Dick Ingraham--Organ Mountain Pioneer

Dick Ingraham, my climbing partner

Lee Davis

Sadly, Dick Ingraham died on the 11th, aged 92 [August 2015]. I talked to
Ingrun [Dick's daughter] and she filled me in on it all. A wash of great memories
came to me, about Dick. I met him when I had just turned 18 (48 years
ago!), and I became one of his enthusiastic climbing partners. He
would always drive me crazy with his lack of protection on his
leads... I would constantly tell him to "put something in!" when he
was out 20 feet on a lead, mostly for my own protection. He would
grudgingly put in a piton, but he never took a fall on my rope. I
think that he really liked climbing with me for I was sentimental and
enjoyed hearing him talk of the early days with the 'Old Giants', and
was always ready to see what he had in mind. We did some very odd, out
of the way climbs (like "Little Square Top"... a 2 hour approach, for
a 10 minute climb). I remember looking up in my journal the number of
climbs that we did together, and it was 41. Five or Six of them were
first ascents, like the Flea Tree route on Sugarloaf, and the first
ascent of the Great East Slabs. Unlike Fred Beckey, who used us
younger climbers to lead the tough parts, Dick was always in command. We
would swap leads, but he managed to get all the tough spots for himself.

But my most vivid memory was of our first attempt on the Flea
Tree, for we never actually made it to the base of the climb. We
started the approach to Sugarloaf and made it up about 1/2 way on the
approach before it started raining. So, we sheltered under the side of
a huge boulder to wait out the rain and he pulled out a bottle of
blackberry brandy. That was his traditional thing to carry on every
first ascent, to have a toast on the top after the climb. Dick was
never one to let a chance to have a drink slip away, so we sat in the
rain sipping brandy for an hour or more, talking and laughing. I was
20 at the time (he was 46). Finally, we decided to walk back to the
truck (he drove an old green Chevy Carryall). By the time we reached
the truck, we were soaked to the bone and shivering. When I got back
to the dorm, I took a shower in my clothes, gradually taking them off
in the shower. I think I spent more time under the hot water than we did
under the boulder... it still remains the best feeling I have ever had.

Once, we were climbing the Awful Buttress on North Rabbit Ear,
with Paul Wohlt, an old friend of his. Dick had his feet slip out from
under him on a sloped area while we were taking a rest, and he started
to slide down the slope because it was covered by gravel and rocks.
Paul casually reached down and grabbed Dick's collar and stopped him.
His reaction was "that was planned, that was planned". It wasn't the
first time that a partner had saved him... On St Augustine, Dick took
a 100+ foot fall (long leads without protection), and Del Boyer held
the belay rope, but severely burned his hands.

When we did Gertch's Folly the first time, Reed Cundiff and Fred Janer
were with us. Fred was new to climbing and overweight, and Gertch is a
strenuous climb, especially coming down the steep canyon. Fred was
failing fast and at one point actually slumped down and told us to
leave him to die. But Dick and Reed are two people who will not fail a
partner... and Dick suggested we just sit down and rest. So, we sat
there in the late afternoon, gazing out west to Las Cruces, as the sun
was going down. Fred managed to get up again and we reached the truck
after dark. Dick had us all over for dinner that evening.

Many times, after a climb, Dick would have us over for dinner. He
would serve martinis (gin in those days, later he switched to vodka).
I'll never forget Bill Hackett telling Dick "Gin is a gentleman's
drink, but rum is a man's drink"... ahhh... we were so young. Dick
would just chuckle. I actually met Ingrun there at Dick's house,
perhaps about 1969 (?). Later, when I heard that Doug [Roberts] had taken up
with Dick's 'Daughter', I was surprised, for Dick's (other) Daughter
was about 14 at the time I met her…

I used to always get a kick out of how Dick would explain to Reed
Cundiff (you remember...the 'bald guy') how Reed had such a tremendous
advantage over him because he was so short (Reed is 5'8", 6 or 7
inches shorter than Dick). He would tell Reed that often, the best
handholds were well below his reach, but just right for Reed.

Dick never stayed overnight outdoors, or did any serious snow
climbing... so when he had a Bergen pack and a pair of snow boots left
from a trip to climb Orizaba in Mexico that never came about, he gave them
to me. I wore those boots (often with crampons) for 15 years. I still have
the Bergen rucksack hanging in my shop. That was how Dick was... a
very generous and good natured fellow, I miss those days terribly. I
even did a winter ascent of the north ridge of the Thumb with Reed,
using those crampons. It was there that I saw Reed's generosity and
care for a partner... About 3/4 of the way up, I was suffering from
the cold, especially with my long fingers. Reed pulled a thermos of
hot buttered rum out of his pack, and saved me.

When I heard that Dick had died, I told Reed about it, and
I called Clem Ota (who is in Colorado Springs now) to let him know.
Clem and I haven't seen each other since my 50th birthday party at
Aunt Tricia's. We had a great time recounting memories of Dick. Every
Wednesday, down in Las Cruces, Dick would do a hike, often alone. Clem
and I happened to go along with him one Wednesday and had just a wonderful
experience, the three of us. Must have been about 1988.

I miss him a lot... he was a great friend.

Dick's Organ's guide

web.nmsu.edu/~amato/ingraha…

Very sad news. I often wonder if some of the old pitons I encounter in the Organs belonged to Dick Ingraham. Before I became more familiar with the Organs, I relied heavily on "The Ingraham Guide" to the Organs. Always took the ratings with a grain of salt, and it isn't unusual to rope up for some "Ingraham 4th class". His loss will be mourned greatly by old, current, and future "Organeers".

God speed Dick Ingraham!

A giant among Old Giants. He was a legend in the Organs before I began climbing there in the 70s. I always enjoyed the routes he would suggest for the SWM weekend climbs.

His guidebook http://web.nmsu.edu/~amato/ingrahamguide/ should be memorized by the newer generation, so they don't screw up by renaming long-standing faces and routes.

I will treasure memories of sharing a rappel ledge with him. Dick will be sorely missed.

I am sorry to hear of Dick's passing. He is certainly a legend around here (Las Cruces and the Organs).

Pat Gioannini

I didn't get to climb with Dick a lot--his ability was way over my head--i was at best a 5.7 leader--but his route descriptions were always hilarious.
Just waltz out the ledge, turn the corner, mantle up...A 2x1-1/2 foot, 45 degree ledge was a dance floor.
We came across him, George (I think) and Edmund Ward when they were doing the first of the Left Eyebrow on Sugarloaf. Language was colorful...

I caught a ration from him on the Rib when I turned the corner and a Spanish Bayonet got me in the shin. Took a week to get the damn thorn out.
He was a lot of fun.

Thanks to Karl for posting what I had written about Dick... actually, that was an email that I originally sent to my Daughter right after I had heard that Dick had died, and I thought that Karl would enjoy reading it. I enjoyed rereading it so much myself that It has occurred to me to add a few thoughts.
........ Dick had a great sense of humor, and it came out all the time. When trying the first of the West face of ORP, in the Organs, Dick, Bill Hackett and I stood on a 3 Ft ledge at the top of the first pitch. Dick looked up and uttered the single word "Yagg"... so it thereafter became Yagg Ledge. The line above us was too tough to free climb with the shoes of the day, and Dick never used direct aid (unless it was a Shillelagh ), so we retreated. Later, Bill and I did the first, and because it was my birthday, we bivuoaced on Yagg Ledge, just for the fun of it. That night a horrendous lightning storm raged, and St Elmo's Fire made everything glow in a weird light as the lightning struck all the peaks around us, and our rack of hardware glowed on the wall to the side. It was scary! Dick had given me a pint of blackberry brandy, to wish us luck, so once again, I found myself in the rain, sipping brandy. We finished the climb.
........ Bill, Reed and I were the first to start using jam nuts in the organs, and I took great pride in eventually leaving my hammer at home, and using chocks as our only protection. Back then, it was Chouinard Hexes and wedges, including wired wedges. Dick, as best as I can recall didn't use them. Also, Dick never left his hardware on a climb, ever. His rack consisted of battered Swiss spoons, 3/4" 'army' angles, Riccardo Cassin pitons, and as a nod to the gods, some Chouinard angles that he had pulled from routes. He was a traditionalist in the strictest sense of the word. On the Wedge, with Dick, Hackett and Cundiff, we had reached the top and Bill commented "I didn't lose a single Lost Arrow in this climb!". Reed reached down and grabbed one of Dick's Swiss spoons, and as he flung it off into space said "Well, we can fix that!". Reed later gave a lost Arrow to Dick, as I recall, as repayment for the fun. Hackett was mortified.
........ I did the long North Face of Sugarloaf solo one time, and again, because it was my birthday, I spent the night half way up. I had gotten up a few pitches in the morning (roped, of course) and I heard a call from off to the side. There was Dick, waving his arms. He had hiked up to check on me. We hollered back and forth for a while, and he asked "did you bring the brandy?" (I hadn't... so he said "OK, I am leaving then"). That was Dick's nature... it was his way of checking on me. When I got back to the car he had left a note on my windshield "Hope you're having fun, RLI".
........ I was always interested in learning about the history of climbing, especially in the Organs, and Dick was a wealth of stories. He talked about the early "Old Giants", like Harry Davis,J Mack Adams, and others and had climbing partners that spanned the time from the mid 50's up through the 80's... he spoke fondly of them all. He would tell me about the German "Rocket Scientists" at White sands that did some of the earliest routes, like the standard on Sugarloaf. I remember the first tattered entry on the top of Sugarloaf with the 4 Germans that did the first. It has been too long now, and I can't remember the names I knew so well. He also told me about Bernard Topp... Bernie was a young soldier at Ft Bliss and climbed in the Organs with the club. He was killed on Shiprock when his anchor failed on a rappel into the Black Bowl, on the return. Dick, along with others mounted a small plaque on the wall of the Black Bowl, "In Memory of Bernard Topp... ". Topp Hut was of course named for him. I have an urge to go back to Shiprock and get a rubbing from that plaque.
....... Dick is probably the easiest going, most mild mannered fellow I have ever met. He got a PhD from Harvard, in Physics, and his career was as a professor of Physics at New Mexico State University. The Southwestern Mountaineers held their meetings in the Physics building, when I was there. Dick never seemed to officiate any of it, and rarely went on Club climbs, but, he climbed every weekend. He was always up for showing a fellow climber a classic route, although his regular partner seemed to be George Goedecke, also a physics professor (and a great trumpet player!). He was never one for pushing the limit, but simply climbed for the sheer joy of it all. He was never flustered, and I have never seen him in any mood other buoyant and cheerful. He was older than me, of course, but that never meant anything to him. He appreciated someone who could be relied upon for a good belay, and who was enthusiastic for the history of it all.
...... When I started in 1967, the standard rope was army Goldline, Dick's shoes were Italian made 'Cortinas', and we wrapped the rope around the waist twice, and secured with a bowline. No helmet for Dick, of course. A typical climb would start with meeting him at his house at 6am, and he would drive his old Chevy up to the start. H e always delighted in telling me about the hard parts... like the infamous "triple Overhang" (5.6), on Gertch's Folly, or the 'Awful Buttress' (5.7), on North Rabbit Ear. Then, took delight in our apprehension.
........ When coming off of the Middle Rabbit Ear one time, we were running late, and the sun was going down. But Dick said "we should move along, I don't want to be late at home". We stumbled down the rocky trail down to Topp Hutt, with me following. Dick seemed to have the eyes of a cat, while I just followed the figure ahead of me. Ellen made us a late dinner, and I headed home feeling very mellow and contented (probably because of the martinis). That was just climbing with Dick.I'm afraid I have very few pictures. Back in those days, my camera was a Kodak Instamatic, that I sometimes took on climbs, but rarely pulled out of the pack. I wish I had known what pictures would mean for the future. Ahh well...

........ Dick lived on Highland Avenue in Las Cruces, with his wife, Ellen. They had met in the 50's while Dick was hiking the trail up to the Matterhorn, and she had twisted her ankle. A minor 'rescue' ensued, and the rest is history. Ellen is a wonderful cook, and Dick took advantage of it to have friends over for dinner often. Ellen is a watercolorist and painted for the pleasure of it... I was always amazed at the watercolors she did, invariably of the Organs, and she gave me two of her paintings (I shall try to post some pictures). Dick introduced me to martinis, and I shall always remember sitting in his living room, listening to his stories. He never thought of himself as an "Old Giant", but that is how I think of him, now. When I heard that he had died, I went out and bought a bottle of blackberry brandy, and toasted his memory. Dick would have liked that. Lee Davis

Two of Dick's jokes...

One time a preacher was in front of the congregation and started talking about all the sinners that were out there. "They are fornicating with no regard for morality... sleeping with other men's wives, sisters, whoever. There are even those that choose to have relations with cows, horses, sheep..." The congregation just nodded in agreement. "I even understand that there are some that do it with chickens", at which point a fellow in the back stood up and yelled "chickens?!". (Dick was telling this one around a campfire one evening when Larry Fisher walked up, and heard only the punchline. For years afterward people would tease Larry with "chickens!", for he never had heard the joke)
Another: "A climber reached an impossible move just ahead, and started to turn back. From above came a booming voice 'You can do it!'. He hesitated, then asked 'what?'. Again came the voice 'You can do it'. So, the climber lunged forward and slipped, falling to the abyss below. From above came the voice again... 'shit'" That was one of Dick's favorite encouragements... "You can do it", and I often heard Dick yell that to me if I squeaked a little...

Thanks for sharing those great memories. I never had the good fortune to meet the man, but I certainly profit from his generosity and boldness every time I look for route info or climb in the Organs.

Great stuff, thanks for sharing (and to KK to for getting it going by posting your email to him.)

Nice watercolors... Lucky to have those.

I was sorry to hear from Ellen that Dick had passed away. We climbed together in the 1950s and, again, in 1976. I visited with Dick and Ellen many times since then. Dick Ingraham and New Mexico climbing were an important part of my life.

Ronald Hahn

Ron... Thanks for posting that photo of Dick on the Wedge! I can see that Dick was toasting firsts with his traditional brandy way back in the '50s. Sure miss him. Lee Davis

Thanks all who posted. I've only been to The Organs a couple times. But I love the adventure found there. No doubt, anyone who has climbed in the Organs appreciates Ingraham's early guide. It's always great to read about those that came first and blazed trails for the rest of us.

Thank you for the memories, you guy's paved the way and made the trails~ oh, the long approaches. Your stories are great!

Sadly, Doug Roberts died on the 11th of Dec, '18. Same day of the month as Dick. It was at Dick's that Doug, while house sitting, met Ingrun, Dick's step daughter. The rest is history. They were married for 40+ years, until Doug called it quits the other day. I shall miss him. Lee Davis