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Fred and I were strip-searched at the Canadian border in 1973 because of some suspicious looking powder he had in his car glove box. That was the first sign that the trip was headed off the rails. After watching Dirtbag, I realized that I wasn’t really a climber. I didn’t have the right to call myself a real climber even though I spent decades trying to be. Fred was a real deal climber. He sacrificed everything for climbing. He had the kind of focus that I could only admire. I saw this guy in Tahoe City a few years ago (after Fred had died). Made me wonder if he really was too tough to croak. “We never grow tired of each other, the mountains and I”, Li Po wrote 12 centuries ago. there will never be another Fred Beckey.

Stick it to me!

@dberdinka is our resident cornice slayer.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/barron-ghost-town It is along the route that was originally scoped for the North Cascades Highway (up Canyon and Slate Creeks and over Hart's pass). But that way wasn't deemed scenic enough and so it went over WA pass. Fred was definitely upset at the route 20 took and wrote about it. It would have been way cool to climb up there without the highway. And yes, our house has cleaned up a lot since that photo was taken!