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George
Ice climber
Los Alamos, NM
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Dec 28, 2012 - 10:34am PT
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RIP
My first harness back in the late 80's was a Forest Ultimate (IIRC). Way more comfortable than most things on the market then.
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Dickbob
climber
Westminster Colorado
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Dec 28, 2012 - 10:56am PT
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The first aid climb I ever did was Forrest Roof on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Dec 28, 2012 - 11:05am PT
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Climbing legend Bill Forrest dies snowshoeing near Monarch Pass
By William Porter
The Denver Post
Bill Forrest, a Colorado climbing legend who also made notable innovations in mountaineering equipment, died Dec. 21 while snowshoeing near Monarch Pass. He was 73.
A Salida resident who summited peaks and put up new climbing routes around the world, Forrest was remembered by friends as an indomitable spirit in the mountains who was also generous with advice to novices in his sport.
"He was the best climber that I ever teamed up with," said Kris Walker, who in 1972 partnered with Forrest for the first ascent of the treacherous Painted Wall in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. The 2,500-foot climb on sheer granite that took nine days. "No matter how difficult or improbable the obstacle, he never quit. That word was not part of his vocabulary.
"Bill was the only climbing partner I had that could stand by that achievement," said Walker, who lives in Bow, Wash.
In an April interview with The Denver Post, Forrest said at times he was "nearly petrified" by his sport's risks. But he loved the challenge of pioneering routes; his 1970 climb on Longs Peak's east face was the first solo ascent of the Diamond.
"I owned one guidebook, but didn't like reading it," he said. "I liked to scout my own routes."
William Edwin Forrest was born in Glendale, Calif. His family moved to Aurora when he was 6 years old. By the time Forrest was 8, his father, a surveyor with the Bureau of Land Management, was taking him into the field. Forrest ran trap lines as a child, and first summited Longs Peak at age 12 with his Boy Scout troop.
He began climbing in the Army, honing his skills while stationed in Germany. After the military, he spent time as a graduate student in English at Arizona State University.
But the mountains called, and Forrest answered.
As founder of Forrest Mountaineering, he pioneered the original "Friends" active cam-nut protection system, a climbing aid. He was also behind the Mjolnir, the first rock-and-ice hammer with interchangeable picks. It is on display in the Smithsonian's "Tools of Man" collection.
He held 17 U.S. patents.
After moving to Salida in 1998, he created state-of-the-art snowshoes along with the Cascade Designs/MSR team.
He was snowshoeing with his wife, Rosa, when he collapsed. Other hikers performed CPR on him, but he died at the scene.
Forrest, who topped all of Colorado's 54 fourteeners, stopped technical climbing in 1993 after an attempt to summit Mount Everest. During the trip he came down with amoebic dysentery. It nearly killed him, and the aftereffects plagued him for years.
Forrest mentored a generation of climbers, offering tips on everything from technique to fine-tuning gear.
"I would always ask him to do a gear check before a backpack or fourteener ascent," recalled Michael Rosenberg, an attorney and veteran climber. "If he found something on which he thought I could improve he would say so politely and often make a modification to my equipment in his shop."
Asked in April what climbing gave him, Forrest was quick to answer. "Just a lifetime of adventure, tremendous friends and a lot of self-knowledge," he said. "Climbing for me is the finest sport in the world. It's a beautiful thing."
A memorial service will be held Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Salida.
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp
Read more: Climbing legend Bill Forrest dies snowshoeing near Monarch Pass - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_22269229#ixzz2GMa4jiSF
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
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"I owned one guidebook, but didn't like reading it," he said. "I liked to scout my own routes."
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Dec 28, 2012 - 11:14am PT
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RIP
I've used a bunch of his stuff over the years including single-point hammock, harness, cleaning tool, verglass axe, lifetime axe and hammer set, and a Moljinor. Still have a haul bag and the Moljinor. And besides all the cool gear I understand he climbed too.
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rick d
climber
ol pueblo, az
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Dec 28, 2012 - 11:18am PT
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I interviewed Bill a little over 15 years ago for the AZ history project. A fine climber with similar thoughts to mine. Jim Waugh said of him that "he could build a solid belay on a scree slope" (Waugh had the honor of doing the second ascent of the Bandito route on the totem pole with him). Bill certainly had a long impact on Phoenix climbing history and climbing on the navajolands. My first sit harness was a Forrest ultimate which I have good memories of except the price which was almost out of my budget.
adios Bill.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Dec 28, 2012 - 11:29am PT
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Rest in Peace Bill Forrest. You were a beacon for my climber's life. Your big routes were my siren song. Thanks for all the gear and inspiration. A great man who will be greatly missed.
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Dec 28, 2012 - 11:50am PT
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I never knew him, but he was such a huge name when I first started climbing. My first non-Whillans harness was a Forrest, and I thought I'd been to the mountaintop (anyone who's used a Whillans would understand the radical difference).
I've always admired him and his accomplishments, and always got sort of a thrill driving through Denver, and seeing the building with his company's name painted on the side.
RIP, Bill.
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go-B
climber
Hebrews 1:3
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Dec 28, 2012 - 12:39pm PT
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Great Pack!
Went out still doing stuff, RIP Bill!
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Dec 28, 2012 - 02:20pm PT
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Sad news for us.
R.I.P Mr. Forrest
I still have a hammock, legs loops, a cpl ice tools and chocks.
I still use my Mjolnir hammer for climbing and rigging jobs.
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Dec 28, 2012 - 11:48pm PT
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A BRILLIANT innovator.
An INSPIRING climber.
I wish I still had all my Forrest gear. Each piece was so cool, built like a ton of granite, and never failed to be useful.
I am still longing to get a Forrest gear sling again...
Have fun up there Bill!
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Anastasia
climber
InLOVEwithAris.
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Dec 29, 2012 - 12:06am PT
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You are in good company Mr. Forrest. Rest in Peace and my deepest Condolences to your family, especially to your dear wife.
AFS
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Snowmassguy
Trad climber
Calirado
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Dec 29, 2012 - 12:33am PT
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Total visionary....a life well lived. RIP
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Dec 29, 2012 - 12:36am PT
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I hope that some of his partners will post up some stories.
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Conner
Mountain climber
Eden, Utah
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Dec 29, 2012 - 03:37am PT
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What an inspiration! He knew how to live and love it. I loved all my forrest gear - sling, swami and leg loops were my standard for years. Gone too soon like so many...
Condolences to his family and friends. RIP.
Connie Self
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R.B.
Trad climber
47N 122W
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My dad, Doug Black and Bill did several FA's in Central Arizona back in the 1960's, esp. at Camelback Mountain, in Phoenix. They both helped to form the Arizona Mountaineering Club (AMC) back in the early 1960's. Bill was one of my dad's best climbing buddies from that era. Lot's of history there. I still have one of his "plastic" foxheads on my "Pin Bin" rack.
I am saddened to hear of his passing.
R.I.P. Bill.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Only met Bill once or twice, but I was always aware, and often in awe, of his accomplishments.
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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i never met bill Forrest but i still use the haulbag and the aiders. good quality gear.
R.I.P.
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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I still have some of his Copperheads, but his 70’s gear slings were “the fashion-bomb.”
i had one of those.....i might still have it. while i only found a few placements for his TITONS i really appreciate his attempt at technology for climbing at a time when it was not easy.
i had one of his haulbags, gear slings, iceclimbing gloves, TITONS, and i think i still have one of his hammocks.
i also used his copperheads and foxheads sometimes.
sad to hear of this and want his family to know how appreciated his innovations were.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Rest well Bill Forrest
Some of my first gear included some Titons that I have to this day. My uncle handed them down to me. They are cherished pieces.
The gear slings I've seen a couple. They are superb pieces.
I'm surprised there aren't more gear sling makers out there making swanky gear slings like those. I think Russ is only one doing something with his pesca-vaca patterns.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I have been trying to process this loss over the last couple of days and still can't believe Bill is gone. Damn!
I came into climbing in 1970 right as Forrest Mountaineering was taking off. Bill was a brilliant and thorough climber/designer and every new offering was a delight to put to use.
After learning some aid technique my introduction to wall climbing came on Bill and George Hurley's Spring Route on the wildly overhanging east face of Baboquvari Peak an hours drive from home.
Lots of room and solitude for a fine desert adventure. Just the sort of outing that Bill really liked I suspect. Doing that route back in high school set the stage for my best climbing and gave me an early connection to what Bill Forrest was about.
I am really sad that I wasn't able to sit down with Bill and pick his brains for tales and technical knowhow. He was a great guy by all accounts and my sincerest condolences to his wife, family and friends. He was a subtle giant with much to admire.
The X-mas break summit shot from WBITD. Note the Pinbins, ironmongery and other extraneous funk! LOL
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