HikeArizona.COM

2014-02-23 66 year old man dies in Upper Devil's Canyon. Hit in the head by a boulder.

Just spoke with the Scott family. Such a wonderful family!
All hiking, climbing, racing, etc ( John has a large family and a huge network of hobbies ) friends are welcome to attend services.

The family is looking to make the service a celebration of his life!

Desert Cross Lutheran Church, 8600 S McClintock Dr - Monday Mar 3rd 2pm
http://www.desertcross.org/Contact/Directions.aspx

the amc announcement:

In Memory of John Scott



It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that John Scott, a fellow Arizona Mountaineering Club member, died on Sunday, February 23 on a climbing day at Lost Wall in Upper Devil’s Canyon.



John was an AMC member for three years and had been very active with the club with climbing and volunteer work, including assisting with our rock schools and stewardship projects in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.



On his last day, John lead a route at Lost Wall that he had only successfully top-roped in the past. The weather was perfect and John was finishing a wonderful day of climbing when he was suddenly and tragically struck by rock fall. If comfort can be found, it is in the fact that John passed away while doing what he loved.



Our thoughts and prayers go out to John’s wife Susie and family. As information regarding arrangements becomes available it will be communicated.

If you can help out a collection of photos is requested. There is now a culture label "johnr1", please label photos with John in the photo... especially the fun ones!

Such a terrible tragedy. I hiked with him but once - up to the summit at O'Leary peak, and fondly remember our "techno" conversation. Conversation made the miles and the elevation go by really easy.
My condolences to the family and prayers to get them thru this very difficult time. No words are sufficient to soothe over the sorrow - my thoughts and prayers are with Johns family. May he rest in peace.

I read that in the paper when I was in Houston the last couple of days. Shocking to hear it was one of our own ...

Someone I respect and admire for his outdoor devotion but was never able to meet. What an accomplished life he lived. I can only dream of being half as lucky as him.

Newspaper Obituary

John R. Scott was born on July 2, 1947 in Tucson, Arizona. As a child, he moved throughout Southern Arizona, as his Father worked on assignments for the Arizona Highway Department. During this period, John hiked with his parents throughout the Arizona Sonora Desert and learned to love his time in the desert. John joined the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts rising to earn the title of “Star” Scout. John Scott received his bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering from ASU and later as Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from U of A. During the Vietnam War and thereafter he served in the United States Army as a Communications Officer, stationed in various locations around the world. After leaving the Army, John joined a defense contractor in Goodyear, Arizona and rose to manage various engineering groups. John enjoyed a plethora of hobbies with his children ranging from coaching little league, ham radios, model railroading to go-kart racing to car racing. John resumed hiking 10 years ago, soon meeting his personal goal of hiking to the high point in each county of Arizona. Besides his wife Suze, survivors include Kristen Musil (Kyle), Robyn Scott, John A. Scott, Andrea Gulden (Artie), Carl W. Scott (Allison), Robert Scott and seven grandchildren whom he adored. Services will be at Desert Cross Lutheran ChurchMonday March 3rd at 2pm 8600 S. McClintock Drive Tempe AZ 85285 In lieu of flowers the family suggests donating to Child Crisis Center in Mesa or your favorite charitable organization.

@Joe- thank you for posting that.

I read this story before they released his name. I only found out yesterday that it was John.
He and I went on many hikes together - he helped me climb Brown's Peak, he taught me how to rappel and we did our first ridgeline together. He was the most patient person I've ever met.
R.I.P.

bumping this
service is this afternoon
info posted above

very nice service
lots of haz members there, which was good to see
bob and sirena did a great job speaking
had i been able to, this is what i would have said:

I met John on hikearizona.com three years ago when he answered a forum post for a gym partner. We started climbing at Phoenix Rock Gym every other Friday afternoon on John’s day off. We did a few climbs in the lead cave. The obvious next step was to take it outside, and our first outdoor climb was on Lookout Mountain. We hiked to the top of Dead Dobie Wall, and John set up a rappel. I hadn’t rapped or climbed outdoors in several years, and getting on rappel there is a little awkward. I was somewhat anxious about it, and in my paralysis, considered hiking down to the base of the wall. I knew that I needed to execute the rap, and John very patiently waited for me to figure it out. We climbed a couple routes on toprope and called it a day. We did the same thing on Sven’s Slab a few weeks later. Initially, John was somewhat of a mentor, until I recalled what I learned in the AMC basic class and got more comfortable climbing rock.

We were soon climbing at Phoenix Rock Gym almost every Friday and started hitting different crags. I tagged along on a meetup to Jack’s Canyon. The two of us went to Jack’s and then Upper Devils Canyon that first year, able to lead enough of the easier climbs to make a day of it. We sought out moderate sport climbs that we could lead, sometimes setting a toprope for a harder route. We were both happy to be independent from meetups and planned events, although we did take part in those, too. We climbed the Praying Monk on Camelback. We took anchors class together and practiced at the Overlook. Our second year we discovered Mt. Lemmon, which soon became a favorite. Perhaps the highlight for me of our partnership was the two overnight camping trips we did on Mt. Lemmon last summer, giving us two days at different crags for one drive. We did a couple of two-pitch climbs to work on hanging belays and rope management. We must have hit two dozen different walls over 45 outings during the past three years.

John and I also shared a love for peakbagging. We hiked off-trail to Aylor’s Arch, stood on top of Battleship and Brown’s Peak with Angela, and on Stewart Mountain with the HAZ group January 1st. Two peaks eluded John, Rincon and Estrella. I might have to take a Guiness up both of those to toast my climbing partner.

John was patient, kind, encouraging and supportive. We looked out for each other, checked each other and trusted each other. We usually got out on Sundays, with John driving and me getting dinner. John put up with my work schedule and my naps and introduced me to El Charro. We talked about climbing, hiking, peaks, racing, our jobs, our history and our families. We enjoyed each other’s company, the scenery, the weather, Mexican food and Dairy Queen.

The last three months I had been unable to get outdoors with John. Through his triplogs I saw that he was climbing with Stormy and was also introducing some gym climbers to the outdoors. I admire John for doing that. I know he would have enjoyed being rope gun. Our last climb together was in November at Lost Wall. We didn’t lead much, and John struggled in toproping Projectiles. For him to be able to lead that last Sunday would have made him very happy. I last saw John January 17th at the rock gym. I was recently going to be able to make Sunday plans with John again, when I learned of his accident. I will miss my partner. I am grateful for our time together. Thank you, my friend, for sharing your love of climbing with me.

Kelly, thanks for sharing. Nice to see everyone. Bob, Sirena :worthy:

I think "likes" are disabled.

So ditto what Joe said.

Ditto what Joe and Chum said

I am so honored to have been a part of the memorial, it was an amazing celebration of John's many-faceted life. Glad I could share my story of our climb of the Weaver's Needle.

Kelly, that was beautifully written.

Very grateful to Joe for fostering such a great community here on HAZ. Nice to finally meet you and other folks I've seen on here for years, wish it would have been under different circumstances.

sirena wrote:Very grateful to Joe for fostering such a great community here on HAZ

Without HAZ, I never would have met John and many others I consider not only hiking partners but also friends. The celebration of the life of John Scott was very special and I'm glad I was a part of it. For those who couldn't make it, I will post what I read along with the all of the pictures used by me and others including pictures from his childhood, family, work, racing, and hiking and climbing. Jim Haskins from his work told great and funny stories about food and how it related to winning contracts. Larry Pond spoke of John and his love for racing. John's brother Carl spoke of their childhood. Sirena and I spoke of personal hiking and climbing stories. John's son Carl spoke about Dad. It was nice to learn new things about John and to see some of his life thru pictures.

sirena wrote:Very grateful to Joe for fostering such a great community here on HAZ

BobP wrote:Without HAZ, I never would have met John and many others I consider not only hiking partners but also friends. The celebration of the life of John Scott was very special and I'm glad I was a part of it. It was nice to learn new things about John and to see some of his life thru pictures.

Ditto!

I met John thru Hikearizona.com. We first met on November 19th 2010, a date that is emblazoned in my mind. We were part of a ragtag search team looking for a missing hiker named Joe Domin. Joe was also a member of our close knit community. There were four of us searching; we were of different ages and backgrounds but we all shared a love for hiking and helping others. We quickly bonded and set off for what John would later say was his most grueling hike. Our day was filled with fun but also with sadness. We pushed each other and we all stood safely on Sheep Mountain. John wrote “This one is for you Joe”. The search didn’t provide any clues but it established lasting friendships.

A month after our initial meeting, five of us commandeered a battleship. John and Kat came close to summitting Battleship Mountain but turned around prior to the top. I sent out a message to see if they’d be interested in trying it again. They obliged. This hike had it all: hiking, climbing, route finding, teamwork, and above all laugh out loud situations…. And great cookies.

I climbed with John and Liz at Phoenix Rock Gym quite a few times and always enjoyed this meetup because I was the newbie. John helped me with my technique and we spent quality time climbing up and down walls trying to solve their riddles.

John once sent me a list of all the highpoints he wanted to climb. Mazatzal Peak was on that list. This would become John’s new most grueling hike. In his triplog, he wrote “Hi my name is John and I am a peak bagger”.

We kept in contact via Hikearizona but John was mostly climbing and I was mostly hiking.

This past New Years Day, a dozen members of Hikearizona ranging in ages from 30’s to 60’s were standing on Stewart Mountain toasting in the New Year. Later, we enjoyed lunch and laughter at a nearby picnic area.

A few weeks later I sent John a message to see if we could climb together outdoors. We planned an outing on Valentine’s Day. I was a little upset when he didn’t show up with the flowers he promised. This was my first climb outside in a long time. The fact that I knew John was super cautious and knowledgeable kept me at ease. We hiked to the top and I started asking questions. I needed to know all the cool climbing lingo. After he refreshed my memory, we prepared to rappel down. Luckily, John reminded me to check everything before heading down because I had failed to screw one of my carabineers shut.

After our rappel, John said “get ready because you’re going first”. I climbed the route called Unknown; pretty lame name considering most climbing routes have funny or super cool names. It was a great day and hours flew by and I lost track of time. Back at the trailhead, we talked about future climbs and then we went our separate ways. Within a few days, we spoke of going to other climbing spots. I was really looking forward to it.

John is a great guy and I will miss him dearly. I use the word is because his memories are alive in all who know him and love him. His memories are alive in all who know him and love him. We started this year with a toast on a peak with good friends. Toasting every peak is a habit of mine sometimes with a beverage and sometimes without….but mostly with…
I try to take in the grandeur of my surroundings and reflect on the important things in life…friends and family.

I am very blessed to have known John and blessed to have spent quality time with him recently. Climb on my friend. Climb on.

Kelly and Bob, beautiful tributes! Thank you for sharing them!

So sorry to hear that we lost such a wonderful person, friend and HAZ'er. I never met John but through your comments I feel as if I had. My deepest sympathies to all his friends and especially his family.