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akis1er
climber
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May 25, 2014 - 03:51pm PT
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I met Rich in a diversity training class back in St.Louis when the Ford plant was still open.I remember going to his friends house who had a make shift climbing gym in the garage and we would goof off all night. He once climbed the rafters at Ford in a pink too too on Halloween.What great person. I know ill remember him for ever.
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Midwest Bum
Trad climber
St. Louis, MO
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May 25, 2014 - 07:28pm PT
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Anyone remember Richie coming into the valley years ago? Riding his BMW motorcycle with the 'Kill Your TV' bumper sticker. Back stacked with a full size haul bag like an extra passenger. All his camping and climbing gear piled on. Might as well of had 2 people riding on back. Somehow he managed to keep it upright. Seems like everything he did was an adventure. Love how he didn't mind how difficult an outing would be. Just glad to be doing something exciting with friends. New or known, young or old. Some with friends where it was the next adventure. The other half, with friends where it was an adventure of a lifetime. He just loved the experience of feeling life. Not watching it. A couple weeks, or a couple hours. He was ready to bring life to the table. Even if that table was a rock in the woods, the tailgate of a truck, or a bear box in camp 4....and boy those rangers sure wish they had a map of all those bivy spots he frequented. Ha! The woods are ours, and Richie knew that well. Thanks Rich!!!!!!!!
ps. No. He did not get any green from the guy in the green VW
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Midwest Bum
Trad climber
St. Louis, MO
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May 26, 2014 - 12:02am PT
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When Richie made it to the top of the climb. He says to me. Don't ever do that again! If you fell you'd be dead. Referring to me. Placing no protection on the last pitch. He always put safety first. We couldn't expect him to bolt down every last rock in the valley. It just goes to show that life is fragile. No matter how strong we come. Can't help but re-appreciate the soul that he gave us to experience. Or the thought of how many more things were born the second he passed. Give thanks for this life we live.
And now, in all seriousness. As the dude would abide to. I bring to you silliness in the form of...
"Mary Poppin's Tribute To The Dude"
SupertopoCALIfragilisticexpeditethisbeautifulsoulthatbePrecocious
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MontecitoShiva
climber
Los Angeles
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May 26, 2014 - 12:13am PT
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I'm so grateful for this thread and for getting to meet everyone that came to the memorial on Saturday - this picture is from his home, Montecito Lake Resort, where I know him from, and a place where he was loved and appreciated truly for the bright spirit he was. There are 2 Facebook pages to visit as well 'Fans of The Dude' and "Friends and Family of Rich Copeland" - please keep the stories coming, I can't get enough! All love, Shiva
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ElCapPirate
Big Wall climber
Reno, Nevada
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May 26, 2014 - 05:05am PT
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Anyone remember Richie coming into the valley years ago? Riding his BMW motorcycle with the 'Kill Your TV' bumper sticker.
Yeah, MidWestBum… that was the year I met Richie. What year was that? Ha ha. ’03? My brother and I kept seeing this BMW cycle and kept thinking, what hardcore bastard is riding that thing. Then we met Richie and it all made sense.
Another time Richie is planning a keg-costume party on heart ledges. I think he had a tutu and was looking for something to go with it. I get the idea to raid the free boxes in all the employee housing and it was on. I think Richie ended up with some ladies pink pajamas with flowers on it, or something. He just loved to do the whackiest sh#t, just to get a good laugh out of you.
Yo MWB, doe’s your first name start with a T?
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ElCapPirate
Big Wall climber
Reno, Nevada
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May 26, 2014 - 06:49pm PT
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Brian Corbett
climber
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May 27, 2014 - 02:55am PT
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Yo El Cap Pirate, we missed you on Saturday, but truly you were there in spirit. Without a doubt, if Rich had a kindred soul in this world, it was you. I was amazed to hear that you'd only climbed one wall together, because I was constantly hearing stories of you. Those years in Chicago must have been pretty rad indeed. I wrote a few words about Rich on Saturday, and will post them tomorrow when I'm back in the space of my own computer. Sincerely, respect!
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Rich is my hero
Social climber
Dallas
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May 27, 2014 - 11:49am PT
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To the entire crew who helped coordinate and make the last 4+ days for my family and I happen at Montecito and Yosemite…...THANK YOU! Words cannot express what this means to the family. It’s very clear the love and great memories you have for him as well as the love he has for all of you. The outpouring of support has been phenomenal.
You welcomed my family to yours. It’s an honor and privilege to meet the folks who played a role in the “Richie legacy”. My family and I will be sharing the many stories with friends/family, the boys children when the time comes… and so on.
We will do our best to convey to the St. Louis family/friends the Yosemite/Montecito Richie. Your pictures and words will be forever etched in our memory and shared with the folks in St. Louis.
My son (Ryan) will be working on a “Chronicles of Rich” project. The pictures/stories you continue to share are much appreciated, please don’t stop. My email address is mark.copeland20@gmail.com if you would like to reach out. As you share information you may receive a communication from Ryan seeking additional info. Appreciate your patience as he/we piece this together.
Regarding the St. Louis memorial… Sharing info for the locals:
Rich's Memorial in St. Louis: Visitation and service will be held on May 31st at Collier's Funeral Home,
3400 N Lindbergh Blvd, St Ann, MO ...63074
(314) 298-1212.
Visitations will start at 11:30. The Memorial will start promptly at 1:00.
Best regards!
Mark
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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May 27, 2014 - 07:48pm PT
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Condolences to family and friends.
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Peter Amend
climber
Visalia, CA
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May 28, 2014 - 04:01pm PT
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Met Rich one night when he invited me to their little secret bonfire spot at Montecito.
Only had the pleasure of spending one evening with him, but I'll never forget this rugged kindhearted man.
Climb on, dude.
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Heisenberg
Trad climber
RV, middle of Nowehere
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May 28, 2014 - 06:19pm PT
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What headlamp did Richie use? Anyone know? Should contact the manufacture and rename it the Copeland Ed. or The Dude. His light did shine bright after all.
And to the gentleman who took the photo of Richie on top of the poreclain wall can you blow up that photo? I'd be interested in purching it.
Thanx.
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Landgolier
climber
the flatness
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May 28, 2014 - 07:28pm PT
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Second on wanting to buy a larger version of that porcelain wall pic, especially if the proceeds go to some memorial cause.
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FirstYosemite
climber
Austin, TX
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May 29, 2014 - 12:17am PT
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It is so great to read all of these stories about Richie. I met him 2 weeks before with the group that climbed to the diving board. I kept calling him hoss and told him he was stronger and tougher than all of the special forces operators I work with. I was blown away when he told me he was 50. He was so excited when I told him it was my first trip to Yosemite and that he always loved to join first timers. On the climb, he pointed out things he had always been amazed at like the construction in the 30's of the stairs on Mist Falls Trail. As we talked, by the campfire he talked about his new headlamp, snowboarding in the dark, and many of his crazy climbing stories. He tried to convince us to go on "the swing" that he hung, but we all declined. I asked him if he ever brought a girl up on a climb and you know, he spit out most of the brownie he was eating he laughed so hard. As he stuffed tobacco in his pipe he told me his favorite thing about Yosemite was the comradery in the valley and everyone was like one big family. He was emphatic about this and repeated it several times. He spoke of when he came to the valley he was welcomed with open arms and how much people gave him. He said he tried to give back to every person. A couple of us planned to wake up early and head down. Richie told us to wake him up because he would feel safer taking us back down himself. He said, "Seriously, I am a heavy sleeper so come wake me up." Out of appreciation for all the hard work he had done, we felt bad waking him up the next morning and so we left. Selfishly, I wish we had. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity, although short, to hang with him.
PS - I read the posts of the people wanting the photo. Abe Blair (blindmanphotos.com) took that photo and I will make sure he gets the message.
I took this of Richie with my Iphone.
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Midwest Bum
Trad climber
St. Louis, MO
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May 29, 2014 - 03:12am PT
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A lot of these photos, are of Rich in the Valley. There was much he went through to get there. Before he was able to be in a place so perfect....he was stuck in the midwest. He'd do anything he could to get ready for those big walls! Climbing in gyms until he was on the rafters. Climbing make shift garage walls. Even chiseling out mortar. From between the bricks on his rental house.(Hope his landlord isn't reading this...) There was another thing he did too. No one was there to experience it with him. No one to tell the story first hand. I enjoyed hearing it from him though. On the south side of Chicago. Underneath the main highway coming into that grand city. There were some large ditches for the road to cross. Here were these concrete walls some 80 or so feet tall. Richie would glue these rocks to the wall. Some big enough to grab with both hands.Then launch himself to the next hold.
There was no underpass. This was a space he had all to himself. Where he could get in the zone and practice freely. Then one day while nearing the top...he saw this helicopter over his shoulder. It's relatively low, and close to him. I remember him saying, "I thought it seemed a little close". The Dude kept climbing. Noticing another helicopter nearby he started to wonder. When the third one came up on him. TV camera out and pointing at him...he gave in, and directed his attention their way. Taking closer notice he realized some of them are cop copters. Then the cars, with their red and blue lights pull up. Followed by more. Followed by the fire department and a few ambulances. Now stuck in a "O SH#T" state of mind. He wasn't sure if he was under attack, or being rescued. From something he doesn't need to be rescued from. When it all comes together....he realized they thought he was a terrorist! (This was soon after 911) They were picturing him up there. Placing explosives in an attempt to shutdown access to the city. Ha! Who knew a motivated rock climber. Could get so in the way. Only Rich and his love for nature would get those guys stirred up. They were wrong about one thing though. He was a terrorist. He BOMBED us all with adventure!!! ;-) Arrrr ya pirrrate! Those little elves were wrong. It's not Chips Ahoy, It's Ships Ahoy!!!!!!! Will always miss ya brother....and look for your energy. In the people I see along the way. -Love&Light
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ElCapPirate
Big Wall climber
Reno, Nevada
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May 29, 2014 - 05:38am PT
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I remember Rich telling my that story, MidWest Bum.
Classic Richie!
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TMayse
climber
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May 29, 2014 - 09:02am PT
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Will always miss ya brother....and look for your energy. In the people I see along the way. -Love&Light
Nice words, keep em' coming.
Thanks
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perswig
climber
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May 29, 2014 - 09:08am PT
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As sad as it is, this is also a beautiful thread.
Thanks for letting us share.
Dale
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Brian Corbett
climber
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May 29, 2014 - 03:37pm PT
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To be among Rich's Yosemite family last weekend was so healing. So many laughs and tears! I know that many others would have been there if they could. I read more or less the following words on Saturday, and wanted to pass them along to those that weren't there. Thanks everyone for the stories, for the love, and for the beautiful photos. I also want to buy a print of that particularly spectacular photo above Porcelain Wall. Sincerely, Brian
"Rich grew up in St. Louis essentially a red neck Missourian. He started climbing in Southern Illinois and Missouri, but became truly addicted after a trip to Hueco Tanks in the mid-90’s. I met him around then at the mountain shop I worked at, and Rich and I were immediate brothers. Rich seemed born to climb, and his improvement was meteoric. What underpinned Rich’s rise was an extreme level of commitment, even if he didn’t have all the skills yet. Among the community of climbers to whom Yosemite is home, commitment is not a unique quality. This group are willing to commit everything to their lifestyle. All the same, Rich was radically committed.
He became good friends with Jim Thurmond, one of the pioneers of climbing in southern Illinois, and the owner of a local gym. Rich's first multi-pitch climb was in the New River Gorge in West Virginia, a couple of rope lengths. His second go at multi-pitch was an attempt of the Nose with Jim, probably in the later 90’s. They got about halfway up the wall when a storm hit, and they descended amid waterfalls. I remember this story vividly, because it has an ending that gives me comfort. A couple hundred feet off the deck, almost down, Rich became convinced that he had bungled somehow tying into his rappel device. He grabbed the belay chains in a death grip, only to look down and see that he had both daisy chains clipped, and was also properly geared to rappel. This story comforts me because I don’t ever remember seeing Rich terrified, which I often was around him, whether hanging onto the back of his bike at 100 + in the rain, or chasing him up some project I probably didn’t belong on. He must have gotten it out of his system that day, because Rich was not afraid.
Rich worked at the Ford plant in St. Louis for a long time. When he discovered Yosemite, he was able to establish an understanding with a doctor who helped Rich milk the benefits of the autoworker’s union, and he was able to get out of work 5-6 months a year. He would pile into somebody’s vehicle, or load haul bag and boulder pad onto his BMW Enduro, and launch himself across the western states to California. As part of his training, he rollerbladed back and forth at full pace to work, twenty miles each way. One day, infuriated by our entrance into the second Iraq War, Rich packed some spray paint, and on every stop sign he passed on the way home in the wee hours, he wrote “war” underneath “stop.”
As anybody who has hung around with Rich knows, not all of his efforts were successful. He was the first to tell the stories. He constantly overreached his ability in the earlier days, but had a steel trap for all he learned. I found rope work in the vertical environment intimidating and often bewildering, but it just made sense to Rich. I realized how far he’d come on a trip to El Potrero Chico in Mexico for the Y2K New Year. He was totally in command, and seemed almost preternaturally at ease. He was utterly in his element.
One of my favorite stories of Rich was of a failed attempt at Mount Hooker in the Wind River Range, somewhere in the late 90’s. He and Jim were determined to climb this massive alpine face in winter. They skied in, and had planned to have a pilot drop them additional food rations once they were near the route. The weather was nasty, and the pilot couldn’t get a window. He finally was able to get in the air, but was rushed, and he tossed out the wrong haul bag, full of extra gear. Nearly out of food and fuel and a solid couple days from the car, they aborted the attempt and headed out. Then they decided that they might as well just crack out the whole trip to the car in one shot, and they figured the best way to do that would be to drop some LSD, which they did, apparently copiously.
Around 2005, the Ford plant in St. Louis closed. Rich was transferred to Chicago. Ammon McNeely was there then too, and he and Rich became very close. If ever Rich had a kindred soul, it was Ammon. After just a couple years, Ford offered to buy Rich out of his retirement in a lump sum. He took them up on it. Ammon, perhaps, reminded Rich of his love of flying. In 1991 Rich had gotten his pilot’s license, and when he left Ford he pretty well moved to an airport to learn to skydive. In Richie form, he got really good quick. One morning before a major jump, one of those where a whole gang of people link up midair, he took up some kid up on an offer to pack his chute for him for a few bucks. The dude packed it badly. When Rich pulled the cord, it deployed in 1 second instead of 8, and stopped Rich so fast his neck was broken. He was barely able to move his left arm. With it he steered away from the crowd, and managed to head toward a freshly plowed field, which he wrecked into hanging limp from his harness. “I left a pretty good divot,” he told me. Somehow he lived. Liz Davis, his lifelong best friend and sometimes lover moved to Chicago to take care of him, a task that lasted six months. Just afterward, Ammon broke his ankle BASE jumping, so they recovered together. Rich was told by the docs, none too surprisingly, that he couldn’t do any strenuous activity perhaps ever again. When he was finally able to walk, he drove to California, dumped his car in the Bay Area, took a bus to Portland, Oregon, and rode a recumbent bike back to San Francisco to get his legs back. Then he came out to the Valley, but behaved himself quite well for the whole climbing season, and didn’t climb. By late fall he was feeling fit again. He had learned how to siege walls soloing Half Dome years before. Determined to climb again, he decided to go at it on El Cap. That winter was mild, and Rich ran laps. Piton Pete, Eric Sloan and others came to join him.
Rich finally moved to California, and has been happier and fitter in these past few years than ever. He never belonged in a factory on a line. He has earned his place among the monkeys of Yosemite. Acceptance in that community was incredibly validating to Rich, because they were the only people truly able to appreciate his lifestyle, his talent, and his extraordinary resilience.
Most of his family and friends in St. Louis don’t have the foggiest frame of reference to understand what a first ascent or second ascent means. I don’t think many people there realized that he was world class.
Finally, Rich was ridiculously fun. Indeed he was by far the funnest person I’ve ever known. Long before I trusted Rich as a mentor, I loved him as a friend. He had a wonderful mind, when he chose to use it. He was intensely intellectually curious and loved books. Laughter, of course, not only poured endlessly out of him, but was hopelessly contagious. His wellspring of mirth had no limits.
Liz and I feel sure that when Rich became aware that he was falling and couldn’t stop it, that in his last few seconds he consciously enjoyed one final flight."
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kaholatingtong
Trad climber
Nevada City
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May 29, 2014 - 06:48pm PT
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Would have loved to meet him, RIP.
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ElCapPirate
Big Wall climber
Reno, Nevada
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May 30, 2014 - 04:57am PT
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