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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 3, 2007 - 10:36pm PT
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While I'm at it maybe I should apologize to Chiloe for participating in the thread hijack.
Sorry you guys. You look like a harmonious group of friends in that summit shot.
Hah! No apology needed -- far from it.
I hoped this thread would turn towards other folks' stories about the climb itself, not just our 1,842nd ascent.
It's done that in spades.
That's why I named the thread "Figures on a Landscape," instead of "Figures on a Landscape (TR)."
cheers,
L
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Here is a little sidebar on the melon cracking incident.
AJ and I have spent the last few years searching out the remaining unclimbed splitters in the northern end of the monument. We have scoured the upper Rattlesnake, Valley of the Kings and environs. It took us several forays to find the Witch Hunt (not a splitter) but every time we found sweet consolations up there.On that occasion he had sprinted ahead, scrambled over house sized blocks, squeezed through a couple chasms and found the formation we called the Cranium.It had two beautiful fractures which we climbed, one 10a and the other 10+, and a fantastic position overlooking the Valley of the Kings.
I was scrambling around the base which is perched on a ledge system above a 100-200' cliff. A few feet above where he was sitting I stepped up on a football sized knob which we had both previously stood on and it popped. I launched over backwards and caught a glimpse of A trying desperately to grab me as I flung towards the abyss. He couldn't stop such momentum and I went head first into a rock filled chimney and squarely torpedoed head first into a rock in the center of a small sandy area after a 20+ foot airball, what luck! At least I hadn't gone off the cliff below.I was pretty stunned, literally seeing stars and it took quite a while to shake it off. I had a 4 inch H shaped cut on the top of my noggin and there was a significant amount of blood. I was done climbing for the day!
Moral of the story: old guy needs to be more careful and maybe even wear a helmet. Put the helmet on when getting out of bed and take it off when going to bed, yeah right!
Cheers!
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Murf
climber
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Dr. F,
Rather than frying™ about the past, I offer this consolation prize. I will sell the location of a prized 5.12 FA in JT that Randy is obsessing over. I have to say, its not *'s, but it is good.
All I ask is that you guarantee me that you'll have no good memories of the experience. Not a single shred of an image of hanging with good bros, feeling the experience of new moves, and figuring out that it will go. Yes, even 25 years later, I want the single greatest result of my betrayal be that you feel sweet justification of righting a horrible past transgression. I want you to promise never to apologize, never give up the sweet nectar of revenge.
I know it won't make up for the grievous ill perpetuated upon you by that that black heart guidebook author, but maybe it will be a start.
Or maybe you could call up Spencer, DE, and Randy and go climb Figures again. Drink some malt beverage, have some laughs. Get Epi to take shots and do a freakin' Climbing Cover. I'd buy that issue.
-Murf
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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"Or maybe you could call up Spencer, DE, and Randy and go climb Figures again. Drink some malt beverage, have some laughs. Get Epi to take shots and do a freakin' Climbing Cover. I'd buy that issue."
-Murf
That Murf is on to something. I'd buy two. One just for the 'little library'.
I am just glad to have done the beautiful route at all.
It seems almost beyond real that it was done before the bolts.
If that is in fact true then I am staggered by the boldness and greatness of that ascent.
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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it is really interesting that this thread took a wild right turn with Hashbro's casual comment that Matt and Yabo did this route years before, but nobody seems to have quite noticed (Hashbro - letting the thread play out before showing all your cards was great). Did those guys really do this route to the top with no bolts (yow!)? Hashbro - are you playing with everyone here? Are there a few more layers that only the insiders can appreciate?
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hashbro
Trad climber
Not in Southern California
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Mike, in response to your query about Matt and Ybo on the "true" FA of Figures it must be stated that the boys were observed (and Matt dangerously leading without bolts) a route in the narly exact location of Figures several years before the controversial bolted acsent of the route.
Since Matt (and Yabo) often climbed routes back then (in true Gritstone style) where a fall would be injurious or possibly fatal, news of their ascent was not eyebrow raising.
In approximately 1977, several of us (including a highly inebriated EE,Yabo and others of the clan) were re-grouping over beers and other contraband in Hidden Valley it was mentioned that the mystery route Matt and Yabo had completed was in fact Figures two years before the bolted FA. Soem folks said this was a bunch of balony, but Yabo sweared Matt had actually led the route (with some slight variations to find micro-cracks for "protection"). At this point the story is only a rumour and myth. Since the players were legendary for their cajones, insane boldness and attraction to the life/death edge, I tend to actually believe the story.
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Craig, remember that reality is always slanted by the perciever. Einstein proved this with physics and now you and Randy are proving it with synapses.
May Yabo's spirit climb all of the scary and dangerous routes we never could muster in the "real" world.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 6, 2007 - 10:22pm PT
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Mike, in response to your query about Matt and Ybo on the "true" FA of Figures it must be stated that the boys were observed (and Matt dangerously leading without bolts) a route in the narly exact location of Figures several years before the controversial bolted acsent of the route.
Way radical if it happened. I've looked again at my photos of P1 and so far as I can see there are only about 3 places on that pitch you might hope to place gear, none of them near the cruxes -- the first about 50 feet up, past two 5.10 sections. Did I miss something? With all the holds untested, plenty of flakey looseness you'd have to assume, nothing at all from the middle flakes on the P1 traverse to the easy crack at the top of P2 about 70 feet higher, and none of our modern knowledge that it all goes at "just" 5.10b (it looks harder) -- hard to imagine launching through all that with no pro, at least from my mortal perspective.
If it was "nearly the exact location," where else could it go?
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Matt was badass! Yabo was too, but that goes without saying.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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People at the time - late 1970s, early 1980s - were doing other scary runout routes. Perilous Journey in Boulder. The Bachar-Yerian in Tuolumne. Things on Middle Cathedral and maybe Glacier Point. A few things on the Apron at Squamish. A very few of them were never recorded or publicized, and later had "first" ascents, often with bolts added - a route on Mt. Habrich, behind Squamish, comes to mind.
Some of those routes were very close to lead standards of the time, but most of them somewhat below that.
Figures is a great route, and quite stout even with the bolts it has. It's entirely believable that it had an earlier ascent, given the abilities of the climbers involved, though with the formation that was climbed, I'd have guessed they would have said more about what they'd done.
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Apocalypsenow
Trad climber
Cali
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Dec 10, 2007 - 01:54am PT
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"Rangers Wear Panties" is by far the best 10b in the park.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2007 - 04:41pm PT
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So, WhAt AbOuT YaBo?
I wondered about that too. Feels like the thread had a cliffhanger ending, if that's all the farther it goes.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Dec 10, 2007 - 07:51pm PT
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Jeebus Craig,
I can understand the sour grapes per the FA bolting reportage,
But that's no reason to spoil the high bannered mythology of your valiant predecessors.
Like, how young were your kids when you busted 'em on Santa Claws?
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hashbro
Trad climber
Mental Physics........
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Dec 11, 2007 - 01:22am PT
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Yeah Craig, chill out a bit.
I understand you are an extreme cynic, but this might be your best
opportunity become a new-aged guy, open you heart chakra and learn to forgive and forget. Are you sure Yabo and Matt were not there first, and would it really matter if they had?
Think of what happened on Illusion Dweller with Tobin and Gib also being convinced they were doing the FFA when in fact Matt et al had done it at least a year earlier with no bolts. According to some that's what did happen on Figures.
Don't get stuck in assumptions bro.....
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Ezra
Trad climber
WA, NC
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Apr 12, 2008 - 01:51pm PT
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Bump for the Real Deal!
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Oddchick? Wingnut? Strangechick? Freakazoid?
Trad climber
Pollack Pines
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Apr 13, 2008 - 02:01am PT
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After everything that has been said I am convinced that Matt and Yabo actually did the real first ascent with Vogal and Evans conspired to mis-report and eventually steal the route.
This is an outrage!
There just outta be a law!
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Lost Arrow
Trad climber
The North Ridge of the San Fernando
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Apr 14, 2008 - 10:50am PT
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bumb
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Nov 25, 2008 - 12:07am PT
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This thread pretty much has it all, though a few more pictures might be nice. Plus as it's an anniversary, it needs to be bumped - Ed and Munge aren't the only people allowed to do that.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 25, 2008 - 11:19am PT
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Mighty Hiker:
This thread pretty much has it all, though a few more pictures might be nice.
Jerry's picture (previous page) of the second pitch is a fine one.
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