Consummate rock climber , whose expertise put him in the rarefied company of , and , died aged 74 of in Kingman, Ariz., on April 21.
At 6 foot 6, Kor towered over other elite climbers, even with the self-conscious hunch he adopted to disguise his height.
“He was larger than life, physically and in spirit,” said longtime climbing partner and friend Ament, who was 15 when he began climbing with Kor.
“Overall, he was absolutely the most fun person you can imagine to be with. Full of energy, and just loved to go out and climb everything in sight. He had a wonderful sense of humor. He also scared us to death a lot of times, because he could be wild and reckless.”
established his in the 1950s and ’60s. His collection of , including the of and Diagonal on Longs Peak; the in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison; the on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley; and many routes in Eldorado Canyon, including , , , and on the celebrated .
“Whenever you went climbing with him, you knew it was going to be an adventure,” Ament said.
“Imagine you’re 15, in your bedroom at your parents’ house. It’s 5, maybe 6 a.m., still dark outside. You hear a tap at the bedroom window, and there’s nobody there. Then you hear the back door open, and then the refrigerator door, and there’s Layton, making breakfast for us because we’re going climbing.”
Kor lived modestly, collecting experiences, not money. Cash was for financing climbing trips, then Scuba diving and fishing expeditions in the Philippines, and buying some inexpensive land in Arizona, where he and his wife, Karen, lived in a modular home.
He became a late in life and receded from the secular climbing community for a few years before rejoining his friends.
“Even though he was poor in terms of material wealth, he was a rich man in terms of the life within him, and the life he went out and embraced,” Ament said.
“People liked to portray him as a Greek god, but he was very human. Flawed, like all of us. Insecure, and he could be annoying at times, and stubborn. But he always had a joke or pun going. His wife called me, after he passed away, and said he was still trying to get out a joke with his final breath.”
Kor is survived by his wife, Karen Kor, sons Arlan Kor and James Kor, and daughter Julia Kor. An online at youcaring.com has been set up to help his family pay for extensive medical bills not covered by insurance. Contributions may also be sent to Karen Kor, 3730 Devlin Ave., Kingman, AZ 86409.
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477, cmartin@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byclairemartin
