Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 15, 2004 - 04:04pm PT
|
Just thought some of you would like to see a friendly face from back in the day.
|
|
Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Mill Valley
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2004 - 04:30pm PT
|
Because he was happy at that moment?
Still, a sad story.
|
|
can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 15, 2004 - 08:03pm PT
|
yeah it was a sad story at the end, but I still half expect to see him emerging from the bushes in C4 with leaves in his hair. I miss that he's not around anymore. He had some good energy in him.
|
|
Gene
Social climber
Two hours away
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2004 - 09:21pm PT
|
Can't Say,
This is a great portrait - the reflected light in his eyes and that grin.
Who is this man? That "He had some good energy in him" is apparent.
Gene
|
|
can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 15, 2004 - 09:50pm PT
|
This picture, taken by Dean Fidelman, is of Yabo aka John Yablonski. It think it's a lot more reflective of who I remember John to be, rather then the tales that most people hear tell about him.
|
|
Gene
Social climber
Two hours away
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2004 - 10:24pm PT
|
Yeah, I had a thought that might be him. I remember a few years ago having dinner with some folks who knew and climbed with him "back in the day" but had dropped out of the climbing world long ago. "I wonder what he's up to these days?" I said nothing. What can anyone say?
Thanks for posting the picture.
|
|
TheHip
Trad climber
Squamish, BC
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2004 - 10:59pm PT
|
sorry for an outsider's ignorance, but anyone care to tell the story? I appreciate and understand if no-one does
|
|
Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2004 - 11:43pm PT
|
I look at that picture and I fall silent. I usually have too much to say, but not this time. The man had a heart of gold . . .
JL
|
|
bulgingpuke
Trad climber
cayucos california
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 01:23am PT
|
what happend to him?? brief story?
|
|
Roger Breedlove
Trad climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 08:47am PT
|
One year in the early seventies, I had been on something or another at Arch Rock, and as a curiosity, walked down the road to the look at the River Boulder that I had heard about.
When I got there, there was a group of young climbers hanging out, who all looked like they had been cut from the same mold. I remember Mark Chapman was there and he and I chatted. As we are standing there this very young guy, still lathered in baby fat, starts up the River Boulder without a top rope. Someone says something, and the climber shrugs it off. And up he starts, boyhood bravado filling the air.
I was not intent on seeing anyone ground out on the rocks, so I quickly left.
Later in Camp Four, I asked Mark about the guy--"So did he make it?"
"Oh yeah," he replied, grinning, "He fell out of the crack and on to the sapling growing at the base."
My jaw dropped, "You have to be kidding, right?"
Mark shakes his head, still grinning.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
Mark shakes his head, the other way, still grinning.
"That guy is nuts," is all I could say.
Mark shakes his head, "Yeah," still grinning.
When I saw the picture, it had a familiar look, but I could not place it. It looks like it was probably taken several years later.
Except for this often-told tale, I only knew about Yablonski through stories told by others. That people who knew him well remember him so fondly is heartening.
Best, Roger
|
|
can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 16, 2004 - 08:53am PT
|
Bulgingpuke and The Hip, one reason you don't see anyone (including me) give the details of Yabo's tragic ending is because this forum might not be the best place to tell it. My suggestion would be like Jeff (Sewellymon) said and pick up a copy of Lynn's book. Otherwise I'll let someone else provide the details.
Roger, that's one of the classic Yabo tales of luck, one that I was almost was witness too is similar to yours in that I walked away before seeing him die, which of course he didn't. That being the time he soloed Leave It To Beaver and got the hand sequence messed up on it up high. He was throwing mo's and only just barely made it, but then I wasn't there to see it as I too didn't want to see him die. Back at camp it was the talk around the fire for sure.
|
|
Gunkie
climber
I don't get mad, I get stabby -- Fat Tony
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 12:27pm PT
|
Doesn't Fish have a story about Yobo showing up at the base of NA wall with nothing but a harness and a set of jugs and no food or water? Fish and his partner allowed Yabo to join them for a team of three that struggled over the rim on rations for two?
Maybe that was someone else?
What a classic story.
|
|
10b4me
Trad climber
Where Fair Oaks meets Altadena
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 12:52pm PT
|
Those pics are classic. Wish I had met him. I don't think this forum is the best place to discuss his demise.
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 01:21pm PT
|
Yep, the good old Yarbarian "Yabo". I lived with Yabo for years in C4. It hurt me deeply when he did himself in. He is surly missed.
Werner
|
|
Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 03:06pm PT
|
Beautiful pic.
He is one of those people whose intense expressions made him reckognizable to me in the first pictures of him that I ever saw although I'd never met him.
The picture of him on Wheat Thin in the Yosemite Climber book is one of my all-time favorite climbing pictures.
|
|
DE
Mountain climber
Tustin, Calif.
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 04:07pm PT
|
One of my fond memories of John was from a Xmas trip to the valley circa '77 or '79. I drove up alone in my '60 VW bug just hoping to find someone I knew and climb anything at all. When I arrived it was snowing and continued to for the couple of days I was there. So, I started wandering around and ran into Yabo. We were hanging around, playing Hacky and wishing we could climb or at least find someone with something to smoke. It was pretty bleak. In mid hacky game Yabo goes into the trees at the edge of the Lodge parking lot to pee. A couple of minutes later we here him hoot with glee and then come running out with something in his hand. Lo and behold he had found a film can with some killer weed in it! Needless to say we were happier campers from then on.
|
|
G_Gnome
Trad climber
Ca
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 06:22pm PT
|
I don't think I've ever seen a more gleeful face than when I tossed him a few cans of food before leaving the Tree one weekend. Man he was happy. Must of been pretty damn hungry but it didn't seem to slow him down any.
There was also the time he soloed Spider Line. I have never seen anyone shake so badly and not fall off. Somehow he managed to get up those things. Pure will power I guess. Made for some interesting conversations over the years.
|
|
funkness
climber
So,Ca.
|
|
|
Dec 16, 2004 - 08:22pm PT
|
Yabo Arete, at Stoney Point V7 (photo Brooks Ayola)
Hey, so why was he smiling?
|
|
Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
|
|
|
Dec 17, 2004 - 12:56am PT
|
We really should have a whole thread of Yabo stories sometime. I wrote one about him a few years back. I'll repost it here
Peace
Karl
+++++++++++++++
Meeting Yabo
In the early 1980ıs my best compromise between living and climbing in
Yosemite while avoiding poverty and parental heartbreak was to work for
Curry Company. For three years, I was the Night Housing Supervisor, in
charge of all the Curry employee housing areas between the hours of 5pm
and 1am.
In some ways, it was a dream job for a climber. I had a private tiny
cabin in Yosemite and was free to climb until 5pm every day. There was
a downside though. I was in charge of enforcing a plethora of rules and
keeping the company facilities free of exploitation by unauthorized
persons, particularly climbers.
I was a climber. Curry Company hated climbers. Resolving the dissonance
between these realities nurtured diplomacy in Karl and, eventually,
fostered tolerance within Curry Company.
Curry Companyıs strict grooming code made it easy to divine the
difference between the dorm residents and the Camp 4 residents. I
remember a funny cartoon on the wall of an employee bathroom. It showed
a guy with long hair and a crazy and confused look on his face. The
caption read "Before" Next to it was a drawing of the same crazy and
confused face but this time with short, clean cut hair. The caption
read "After" (employment) Years of the clean-cut company culture
inbreeding made it easy for long-term employees to adopt the attitude
that long hair or a beard were marks of dereliction.
The ex-marine president of the Company was chief among the those who
were pissed at climbers. After some random act of vandalism attributed
to climbers, he took a tour through Camp 4 to the boos and jeers of the
campers.
The behavior of the climbers sometimes didnıt help matters. Besides
snaking showers and drunken deli rudeness, some climbers would camp out
in the cafeteria and scarf leftover food, or shoplift from Curry
Stores.
Worst of all, climbers seeking comfort and love as part of the same
deal would seek out girlfriends among the Curry Employees. Many a young
damsel would be seduced into supporting the lifestyle of a "Park Bum"
or PB as it was abreviated. Now it wasnıt as if there were enough of
these beauties to go around. These were OUR women! Just like in
Alaska, in Yosemite, if youıre a women, the odds are good, but the
goods are odd!
As for me, I definitely had friends on both sides of the fence. I lived
across from Camp 4 and climber friends would come hang out with me. I
tried to encourage a bit of harmony by taking different managers
climbing. I started taking the Manager of Employee Housing climbing and
he got pretty good. We even climbed the grade 5 North Buttress of
Middle Cathedral in a day. One time I had numerous managers and
supervisors camped out on Yosemite Point and dragged them across the
Tyrolean Traverse to Lost Arrow. I hope I played some role in teaching
the Company that climbing wasnıt intimately linked with acts of
vandalism and dereliction.
At night, I tried to strike a reasonable balance between protecting the
companyıs facilities and allowing people to live their lives with
minimum harassment. I wouldnıt bug John Bachar about his Saxophone
playing or hanging out with his girlfriend in the dorms, but when a
world famous cranker emptied a fire extinguisher in the hallways, we
ran him off.
One night I got a call on the radio that there was a violent
disturbance at the Womenıs dorm. I headed my company truck straight
over there with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Responding to
unknown chaos revs the adrenaline, but also the humbling anticipation
that some drunk idiot might be inspired to break beer bottles over my
head. As a standard precaution in potentially violent situation, I
radioed the NPS to send a ranger to the scene as well.
When I arrived, I met a muscular guy of medium height at the foot of
the steps of the dorm. He looked battered. Next to him was a high-end
road bike that looked battered as well. He was reasonably calm. I
asked him what happened. He said his name was John Yablonski and that
he BEAT HIMSELF UP! Naturally, I wanted a further explanation. Yabo
said that his girlfriend lived in the dorm, she dumped him and was with
another guy at the moment. He was so upset that he kicked his own ass!
I thought he was pretty lucid for a guy who just whuuped himself, but
Yabo said he was a non-violent kind of guy who wouldnıt hurt anybody
but himself. He really did an impressive job of hitting himself. You
could tell he was headed for black and blue.
I quickly confirmed the story with Yaboıs girlfriend (and her male
companion) and, since no more conflict seemed eminent, called off the
rangers before they arrived. It seemed like the last thing the
heartbroken Yabo needed was an encounter with the law.
I went back and met with Yabo again. He also managed to totally destroy
his $1000+ (1981 dollars!) road bike that he won in the "Survival of
the Fittest" TV contest. I told him to throw his bike in my truck and I
would give him a ride back to Camp 4. We talked about life, climbing,
and women. Before he got out of the truck he asked for $1 for a pack of
cigarettes. I gave it to him even though I am a cheap bastard and hate
smoking to boot. Somehow, my heart just told me it was the right thing
to do.
The next time I patrolled the womenıs dorm, I was surprised to find a
$1 bill lying on the ground at the very spot that I first met Yabo. It
stuck me at the time that I was being repaid by the Spirit of All
Things for my gift to Yabo.
In the course of years since then, I heard a number of amazing stories
of Yaboıs larger than life existence. Apparently, he would go
free-soloing in fits of despair over relationships. He wouldnıt always
make it. He would always miraculously survive. One time he was caught
in the branches of a tree after falling off an 11c crack! Werner Braun
said "The Angels were watching over Yabo."
Sadly, tragically, Yabo eventually took his own life. He said if
natural forces wouldnıt take him, he would have do it himself. The
incident involved a woman and a relationship, but ultimately, it was
just Yaboıs inner demons. I thought he was a great guy in many ways.
Unfortunately, we are all a bit nuts and those of us with an extra dose
of energy and passion can sometimes be even more nuts. May his Spirit
reach the Summit after a dramatic climb.
|
|
Ammon
Big Wall climber
The Mountains
|
|
|
Dec 17, 2004 - 01:44am PT
|
YabO LiVEs!!!!
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!