For the sake of providing greater space for a much larger group, the RRISCC November meeting is scheduled to be held at Cornerstone Bible Chapel on the 9th at 7:30 pm. Notice that this is a Sunday night, not our usual Monday evening meeting time. There will be a special program as we’ll have a highly motivated, top-rated climber to address the club, namely, Scott Backes from Minnesota. He has put together a polished presentation which he is taking all around the country. Here is more information about Scott, his climbs & his presentation:
The show features five expeditions spanning 20 years. It starts with a 7-10 minute introduction and the lights dim as we travel back to the Canadian Rockies in 1980 then on to Brazil and Patagonia in 1983 the lights come back up for about 5 minutes and I talk about the mentors in my life who helped me to mature as a climber and a man. the lights go down and we are in Alaska on Mt Hunter in 1985. the lights come up for 3-4 minutes as I explain how this climb changed my life and made possible the next two routes. The lights go down once again and we are in Alaska in 1994 for the route Deprivation on Mt. Hunter and finally back to Alaska for the single push ascent of Denali in 2000 by the Czech Direct. The epilogue to the show will be a summing up what I believe is the real value of this life at the edge. Total time for the show is 1-11/2 hrs.
Each of these trips helped him to understand the spiritual as well as the technical growth necessary for him to continue his travels down his path. The last section of the show is the trip that he believes was the culmination of all of his study. In the first summer of our new millennium Scott Backes traveled to Alaska to put his ideals and beliefs into action. On Mt McKinley, together with Steve House and Mark Twight, he climbed the hardest route on the mountain. The trio climbed the 9,000-foot “Czech Direct” route with no tent or sleeping bags in a 60-hour continuous push. Overhanging rock and ice, difficult mixed terrain and no sleep made this ascent mythic. Join with Scott as he takes you on a twenty-five year odyssey of success, failure and most importantly discovery.
What has made a formerly marginal activity like climbing become such a touchstone today? Why do we see its images seemingly everywhere? How does climbing contribute to our culture today? When and why did all of this change. You’ll be intrigued and your thoughts will be provoked with Scott Backes’ approach to these questions.
scott backes (photograph no longer available)
click the next two photos for larger images
scott backes (photograph no longer available)
scott backes (photograph no longer available)
Scott Backes is a flatlander; he has lived all his life in Minnesota. His list of first ascents, speed ascents and partners are well known to all those who aspire to Alpinism. How is it possible for a man who lives in the Midwest to become one of the finest alpinists in the country? The mentors he encountered on his travels were to him, what made the transformation from Taylor’s Falls top-roper to member of The North Face’s climbing team possible. This show is dedicated to those mentors and their teachings.
On a more mundane note, since annual dues were scheduled for collection during the September & October meetings, that’ll carry over to the November meeting as well. Also, the member list posted on a sub-page of our home page will not be purged of non-dues-paying persons until the first of December.
Location
The church is at 3231 Buffalo Road, Rochester. Here are directions:
If you are coming from the city or east of it, take I-490 west and exit at the first buffalo road exit and go west on Buffalo road. Pass through three lights. Shortly after the third light (Coldwater road), continue a short distance and watch for a bunch of diagonal yellow lines in the middle of the road and turn left between a break in those lines and park in the parking lot. If you are coming from the west side of the city, get on Buffalo road and continue to the church parking lot on your right, or catch Rt. 531 and take the I-490 west exit to the Buffalo road exit, then continue as above. If you are coming from the south or north, take I-390 north or south and take the I-490 west exit, then proceed as above. You’re on your own if you want to do it some other way and without using the expressways.
Hope to see you there for this auspicious occasion.
Stu Milligan
RRISCC President