Name: KC Baum
Age: 60+ years young
Resides In: Flagstaff, Ariz.
Occupation: Professional Climbing Guide and Rigger, Consulting Geologist
Sport: Avid rock climber and climbing guide
Hobbies/Interest: Climbing, mountain biking, tennis, weights, hiking, yoga.

KC Baum has been dangling from the end of a rope for 34 years. His climbing adventures and work began while working full time as a geologist. From a life threatening wasp attack on the climbing route “Fools Gold” in Yosemite Valley, Calif. to a rockslide on Mt. Shasta he has risked life and limb. In his 60’s, Baum works as a very specialized rope access technician with Paul Dief, owner of the Phoenix Rock Gym. Baum is very proud of the work they did on the soon to open Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge. Dief says Baum is incredibly strong and when working few people believe his is in his 60’s. Meet KC, a man who you are only as old as you think you are.


How did you get into climbing: I began climbing in 1976 while working full time as a geologist.  I accepted an offer from a land man I was working with and did my first climb in the Ft. Collins, CO area.  Very scary but I loved it.

Other sports: Running (30+ yrs), swimming, soccer, sky diving, volleyball, baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, and fencing.

Rope Guy business: Rope Guy Extraordinaire (www.ropeguy.com) was started several years ago by Paul Dief, owner of the Phoenix Rock Gym.  We are very specialized rope access technicians who work in confined spaces that conventional means such as lifts and scaffolding cannot access.  We mostly work in the high steel in a variety of different buildings, on the exterior of large buildings, and outdoors on bridges, dams and sheer rock cliffs.

One of our wildest jobs was working on the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge.  We repelled several hundred feet down on both sides of the canyon walls and held a prism while a surveyor spotted us from the opposite side.  We then spray-painted three separate horizontal white lines, measuring one by six feet in width.  These lines were later used to begin drilling into the canyon walls for the footings of the huge arch that supports the entire bridge structure (see Hoover Dam pictures on website).  The bridge is due for completion in early 2011 and is an incredible engineering feat.  We are very proud to have been a part of this grand engineering structure.

Craziest climb adventure: In 1991 my partner and I climbed a route called “Fools Gold” in Yosemite Valley, CA. I had just led the second pitch and we were about 300’ off the ground.  My partner was preparing to lead pitch 3 and was suddenly stung by a yellow jacket wasp.  He was stung a second time and quickly began climbing up the wall.
At that point I realized that the big oak tree that I was anchored to contained a yellow jacket hive and wasps began pouring out of a small knothole in the tree like smoke out of a tailpipe. To my horror, I realized that I was anchored 5’ away from their hive and had no way to escape their fury.   I had to belay my partner while he climbed which meant I was responsible for his safety, and I could not get out of this situation until my partner finished leading the pitch.  The yellow jackets attacked me with a vengeance. I knew that this could be a life-threatening situation. Yellow jackets don’t lose their stingers and they stung me repeatedly, at least 100 times attacking mostly my head and neck area. I screamed at my partner to quickly get an anchor in and take himself off belay.  Once he did this, I was able to begin the fight of my life to get out of this desperate situation.  I have always said, “If I would have had a knife I would have cut my rope and jumped,”

My partner finally got me on a belay and I was able to undo myself from my anchor and I jumped off my belay ledge.  My partner then lowered me down about 100’. The pain at the back of my skull was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I knew if I were to go into anaphylactic shock I would die in a very short amount of time.  The toxin also acted as a very strong psychedelic making me feel higher than a kite. 

We waited about 30 minutes for the wasps to retreat and then made plans to descend to the ground.  My partner then repelled down to me and was stung a few more times on his way past the hive. When we tried to pull our ropes from my partner’s anchor, they became stuck and we were still about 150’ off the ground.  We ended up having to chop one of our ropes with a rock to retrieve them and then had to leave a fixed line to the ground so we could safely get down. 

I was in extreme pain and feeling very drugged out. My partner was having trouble breathing.  When we reached the ground, he panicked and took off running for the car.  I felt like just laying there and dying, but I knew I had to go after him.  We were parked by the Merced River and we both went down and partially jumped in to relieve the pain.  We drove to the local medical care facility in Yosemite.  There wasn’t much they could do for me except for lots of Benadryl.  If I had gone into anaphylactic shock I would not be here now.  I feel it was the closest I have ever come to dying.

The next day I began my Wilderness First Responder taught by several big-name doctors such as Peter Hackett and I was so swollen up in the face that hardly anyone recognized me.  Peter used me in the course as an example of severe reaction to bee stings.

The most dangerous climb adventure: In 1996 my partner and I completed the second or third documented ascent of the Hotlum Headwall on Mt. Shasta, Calif.  We approached the headwall via the Hotlum Glacier and began our climb at the very bottom of the headwall at 13,000’.  The route ascended the right center of the headwall for 1,000 vertical feet and topped out at the 14,000’ level of the peak.  I led the entire 1,000’ which was composed of some of the most rotten and loose volcanic rock I have ever climbed.  It had numerous big blocks, called widow makers, which were frozen to the wall and looked like they would come off at any moment.  It was undoubtedly the most dangerous rock-climbing situation I had ever been in and I was glad to reach the top without incident. 

As they say in mountaineering, the ascent is only half the climb and the decent is considered the most dangerous part.  As we descended down a loose ridge on the northeast side of the peak, I let my guard down and scrambled too quickly down a stack of loose volcanic blocks.  The entire stack of blocks gave way as I got towards the bottom and I started sliding downwards along with the rockslide.  I looked up just in time to see a very large, flat, disc-shaped block rolling end over end towards me.  I saw it was heading towards the upper part of my right leg.  I had just enough time to kick my right leg out of the way and my left foot slid down. 

The huge block cut into my full-grain leather climbing boot on my left foot and sliced it wide open.  After a harrowing and painful trip off the mountain, we made it to the Mt. Shasta hospital late that night.  After several hours of surgery on my left foot and almost three days of recovery in the hospital, I knew this was the last time I would push the envelope of risky climbing adventures.  I was very fortunate to survive this incident and have full recovery of my left foot which could have easily been cut off.

Most memorable climb: I was blessed to guide a 41 year old quadriplegic female on her first rock climb near Grand Junction, Colo. At 23, Susan Yim suffered a brainstem stroke resulting in quadriplegia and loss of speech. Her prognosis was grim ... a high probability of death or, at best, the inability to open her eyes or sit up. Since then she has been confined to a wheelchair and communicates either with the help of a letter board or a specially equipped computer operated by two thumb switches. She decided early on to live life to the fullest and has been sky diving, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, and riding on her brothers Harley while strapped to his back.

All-time favorite climb/adventure: Unaweep Canyon near Grand Junction, Colo. remains my favorite climbing area and holds many powerful memories for me.  Climbing has always been a very spiritual experience for me. One climb in particular named “Rite of Passage – A Tribute to Mugs Stump” holds a special significance for me that I can not easily explain.

Motivation: Living a healthy lifestyle is always essential to my well-being.  I have always considered myself an athlete and will continue to pursue the activities that I love.  Rock climbing is my all-time favorite sport and it stirs my soul like nothing else. It’s almost like a meditative state and allows me to freely express myself in whatever form I desire.  I am very inspired to climb rope-solo and have been doing this for over 25 years.  It totally focuses me in the now and puts me into a state of mind that is almost multi-dimensional.  Many of the hardest leads I have ever accomplished have been rope-solo and the satisfaction that comes from this is difficult to describe.

Accomplishments: American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Certified Rock Climbing Guide, AMGA Technical Committee and Instructor Pool, past AMGA Discipline Coordinator of Rock Programs, past AMGA Board of Directors and Vice President, past AMGA Accreditation Director, past Four Corners Regional Coordinator for the Access Fund.  Climbing 34 years, guiding 25 years, member of the AMGA, American Alpine Club, The Access Fund.  Extensive experience with rope-solo lead and top-rope climbing.  Hundreds of first-ascent rock climbs.  Author of Grand Junction Rock – Rock Climbs of Unaweep Canyon and Adjacent Areas.

Training: Weight Training – 3-4 days/week with emphasis on endurance.  Lots of pull-ups with climbing specific movement in mind.  Yoga class 2-3 times per week.  Outside climbing as much as possible, typically 3-4 times per week.  Mostly rope-solo climbing, typically at the 5.9 – 5.10+ level.  One or two New Castle Brown Ales helps me sleep at night.

Favorite quote: “I’d rather wear out than rot away” and also “I might be over the hill, but I’m picking up speed on the way down.”

Book you are reading: Home with God by Neale Donald Walsh.

Favorite movie: The Secret

What Is The Best Advice You Ever Got: Nothing is impossible, whatever you can imagine you can accomplish.

What advice do you have for others to keep motivated: NEVER EVER say you are too old to do it anymore.  You are only as old as you think you are and it is quite possible to think yourself young still. Imagine that you can instead of that you can’t.

Must have nutrition: I take the best vitamins and herbal supplements I can find.  Make sure you are taking a good green super food.  My recommendation is either Pure Synergy or All Day Energy Green Zing.  Also make sure you are taking a very good joint supplement because that is something that will pay you back when you get a few years of experience under your belt.

—Sue Berliner