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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 23, 2009 - 09:48pm PT
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Hidden in Roper's green guide is the description for three routes on this feature. Our own Bill Amborn (BBA) did one of them and Scott Baxter and Lee Dexter, northern Arizona hardmen, did another.
What do you remember, Bill? Anyone else ever do these routes?
I have always been intrugued by them but never thought to seek them out. The Robbins nailing route on the left side of Nevada Falls is also way obscure!
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Nov 23, 2009 - 10:44pm PT
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Looks like Lee Dexter, not Karl dude.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 23, 2009 - 10:48pm PT
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Pilgrims,
This is a great day+ out, these routes on Nevada. Did them back in the sixties. GREAT diversion from usual climbing and stuff. Maybe even go up there for a couple of days, camping above or similar. Really fun. Thanks Stevie as always. You don't want to be up there early of course; too much water. Actually summer routes or later. FUN!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 23, 2009 - 11:03pm PT
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Thanks Steel! All those Sindicato guys meld together...LOL Those two (Scott and Lee) founded The Alpineer in Flagstaff, BITD. Larry and I have been pondering throwing the Last Sindicato Granitica Banquet, of late.
I'll backedit the OP to avoid further confusion.
Peter- Were these routes all free by the time you were doing them besides the right hand one? How was that jungle insult?!? LOL
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 23, 2009 - 11:17pm PT
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Stevie,
The jungles were hilarious!!!!! But solid of course, nothing iffy there. Bay trees that had decided to become linear crack-monsters. You know Bay trees: they can do Anything!!
Stevie, not free then, although they ALL can go free now. I was talking about 1964-5. No one paid those routes attention; still don't. Rt one was simplistic of course.
You have to be able to cross the river and the falls has to be at a reasonably low level. It is SOOO wonderful being up there in these conditions, you practically leave this earth!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Nov 23, 2009 - 11:24pm PT
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I did the Center Route with a brand-new aid climber in September of 1971. I made the mistake of starting the hike in mid-afternoon, and letting him lead the first pitch (after I placed the first pin for him). By that time it was apparent that either I took over the leading or we'd never finish, but by the time we got to the jungle on top, it was already dark. Only then did we realize that the flashlights were in the car. We rappelled down the route to a sling belay/rappel station in the blackness, and managed to cross the Merced River without incident, but utterly failed to find the trail in the dark, and ended up bivvying in t-shirts in 39 degree weather.
In fact, they were fun routes, and the Center Route was a great place to learn 1960's-style aid climbing.
John
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Nov 24, 2009 - 12:29am PT
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In reality Nevada Flake was a popular area for we "flakes" of the early 60s.
With the waterfalls, the tourists and the relatively "easy" approach we would wander up the asphalt pathway often with new friends, enemies and even chicks. Lot's of walking, talking, and sometimes a little climbing to complete the adventure.
It was so much easier when things were so much easier.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 25, 2009 - 11:07pm PT
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Cool stories everyone! Now if we can just get BBA to weigh in on the then side and somebody that has done these routes free on the now end of things.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2009 - 05:36pm PT
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BBA Bump!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 29, 2009 - 07:19pm PT
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I was just reading in Muir's The Yosemite that there used to be an actual hotel near the foot of left side of the falls for awhile in the 19th century!
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BBA
Social climber
West Linn OR
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Nov 29, 2009 - 07:42pm PT
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Ah yes, Nevada Flake. I remember it well. A crack so full of sh*t - I mean dirt - so you couldn't even tell if a piton would shift by pounding on it. OK, now the rest may be considered fiction as it casts aspersions on some of us...
I was living in Camp 4 at the time. I had forged the signature of the father of one of the other members of the first ascent "team" so he could get $1800 and therefore be able to live in Yosemite and write. I got $50 from the cheap bastard and had to live on much less. He drank prodigious quantities of sloe gin fizz's at the Lodge bar. All I heard all winter long was "Now is the winter of our discontent, ha hah ha ha ha ", or "Doomed and knew it, but accepted that doom neither seeking nor fleeing it...", or "If it had not been for this thing, I might have spent my days standing on street corners talking to scorning men..." (the well educated reader may recognize these as from Steinbeck, Faulkner and Sacco and Vanzetti) and "Let's go up and nail ??", ?? signifying any name of a climb one may want to put in. Well, it rained and snowed for the proverbial 40 days and nights, I got fired from my job as a janitor from the Curry Company because one of the team was vandalising their property and so what do you do?
You go climb Nevada Flake with a nice third guy who was a newbie and enjoyed it. It wasn't my idea or the newbie's. The other guy is like the girls on Santa Rosa Avenue (in Santa Rosa CA), he only does it for money so you won't find him here unless he is a lurker!!!! Oh, I could say more about the horror of the approach and so on, but it might bring back my MFPTSD (my Mother F*cking PTSD).
BBA
I am now going to click the MFing button to post this reply and acknowledge that I have not read the terms of service but don't particularly care.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2009 - 08:29pm PT
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I asked for it and I got it! Thanks for the MFing account, Bill...LOL
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Nov 29, 2009 - 08:45pm PT
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To judge by BBA's account, what happened in Nevada, stayed in Nevada.
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BBA
Social climber
West Linn OR
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As I think about it now, I remember what was going on. Roper was writing the first guide(red book)from under the boulder he was living at in Camp 4. I was in a pup tent because it was a better environment. Naylor was up from the Bay Area and neither he nor I really wanted to climb because it was raining, but Roper prevailed by saying he was writing the guide book and to stick with him and we would all be famous because our names would be in the books. I guess that also meant all subsequent editions since Steve Grossman says we are in the green book, too. It makes sense now, for of course he would always write up the first ascents on which he was a member for the reasons he used to prevail upon us to hike up the sloppy wet trail to below Nevada Falls and nail a mud crack. Why there? Who knows. And so here we are. Roper was right - if this is fame.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Ah, now the real BBA, aka, Bitchin Bill Amborn, front and center!
Now, there are several ways to interpret the word "Bitchin":
There is "bitchin" and there is "bitching" and somewhere in- between.
The best way to rile BBA was to spell Amborn with an e on the end. Oh, the ensuing wrath.
Happy birthday greeting to me from my gypsy buddies while I struggle through high school. Jeffry, two toes, Foott on the left and Bitchin Bill Amborne on the right.
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BBA
Social climber
West Linn OR
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Definitely, this is fame.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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retouch:
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2009 - 12:17pm PT
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Oh, just look at how much those young men love the Space Needle, dear!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2010 - 02:37pm PT
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Bitchin' Bump!
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Dec 26, 2010 - 01:45am PT
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I believe Paul Cowan (i.e. 'Cow Man') and I did the first free ascent of the "Slot Machine" (5.7 A2) on Nevada Flake sometime in October 1977. We freed it at about 5.9. There were even some enjoyable pitches if I recall correctly.
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