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| Messages 1 - 12 of total 12 in this topic |
Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 15, 2008 - 02:19am PT
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I didn't know Malt.
But, I have heard stories, and as stories go, they were pretty good. In fact, many were museum-quality, as in, I Can't Believe It - Was It True?
Since the Bill The Bolt Sergeant has a following here, with stories, I thought it would be nice to hear some stories about his friend Walt.
So, post up, with your Whipley's Believe It Or Not stories.
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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Jan 15, 2008 - 08:27am PT
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What about the time Walt shows up at my house in Flagstaff--just split up with a Curry waitress named Tanya, I believe--had stopped along the way in Vegas where he onsight soloed three of the big routes in Redrocks in a day: Black Orpheus, Ephineprine, routes of that ilk.
Super Shipley Drive...
more later...
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 16, 2008 - 08:32pm PT
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I Can't Believe It Bump.
NOBODY has any stories about Walt????
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WBraun
climber
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Jan 16, 2008 - 08:41pm PT
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Most of the tales get tall, sensationalized, and over dramatized.
To know Walt you needed to have lived with him day in and day out for years.
Then you would "know" Walt pretty good.
He was a real good dude.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 17, 2008 - 05:28am PT
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WVB - of course Walt's stories get embellished, to the point of Believe It Or Not. That's part of the magic I wanted to elicit from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
From what I've heard from concurring sources, Walt's stories rode the razor's edge between Fact and Fiction, with other people saying later, that yes, they were Fact. And not Fiction.
I'm surprised that nobody cares enough about him to share the good times they had with him. I would think he would want to be here, if he could be.
Deuce - what about the time Walt (and ?) heckled your slideshow at the Yo Lodge?
Russ - Pick a good story - any story - and post it.
Bill - Oh, I forgot. You're not online.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jan 17, 2008 - 09:36am PT
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I was witness to the '84 birthday solo binge, or at least the 'Semi Tough' session, yikes!
Every time I ran into Walt he had new, odd, often hair raising stories, "I was rappin' down Cerro Torre and found a number 3 friend buried in the ice, got it out after half an hour, storm was moving in, really smart..." But every time, it was like we were continuing the same conversation from maybe a year earlier, I really miss him.
Her name was Tatyana,(like the Tiger) Deuce, he had me speak russian to her, for him. Then he went to Afghanistan to film with the Mujadhadim, the irony...
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billygoat
climber
3hrs to El Cap Meadow, 1.25hrs Pinns, 42min Castle
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Jan 17, 2008 - 09:41am PT
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Damn, I thought this was going to be a thread about really incredible whippers that people survived and nobody believed...
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 17, 2008 - 11:36am PT
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I remember when he broke up with that German girl. Katya? He was totally crushed.
I got to know Walt right after he showed up full time in the Valley. He was in Chamonix with three other of us in 1984, spent most of the summer with him. I drank a lot back then, and I don't have a clue how we all didn't get deported. From there, I always hooked up with him over the years here and there.
I still have some Walt letters in my desk. One of them is on an old Meyer's guide page. It starts out in big letters, you turn the page and the letters get smaller, and then he resorts to writing in circles around the margins.
I remember one of the last emails I got from karlamos:
"Meth is a scourge that is sweeping the country! Where can I get some?" He had a hell of a sense of humor.
And he told me that he was very interested in Werner's sense of religion once.
I met up with him the day he skiied down from Tuolomne after punching Russell's teeth out. He was kind of bent, so we went up Eagle Gully in full deep snow conditions to watch us jump El Cap.
He was smarter than a calculator, that is for sure. I miss just knowing that he is still out there cracking people up. And yeah, he was a super nice guy. If you made friends with him..which was pretty easy, he would always remember you. And I don't remember him ever slandering anyone, or giving a damn, to tell you the truth.
He taught me the jacket trick. When I do it around the wife, she kicks my ass.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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Jan 17, 2008 - 12:21pm PT
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Tom writes: I'm surprised that nobody cares enough about him to share the good times they had with him.
Maybe they "care" too much?
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 17, 2008 - 02:02pm PT
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Well, I dunno what made Shipley so beloved. He deserved it, I reckon, and if you hung out with him, he was hilarious.
I think it is cool that Walt entertained us to the point that it was just wild. And he always remembered ya. Still, he had some sparkle that made him one of a kind. And he would occasionally go burn his demons on vibrating solo missions.
If my number was up tomorrow, I wouldn't be remembered by anybody. I am just a plain old person.
But man, I can tell some stories. Most would have to be so edited that the full flavor would not be good to leave on the internet.
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scuffy b
climber
Stump with a backrest
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Jan 17, 2008 - 02:50pm PT
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Most of the people who
1)have Walt stories
2)populate this Forum
have posted in the threads in Clint's links
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