Dave Rearick (born August 5, 1932) is an American
rock climber
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...
and
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
. A pioneer of Yosemite's golden age of climbing, Rearick – frequently climbing with
Bob Kamps
Bob Kamps (1931 – 2 March 2005) was an American rock climber whose climbing career spanned five decades. Born in Wisconsin, he began climbing in California in 1955, and was a member of that cadre of Yosemite pioneers who first ascended many of ...
– was instrumental in shifting the focus from
aid climbing
Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress.
The term contrasts with free climbing in which progress is made without using artif ...
to
free climbing
Free climbing is a form of rock climbing in which the climber may use climbing equipment such as ropes and other means of climbing protection, but only to protect against injury during falls and not to assist vertical or horizontal progress. T ...
in the 1950s.
Rearick and
Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins (February 3, 1935 – March 14, 2017) was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of b ...
climbed the ''Vampire'' at
Tahquitz Rock
Tahquitz Peak (pronounced , sometimes ) is a granite, rock formation located on the high western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range in Riverside County, Southern California, United States, above the mountain town of Idyllwild. Tahquitz ha ...
in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
in 1959; though some aid was used (not eliminated until 1973), the route required
5.10 climbing, exceptionally difficult for the times. A year later the team of Robbins and Rearick established Yosemite's first 5.10 climb: the ''East Chimney'' of Rixon's Pinnacle.
In August 1960, Kamps and Rearick made the first ascent of the ''Diamond'', the massive headwall on the east face of
Longs Peak
Longs Peak ( Arapaho: ) is a high and prominent mountain in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, southwest by south ( bearing 209°) of ...
, in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
. Their ascent was reported in newspapers across America.
Rearick received a PhD in mathematics from
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
, defending his thesis during the spring of 1960. He became a mathematics professor at the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
at
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In ...
, retiring in the 1990s.
See also
*
List of climbers
This list of climbers and mountaineers is a list of people notable for the activities of mountaineering, rock climbing (including bouldering) and ice climbing.
A
* Vitaly Abalakov (1906–1992) Russia, climbed Lenin Peak (1934) and Khan T ...
References
* Ament, Pat (2002). "Wizards of Rock: A History of Free Climbing in America", Wilderness Press
External links
Brief Profile
American rock climbers
1934 births
Living people
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