About Rick

About Rick

His Life: Pioneering Australian climber Rick White died peacefully on 26 November 2004 in Winchester Hospital in the UK following a short but determined battle with cancer. He was 58 years old. Rick – who is probably best known for his visionary development of Frog Buttress – battled the muscle – wasting disease, inclusion body myositis, for the past 12 years and has been unable to climb since the early 1990’s. In recent ears, he devoted himself to coaching Australia’s top junior sport climbers, Cass Crane, Tiffany Melius, Libby Hall and Thomas Farrell, and worked with Samantha Berry under a Mountain Designs climbing support program. They are some of the many hundreds of young climbers who have benefited from Rick’s mentorship over three decades.

Rick’s first climb was a scary solo ascent of the exposed Prometheus Iion the east face of Tibrogargan 1967. From 1968, he played a leading role in a new wave of climbers in Queensland who began to push the existing limits nationally. Within 12 months, Rick had repeated all the toughest known routes in SE Queensland, the Warrumbungles and the Blue Mountains and realised there was only one place left to go: into the unknown. With his climbing partner Chris Meadows, Rick first walked down the scree slope of what would later become Frog Buttress on 9 November 1968 and Australian climbing changed forever. Rick led hundreds of new routes at the Buttress over the next 20 years and many of the guides to those early climbs read invariably…’Second unable to follow’.

Rick inspired a cohort of climbers in Queensland as he pushed the boundaries of the known, opening up new routes on the east face of Mt Maroon. In 1972, he put up what was then the hardest route in Australia –Valhalla. He and a small group of hard climbers like Ted Cais, Paul Caffyn, Greg Sheard, Ian Thomas, and Rob Staszewski put Queensland climbing at the forefront of the sport in Australia. In 1973, Rick made the first Australian ascent of The Nose on El Capitan followed by the Salathe Wall with his long time friend, Doug Scott. In the Christmas period 1974 – 1075, Rick teamed up with newcomer Robert ‘Squeak’Staszewski in a bold attempt to climb the Fitzroy in Patagonia. Thwarted by the weather and tent-ridden on the Torre Glacier, they discussed the possibility of making a living out of climbing by manufacturing quality equipment designed for local and international use.

When they returned to Australia, Rick expanded his small part-time climbing equipment import business into a fully-fledged manufacturing venture: the forerunner of Mountain Designs. Although much of Rick’s time was then spent developing his business interests, he maintained his interest in Frog Buttress, Mt Maroon and new areas like Maggie’s Farm (Mt Maroon).

In 1979, he made a solo ascent of Ball’s Pyramid. Two years later, he was reunited with Doug Scott and an international climbin team to make the first ascent of the East Pillar of the 6500 metre spire, Shivling, in the Garwhal Himalaya in northern India. Both he and Doug Scott celebrated their birthdays on the climb- Rick turned 33 and Doug, 38.

The climbing equipment business was booming and Rick always ensured that the bebfits flowed onto his mates, with scores of climbers finding work at Mountain Designs over the years. Some wryly recall that cash-flow crises always seemed to emerge when Rick was on a climbing trip out of the country! Rick began to turn his attention to the international climbing scene and the high mountains and in the 1990, organised an expedition to climb the 8000 metre Cho Oyu. Michael Groom joined the expedition and was the only member of the team to summit, climbing the standard route after their attempt to climb a new route was abandoned because of avalanche danger and altitude sickness by most members of the team. Rick returned to the Himalayas in 1991, this time with Everest in his sights. But the collapse of a long-time financier meant Mountain Designs was plunged into crisis. In a devastating set of circumstances, Rick lost control of the company he had started and was left huge debts. It was about this time that his muscle-wasting disease was diagnosed. Despite extraordinary odds, he was determined to continue his lifetime commitment to climbing and eventually started up a high-end sleeping bag manufacturing business, working from home.

By 2001, Mountain Designs’ ownership had changed again and new proprietor Greg Nunn invited Rick back into the fold as research and development advisor, or as Rick described himself, ‘a walking historian’. Rick maintained his intimate association with Frog Buttress and participated in all of the ‘milestones’ over the years. At the 20th anniversary in 1988, he and Chris Meadows made another ascent of the first route they climbed at the Buttress on 16 November 1968, Corner of Eden. It was their last climb together. Chris took his own life in 1991, the same year that Rick’s illness was diagnosed. In 1998, Rick was back at Frog Buttress for the 30th anniversary and abseiled down the classic ‘jamB’ crack, The Infinity. With his adductor muscles no longer operating, he struggled back up the scree on his hands and knees, denying all offers of assistance. It took him the best part of 45 minutes to make it back to the car park. Perhaps the greatest contribution Rick has made here is his attitude to clean climbing. From the late 1960’s;he adopted an approach that rejected the use of anything but’jamB’ protection. He always hoped that Frog Buttress would remain a bolt-free zone but the first bolt was placed there in 1981.

All of us who knew Rick as a congenial, loyal friend will miss his incisive, invariably perceptive wit. He was working on a book about his life in the last weeks before his death. In typical style, bedridden, frustrated, he came up with a title just a few days ago: ‘@#%$ the diagnosis!’ Although unlikely to be acceptable to a publisher, it nevertheless sums up the extraordinary determination he showed right to the end. Doug Scott was one of the few climbers Rick ever saw as having a major influence on him – and in Doug’s words: He’s the toughest bugger I’ve ever known’. Ted Cais, too, identifies Rick’s extraordinary mental toughness as one of his most admirable traits.

Mike Meadows and Phil Crane

Testimonials

Rick White, Ian Thomas and Ted Cais at Frog in the late 60’s

I count myself fortunate to have been Rick’s climbing partner during the historic and pivotal era in Queensland climbing from 1968 to 1974. Developments then, particularly at Frog Buttress, firmly established us at the international forefront of technical crack climbing. Our routes together stood the test of time well and are still regarded as classic test pieces. Rick had the right stuff when it came to vision, style, ability, perserverance and guts. He was always straightforward and brutally honest, both with himself and others. His piercing observations, coloured by a cheeky irreverence, always made us laugh. Mental toughness is the singular attribute that distinguished him best. It is my hope the “spirit” of Rick will live on through the work of this Foundation to motivate outstanding achievements that would make him proud.

Ted Cais
June 2006

Achievements

1st Ascent of Lord Gumtree (hammerless) Mt Buffalo
1st Ascent of El Cap Yosemite by an Australian
1st Ascent of East Pillar of Shivling with a team which included Doug Scott
The discovery and development of Frog Buttress in S.E. QLD
1st Ascent (solo) of Balls Pyramid
1st Australian expedition to Mustagata in Western China (1985)
1st Australian expedition to Chou oyu (1990)
Sponsor of first Australian ascent of Mt Everest
Leader of Everest expedition in 1991

Admirers

Climbing community in general
Doug Scott
Sam Berry
Greg Child
Chris Baxter
Michael Groom