbitrary summit.

Also, how was your life before the kidnapping?

Pretty good, as a sponsored athlete. But also self-absorbed and unable to see it, like many people, so I would never go back. Climbers need to stop and look around a bit more often because they go to such amazing parts of the world and pass most of on the way to their goal

Thanks for the kindness and take care.

What did you take away from this experience that you'd like the world to know about?

People are all basically the same and always have been. Everybody does what is best for themselves based on the information they have available and their cultural background. Romans threw their kids in the river in winter to weed out the bad soldiers early. Having a bad soldier was bad for them, bad for the child, and bad for society; they were just trying to do the right thing for everybody.

How did Turat's family respond to you telling them what happened?

With gratitude. His mother said she wished I had used him for a bullet shield because he would have been proud to know that he could save our live after he was dead.

How do you feel personally about Caldwell's recent success at El Cap and do you think it will change climbing?

Tommy blows my mind. I don't have the capacity to understand how he does it. His free climbing on El Cap has already changed climbing in the sense that he's 10 or 20 years ahead of the game.

What did you do for 10 years in Asia? Where were you? What did you learn?

I was all over Asia and Europe mostly for about 6, then I moved to Australia with my wife. I was in Laos for a year, Cambodia for a year, Thailand for several. We've been places like Albania, Kashmir, and Kazakhstan. All over.

Treat others with kindness and generosity. Do more than your part with a smile. Take a course in economics.

how do you even afford all this? how can you afford to travel whilst hiking all the time in so many places? I work 40 hours a week and barely have money to get to the next state and enjoy myself let alone go to asia, europe, greece, south of china, australia and back to san franciso...

My wife and I are extremely frugal. We make all our food from scratch. I repair my minimal clothes. We live in a shoebox. No car. No alcohol. No kids. No entertainment. Restaurant once a month. We know what we want, and eliminate all kinds of other stuff. People think we are crazy but we don't have debt and they have lots. Debt costs money.

First: Do you think your kidnapper looks ridiculously photogenic?

Second: Have you stopped climbing? Seems like it's bad ju ju.

Yeah, a bit I guess. He was pretty happy to see us. I think he thought we were there to get him out of prison.

I don't climb much.

Did he let out a satisfying "AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa" going down?

He looked straight at me and was very confused. I was his friend who kept him safe and he couldn't figure out what happened. He hit the ground right in front of me and his whole body let out a crack like a gunshot. I felt bad.

I gotta say... This is a fucking amazing story. What was the end game for the kidnappers here? Do you know where they were taking you and what their intentions were?

Probably Tajikistan or Afghanistan. We could have been on our way to chill down with bin Laden. Who knows? Their story was that their boss was going to get on the phone with Bill Clinton, sort it all out, and we'd go home. Yeah, right.

Damn. What a story!

So, what would you say is something every person needs to do or experience, or, what piece of advice is your favorite?

Cut loose from your life and travel for at least a year. Get on your own two feet and walk into really remote places and pedestrian societies.

You cannot judge a person's motivations by their actions.

Treat people with kindness and generosity.

I want to do this, but I'm a little more hesitant due to being a woman and being unable to defend myself. Would learning self defense adequately offset being weaker?

1- Good self defense is situational awareness and avoiding situations all together. Simply being aware of your surroundings makes you not the best target. Rule #1 Never, ever, let somebody take you to Location "B"!: if somebody is trying to force you into a car or down an alley, you have to fight for your life right there and then.

2- Choose you destinations wisely when you're alone, and travel with others when it's appropriate.

3- As a woman, dress more modestly than even the local women do. It sends a message to leave you alone.

4- Carry an expanding steel club if you're scared or in a weird place.

Hey man, don't know why people are giving you so much shit other than they're fedora'd neckbeards with nothing better to do but you seem like a pretty decent dude to me, so, fuck em. As a fellow "jump in front of a car" person, how do you deal with your depression? Meds helped for a bit but I'm off all of em and don't really give a fuck anymore. What works for you?

Thanks, dude, I really appreciate the kind thoughts. I don't deal. I was a pretty heavy pot smoker for along time but quit recently and don't feel a change. I've never done meds. Jiu jitsu is good for me and getting outside into the mountains. I try to generate a lot of kindness and generosity toward others and that makes me feel good.

What kind of books did you immerse yourself in, which were your favourites and why, and did they actually help you in your isolation (for want of a better word)?

Reading shapes your character and offers perspective. Aristotle wrote that the mark of intelligence is to be able to understand and idea, mull it over, without taking it on. The literatures of Greece and Rome cover a span of thousands of years covering nearly everything that the human mind has been busy exploring. Read these and you'll absorb that perspective.

LOTS of war/history. Classic literature, heavy on the Russians. Memoirs for awhile. I went through an oil/petroleum geology phase which ultimately led to my passion in economics - which is the single most valuable tool for understanding everything in the world. I'll read just about anything; I learned neat stuff in a book about breeding carrier pigeons.

This is a truly amazing story. My question is, what are you doing now? Before this happened, you were obviously a very interesting person, and then you continued that with traveling. What do you do with your time now?

I was back in the Arctic climbing this summer and then spent a few months walking around the mountains in the States. I'm cross-stitching a picture of the King of Thailand feeding his dogs. I go to jiu jitsu and get really good at breaking legs. I'm working on my speech and a book when I can. Writing it causes my significant stress-realated problems so it comes in spurts.

Looking back at what happened, would you have done anything differently?

After we threw Su off we should have run for a couple of hours and hunkered down until daylight. Instead, we were ambushed by the Army and ended up dodging bullets like in The Matrix. I can't believe we're not dead.

Why was the army (which army?) only a few hours from your location in the remote mountains?

Pedestrian traffic through the mountain passes. Securing their borders.

Who's your favorite Pokémon?

What's a Poke Man?

How easy is life with so much money that you can go on a 10 year long holiday in asia?

Not at all. I have severe metal problems and think a lot everyday about jumping in front of a train or off a bridge. So thanks for your contribution to that, it's very kind and thoughtful.

1. What made you go back to visit your kidnapper?
2. How young were they and why were they doing it?
3. How did it all lead up to Tommy throwing him off the cliff? Did you guys book it afterwards or what?

1. Book research. I liked him. The idea of being able to talk with translators was interesting.

2. Three were 19 or so, commander maybe late 30's. Money, $500, I hear. Because their lives are in a desperate situation because of American cotton subsidies -long story there.

3. John and I were trying to move in closer and Tommy snapped. It's probably best to read it in the article. Yes, ran for 4 hours, got ambushed by the Army then fed sardines.

How is your jiujitsu training going?

Currently, it keeps me sane. I train at 10th Planet in San Francisco with Denny Prokopos.

How did you feel when you found out su had survived?

Absolute disbelief and shock. Do I think he would have been better off to die there in the mountains than in prison with a bullet? Yes. But he may still be alive in prison, I don't know.

Hey man, as someone who has been exposed to the lesser sides of the world I just wanted to say I am proud of you guys making the right decision that permitted you to get out of that situation. I'm glad you are all safe and hope that you can adequately cope with your new view of reality. You'll be changed forever, but think you will be more complete people because of it. I had actually heard your story a while ago and had been telling lots of my friends about it since the incident as an example of regular civilians making the right decisions and fending for themselves. Lots of guys are proud that you handled yourselves so well. Take care out there!

edit: apparently I have to ask a question since this got removed by the mods, so what's your favorite pizza?

Thank you, that is very kind and thoughtful. I'm very troubled, however, by the man I was not able to save when he asked me to help him.

Whatever my wife's mother makes.

What did you feel before after and during the throw? (before you knew he survived?)

I felt very little before, and extreme exhilaration after. But we still had a big adventure ahead of us.

Jason, I am a man of mountains, as well. Growing up, I spent summers in Mineral King, CA and I love the wilderness forever. Now I live in Colorado. I am lucky, mine is a beautiful life. I work with kids and teens in adventure camp settings. My question: Around the world, what are powerful life lessons that mountain people teach their children and how do they do it? Thank you.

I think the powerful lessons come out in the nature of the lifestyle, hard work, and inherant responsibility. Personal responsibility is falling off in this country as well as the willingness/duty to help those around you in need. You are lucky, take care.

This is the first time ive ever commented on anything on reddit, and it isnt even a question for your AMA. My bad..

I would just like to state that this story youve told is amazing. Speaking for groups will be what you recognize as a corner turned when you look back - Lets say, a sort of closure, the last few steps youve needed to finish your pursuit of happiness. You wont just recover from your past experiences with battle scars youve learned to cope with, but you will find yourself improved, evolved and brilliant. You will see life panoramically and confidence building wont even be a concept you think of anymore. If your life follows the path youre taking now everything wont be okay it will be even better and richer than you imagined. So yeah, no questions but just a congratulations to you, and youve inspired me to keep my life together.

--reddit deleted my comment due to it not being a question but thats easily fixed with this:

?

Thanks very much for you kind words. I really appreciate it and hope you are right.

Take care.

I heard on NPR that this experience was extremely troubling to you, yet this post seems almost whimsical. What up with that?

From what I heard on NPR though you do sound like one of the best climbers in the world so good for you. You are the guy with his finger sawed off right? I'm not thinking of someone else who threw a kidnapper off a cliff?

No, Tommy is the finger cutter. I'm not that great of a climber, I just didn't care if I died.

Nobody has touched on the horrible parts yet. I'll cry soon enough, don't worry.

What horrible parts?

Looking a guy straight in the eyes when he asked me to help him save his life and telling him, "No". Spending the afternoon sitting on his body. Meeting his mother and whole family and telling them all about it.

Why did you tell him no?

Im a climber trying to get into alpinism. Knowing what you know now, do you think the risk outweighs the rewards? Either way, what are your feelings on that, especially now that it further in the past.

Thanks, and good luck on your travels.

Because he wanted me and him to take two tent stakes and charge three guys with rifles from 45 feet. Also, I had just moments earlier worked out that we were indeed hostages and was still adjusting to that reality.

Wow! Helluva experience! Thanks for sharing. You described these 2 very intense events, to me you seem like an interesting person, so what would you consider your third most intense moment in the past years?

My wife and I were almost literally eaten alive by sheep dogs in Kurdistan. It was fucking horrific.

Runner up would be a car chase through Inglewood after my friend almost lost his eye trying to repo a Cadillac.

You really need to stop visiting countries that end in "stan".

But Tajikistan and Afghanistan are so high on the list right now...

I'd watch a movie about you. Follow up question, totally serious now that I touched the subject, who would you want to play you in a movie? EDIT: You should stop doing things.

Bill Murray. This answer has been the same for 15 years.

I'm so thankful that you all survived; I just read all of the articles you posted, and I have so many questions but guess I shall stick to one. My best friend and her then-boyfriend were held hostage in Mexico and survived. Thereafter when trying to explain to me how it altered the way she lives, she finally concluded, "it's like you go through your whole life oblivious to danger, and now on every corner, and with every person I meet, I see the potential for darkness and death." My question is, has this fundamentally altered the way you interact with others on a day to day basis? Does time heal something this extraordinary? Is it with you all the time or do you ever forget it happened and get to simply exist?

Okay that was a deluge of questions so feel free to answer one/none. Thanks so much for doing this ama.

Your friend hit the nail on the head. There is danger and darkness everywhere. I won't even stand a crosswalk after I push the button; I take several steps back to the corner of the nearest building so I can watch traffic in two directions. It boggles my mind to see people step into a crosswalk simply because the green/white man popped up and never bother to look. There are a lot more people who came really close to getting themselves killed and actually succeeded than there are people who came really close, realized it, learned something, and manage to convey that to others. We are all one stupid mistake away from lights out.

I'm much more attuned to considering what other people's motivations might be, and observing everything other than what they actually say. Time can heal a bit, but some changes (innocence, ignorance) never change back. I'll never forgot some things. I think about Turat almost everyday of my life and it makes me cry pretty easily sometimes. I really struggle with that one.

Thank you for the kindness, ask all the questions that you want.

Sorry for what you experienced, but I feel like you came out of it a better, more knowledgeable person than most of us will be. Also, as an immigrant from a Muslim country, I'm glad that those events did not completely taint your perspective of the whole people.

Two questions:

1. Have you been climbing much since you escaped to Asia? If not, have you considered restarting?

2. Before your trip, did you guys do any research that suggested something like this could be possible? If so, did you take any precautions?

1. I climb on occasion, almost never with a rope so it's really hiking. It's just hiking that would scare many climbers.

2. Early in the internet era, there wasn't a ton of info available and it's always hard to really understand the situation on the ground. There were loads of other climbers there (Australians, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians) some of which were captured and released the same day and there have been climbers there every year since. The precaution was taking a helicopter into a remote place and assuming that we were up in the mountains, surrounded by Army (who gave us a permit), and out of harm's way.

Did you suffer from traumatic brain injury due to the rockfall?

I was hit in the leg, right on top of my knee. Loaf of bread sized chunk of granite. It hurt a lot.

I do BJJ too, you mentioned it changing your life. To a certain degree Jiu Jitsu has forced me to face a lot of personal issues as well. Apart from the obvious physical aspect, what does it do for you?

Controlling emotions and ego; not caring about getting tapped. Being comfortable and relaxed in really uncomfortable spots. Being able to speak my mind, calmly and politely, when somebody needs to be told they're being a dick.

Were you given anything to eat while you were kidnapped? If so, what did you eat?

We had half a Powerbar each for the first three days. Then we pantomimed eating whatever we wanted.

Wow, an entire powerboat? You guys must've been stuffed.

haha. Powerbar.

Hoooooly shit Tommy Caldwell threw a guy off a cliff? That's insane.

What's been your favorite place to climb and why? Are there any good, lesser-known paths in SEA?

I like cracks and mileage: Indian Creek for the solitude and desert, and Yosemite for what it is.

Angkor Wat is mind blowing no matter how many people are there; the place is huge, walk away. The Laos/Cambodia border region and the areas out East of Attapeu. Waaaay off the path, awesome jungles, mountains, and intact sections of the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Any idea what happened to Abdul?

A soldier was taking a dump and Abdul popped up in front of him with his pistol. The soldier jumped on him, wrestled the gun away and emptied it into his chest.

You mention that your kidnappers were kids. About how old were they?

Three were nineteenish, commander was late 30s, maybe.