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Above: Before reliable and portable vertical shelters were developed by A5, climbers often used hammocks that required two suspension points.

Above: An example of a rigid, non-packable portaledge modified from a submarine cot purchased from a Navy surplus store.

Above: The T-Bone single point suspended hammock.
Right: US Patent for the T-Bone system awarded to Middendorf in 1997.

Above: A 3-person custom ledge at the A5 shop, 1989.
Above right: In action in Antarctica.

Above: Middendorf with one each of his compact one-and two-person portaledges.

Right: the A5 portaledges introduced new levels of ease of use. Setup of the innovative design from packed to fully deployed takes less than a minute.

Above: Middendorf in the A5 shop. Photo from a feature article on Middendorf’s climbs and designs from Climbing magazine, 1994.

Above: Middendorf taking notes in his portaledge on El Capitan. During this ascent, it rained or snowed every day.

Above: Notes taken during a climb of El Cap on a page from a paperback book that got wet from storms.

Left: The innovative single seam fly pattern developed by Middendorf which reduced the number of vertical seams from 6 to 1, greatly increasing

Above: The 2-person Expedition Ledge system in action on the Trango Towers, Pakistan.

Above: Middendorf’s revolutionary 3-person Diamond Ledge system, which can be anchored by both the top and bottom, creating a fixed aerodynamic shelter which no storm can budge. The third person hangs in a hammock suspended from the ledge in the lower compartment.
Left: Diamond Ledge drawing from a patent application.

Above: National Geographic cover, January 1999.

Right: Middendorf’s A5 Portaledges in Baffin Island, from a two-page spread in National Geo

Above: National Geographic Magazine cover, August 1997.

Right: Middendorf designed and built portaledge in action in the Himalaya, from a two-page spread in National Geographic.

Above: Face and back of a new lightweight waterproof/breathable fabric developed by Middendorf in partnership with the filtration company Tetratek. It is a 3-ply laminate of ripstop/PTFE/tricot. Weight: 3.1 ounces/

Clockwise from top left: the A5 Alpine Pack, the A5 Alpine Pack pattern, the A5 haulable backpack, and the world’s first waterproof haulpack designed and developed by Middendorf in partnership with fabric welding companies, using new technology for packs: urethane fabrics and heat-welded

Left: page from the 1998 North Face catalog highlighting Middendorf and his engineering and design abilities.
Right: Middendorf in the prototype shop he designed and established at The North Face headquarters (from the film “To the Edge: Canyoneering with John Middendorf.”)