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Hooter7
Trad climber
Berkely, CA
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Oct 31, 2017 - 11:57am PT
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I climbed with Fred Beckey, probably like a lot of you. What a character. Sometime in the '80s he got my number from a friend in Berkeley (Scott Frye maybe?) and rang me up—"wanna go climbing?" What else can you do when Fred Beckey calls you out of the blue to go climbing? We met on Highway 50 near Placerville and went up and did Traveler Buttress at Lover's Leap. The traverse off at the top crossed a section of steep snow with a death slide that kind of gripped me—he pranced across.
A few months later we went up to the Meadows, this time in his beat up VW. True to form he had a supply of PB&J sandwich fixings in the trunk. Classic! He was a truly committed climber, and if it was possible to be a dirtbag and a gentleman at the same time, he nailed it. Thanks for the routes and the memories, RIP Fred Beckey.
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Mary Moser
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Oct 31, 2017 - 12:34pm PT
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I had the honor of meeting Fred at the base of Bird Land in Red Rocks back in 2007. He was just getting off the ground on the 1st pitch with his 20-something climbing partner belaying him. The other two climbers that were with Fred and his partner were chatting with us at the base. I whispered to one of the guys, "Is that Fred Beckey?" He said, "Yes it is. But you don't have to whisper since he's totally deaf." As Fred continued up the pitch, he came across a stuck nut that my partner had failed to get out of the crack when we had done the pitch earlier that day. Fred yelled up to his partner, "Hold on! I got some booty here!" I had to chuckle. Seeing him climb really made my day.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Oct 31, 2017 - 12:58pm PT
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Fred's life was booty! YAAR!
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 31, 2017 - 01:07pm PT
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What happened?
How did he leave his mortal body?
Did he just go to sleep one night next morning not wake up?
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Oct 31, 2017 - 01:07pm PT
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Great story Orenczak.
and Hooter7.
Fred Becky was a working mans climber. When I started climbing it seemed like most of the climbs out side of the Valley were Fred's climbs. I was also impressed that he was a weekender and he had a job and all that.
My first real adventure was at the Needles and I can recall the little 3 sentence description in the back of "off belay".
His description of the "Pea Soup 5.9 A2" how to find it, what it was, and some advise on the pins required... that got the ball rolling for me.
I can never thank you enough.
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ec
climber
ca
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Oct 31, 2017 - 01:15pm PT
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I thought the original Pea Soup had A4 on it when I repeated it; Knifeblade Tips and Crack ‘n Ups.
 ec
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Oct 31, 2017 - 01:25pm PT
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Werner, what happened is this, from the NYTimes obit:
Megan Bond, a close friend of Mr. Beckey’s, wrote in a Facebook message that he died of congestive heart failure in her home. A longtime resident of Seattle, he had been in hospice care for four days, she said.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Oct 31, 2017 - 01:44pm PT
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I thought the original Pea Soup had A4 on it when I repeated it; Knifeblade Tips and Crack ‘n Ups.
ec
ec... if the printed description said A4 .... I would have run away.
it might have been A3.... some of my friends did it about 6 mo after I did (May 1974)one of them took a big fall on P2... he was a aid climber, btw he reported "A4" ... heck that was the top grade back then.
I wonder if somebody will put a "Fred's FA" list together.
That would be amazing.
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DOB
Trad climber
ny
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Oct 31, 2017 - 02:57pm PT
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I had the honor of meeting Fred in Talkeetna Alaska back in June of 2004. I couldn’t believe at 81 years old he was still planning and scheming what his next project would be. Whether a trip to the Himalayas or getting the girls at Talkeetna Air Taxi to go climbing with him at J-Tree, he was ready to go.
Rest in peace, Fred.
Thanks for all the great routes!
Bill
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Oct 31, 2017 - 03:14pm PT
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RIP Fred! : (
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neverenough
Trad climber
Anacortes
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Oct 31, 2017 - 04:06pm PT
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Climbed Outer Space on Snow Creek wall w/Fred in '95. He was a mere lad of 72 then-led the pedestal pitch. Remembered the route 35 years after doing the FA.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Oct 31, 2017 - 05:12pm PT
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There are very few true legends.
Fred was near the top of the list
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Oct 31, 2017 - 06:26pm PT
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A story about FRED - those who got e-mail from FRED accepted that he liked to use upper case letters. He will be sorely missed, but climbed right until the end. The story was written in 2003.
Early one lovely autumn morning a year or two ago, Fred Beckey called, very early. I knew him slightly, through my brother and numerous mutual friends, but had never climbed with him, or even talked with him about going climbing. It was a bit of a surprise when he called. Fred must have been getting near the bottom of his very long contact list. He had an idea for a new route, and wanted to go climb it. An ice climb, somewhere mysteriously north of Vancouver. He said it would be in good condition, but we should go right away, in case someone else got there first, or the weather changed. Fred didn’t say where, but he’d talked with a pilot about flying in, and had someone else lined up to go with us.
Fred was then in his late 70s, and his outstanding climbing record then extended for more than 60 years. Climbing defined Fred’s life, his values, and his world view. I was flattered that he wanted me to go climbing with him, and thought it might be a unique experience. I told Fred I needed to check my calendar, and try to change a few things, and could I call him back.
I turned off the unneeded alarm, set to the 8:00 AM CBC news, and did the usual morning things. Then checked messages and e-mail. A friend had called while I was busy. She told me terrible things were happening on the east coast. Lacking a television, I went to my parent's house to watch, and to tell my father, who was hard of hearing.
Later, stunned by what I’d seen and heard, I went home. Fred called again, with much the same pitch, adding that the climb was in the Monarch area, and reiterating that the pilot was ready to go. I politely begged off. I had some commitments, which couldn’t easily be changed. Perhaps I missed a unique opportunity. But I didn’t really feel like going anyway. It didn’t seem quite as important. And whether Fred knew or not, it was clear we weren’t going to be flying anywhere anytime soon.
It was 11th September 2001. Thousands had died in grotesque events in the eastern U.S.A. All aircraft over North America had been grounded, some on threat of being shot down.
My guess is that the peripatetic Fred simply didn’t know what had happened, that he couldn't cross the border, and that no non-military aircraft were flying, although by then there were few who hadn’t heard. I didn’t ask. Even if Fred had heard, he may not have considered it important, or relevant. Dreadful things had happened all through his life, as they do, but he wasn’t directly affected, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. His priority, perhaps obsession, was climbing, and in a long life he had seen enough of the world to know what was important to him.
It was an honour to have a tiny role in the Fred saga.
copyright © Anders I. Ourom
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Hardrock
Trad climber
San Bernardino
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Oct 31, 2017 - 06:34pm PT
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God Bless Fred! YITB with all climbers!
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tallguy
Trad climber
tacoma
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Oct 31, 2017 - 08:12pm PT
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Hey rfshore.. we were camped next to you guys for that JTree trip he was on (his 90th) and i saw the nap on the 2nd pitch as we climbed next to your group.
My favorite Beckey memory from that JTree trip was his insistence on calling it "Moosecock tower", and obviously enjoying telling everyone about his climb of Moosecock tower as often as he could. Plus his incredible ability to nap anywhere, including in the gnarly hard dirt at the base of the crags around the campground. Truly an exceptional ability to rest anywhere, a great skill for mountain climbing.
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Delhi Dog
climber
Good Question...
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Oct 31, 2017 - 08:13pm PT
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Ed wrote we should declare 2018 "Fred Beckey year" and repeat as many of his climbs as possible... that would be an incredible climbing year!
love the idea!
Would be a great tribute to his legacy.
That might be one list we all could add to as the year unfolds.
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Spiny Norman
Social climber
Boring, Oregon
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Oct 31, 2017 - 08:45pm PT
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There are old climbers, there are bold climbers… and there was Fred.
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Oct 31, 2017 - 09:28pm PT
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it might have been A3.... some of my friends did it about 6 mo after I did (May 1974)one of them took a big fall on P2... he was a aid climber, btw he reported "A4" ... heck that was the top grade back then.
Hey Guyman, Fred never really did pitch 2 or any of the first 3 pitches of Pea Soup. I did the first lead of pitch 2 when I did the first half of the climb with Joe Brown. I lead all 3 pitches in fact. I rated pitch 2 A4 and left a Dolt spoon arrow under the lip at the end of the small arch at the end of the aid. I couldn't get it out because it was bent up under the corner flake of rock and certainly didn't want to chop the rock away for a piton. It was a beautiful little hunk of sculpted rock. I wonder how long that piton was there. It was too tempting to blow that rock away. Fred entered the picture when he came back with me to finish the climb and we jumared my fixed ropes on the first 2 pitches. We bypassed the hard 3rd pitch I put up just to make time since we didn't know what was ahead.
Anyway, it was fun to know Fred back when I did. I was pretty quite as a teenager, at least around adults, so I didn't get to know him through talking, but through his acts! Rest in Peace Fred. I hope I last as long - geez, that's another 30 years - I can't imagine!
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