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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 12:18 pm
by squeezindlemmon
Matt Samet wrote:I'm very sorry to hear about John's death... I never had the chance to meet John, but heard only good things about him when down visiting the Red, and I always made good use of his excellent, well-crafted and very thorough guidebook.
Again, I'm sorry for the loss to the Red's climbing community.
Best,
Matt Samet
Editor [Rock & Ice Magazine]
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2004 2:36 pm
by ATLdude
I did'nt know John. But, he was obviously a great man and climber, who will be missed.
Johnnys efforts in The Red are well known and respected by those of us who work hard for climbing safety and access.
My wife and I send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:31 pm
by pru
I wish John could see how many dedicated climbers are coming out for this trail day that we hold in his and his son Alex's honor!
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:50 pm
by the lurkist
It is good to see this thread again. As I read it I think back on the last five years and I think of how often I think of John. That is the test of time. I think of him frequently, in remembering him with friends, talking about his routes, talking about the history of the development of the Red. It makes me happy to know his impact is still reverberating in the community and seems to be indelible, if not getting stronger.
I miss him. He was always my champion, encouraging me to go trad climbing with him.
I remember he came to me once and asked me to go out with him to do some trad climbing to show these two upstarts from Cinci who talked shit about how bad ass they were. He said we needed to go out and do Windy Corner, The Fibulator, etc to shut these two guys up. We never did.
I remember another time when I was sitting in his office across Broadway from the Lexington Clinic where I was working. We were talking about the RRGCC and the then dream of buying the Southern Region. The astronomical dollar figure of the property was looming over us all, us knowing that it seemed very unlikely we would be able to pull off the purchase. He said, "Shit, you and I both know that one of us will just write a check for it at some point if we get up against the wall and have to pay it off." That was some rosy optimism. That was John.
I wish he could see us now. He would laugh and tell us we are still herding cats.
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 4:33 pm
by JB
damn...
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:07 pm
by the lurkist
Just tooling around not looking for anything in particular and came across this on Bob Kamp's site.
http://www.bobkamps.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=70
fitting
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:25 pm
by Steve
To this day when I'm lost looking for a route I just think of his classic line "Walk 300 feet.."
Sure do miss that character!