Uli Korb climbed his final mountain on the evening of April 4, 2014 at the FW Green Home in Cranbrook.  It was an ambitious assault that began about two years prior with a spot on his lung.  In spite of that, some of his friends remember a pleasant climb-outing with him up Mause Creek Ridge to Tanglefoot in 2012, and also skiing cross country loops with him in 2013 near his home in Wycliffe, with the idyllic view west of the airport.  He leaves as his memorial the many beautiful custom-built fireplaces that adorn many homes in and around Cranbrook, Fernie and Kimberley, as well as the rockwork on Cranbrook’s entry arches and on the building at 1007 Baker Street in Cranbrook.  Uli was born in what was formerly East Germany in 1939 and grew up in that area.  He crossed over a minefield to West Germany on 17 April 1963 when folks were routinely shot for trying this daring move.  He considered this date to be his second birthday.  He came to the Kootenays via Prince George in 1978 and spent many years as a stone mason in this region.  In his years here he helped many local residents ascend Fisher Peak, having made some 78 ascents in total.  Uli is survived by two sons, Lars and Olaf, their mother Rosmarie, daughter-in-law Amanda and two grandchildren, Zane and Ryen.  Uli was a lively, imposing and unique individual with a great enthusiasm for life’s offerings.  Like most of us, he had some rough edges, but his charm and wit made him fascinating and colorful, such that encounters with him were always memorable.  He probably knew, and was known by, more people in the Kootenays than most and it is doubtful that he ever met a stranger.  His spirit and memories of him will live on in the Kootenays, an area he truly loved.

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