http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/h ... tty08.html
Spokane mountain climber's daughter soaring into thin air
By Craig Smith
Seattle Times staff reporter
Q: Is Mount Spokane High School's Jordan Roskelley, the state leader in the girls pole vault, related to John Roskelley, the famous mountain climber? I bet she is.
A: You're right.
Jordan is the daughter of John Roskelley, Shadle Park '67, one of the most famous names in American mountaineering. He made it to the top of K-2 in 1978 with Rick Ridgeway after fellow American climbing teammates Louis Reichardt and Jim Wickwire summited the previous day. In 2003, he climbed Mount Everest with his son, Jess, who was then 20. That father-son climb was a gigantic personal triumph because Roskelley had been unsuccessful in Everest attempts in 1981, '83, '84 and '93.
Roskelley is a writer/photographer who has written three mountaineering books. His photographs have appeared in various publications, including the cover of National Geographic. He also served for nine years as a Spokane County commissioner.
Jordan is a senior who has cleared 12 feet, 8 inches this season. She ran on Mount Spokane's cross-country team in the fall of 2003 as a freshman, then started dabbling with the pole vault as a sophomore. She got serious about it as a junior. She never went higher than 10-3, but a winter of hard work has paid off in this breakout season for the 5-foot-10, 130-pound athlete with high-altitude genes and various college offers.
"Some people think pole-vaulting is a little bit crazy," she admitted. "But I like it."
Referring to her daughter's current heights via a pole, John cracked, "I like a rope when I'm that high."