Remembering California free soloist John Rosendahl

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John Rosendahl, a free solo rock climber who kept climbing after a spinal fusion surgery and climbed well into his 40s, passed away last week in California.

In an obituary for Rock and Ice, California climber Matt Blank remembers meeting Rosendahl before the older man embarked on a 5.11c in Clark’s Canyon. Rosendahl carried two things: a square of carpet and a pair of men’s dress shoes.

Was there a wedding at the top of the climb? “They’re good for edging,” Blank reports Rosendahl saying before he pulled on the shoes and started up the route.

See the obituary at Rock and Ice.