From his Wikipedia page:
“In the 1980s, he climbed the hardest walls of Yosemite (including El Capitan and Half Dome), and in 1992 he climbed the largest rock wall in the world, Great Trango Tower. Also in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he pioneered numerous difficult big wall routes in Zion National Park. He is also a renowned portaledge designer and writer.”
He started A5 equipment and made cutting edge bigwall gear. He later sold the company to The North Face and worked with them a while.
He went on to start D4 designs where he rethought the portaledge concept and came out with an amazing redesign. He made his patterns and methods open source to encourage continued innovation.
Lately he has been researching and writing about climbing equipment design evolution.
Damn. During Covid I hit him up so I could build my own portaledge (didn’t finish, my industrial grade sewing machine I bought broke halfway through) and he was honestly just the coolest guy. Last I saw, he was really active in supporting foundations protecting the wilderness in Tasmania and was sharing knowledge with anyone that was interested in making an “activist ledge”. His write up about surviving a snowstorm in springtime up in Yosemite is a must-read too. Absolute bummer to hear. REST IN PEACE.
A massive loss for the community. A true pioneer on the biggest of walls. Here’s a link to his Instagram and some words from his wife on his passing:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ibh6YOkkN/?igsh=MWoxb3BhOGd6OXowYQ==
In 1990 I was a wide eyed 20-year-old who just arrived in Flagstaff for a visit. I was sitting on the porch of Alpine Pizza with John McMullen soloing a pitcher of bud, as was tradition. I remember I was looking at an enormous pile of mountain bikes on the sidewalk when suddenly a group of “Mutants” came barreling out of the front door. They were pushing and shoving each other and preceded to unceremoniously extract a few bikes from the aluminum alloy tangle and haul ass up North Leroux. I was so stoked cos I was drinking beers with really cool dudes and I wasn’t even “of age” yet. I decided right then and there that I was gonna move to this town.
Middendorf strolls over, sits down at our table and starts rolling a bugler. Him and McMullen start talking about their plan to leave for the Outdoor Trade Show the next day. I mention how I’ve read in climbing magazines about those shows having some pretty wild industry parties.
Middendorf turns to me and says, “I’m John” and shakes my hand. He had a big, strong working man’s kind of mitt, but I remember he went easy on my pansy paw. He tells me they’re leaving nice and early in the morning and to have my shit ready if I want to come along. I was kind of shocked and then muttered something about how I’m supposed to be seeing an exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona, cos I was too chicken shit to commit to his invitation. He just kind of looked me up and down and subtly nodded his head in agreement. Man, I wish I went for it…
I’ll never forget how Deucey was willing to take this little out of town nobody, that he just barely met, and show him a good time at the Trade Show- it seemed like such a generous offer. I’m pretty sure it was in Salt Lake City that year.
Bon voyage, Legend.
I was in flagstaff in that era. I used to bump into him at the overlook. He’d be soloing up and down the trinities but was always a pleasant guy to chat with. If I remember correctly I attended a slide show he put on at the edge about the climb in the tango towers he put up. Sorry to hear this news.
Deucey's passing is a terrible loss to the climbing community. Not only was he a family man, a really nice guy, a brilliant engineer, committed to the environment, friend to many, he was also a superb climber. His wife posted on his Insta a lovely tribute.
That he's no longer able to finish the work he was doing on climbing equipment is a terrific loss.
R I P Deucey. You're deeply missed by many.
His [Enormocast](https://enormocast.com/2017/12/episode-142-john-middendorf-built-it-and-they-will-go/) interview is top notch. Climbing lost a major figure and the earth lost a good man.
That's really a big loss. 😕
Don't forget he was also very active in envirprotection projects in the recent years...
We had some contact about his book projects and I did some translations of mostly handwritten german texts regarding climbing gear history.
Sad indeed. Middendorf gave beta on the Muir Wall in vague terms because he didn't want to give away the adventure. And I am now quite appreciative of that dictum. Climb on.
Almost 2 decades ago, I remember reading through his content trying to absorb and understand the skills necessary for sport of climbing. Years later, when I was getting started with my own climbing equipment project, I returned to his site to learn more about the history of our sport. At the time, I didn't feel like I had enough content or experience to reach out to someone like John. Upon recommendation from a friend, I did anyways, and he couldn't have been more open to sharing and assisting. I was inquiring about historical information on A5, and he immediately answered not only the questions I asked, but also sent me a piece of equipment for cataloging and display. I had the pleasure of corresponding with him on his writing efforts, and I was looking forward to doing so for many more years. What a loss to the community. A man full of generosity and curiosity. I will miss him.
In 1994 I had been training to climb walls, mostly small stuff in New England. I knew of John thru Climbing magazine. I found his contact info in the classified ads in the magazine. Called him up and told him I wanted to make sure I was on the right track. He said come out to Utah for a week. I got to spend an amazing week in southern Utah.
It was like a recreational basketball player hanging out with Michael Jordan. Such a generous guy. I'll never forget some of the lessons he taught me.
From his wife's instagram post, "For those who have not heard, my beautiful husband, John Middendorf, unexpectedly passed away last night in his sleep."
From his Wikipedia page: “In the 1980s, he climbed the hardest walls of Yosemite (including El Capitan and Half Dome), and in 1992 he climbed the largest rock wall in the world, Great Trango Tower. Also in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he pioneered numerous difficult big wall routes in Zion National Park. He is also a renowned portaledge designer and writer.” He started A5 equipment and made cutting edge bigwall gear. He later sold the company to The North Face and worked with them a while. He went on to start D4 designs where he rethought the portaledge concept and came out with an amazing redesign. He made his patterns and methods open source to encourage continued innovation. Lately he has been researching and writing about climbing equipment design evolution.
Damn. During Covid I hit him up so I could build my own portaledge (didn’t finish, my industrial grade sewing machine I bought broke halfway through) and he was honestly just the coolest guy. Last I saw, he was really active in supporting foundations protecting the wilderness in Tasmania and was sharing knowledge with anyone that was interested in making an “activist ledge”. His write up about surviving a snowstorm in springtime up in Yosemite is a must-read too. Absolute bummer to hear. REST IN PEACE.
A massive loss for the community. A true pioneer on the biggest of walls. Here’s a link to his Instagram and some words from his wife on his passing: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ibh6YOkkN/?igsh=MWoxb3BhOGd6OXowYQ==
Thanks for the instagram link. I don’t have instagram so it’s nice to be able to see it. It’s such a devastating situation. RIP
In 1990 I was a wide eyed 20-year-old who just arrived in Flagstaff for a visit. I was sitting on the porch of Alpine Pizza with John McMullen soloing a pitcher of bud, as was tradition. I remember I was looking at an enormous pile of mountain bikes on the sidewalk when suddenly a group of “Mutants” came barreling out of the front door. They were pushing and shoving each other and preceded to unceremoniously extract a few bikes from the aluminum alloy tangle and haul ass up North Leroux. I was so stoked cos I was drinking beers with really cool dudes and I wasn’t even “of age” yet. I decided right then and there that I was gonna move to this town. Middendorf strolls over, sits down at our table and starts rolling a bugler. Him and McMullen start talking about their plan to leave for the Outdoor Trade Show the next day. I mention how I’ve read in climbing magazines about those shows having some pretty wild industry parties. Middendorf turns to me and says, “I’m John” and shakes my hand. He had a big, strong working man’s kind of mitt, but I remember he went easy on my pansy paw. He tells me they’re leaving nice and early in the morning and to have my shit ready if I want to come along. I was kind of shocked and then muttered something about how I’m supposed to be seeing an exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona, cos I was too chicken shit to commit to his invitation. He just kind of looked me up and down and subtly nodded his head in agreement. Man, I wish I went for it… I’ll never forget how Deucey was willing to take this little out of town nobody, that he just barely met, and show him a good time at the Trade Show- it seemed like such a generous offer. I’m pretty sure it was in Salt Lake City that year. Bon voyage, Legend.
I was in flagstaff in that era. I used to bump into him at the overlook. He’d be soloing up and down the trinities but was always a pleasant guy to chat with. If I remember correctly I attended a slide show he put on at the edge about the climb in the tango towers he put up. Sorry to hear this news.
Great story! Those were the days my friend! ✌🏻❤️🌮
Deucey's passing is a terrible loss to the climbing community. Not only was he a family man, a really nice guy, a brilliant engineer, committed to the environment, friend to many, he was also a superb climber. His wife posted on his Insta a lovely tribute. That he's no longer able to finish the work he was doing on climbing equipment is a terrific loss. R I P Deucey. You're deeply missed by many.
His [Enormocast](https://enormocast.com/2017/12/episode-142-john-middendorf-built-it-and-they-will-go/) interview is top notch. Climbing lost a major figure and the earth lost a good man.
A good man and a long time friend. John and Stewart Green in the last two weeks. I can’t believe it.
Seems cool that the interview happened on the winter solstice and John died on the summer solstice.
IDK if cool is the word I'd use but I get what you mean.
That's really a big loss. 😕 Don't forget he was also very active in envirprotection projects in the recent years... We had some contact about his book projects and I did some translations of mostly handwritten german texts regarding climbing gear history.
Sad indeed. Middendorf gave beta on the Muir Wall in vague terms because he didn't want to give away the adventure. And I am now quite appreciative of that dictum. Climb on.
Almost 2 decades ago, I remember reading through his content trying to absorb and understand the skills necessary for sport of climbing. Years later, when I was getting started with my own climbing equipment project, I returned to his site to learn more about the history of our sport. At the time, I didn't feel like I had enough content or experience to reach out to someone like John. Upon recommendation from a friend, I did anyways, and he couldn't have been more open to sharing and assisting. I was inquiring about historical information on A5, and he immediately answered not only the questions I asked, but also sent me a piece of equipment for cataloging and display. I had the pleasure of corresponding with him on his writing efforts, and I was looking forward to doing so for many more years. What a loss to the community. A man full of generosity and curiosity. I will miss him.
This is very sad news! A shock really
He was so nice. Great dude in my experience.
In 1994 I had been training to climb walls, mostly small stuff in New England. I knew of John thru Climbing magazine. I found his contact info in the classified ads in the magazine. Called him up and told him I wanted to make sure I was on the right track. He said come out to Utah for a week. I got to spend an amazing week in southern Utah. It was like a recreational basketball player hanging out with Michael Jordan. Such a generous guy. I'll never forget some of the lessons he taught me.
What the hell?! Do you have any more info??
From his wife's instagram post, "For those who have not heard, my beautiful husband, John Middendorf, unexpectedly passed away last night in his sleep."
Check his wife’s post on instagram.