John Wick has an unbridled enthusiasm for climbing, a desire to help others, and a love of all kinds of gear, particularly gear testing. He’s been active with The Mountaineers since the late 60s and has worked with Seattle Mountain Rescue for the past decade. John actually graduated from the basic course twice before starting the intermediate course in 1984. He has been a “heavy hitter” on the climbing committee, organizing field trips, leading climbs, maintaining equipment, and working behind the scenes to ensure that projects don’t fall between the cracks.

His climbing résumé runs from the typical (his first rope lead on the Tooth) through the exotic (Denali; Island Park in the Himalayas) to the sublime (climbing with Vice President Gore’s party on Rainier). Yet when asked about his favorite climb he refuses to be pinned down to one particular event or location. He considers great climbs to be a combination of camaraderie and spectacular scenery. He aptly fits Alex Lowe’s description of the best of climbers as “the one who has the most fun while climbing.”

John’s passion for climbing extends to the advancement of equipment technology and techniques of climbing. While teaching a recent seminar on advanced knots, he gleefully wondered aloud which knots would better maintain the integrity of the rope and hoped to set out to test them. This fascination with improvement suits him well at his day job working at Boeing improving production in the Fabrication Division.

John is very active in the Seattle Mountain Rescue and has been on numerous rescue missions, including an epic rescue on McClellan Butte in rain, snow, wind and fog and, along with wife Debbie and other teammates, a rescue of a climber who fell on Rainier’s Inter Glacier. Ask him what he’s currently working on - his eyes will sparkle with impish delight!