John Rosholt, RIP

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Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Nov 18, 2010 - 08:39pm PT

Sorry to hear the sad news. My brother and Hamish both know. I only met John a few times, and never climbed with him, but he was clearly one of the characters that make our community so strong.

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, CA

Nov 18, 2010 - 08:42pm PT

Wow, I remember reading about his disappearance. What a sad tale, and ending.

Rest in peace, John, and God bless! Condolences to the family.

noshoesnoshirt

climber

Arkansas, I suppose

Nov 18, 2010 - 08:42pm PT

Dang.
Sorry to hear this. He was a very cool fellow.

Ezra Ellis

Trad climber

WA, & NC & Idaho

Nov 18, 2010 - 09:52pm PT

John,
I never knew you, but would love to have had a beer with you.

So sorry to his family and friends.
Best
-e

the hobo

climber

Nov 18, 2010 - 10:36pm PT

I had some Gambler adventures.
John used to stay at our Calico Basin house in Vegas. He was always a lot of fun to hang out with, full of wit and wisdom. He was always carefully measuring out his various powdered mussle drinks, but never turned down a slice of pizza when offered.
Like a lot of the Vegas climbers, we did some routes together, but I was never as strong or not nearly as smooth as John.

Once he was belaying me on one of the righthand 5.11 routes at Sunny and steep. I was so scared to fall I jumped off instead, only to catch myself on a jug several feet down.
His usually unflappable persona cracked for a moment: his eyebrows shot up in suprise behind his ever present perscription sunglasses.
I had never seen him suprised.

Miss you John, glad to have spent time with you. You were a class act.
~Russ

Chief

climber

The NW edge of The Hudson Bay

Nov 19, 2010 - 12:55am PT

Very sad news.

I always hoped John had just decided to disappear and was chillin' somewhere. The thought of him leaving violently because of an altercation associated with his profession was painful to imagine.
John first came to Squamish in the late seventies not long after I started climbing. He was known to most of us as "That Guy from Colorado" who floated stuff on lead that we were still struggling to top rope.
He became somewhat of a Squamish regular and as we got to know him, you could see why he was a successful card player. He was totally deadpan in the most frightening situations. He'd be out there on the lead looking totally solid and in the most calm manner imaginable, would say, "I'm pretty scared here and am going to fall off", and he would.
I think it was 97 that I had my best ever trip to the Valley and started that trip with John. We met in the Lodge parking lot at noon and were topping out on the Rostrum at 4:30. Over the next week we swung leads on Astroman, Blind Faith, Powerpoint and on a great adventure up Freestone. He was the offwidth master and was supposed to do the wide pitch up high but I ended up with it. "You'll have no problem Chief" he told me and with his encouragement I had one of the best leads ever. We lounged on top and took pictures of each other with the Geek writing behind us and what happy geeks we were. My condolences to John's family and to all who knew him.
He was a good friend and a great climber and I hope there's a fitting celebration of his life.

Perry

o-man

Trad climber

Paia,Maui,HI

Nov 19, 2010 - 01:00am PT

John was a friend and climbing partner of mine in his Colorado days. We climbed and put up some good routes together.

neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

Nov 19, 2010 - 01:20am PT

hey there say, all.... this is very sad... i too, remember reading about this... and hoping and praying... :(

my condolences to his family and loved ones, at this hard time...

at least he was now found--more can found--if one thing is possible, another can be possible... too...

thus, may the good lord reveal more, in this, for his family's
peace...

thanks, russ, for sharing the rip here...
i had not seen the other "remains" post, but i did glance at it...

this was easier to see first, though...
thanks...

Hawkeye

climber

State of Mine

Nov 19, 2010 - 02:47am PT

words cannot describe. i never knew him but i often wondered what had happened. i hope that these words reach his family, and i further hope the remaining mystery is solved. there is healing here and i hope that these great stories will continue and help to keep him in our hearts and souls.

may he rest in peace.....and may friends and family be comforted.

gumbyclimber

climber

Nov 19, 2010 - 04:14am PT

John was an inspiration. He used to be driving around before six in the morning hunting for partners in Squamish and IC. He'd walk up to where you were sleeping on the ground, stand right over you and strike up a conversation, "What are you doing today?", until you rolled out of bed and got your gear. Such a great guy to hang with, I never missed that extra five hours of sleep.

ydpl8s

Trad climber

Santa Monica, California

Nov 19, 2010 - 11:02am PT

I sent an email to Bob Dickerson, famed Gunnison crazy, to tell him about the finding of his remains, and he reminded me that he and John did the first winter ascent of the Ellingwood arete on Crestone Needle. Bob got a little frostbite on that one, I have a picture somewhere that Bob gave me from the top after the ascent. If I can find it, I'll scan and put it up.

I was across the canyon with binocs and a camera when John was on the first ascent of Journey Through Mirkwood on the Painted Wall. I was watching him lead a big roof and then he pulled off a giant loose piece of rock. You could hear John easily yelling "rock!" when he pulled off that huge boulder that split open John Pearson's nose as it grazed him on the way down to a very large explosion. That thing was mere inches from taking out JP for good.

The aforementioned Black climb, The Plunge, was climbed with another Gunnison legend Doug Scott (no, not the Ogre one), and that climb with him, holding John's "plunge", pretty much put Doug on the hardman list.

RIP John,
Moss

Nick Danger

Ice climber

Arvada, CO

Nov 19, 2010 - 11:07am PT

John was starting his college career at WSC in the mid-70's as I was finishing up. In one of his early climbs of that time we did a first winter ascent of the Ellingwood Arete on Crestone Needle. I recall frostbiting my fingers pretty severely part way up and having to hand the lead over to John because I couldn't feel a thing with my fingers. It wasn't real hard climbing, but it was real cold, and John was completely unflappable. That was the thing about John, immense courage and an incomparable mental toughness. John would do things that left the rest of us just slack-jawed, such as the time he did a lieback up the corner of the college library and surmounted the overhanging lip at the top about 60 ft off the ground. Nice going, John, but how are you going to get down? Well, he jumped, landing in a 6 ft drift of snow and just walked away.

In a sport that tends to attract characters of the first order, John was in a class by himself, and a class act he was, too.

Rest in Peace, John, and thanks for everything
-Nick

ydpl8s

Trad climber

Santa Monica, California

Nov 19, 2010 - 11:15am PT

Thanks for completing the story "Nick" :-) Moss

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Nov 19, 2010 - 12:00pm PT

I met John in Eldo with Newberry and someone else (who escapes me at the moment. Maybe Pulaski) in 1975. He was outgoing and gregarious and just started talking to me. The conversation quickly led to the realization that we all were attending WSC in Gunnison. John sensed in me a willing pawn that could be easily duped into his brand of raw go for it. We climbed late into the evening and headed back towards Golden in his beater Dodge Rambler. I was driving as he was partaking and imbibing. The man had prodigious capacities. In those days the speed limit signs on hiway "pray for me I drive 93" were considered by us to be more sensible suggestions than actual laws. So there we are speeding into Golden at 90+ mph, me driving, John telling wild stories in his wry humorous manner. Without warning I hit a car rattling pot hole that takes out the breaks. Screaming into town, white knuckled, clench jawed, stopping on empty air for brakes and just barely in control, I perform a panicked emergency stop procedure that primarily involves slamming the car into reverse stomping on the emergency brake and holding on for dear life. John is still talking, telling his animated tales with grandiose arm movements. Barreling towards a gas station I'm wondering if he even knows we are about to perish. When the dust settles the rumbling rambler has ground to a screeching halt mere inches from the gas pumps. We are miraculously unscathed. I am hyperventilating and sweating profusely. John is finishing his anecdotal story. He looks at me with just a trace of wide eyed recognition. "that was Desperate" he said then popped the top on another Fosters like nothing happened. "What do you want to climb tomorrow" he asked.

John was a powerful force and an unflappable eminently competent partner. I have so many memories.
Rest in Peace old friend. You are missed.

My deepest condolences to family and friends. I am gladdened that part of the mystery is over.

Good to see Nick Danger showing up at the cyber camp fire. Someone throw some more electrons on.

TwistedCrank

climber

Ideeho-dee-do-dah-day boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom

Nov 19, 2010 - 01:02pm PT

Fellow former Gunnistoners and WSC rockheads - I fired messages to Doug Scott and Zip Thurston, in case they hadn't heard yet.

The whole closure thing is going on.

ydpl8s

Trad climber

Santa Monica, California

Nov 19, 2010 - 01:09pm PT

John loved Eldo, he'd drive from Gunnison to Boulder on the weekends just to climb and then roll back into town on Monday morning for classes. He would talk about routes like Le Toit and Cest La Vie. One day we were looking at the cover of Climbing magagazine and there was a great picture of Michael Gilbert doing the Kloberdanz roof (Michael was the brother of our good friend, the late Scotty Gilbert). I asked John if he had done that roof, "yeah, I did it in my Adidas". In those days, John climbed many routes in those old blown out Adidas.

John once showed me a fuzzy black and white 8mm film, taken when he was in high school, of one of his first climbing adventures on The Maiden. I think he was about 16 yrs old and he takes a huge swinging ripper on the pitch. His partner, another young Denver high school punk named Dave Breashears. I wonder what ever happened to that movie?

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Nov 19, 2010 - 01:21pm PT

Ydpl8s, you should add the above to MP.com, ya cross poster.

We should have a WSC Gunnistoner memorial gathering.
I will be heading to Red Rock this weekend I hope to pay my respects.

ddscott

Trad climber

Boulder,Colorado

Nov 19, 2010 - 01:44pm PT

Wow a little shock but closure. John and I meet in Yosemite when I was 17 he was 19. He taught me how to Wall climb by dragging me up the first ascent Plunge in the Black Canyon. He took a 60 footer on a A4 pitch down there. I missed 2 days of school as the route took 4 days instead of the 2 he origionally thought. The crazy thing was he had spent most of the day on that pitch and drilled 1 belay bolt at a hanging belay stance, then he proceed to start drilling a second bolt but forgot to clip the 1st one. The manky sh#t he was standing on blew out and he proceeded to rip the pitch, the stopper that Dirk(TwistedCrank)mentioned earlier on here caught him but not after ripping about half the pitch. I lowered him down to the stance and we chilled out ate some food and burnt one. I was freaked my 1st wall and never had caught a fall that big before. We realed the rope back in and saw the sheath hard torn, tried to untie the knot was so loaded we had to cut it. Switched out with the haul line and he went charging back up and relead it in about 2 hrs. I jugged up in the dark and we slept in slings there. Made it off the next day. We were room mates in Gunnison while going to Western State and climbed together for many years. Last I saw him was in Thailand where I ran into him and we climbed together everyday for about 2 months. I have some old pics I'll try to scan and get on here. He was one bad ass rock jock!!!! Miss ya Johnny!

Philo we need to organize a memorial wake for him here in Boulder I'm diggin for slides now.