Wind River Ranger, 1991 // Photo by Wikimedia/John Middendorf
We are deeply saddened by the loss of the incredible climber, mountaineer, inventor, writer, and historian of climbing gear John Middendorf. John (nicknamed the "Deuce") was a true friend to the American Alpine Club, and his insatiable curiosity and kindness made an impression on everyone he met.
Although his contributions to climbing are many, some in particular changed the sport forever. John’s ascent of the East Face of Great Trango Tower in 1992 with Xaver Bongard epitomized his elite climbing skill—The Grand Voyage was a performance of a lifetime on one of the biggest and remotest big walls in the world, and was one of the first Grade VII climbs. John also put up new Grade VI routes on Half Dome and El Cap, along with many first ascents in Zion National Park. He was otherwise a prolific contributor to the American Alpine Journal with exploratory climbs all across the world. John, an engineer and inventor, started a hardware company, A5 Adventures, in 1986. His innovations in portaledge design, as well as Birdbeak pitons, aiders, haul bags, and other gear, unequivocally changed the big-wall game. He sold A5 to The North Face in 1997. His 1994 book Big Walls, co-authored with John Long, was the crucial reference for many wall-climbing novices.
But besides being a great man in climbing, he also was a dear friend of the AAC. We deeply appreciate the generosity and knowledge he shared with the Club, his support of the AAC Library, and his contributions to the Legacy Series and the 2023 Cutting Edge Grant.
The AAC’s Library Director, Katie Sauter, reflected: “[John’s] insatiable curiosity led him to research so many avenues of climbing, often sending me questions about the most obscure references. He was very knowledgeable and wrote blog posts about a wide variety of topics pertaining to climbing history and the evolution of gear. He was generous with his time, and when he was visiting, he'd identify historic climbing gear for our collections. His enthusiasm was infectious. He was so interested in how gear was made that he even wanted to test the composition of some of our historic pitons to see what kind of metal was used.”
The AAC will truly miss John Middendorf, and our thoughts are with his wife, Jeni, his children, and his other family and friends as they grieve and celebrate him.