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TripL7
Trad climber
san diego
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Dem were da friggin dayz man!!
Life is short...
RIP John & Don!
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Wedberg
Mountain climber
Bishop
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This is terrible news. I just got down from guiding a climb on the East Ridge of Mt. Russell and saw this. He was one of the early guides here in the Sierra. He ran the Palisades School of Mountaineering back in the day. It is a sad day in the mountaineering and guiding world. We lost one of the greats. He used to walk in to my office in Bishop sometimes and chew the fat. Shared a lot of days out on the Lee Vining ice with him.
My condolences to John's family and friends for this tragic loss.
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Feck, feck, feck. This saddens me to no end. My first real "mountain climb", The Swiss Aręte on Mt Sill, was with John when he was instructing at the Palisades School of Mountaineering back in 1971. I've only seen him a couple of times since, in the Valley in the 1970s, but...
Condolences to all, RIP John, you taught me a lot.
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buster
Mountain climber
canada
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john fischer,climbed with him twenty years ago along with randall grandstaff and even smoke.randall john and i climbed the old man of hoy in scotland and had a month of great climbing there in unusually balmy weather.i also did trips with him to nepal and patagonia.john was a gentleman in the true sense of that word,a gentle parfait knight.i will miss him,buster.
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ChristyF
Boulder climber
Half Moon Bay, CA
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As a member of the family, I'd like to thank you for the gift of your stories, photos and condolences. My Uncle John has been a source of great inspiration, pride and wonder for us all. The family is still coming to grips with his loss, but hopefully we'll be able to reach out before long regarding a gathering to celebrate John's remarkable life. In the meantime, your posts, especially of pictures and memories, are bringing us cherished glimpses into the warm friendships and great adventures that brought him such happiness.
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Big Dog
Social climber
Rocklin, CA
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Very sad news- John was such a key part of the eastern Sierra climbing and guiding community for so many years. John was the Palisades, as well as one of the forces in developing American guiding, both as a lifestyle and a career. he was a purist and his home in downtown Bishop was a central hub for the climbing scene there for decades. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family.
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Enzo
climber
California
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One of my fondest memories of John was of us washing and waxing his '56(?) Orange and cream Buick at the old gas station behind the Tecoya dorms.
Pimping it out for cruising the Valley. And did we ever!
A lot like this one: (please note it's parked in a Red Zone; John would approve.)
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Kaleki
climber
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Yes! John would approve of the red zone parking. But I recall that Buick had a bumper sticker, "Safe as Mother's Milk."
Thanks to all who are remembering the many facets of my brother's life and adventures. He was a trail blazer who helped us dream of impossible feats. Yet he had a real commitment to the discipline needed to carry out many of them. I so respect his attention to the smallest detail and his ability to be present to a task at hand.
As we all surround John with love and memories, please know that his family appreciates each one.
Gratefully,
Kate
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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dan (and others)--
did john do ski guiding too?
dan, were you there with us on that SMS tour some years back, heading for, i believe, esha peak on a side canyon of mcgee creek? we had a "recently retired" local guide along with us who proved to be the life of the party, and i'm suspecting it was john.
coincidentally, i just recalled part of this excursion on the roxjox appreciation thread. this guide was quite knowledgeable of local geohistory and gave us quite an appreciation of the view of long valley. he also dug a pit high on the flank of esha and talked us into skiing a somewhat safer line. i thought most settled spring corn was safe back then, and his circumspection helped me rethink my own backcountry routine.
the other thing i remember was his making great fun of my leki plastic arrest grip, using it as a vaudeville hook and a back scratcher. to this day, i use it as the best back scratcher you can imagine.
here's to a great mountain fella--from that photo, i recall it was he, and i'm glad to have met him.
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Moonwatcher
Mountain climber
Sierra Madre
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Tony - yes John was a great ski guide, I once did a trans Sierra with him, and yes he came with me on that Esha Canyon ski we did with the SMS and dug that pit and cracked those jokes. Do you remember the super short skis he had on with long thongs made of runner?
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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don't remember skis and thongs--you're opening the door to tempting jokery here, which i'll refrain from in deference to a sad moment. sounds like he had a great circle of family and friends, yourself and asher included. regards to asher from me and mariko, and glad asher took that picture.
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John's brother Michael
climber
Mill Valley, CA
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Thank you to all who have written about John. Especially, Dan, for your assistance in the immediate aftermath of the accident, and for reaching out to our family. Of course, memories--and tears--have been filling my moments since Saturday.
Two short tales to share here, and probably more in the future:
John and I shared our first adventure in the Sierra in 1960, just months after arriving in California from Texas. He was almost 14, and I was 20. As utter novices, we shared 5 days together doing the High Sierra Loop from Happy Isles to Merced Lake, Vogelsang, Tuolumne Meadows, and Snow Creek back to the Valley. We had homemade wooden pack frames without a waistband, and canvas packs loaded with a hatchet and canned food. Canvas tent, canvas sleeping bags. Halfway up the Mist Trail, we had to walk back to Yosemite Village to buy kitchen sponges for the backpack webbing straps--our shoulders were bruised and bloody. But that was the trip that opened up the Mountains for John--several times, I drove him up to Camp IV before he got his drivers license...
Ten days ago, he called me on my birthday. He was at 9500'in the Whites, looking back at the Sierra Escarpment. He spent some time describing the view that was before him: "from Tioga Pass to south of Mount Whitney," saying that "I wanted to give you a gift of beauty for your birthday."
That is a gift I will remember for many years.
Thank you all for remembering the many good things about my wonderful brother...
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Michael-
Thanks for sharing the memories. Do you have more?
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daytripper2
Mountain climber
SLO, Ca
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Spent 6 days in Big Pine Cyn. in June of 1977 or 1978 attending John Fischer's POSM class. Guides for that week were Kim Schmitz, Mike Farrell and John (Chris Vandiver made a guest appearance also). The cook was Sarah Steck (Allen's daughter). I was not aware, at the time, of the heady company I was surrounded by. John was a patient teacher and clearly had the respect of the world's best climbers, as evidenced by his ability to hire and attract those mentioned, and that was for just that week. One remembrance (of many) was after climbing Mt. Sill, that evening, at our high camp, Kim left for about 10 minutes and comes back to camp with... 4 BEERS!! he said they were courtesy of Doug Robinson's cache (formerly Norman's?). Best beer I've ever had and I imagine that incident probably violated a half-dozen County, State and Federal regs./ordinances.
A 33-yr. belated thank-you to DR (if you read this thread) and I'll be glad to pay you back sometime DR at Tom's Place and we'll hoist a toast in memory of John.
I look back on those 6 days and the magic of that week grows with time.
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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Climbed next to John on several occasions, mostly ice, when he was guiding clients. Chatted him up in the Minaretts one evening. He was always gracious and easy with the beta. We've lost a fine man.
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Anastasia
climber
hanging from a crimp and crying for my mama.
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Wow, I am so sad... He was such a great guy in so many ways.
AFS
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GWiltsie
Mountain climber
Bozeman, MT
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Jun 10, 2010 - 01:21am PT
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I have held off writing this until I could get over the shock and have time to ponder. I also didn’t want to rush anything onto the internet prematurely.
One of the perils of being part of the mountaineering or similar communities are all-too-common surprise phone calls with a stricken voice on the other end saying, “I’ve got some bad news…” I’ve heard those exact words way too many times. It is part of the price of living on the edge.
Allan Pietrasanta’s call to me about John was an especially difficult blow, however. John was one of my most significant mentors and oldest friends. He was also such a rigorously safe mountaineer that I could scarcely imagine him falling off a mountain. It is especially tragic he was killed by a deer, which are so much a part of the mountains and forests he loved.
I first met John and Doug Robinson in 1969, when I was a high school senior in Bishop. They were the first hippies I had ever met and my subsequent visits to their cabin in Cardinal Village scared my parents half to death. If only they had known the whole story!
The following summer, my grandmother told me that if I wanted to climb I had to learn to do it right. She paid my tuition for PSOM, where Doug, John and Don Jensen were waiting to change my life. Later I would spend many seasons guiding for PSOM and – with John’s help - Mountain Travel (which at one point owned PSOM.) A whole new world opened before me.
Just as Doug mentored my early writing and photography, John taught me the mountain skills and rigorous attention to safety that enabled me later to travel the world as a National Geographic expedition photographer.
I have so many stories of our climbs and adventures together that it is impossible to describe in this space. A couple of special ones come to mind, though. I will always remember the longest night of my life, shivering together with John through an unexpected bivouac just below the summit of Clyde Minaret on his birthday in September (some party!). The worst part was when he ran out of cigarettes. Or, the scream he shrieked while jumaring in the dark at 20,000,’ when a piton I had placed popped out and he pendulumed into space over a 3000-foot ice wall on Baruntse.
John was always a dear and trusted friend. In fact, Lois, he, Meredith and I once owned a house together and never had a serious disagreement about it. He could at times, though, revel in being contrarian: whether it was intentionally bringing pepperoni pizzas to vegetarian potlucks or applying his incredible knack for giving brilliantly insightful (sometimes-withering) nicknames. He could tweak almost anyone.
As did many people, John and I did sometimes have our differences, but we always overcame them. I was especially proud of him when he stopped ingesting so many things that were killing him, became more spiritual and entered a whole new phase of his life helping people in other ways beyond mountaineering (but while still remaining just as deft on his crampons.) One of my biggest disappointments in moving to Montana 18 years ago is that I seldom saw John afterwards. He kept promising to ride up on his beloved motorcycle, but then came along the deer.
Still, I have thought of him (and many other Bishop friends) almost every day as pictures rotate through my screen saver. Every one that I took of John brings back memories that are deep and rich. I’ve attached a few of my favorites here.
I extend my deepest condolences to Mike, Kate, Zane and Joy, along with his other friends. May he find peace and wonder in that unknown future that lies ahead of all of us.
Thank you, John, for all you did for me and so many others. You will be sorely missed.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jun 10, 2010 - 01:58pm PT
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Gordon, Doug, others
Thanks for bringing John to life.
Fred Glover
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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Jun 10, 2010 - 04:55pm PT
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I meet John in 1976 when my wife gave me a week at PSOM for my 39th birthday . I had never climbed before .She dropped me off at Glacier Lodge and I ran into a much taller guy who introduced himself as TM Herbert and we hiked up to Fifth Lake together . The climbing adventure had begun and I had wonderful times with John in the Sierra and Himalaya. I'm very glad that Andy Selters published a picture I took of John during our Palisade Traverse in "Ways to the Sky".
Jerry Adams ,Sacramento
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Joe Metz
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jun 10, 2010 - 06:06pm PT
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Very sad to hear this. Spent a week with John at PSOM and occasionally crossed paths with him later on. He always had a good story to tell. I will always carry good memories of him.
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