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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 15, 2016 - 09:45pm PT
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More sad news. Nick Clinch, a Californian who led the US expeditions that were first to climb Gasherbrum I (1958) and then Masherbrum (1960), has died. He was 85. He also led the expedition to Vinson Massif in 1966. An honourary member of The Alpine Club, and honorary member of The American Alpine Club. And by all accounts a delightful fellow, and true gentleman.
Alison Osius' obituary in Rock & Ice is well worth a read: http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/nick-clinch-85-led-only-american-first-ascent-of-an-8000er
Here he is at the Facelift in 2006. (Ken Yager photo.)
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Jun 15, 2016 - 09:56pm PT
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A man ahead of his time.
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Dennis Hennek
climber
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Jun 15, 2016 - 10:07pm PT
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One of the best people i've ever known, condolences to Betsy and the family
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jun 15, 2016 - 10:20pm PT
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Gasherbrum I is the only one of the fourteen 8000-meter peaks whose first ascent was accomplished by an American team. RIP Nick!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 15, 2016 - 10:51pm PT
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Cheers to Nick. Condolences to family and friends. Was just reading about him in Roper's "Camp 4".
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Jun 15, 2016 - 11:39pm PT
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I only met him a couple of times. He seemed a very gentle, kind person. Condolences to family.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Jun 16, 2016 - 06:33am PT
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What a great American. Rest in peace, Mr. Clinch.
BAd
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Alois
Trad climber
Idyllwild, California
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Jun 16, 2016 - 09:12am PT
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Penelope and I are so sorry to hear this.
Yet another giant of American climbing scene is now gone.
Nick took me up on my first ever climb in the US in 1976, The Machete Ridge in the Pinnacles. Over the years, he always had time to say HI at various RCS and AAC events.
Wonderful, friendly, capable man. Remember running into him and his wife at Whitney Cafe in Lone Pine couple years back, where they were celebrating the anniversary of the astronomical observatory on top of Whitney, which Betsy's father had a major role in. I will never forget Nick.
Our deep condolences to the family.
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Ted Vaill
Trad climber
Malibu, California
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Jun 16, 2016 - 09:36am PT
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Nick has been a close friend since the 1960s. All the great ones are moving on (or up)!
Ted Vaill
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DrDeeg
Mountain climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 09:54am PT
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He was always a friend and mentor to younger climbers, especially when we were planning expeditions. Dennis Hennek and I visited him when he lived in Pasadena and we were thinking of both the Afghanistan and Pakistan sides of the Hindu Kush. He had a spectacular library.
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Clovis, CA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 10:19am PT
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RIP, Nick. Thank you for having the vision to create the AAC Teton Climber's Ranch and the AAC Library, both of which I have used and enjoy.
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arunmahajan
Mountain climber
Palo Alto, Ca
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Jun 16, 2016 - 10:23am PT
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Saddened to hear today of the passing of Nick Clinch, a very accomplished mountaineer and also a great person to talk with and hear stories from. In 2005, when I was the chair of the Peak Climbing Section of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, , I was passed on his email address and I found out that he lived in my home town of Palo Alto, so I had invited him to come to our meeting and give us a slide show and I was bowled over when he agreed to it. I scrounged the web for a copy of his book on his Hidden Peak expedition and found a used copy and he graciously signed it and it is a prized possession now. I had even re-arranged my trip to Tibet so that I could be there in person to see his slide show as we were having a hard time scheduling. I had made a small collection from the members and had presented him with a gift card to REI as a token of thanks. He accepted it graciously but then sent me a private note that he took no money for slide shows and returned to me the amount that the gift card was for. How gentlemanly of him. He presented a show of his climb to Masherbrum (first ascent). The show had incredible photos and it was great to see all these masters of their craft in their element in the glory days of exploratory mountaineering. RIP.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 10:27am PT
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Rest in peace, after a life well-lived, sir.
John
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 10:39am PT
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True class, in all aspects of life. Ms Osius' obit was a pleasure to read.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 10:57am PT
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To say that Nick was an efficient leader was an understatement.
It was 1970-something. I was in a car with Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost – don’t remember who was driving. Wasn’t me ‘cause I didn’t know where Clinch lived then. We were headed for Pasadena and Nick Clinch’s home. Yvon and Tom had talked me into going to an American Alpine Club section meeting.
It was a set-up. Five minutes into the meeting, Nick announced that it was time to elect the new section chairman. With no hesitation, Frost arose, “I nominate Don Lauria”. Chouinard followed immediately, “I second that motion”. Clinch finished with, “Mr. Lauria you have just been elected chairman of the Southern California Section of the American Alpine Club, congratulations, meeting adjourned, refreshments anyone?”. But I …. oh well, party on! Be at peace, Nickolas.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 11:00am PT
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This is very unwelcome news and my condolences to Betsy and Nick's family and community. Nick Clinch was a consummate gentleman and a climber's climber who never lost his passion for this grand endeavor that shapes lives and rewards dedication. I have had the pleasure of spending a bit of time in Nick's company in private and at NACHA events and have nothing but love and respect for him and the way that he has chosen to live his life.
His impact on the world of climbers is far reaching and an inspiration to anyone that cares to serve country and community as he chose to do.
We are all in his debt and I hope that he understood the depth of our appreciation and mutual respect which I like to think always kept him in the mix.
Bravo Maestro Clinch!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Jun 16, 2016 - 11:06am PT
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Giant of a man. Fun adventures at the Clinch in-house library with Boo and such a gracious host and gentle man.
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life is a bivouac
Trad climber
Bishop
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Jun 16, 2016 - 11:21am PT
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I'm shocked and very saddened by this news... I met, we met, Nick in the early '60's, as very young climbers. Ken Boche, Dennis Hennek and I were invited by Mr. Clinch to various Sierra Club and AAC presentations by the likes of L. Terray and G. Rebuffat and others. These presentations blew our minds as we were but "up starts" at tiny Stoney Point and never thought of shaking the hands of such nobility in the climbing world. Nick always reinforced our desires for climbing and certainly put in good words for us as our horizons expanded... He was an early friend, one who guided us out of the San Fernando Valley towards dreams we had not yet imagined. His chuckle and hearty laugh are sorely missed.
My deepest condolences to his friends and family, Russ McLean
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Jun 16, 2016 - 12:26pm PT
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A wonderful person. Peace, Nick.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Jun 16, 2016 - 01:57pm PT
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I am sorry to have never had the pleasure to meet Nick.
Another pillar of our community has left us.
To a life well lived.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jun 16, 2016 - 04:16pm PT
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End of an era--
HIdden Peak (1958) alone would make hims one of the most important American climbers of the last century. The AAC obit helps to explain how important he was behind the scenes, as well.
Nick was also a major bibliophile and one of the most important North American collectors of literature on central Asia. That collection, which he donated to the AAC, might be the best of its kind outside Harvard's Widenener or Yale's Beinecke.
RIP
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Gagner
climber
Boulder
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Jun 16, 2016 - 04:18pm PT
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Nick was a fine man. RIP Nick, I am happy to have known you!!
Paul
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DRiggs
climber
Truckee, CA
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Jun 16, 2016 - 04:43pm PT
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RIP Nick, and my condolences to Betsy and the rest of Nick's family and friends. I'm heartened that the other posts here capture Nick, as I was privileged to know him, really well. I'll only add that when I got involved in the AAC, I was warned about all the stuffy elitism and close mindedness of past leaders of the club. Nick (and many others) was anything but that. He was welcoming, encouraging, enthusiastic about all climbers and what we all share and the AAC's evolution. Yes, a true gentleman.
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Lassitude 33
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Jun 16, 2016 - 04:57pm PT
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Sad news indeed.
As stated by many, Nick was a true gentleman, a sharp intellect, and a quick sense of humor. He always made everyone feel at ease (and part of the fun). His mountaineering book collection was second to none and he had a real appreciation for climbing and climbers in all their forms.
In the early 1990s, when I was thinning my massive guidebook collection, Nick wanted anything and everything he didn't already have. His passion for climbing books and his library was truly unparalleled.
Unlike some of the old AAC guard, Nick was never stuffy nor did he ever make anyone feel unwelcome. Rest well.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 16, 2016 - 05:44pm PT
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Nick Clinch was an estimable human being, gererous, kind, encouraging, perceptive, erudite, diplomatic....I could go on. Arguably the best leader in the world in the era of large scale Himalayan expeditions.
He compiled the largest private collection of climbing literature ever assembled and donated most of it to the AAC.
As a past president of the AAC he stayed engaged and his constant encouragement to me during my term was most welcome...I only wish I had let him know how much.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jun 16, 2016 - 09:04pm PT
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A humble, giant of a man. Rest in peace, Nick.
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Chris Jones
Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
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Jun 20, 2016 - 06:33pm PT
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I first got to know Nick Clinch by correspondence; you know, those flimsy air-mail letters of days gone by. He wrote: “Dear Mr. Jones: I admire your thoroughness. I have now received your two letters, the first sent to me directly through the address supplied by the owner of Gaston’s Alpine Books. I received the second also, addressed to the Chair of the Sierra Club Rock Climbing Section. I am the Chair.” Back then, a Londoner, and knowing almost nothing about climbing in California, I was desperate to know if there were any crags in the immediate Bay Area. Nick assured me there were such crags, sending on an article on Indian Rock he had copied from Summit Magazine. Yosemite and Indian Rock too!
Over the coming years Nick was a vital member of the Bay Area climbing scene: hosting events, accommodating itinerant alpinists, attending AAC section meetings. And of course serving on the national AAC board. He was a wonderful speaker, with a host of anecdotes that caused gales of laughter. One in particular involved his small American team making off with the porters supposedly reserved for a large national Italian team under the leadership of Fosco Mariani. How he relished that bold stroke. A really friendly guy, a great climber and a well-lived life.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2016 - 08:27pm PT
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Fosco Maraini's book on the ascent of Gasherbrum IV, "Karakorum", is well worth a read, and as Chris observes, includes some priceless anecdotes about Clinch and the US expedition to Gasherbrum I. The Italians being a large, "national" expedition, the US being a relatively modest one. Maraini was well-travelled, and a very good writer.
It's fun to read the perspectives of the expeditions on each other. I wonder if any of the Us team to Gasherbrum had been in the 10th division, and fought in Italy?
Sort of on topic, June 21st is the 98th birthday of Dee Molenaar, who was on the US expedition to K2 in 1953.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Jun 20, 2016 - 09:48pm PT
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Memorable evening at the Climber's Ranch in August of 2010. Nick told his great story of the naming of Fairshare in the Tetons.
Couple of familiar faces just left of the steps: J Do, Coonyard and McCarthy.
Amazing run and a life well lived and shared.
Edit to add:
Not sure what the event was, or, why I had a copy of the guidebook (a few libations, to be sure), but, Nick signed the photo of himself under Glencoe Spire in the Tetons. His self deprecating humor concerning the photo was a riot.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 20, 2016 - 11:15pm PT
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A really nice man. An honor and a pleasure to have met him and shared some stories and sentiments. Oh soon the light, fellow traveler.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Jun 21, 2016 - 09:18am PT
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A brilliant, understated gentleman. Donini summarized it very well. A life well lived.
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grey thunder
Trad climber
Hanover, NH
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Jun 21, 2016 - 12:26pm PT
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Posted with permission of William A. Fetterhoff
As chairman of the Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch committee, I would like to express the
sorrow of the entire Climbers' Ranch family at the passing of Nick Clinch. I last saw Nick in
Washington, D.C. this past February at the AAC Annual Meeting. Nick was very frail, but still cheerful and strong in spirit as he led the observance of the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the Vinson Massif.
In August, 2010 Nick traveled to Wyoming to attend the 40th anniversary of the Climbers'
Ranch, and spent a few memorable days at the ranch with everyone who was fortunate enough to be there. On the evening of the public celebration there were several hundred people in attendance, and Nick gave an excellent speech recalling the creation of the Climbers’ Ranch during his tenure as AAC president from 1968-1970. When I introduced Nick, I noted that he had first visited the Tetons in 1948; made the first ascent of the Second Tower of the Grand Teton in 1951, with Leigh Ortenburger, Dick Irvin and John Mowat; and the first ascent of the East Ridge of Fairshare Tower the same year, with Peter Robinson. I also cited Nick's many other climbing achievements from the Karakoram to Antarctica to China and Tibet. I observed that "Nick's presence here tonight connects
all of us to more than half a century of climbing history in the United States and around the world." But that evening in Wyoming was less to honor Nick's climbing accomplishments than to thank him for his enduring gift of the Climbers' Ranch.
On Easter Sunday, 1968 Nick had dinner with Horace Albright, retired Director of the National Park Service, at Nick's home in Pasadena, California. During that dinner Nick mentioned to Mr. Albright that the AAC would like to find an alternative lodging or camping facility for climbers in the Tetons, to replace the old Jenny Lake climbers' campground which had been closed by the NPS in 1966. Mr. Albright concurred with the idea, and agreed to recommend it to NPS Director George Hartzog. During the summer of 1968, Nick visited the Tetons and met again with Horace Albright to investigate the alternatives which had been identified by Park Superintendent Howard Chapman. The ultimate choice was between the Double Diamond Ranch and the Half Moon Ranch, both old dude ranches more or less dilapidated. While in the Park, Nick also consulted Leigh Ortenburger and Chief Climbing Ranger Pete Sinclair, both of whom unhesitatingly recommended the Double Diamond Ranch, since the property was closer to the heart of the range, with trails leading directly to Garnet Canyon and many of the major peaks. So was the Climbers' Ranch conceived and created, opening in June, 1970. As Nick wrote in the January-February, 1969 issue of Summit magazine, while announcing to the climbing community the new Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch, "It would be impossible to get a better ranch in a better location." That was true then and remains true today.
In presenting a 40th anniversary plaque to Nick on behalf of the AAC, engraved to him "With gratitude for a lifetime of leadership and generosity of heart," I closed my remarks that evening as follows:
“The Climbers' Ranch receives about 1,000 guests a season, each summer for 40 years. The most important element in the history of the Climbers' Ranch has been the tradition of community in which a love of these mountains, a love of this place, and thousands of friendships have been shared and sustained. Some of the people who come here now are the children and grandchildren of climbers who stayed here in the early 1970s. We have all been privileged to enjoy this place, and we are all indebted to Nick Clinch.”
Nothing better can be said of a man than that he created happiness for others. Through the creation of the Climbers' Ranch, as through so many other endeavors, and through his kindness, humor, and generosity of spirit, Nick did that long and well.
William A. Fetterhoff
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EdwardT
Trad climber
Retired
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Jun 24, 2016 - 09:40am PT
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Missed this story. Just read NYT tribute. Amazing man.
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LongAgo
Trad climber
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Jun 24, 2016 - 09:59am PT
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Gracious, cool, gentle, respectful, giving, organized, driven, accomplished professional and solid family man. A pleasure knowing you. Condolences to the family. RIP.
Tom Higgins
LongAgo
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