Sentinel Rock Summit Register- Classic Who's Who 1934-1976

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looking sketchy there...

Social climber

Latitute 33

Jun 26, 2011 - 02:06pm PT

DE and I did a "clean" (no hammer) ascent of the West Face Nov 1 & 2, 1976. Hoping that we signed the summit register and that it shows up when Steve finishes posting the pages (through 76?)

We were able to protect the wide cracks because Mike Graham loaned us two custom nuts he had made (#11 Hex stock cut extra wide). These fit nicely in a couple spots (and were very stable) in the wide crack and made these pitches seem reasonable. I seem to recall we had a single Tube Chock as well, but that it wasn't very stable.

As noted in Bruce Carson's summit register note, the expanding "crux" flake traversing pitch was partially fixed and -- except for the first few placements getting to the traverse -- was very secure on nuts.

Bruce Carson's clean ascents on Big Walls was a big influence on us and we were psyched to be able to follow his example.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Jun 26, 2011 - 02:22pm PT

Largo has a great idea...

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 26, 2011 - 02:24pm PT

You two are the very last entry!

In my never-ending drive to keep Anders content...the back nine!

That's all folks!

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Jun 26, 2011 - 02:49pm PT

there's Kim Grandfield, July 5, 1976... he is the owner of Sunrise in Livermore...

F10

Trad climber

e350 / Bishop

Jun 26, 2011 - 04:00pm PT

I'm with Largo, never saw the summit register in 75' but then it was dark when we topped out on the second day. The Steck/Salathe had a big wall feel back then.... sure was a blast for a nineteen y/o punk and his seventeen y/o partner

Awesome thread Steve

martygarrison

Trad climber

Washington DC

Jun 26, 2011 - 04:02pm PT

Pretty neat to see one's name from 35 years ago. The CH and West Face were pretty cool times.

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Jun 27, 2011 - 12:56am PT

Now to go back and find all the SuperTopian names... Those I know, anyway - not all noms de plume are transparent.

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Jun 27, 2011 - 12:33pm PT

John (Long), you mentioned Will Tyre... Is he still around?
I remember him being a psychic and predicting all our fates...
Some of it came true...

guido

Trad climber

Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific

Jun 27, 2011 - 04:21pm PT

Talking with Foott last night before his annual pilgrimage from Moab to Jackson Hole, he reflected on the June 25, 1965 rescue where Pete Spoeker broke his femur when a #500 block pinned him.

Faint placed a bolt in the block, two angle pins in a nearby crack, connected two aids slings between the bolt and the angles and twisted the entire unit with a piton hammer-a la Spanish Windlass.

Funny thing was it was quite unusual for Faint to carry a bolt kit.

Brilliant!

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 27, 2011 - 07:18pm PT

Thanks Joe!

I was hoping for some sort of a tale about that rescue.

Superb methods Mr. Faint!

How did the rescue turn out for Pete? Had to be a helicopter ride, at least...

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Jun 27, 2011 - 09:05pm PT

SuperTopo names from the complete list, although I may have missed a few that were unreadable, or where I don't know the name/pen name link. And some are infrequent posters.

Royal Robbins
Joe Fitschen
Bill Amborn
Jeff Foott
Steve Roper
Tom Cochrane
Ken Boche
Eric Beck
Dennis Hennek
Don Lauria
Chris Jones
Jeff Lowe
Pat Ament
Phil Gleason
Rick Sylvester
Ed Drummond
Barry Bates
Dick Erb
John Stannard
Tom Kimbrough
Rich Goldstone
Jim Donini
Anne-Marie Rizzi
Rik Rieder
Doug Robinson
Kevin Worrall
Michael Kennedy
Marty Garrison
Randy Vogel
Dave Evans
+ Jeff Dozier
+ Stephen McCabe
+ Darrel Hensel
+ Eric Barrett

The earliest ST ascent was in 1953, by Royal - apparently the second ascent of what was then called the north face. The north face seems to have become the Steck-Salathe, and the Chessman Route the Chouinard-Herbert, after the 1964 guide. Some ascents in the later 1960s and 1970s by those active earlier still use the original terms. Sentinel does seem to have been a popular place for medium to medium-large walls.

The Stonemasters must have climbed various routes on Sentinel during the early to mid 1970s, but their names don't often appear.

guido

Trad climber

Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific

Jun 27, 2011 - 09:55pm PT

As so often happens after 45 years the memory on some aspects is vague. Jeff believes Peter was taken off the top by helicopter and the main participates were Fredericks, Evans and Foott. It was a rather large team but three members at least were rangers, ie, Anderson, Huson and Shackelton.

It was probably the most sophisticated rescue to occur in the Valley up to that date?

Rick Anderson was the Valley District Ranger during that era and hired Foott for his climbing experience. Later when Foott took off to guide for Exum I was given the job for several years. Rick was unique for his positive attitude towards the climbing community in contrast to the piss-poor approach of the majority of NPS personnel.

Huson could be a jerk sometimes and Shackelton was more involved with fire control so he was easy to get along with.

Wonder if Denny has any photos?

Roger Breedlove

climber

Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Jun 27, 2011 - 10:34pm PT

What a great history recorded in individual notes. I think my favorite is the connection between a 3rd class ascent on July 4th, 1948, and the Golden Age heroes on the filming of the West Face. In 1948, the ages of a bunch of kids are listed with the height of one Billy Finney listed as 4'11"; followed by the ages and heights of Frost, Chouinard, Pratt, and Robbins on the day they returned to their filming and plucked Tom off the West Face. I think I recognize Royal's handwriting in that bit of humor spanning back to the beginning.

I also like the comment Chris Jones wrote when he and Pratt climbed the SS in 1967' "Hard for foreigners," followed in 1975 with "Very pleasant" when he climbed it with George Lowe.

Royal was looking ahead to his future, when he noted in 1970, "Hope to get down before dark - looking for wine + steak."

To a comment Anders makes above, until Roper's 1964 guide was published, it doesn’t seem that any of the North Face routes had names. It seems that Steve named them all by their first ascent team in his 1964 guide.

I was sort of hoping that Dave Bircheff and I had signed in and that it would show up the final pages of the summit register and on Ander’s list above—stellar company. (I only climbed Sentinel once--the Steck Salathe, clean and all-free). But I don't remember looking for the register, much less signing it (as is the case with several other posters). It was a long shot since generally I didn't take much interest in signing registers by the time Dave and I climbed the SS.

Again to Anders comment, Sentinel was climbed by the early and mid-70s climbers, but there was something déclassé about signing a register on a Valley climb. The exclusivity was gone and the number of ascents was way past any sense of uniqueness. Maybe up to the 10th ascent of a major route was something to speak of in the late 60s (as a practical matter in the early 60s there were probably only 10 teams that could climb Sentinel) but by the middle 70s only the first and second made the news, so to speak. For the same reasons, replacing the registers fell off and, I think, many were liberated in one form or another. Last year, a climbing friend of mine from 40 years ago sent me the register for the Lower Cathedral Spire which had been recently given to him by someone who neither of us can figure would have come by it. The last entry was in 1973. I was happy to scan and post it here and send the book to Ken for the Climbing Museum.

Great read. I especially like the textual bits: Whose handwriting can I recognize? Who wrote comments? Who corrected the spelling of Jim Madsen’s name (I think it was Madsen himself on a later ascent) only have another partner later misspell it. Eric Beck’s and Sacherer’s one day ascent of the West Face (the first grade VI in a day) and Steve Wunsch and Jim Ericson’s all free ascent of the SS after several notations on all-free except the headwall entries, the first of which is noted in 1963.

I'm with Long: Who would have believed that a register would be so evocative.

(Edited 28 June)

east side underground

Trad climber

Hilton crk,ca

Jun 27, 2011 - 10:41pm PT

you left jeff Dozier off your list - aka Dr Deeg :)

HighTraverse

Trad climber

Bay Area

Jun 27, 2011 - 10:54pm PT

Shackelton

The same Shackelton who is/was head of park security?

Faint placed a bolt in the block, two angle pins in a nearby crack, connected two aids slings between the bolt and the angles and twisted the entire unit with a piton hammer-a la Spanish Windlass.

Hardcore!
And a good trick to remember if you're unlucky enough to need a boulder moved.

A few of my climbing partners from the '70s in there.

DrDeeg

Mountain climber

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Jun 28, 2011 - 12:19am PT

Thanks east side. For reasons mainly involving partners excusing themselves, I never did the Steck-Salathe. Tom Gerughty and I did the Chouinard-Herbert in 1966, and he had done the SS that year (a summer in which he climbed more than a mile of squeeze chimneys).

Earlier in this thread, The Warbler mentions the FFA of the NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral Rock with Frank Sacherer in August 1964. With Frank, the climb was straightforward. For breakfast, we had a few swallows of red wine that had turned to vinegar. We took 1 rope, 1 quart of water, and a minimal rack. It took us about 6 hours. I was terribly thirsty, but Bridwell and Bircheff had hiked up later in the day to watch, and they had brought water that we drank after descending the Higher Rock Gully. I was most grateful, but I don't recall Frank being especially thirsty.

I occasionally have delusions about trying to do the climb on its 50th Anniversary in 2014, when I turn 70. Unlikely! But the idea at least gives me motivation to get in better shape.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Jun 28, 2011 - 12:28am PT

if you're looking for a partner Jeff, I'll volunteer!

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2011 - 12:54am PT

How about this one folks!!!

July 26,1971

Simultaneous solo ascent of Steck-Salathé in 2 hrs, 10 min, 52.5 seconds

Jim Bridwell

Rik Rieder

(We dropped our rope!)