When Rachel Polite speaks to her brother about where he鈥檚 gone, it can be an emotional moment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still a lot of, like, 鈥業 wish you were here,鈥� and, 鈥榃here are you?鈥欌�� said Polite. 鈥淚 do know so much in my core what he would say to me, like, there are some times when I ask him questions I just know what he would say.鈥�
鈥淏ut a lot of the times I鈥檓 talking to him, it鈥檚 just me saying, 鈥業 just really wish you were still here. I miss my brother,鈥欌�� she continued.
But Polite has found at least a small measure of relief knowing that one year since his death, her brother, Squamish base jumper Mike 鈥淭reehouse鈥� Racicot, is still adventuring all over the world.
In a letter that was to be read in case of a fatal accident, Racicot requested that his ashes be spread across the globe.
鈥淧lease don鈥檛 keep me in a box on a shelf,鈥� said Polite, remembering the letter鈥檚 request.
Shortly after Racicot鈥檚 memorial last year, a friend asked if he could take some of the ashes to be released at a jump from the KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Racicot had jumped from that tower in a previous adventure.
鈥淭hat kind of started the rest,鈥� said Polite. 鈥淚 basically started sending ashes out to his different friends in Squamish and all over Canada, really. But any time they were going on a big trip, they would take him with them.鈥�
As a result, Racicot鈥檚 ashes have been scattered in over 17 places around the world in the past year.
Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, China, Switzerland, Germany, France, South Africa, the Bahamas, Mexico, New Mexico, Utah, California, Malaysia 鈥� these are just some examples of where Racicot鈥檚 friends, many from the base jumping community, have taken him.
But his recent travels haven鈥檛 been limited to just base-jumping trips.
For example, one of Racicot鈥檚 friends took his ashes on a diving trip around Prince Edward Island.
As the diver neared an iceberg in the area, she released the ashes underwater.
The ash spread, looking for a moment as if it had formed the outline of a heart, Polite said.
Racicot鈥檚 friends also have sent Polite mementos of the locations where they鈥檝e released his ashes.
For example, Polite received a scalloped shell that was taken during the PEI trip.
But Racicot鈥檚 memory doesn鈥檛 just live on in the travels of his friends.
While it may be cliche to say that the memories of loved ones live inside the people they鈥檝e touched, in the case of Polite, this is literally the case.
Polite had some of the ashes of Racicot tattooed onto her arm, along with her brother鈥檚 favourite saying, 鈥楨njoy life.鈥�
The design is that of Racicot flying through the air after taking a leap from the famed KL Tower. The image was featured in a 2015 story by The Chief.
鈥淸I felt] lots of emotions, for sure, because...that jump in Kuala Lumpur was just such an epic moment for my brother. It was such a听 dream come true for him,鈥� said Polite.
鈥淚 love to have it memorialized. I wanted it visible, because I wanted that every day for the rest of my life, somebody ask me who that is, and I can tell them about Treehouse Mike.鈥�
Racicot鈥檚 39th birthday would鈥檝e been on Aug. 26.
鈥淚 feel like he鈥檚 with me,鈥� Polite said.
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