In Memoriam
Scott Sandberg (1970-2002)
Scott Sandberg was an active member of the AMC Boston climbing community. He was a dedicated volunteer, organizing many successful events at popular areas like Hammond Pond and the Quincy Quarries. He spoke passionately about protecting climbing areas, and being an activist for the important things in life.
Scott had only been climbing a few years but his enthusiasm to improve and explore the world of climbing energized and motivated our community. He died in an avalanche on Mount Washington in November 2002. In recognition of his service to the climbing community, the AMC Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee named the "Volunteer of the Year" award after Scott Sandberg.
Articles About Scott
Scott Sandberg Volunteer of the Year Award
In honor of Scott’s memory, each year the AMC Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee awards one volunteer for their dedication throughout the previous year. The VOTY award is announced at our Annual Holiday Party.
To nominate a volunteer for the Scott Sandberg Volunteer of the Year award please contact scholarships@amcbostonclimbers.com.
Bill Clack (1960-2016)
When Bill Clack died unexpectedly in the summer of 2016 the Boston climbing community lost a good friend who’s life was defined by passion. When Bill loved something he really loved it. He started his relationship with Boston climbers by showing up, on a cold, dark December night, for the introductory lecture for the AMC’s annual Ice Climbing Program in the mid-1980s. Upon being told that to take said program he’d need technical climbing skills first he immediately asked how he could get them. The answer, of course, was to take the spring Beginners Rock Climbing Program, which he did, and he followed that up by taking the Ice Program the very next time it was offered. Bill fell in love with climbing, and not just the joy of actually doing it. He read extensively on the history of climbing, he reveled in the films about climbing, and he came to know the joys of traveling, and not just in the United States, to climb. In time Bill became a member of the AMC’s Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee and a director of theBeginners Rock Climbing Program. He co-edited The Crux for many years. Bill, working with The American Alpine Club, also helped save and restore climbing movies shot by Ken Henderson before World War II.
Bill married a fellow climber, Holly, and together they had one child, a daughter named Miranda. Bill was a man of strong passions and he was passionate about being the best dad he could be. Because of that Bill put his climbing career on hold, but not his interest in climbing. He had a realistic understanding that errors in climbing can have really bad, and permanent, consequences, he wanted to be there for his child. As his daughter grew up he started to think about playing in the vertical world again, but, sadly, it was not to be. It is a cliché, but it’s also true, for those who loved Bill his joy for the outdoor world, for climbing, for living, will always be part of them.
Bill Clack Memorial Scholarship
Bill Clack was a passionate climber who became an important member in the AMC's Boston climbing community through the Rock and Ice Program. In celebration of his life and contributions to educating new climbers, the AMC Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee offers a scholarship for full tuition to one Ice Program student each winter. For more information on this scholarship visit our Awards and Scholarship page.
Craigen Bowen (1953-2008)
Craigen was a well-known and avid rock climber and mountaineer. During her Harvard apprenticeship, she took the spring rock-climbing program offered by the Appalachian Mountain Club, cutting her teeth at small crags around Boston, such as the Quincy Quarries, Rattlesnake Rocks, and Crow Hill. She became known for her fierce determination and masterful technique, especially with her feet. At that time women usually played a secondary role to men in the ascent of difficult climbs, and there were few all-women teams. She was among a handful of women who broke that mold. In Yankee Rock and Ice by Laura and Guy Waterman, the definitive history of climbing in the northeast, she and her dear friend Beverly Boynton are cited for climbing difficult routes “with authority and style.” (These words might describe Craigen’s approach to all her endeavors.)
Over the course of nearly 30 years, she climbed extensively in North America and Mexico with a core group of friends and made lasting connections with many others. She enjoyed all aspects of the sport: the climbing, the relaxed days between, sitting in the sun, cooking great meals, sharing “war stories” with friends, and even the dark nights huddled in the rain on cold mountaintops or spectacularly high cliffs. She was most proud of her ascents in the Bugaboo group in British Columbia, Wyoming’s Wind River Range, and, shortly before her 40th birthday, the multi-day, 3,000-foot Salathe Wall, on Yosemite Valley’s El Capitan, which has been called the most beautiful climb in the world.
Craigen Bowen Memorial Scholarship
The Craigen Bowen Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a climber who is a promising beginner in their first few years of climbing, or who is eager to advance in rock, ice, winter pursuits, outdoor safety or other similar mountaineering endeavors. The scholarship may be used to take some form of formal climbing related instruction offered by an established and reputable organization. For more information on this scholarship visit our Awards and Scholarship page.