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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 22, 2007 - 02:32pm PT
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Brunosafari,
What? What??? After all these years hearing the rumors and so many versions of what really happened, and you are going to do that to me/us? Come on! Out with it!! Of course this thread is alive!!! I will kick it until the fat lady sings!!!
YOU ARE A TEASE I TELL YOU. A TEASE!!
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Tahoe climber
Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
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Feb 22, 2007 - 03:48pm PT
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Aarrghhh!
Cliffhanger here!
Please, please tell the rest!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2007 - 05:03pm PT
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Geez! Get a hold of yourselves Klimmer and Tahoe. So, uh, Bruce, I was almost certainly told this story at some time, but...uh, what DID happen next?
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 27, 2007 - 02:21am PT
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Brunosafari,
I can't hold on forever. I'm slipping man. My strength is failing . . . catch me . . . I'm going for the long lonely leap . . . I'm starting to fffaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllll!
This is beyond a cliff hanger.
Get er dun :-))
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Brunosafari
Boulder climber
Redmond, OR
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Feb 28, 2007 - 02:14pm PT
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Fear not Klimmer, I gotcha spotted!
I was thinkin' Klimmer, maybe I was too harsh, dishin' up crap at ya for not yet climbing Tooth Rock. Why don't you postpone your immediate plans for redemption and wait until I get down south and we can do it together. When a rare, lofty summit as Tooth Rock is concerned, historical continuity is of primo consideration. I have sensed myself becoming more and more continuously historical these days as I drink my Postum and gnaw at my Melba Toast and down my anti-schizophrenic pills.
After the awkward introductions with Royal, we separated into two vehicles at Poway High School for the drive to Woodson. Goeddel and I were in one vehicle and Denny and Robbins in the other. When we arrived at Woodson, Dave and Denny and I all at once excused ourselves to piss. With Robbins safely on the other side of a boulder changing into climbing clothes Dave and I anxiously asked Denny what happened on the drive to Woodson. Denny said he "showed Robbins Tooth Rock." (For non-locals benefit, the drive from Poway valley to Woodson lends a dramatic "helicopter view" of twenty-five foot Tooth Rock perched atop a steep hill). We felt humilitaed even further and upbraided him in hushed tones and demanded he tell us exactly what was said.
Denny proudly stated he had said "That's Tooth Rock, a Poway Classic!"
Dave and I almost started to cry, realizing any hope of recovering a pittance of dignity had now been punted into the bleachers.
"What did Robbins say," we demanded.
"He said nothing."
Dave and I squeaked out the word "shit" about three hundred times while shaking double clenched fists over our heads.
The pissing counsil did not end in a double suicide however when we ascertained that Denny had somehow managed not to reveal to Robbins that our Dad had climbed Tooth Rock and also our dog, POGO, via Yosemite Big Wall Hauling Techniques.
We walked up the Woodson road a ways and came to small friction boulder. Robbins did a few warm up moves on it and then calmly spoke:
"This rock reminds me of Yosemite!"
In his mercy, Robbins had with that one gracious sentance, supplied us with enough cause for positive self-esteem to see us through all personal testings of life for the duration of life. To this day, when I tell somebody here in Oregon about Woodson, I am careful always to say something like,
"The rock at Woodson bears a striking facsimili to some characteristics of glaciated and exfoliated Yosemite granite."
For our first real climb though, we made our way to Sickle Crack, the climb we felt had aesthetic appeal, but was not too showy. Still we were a bit anxious. Dave and Denny had done the climb before, but with the benefit of a top rope. I had not climbed it yet at all. Of course Denny and Dave insisted that I go first, obviously hoping that I would make them look good.
I still consider that one of my most psychologically demanding climbs and I still refer to it for confidence when I today try to trad the Smith Rock sport routes to an audience of famous-name international quick draw artists.
I liebacked and squimmied up the off- width as gracefully as I possibly could, definitely placing the requirement of style way ahead of safety, yet I really could not even see the rock. In my minds eye, I could only see Robbins behind me trying to contain facial expressions of alternating smirks and frowns.
At that time Goeddel rated Sickle 5.8. Almost everything we climbed we rated 5.8 if we never fell and 5.9 if we sometimes fell and 5.10 if it was impossible. Maybe that provides some understanding of Woodson grades.
When I mantled the top of Sickle, I recklessly skipped and jumped down the back as fast as I could, not wanting to miss seeing Robbins climb. I made it back just in time to see Robbins execute the final mantle. It probably took him at least thirty seconds.
After Dave climbed the route and Denny declined because it was obviously now too easy, we sauntered over to the boulder and crack now known the world over as:
"THE ROBBINS CRACK"
Less known worldwide is that previous to this incident we referred to the crack as:
"THE AID CRACK!"
That's right, none of us for even one nano-second ever imagined that crack to be a potential free climb. Instead it beaconed to us as the perfect training climb for future Yosemite nail-ups. This was not long after we had saved our milk money and bought our first precious "chrome moly Chouinard pitons. Some of them were angle pitons, up to an inch and a half, much wider than our soft iron Swiss Rings. Heck, with Yosemite angle pitons and runners hooked together like rope ladders, we reasoned anything could be climbed...even inch and a half cracks, aid syle.
"That's the way it's done in Yosemite! That's how Robbins climbed Tissaack!"
In all fairness, remember, we had never seen jam crack climbing demonstrated. We could barely conceive how one could climb an inch an a half crack by jam or lieback and still be able to place and hammer and clip a piton. It went without saying this was an aid climb and we wanted to show it to Royal for his approval. And not wanting state the obvious, none of us mentioned it was our "aid climb."
I can still recall this moment just as precisely as if I had never smoked weed.
I can still recall this moment just as clearly as when Mary Jo Fisher kissed me behind Meadowbrook School in seventh grade.
I can still recall this moment just as profoundly as when I saw each of my children being birthed, red, and roped up and covered in juice of emancipation.
We had no intention of climbing the crack, we just wanted to show it to Robbins as if to say we were aid climbers too and had places to use chrome moly pitons.
Robbins walking toward the crack. He inserted his hand. We witnessed a rhythmic cadence of blurry, ascending, and silent motion wherein he tagged the summit and then rapidly downclimbed. Upon touching the ground he took a step, tilted his head, smiled, nodded, and in perfectly even breaths, calmly remarked,
"That's a good one."
We were unable and unwilling to say a word. We were in flabbergasted shock. We could not move. We avoided eye contact with Robbins and with each other. We were enveloped in a thick fog of shame. If Robbins found out that we aided free climbs, we knew we would one day be laughed out Yosemite before we could ask a ranger the location of Camp Four. It was an understandable case of the thin ice of human pride.
Finally, Goeddel suggested we go elsewhere!
Later Dave showed Robbins a face climb problem. It involved a reach and Dave was six feet four inches I believe. To our happy amazement, Robbins had to hesitate on that move. And then it was time to go.
Robbins had unknowingly opened the door to making our dreams a possibility. By 1973 Goeddel had climbed the Nose and Denny had climbed Half Dome and I had shimmied my way up a few routes myself. But Woodson was never the same again after the cracks began to speak aloud.
Over the years I have heard quite a few disparaging remarks and have observed some lofty attitudes and tones of judgement toward Royal Robbins. For me they are explained my the injustices of history when taken out of context. Like when I bouldered once with the great face climber, Bob Kamps, Royal Robbins will always be to me a personal, touchstone of greatness. I will never forget his kind, even respectful attitude toward we dufuses, and the inspiration of his climbing style. At the same time, I recall Robbins never actually stood atop the Robbins crack. What a frikken' poser, man!
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Feb 28, 2007 - 02:27pm PT
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Bruce:
Fantastic account! I've only heard others' stories through the years of how that all went down, and your "authoritative version" beats 'em all. I can't wait to read your first book!
By the way, I prefer to think that his feigned indifference toward Tooth Rock was simply because he was intimidated...
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 28, 2007 - 02:35pm PT
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Mary Jo Fisher, huh.
Bruce, you're a helluva good storyteller (along with all of the other gifts).
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crotch
climber
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Feb 28, 2007 - 02:48pm PT
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Awesome tale, Brunosafari!
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Feb 28, 2007 - 02:55pm PT
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Bravo squared, Bruce!
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Brunosafari
Boulder climber
Redmond, OR
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Feb 28, 2007 - 02:59pm PT
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I'm flattered!
But good grief Mooser and Grug...do you guys have super topo alarms installed on your computin' rigs? You responded within five minutes!? Had do I get one? And later I might ask you how to post photos. Have to go now on a trip again for several days.
Hey Grug...why not mention a tale of you climbing with KB and maybe he'll tie-in on SuperTopo. Like maybe Middle Cat North Buttress at age 15? or Tahquitz offroute epics? Unfortunately, I have to be gone again for a few days. Have fun lads!
BA
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scuffy b
climber
The town that Nature forgot to hate
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Feb 28, 2007 - 03:14pm PT
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Beautiful story. Dramatic element, historical significance,
humor, humanity...
The poser!!
And remember, he was still in his 20s at the time, demigodly
status or no.
Incompetence style edit: in his 30s
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 28, 2007 - 03:30pm PT
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A well told tale like that is a prime example of ST at it's best. I always loved Robbins Crack, partly because it was one of the few things I could consistently get up out there, thanks for the definitive back story.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 28, 2007 - 04:12pm PT
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Yes indeed, a very entertaining nugget of common heritage.
Bravo Bruno!
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Feb 28, 2007 - 04:51pm PT
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Crotch: did you take that shot of Robbins? That's a great angle I've never seen before, other than just the view from doing that face on that same corner. Great shot!
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crotch
climber
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Feb 28, 2007 - 05:53pm PT
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mooser - That's the angle you get when you're rapping off the bolt anchor atop Robbins.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Feb 28, 2007 - 08:18pm PT
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at last. dude, i've waited 34 years to hear the story firsthand from someone who was actually there.....
at last, i can die a happy man.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Feb 28, 2007 - 11:40pm PT
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Bruce,
Wonderful story and worth waiting for. Robbins is inspiring for the way he pushed the standards wherever he climbed: whether it was Yosemite, Alaska, Chamonix, or...Poway.
Rick
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 28, 2007 - 11:47pm PT
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Brunosafari,
Wow. I'm stunned. That is some incredible story telling. You have an incredible knack for it Bruce. Like bvb, I've been waiting a long time to know the real and the whole story. I think my eyes are getting misty . . . that was just beautiful.
I would love to climb "Tooth Rock" with you. Just email me and let me know when you come down and we'll do it. It would be great to climb it with one of the original Poway Mtn. Boys, and one who helped put it up.
Funny you bring up Meadowbrook Middle School. That is where I took the summer school class "The Geography of California" with my 5th grade teacher Mr. Dennis Bucker and Mr. Eddy Lindros in '73, just prior to 6th grade with the culminating grand event --- backpacking up the tourist trail to the summit of Mt. Whitney. Great memories. For me it was Kim Swecker at Twin Peaks Middle school. I was in 6th grade and she was in 8th. I can't say anymore about that, except our hormones were out of control.
I can understand the reverance you have for Royal Robbins.
Have any of you ever said something really stupid to a hero of your's, and the moment the words left your lips you were immediately, desperately, and unsuccessfully trying to stuff them back into your mouth and erase the moment forever? Well, I had that experience with Royal Robbins once. Not unlike Bruce et al., except it all worked out for you guys :-))
In the late '80s, I worked at A16 while attending SDSU, and Royal came down to give a talk and slide presentation. It was a wonderful show and afterwards climbers were huddling around him listening with respect and admiration to what he had to say. A friend of mine was one of the disciples huddled there and I saw my opportunity to join in. I came over and patted my friend on the back and said, "Kevin, what are doing asking Royal if he rap-bolts?" Oh-sh#t. What did I just say? Absolute dead silence and all eyes were starring at me. What an uncomfortable and very ackward moment. The attempt at humor sank faster than a seafloor bottom trawler. The cold stares toward me said, "How could you say something like that in the prescence of God?" I blew it bad. Note-to-self, never attempt bad humor in Royal's prescence.
I'm probably really brave or really stupid, but I tried to redeem myself and eventually I was able to ask him about Mt. Woodson, and the famous local tale of "Robbin's Crack" and if he could elaborate a little about it. He said something to the effect, "I do remember something happening on Mt. Woodson, I keep hearing about it, but I really don't recall the details of the story."
Well, now we know. Thanks Bruce.
Royal, if you ever read these threads on ST, my attempt at bad humor was just that. It was a moment of insanity on my part. I'm better now. I hope you can forgive me. I was nervous and just trying to break the ice. Apparently, I plunged through it.
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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Bruno....to me , this is the single best post on ST in a long time...thank you for that!
Like others , my climbing started at Woodson in the 70's and I have always wondered about how the crack that tought me how to jamb, got it's name.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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wonderful story indeed!
bravo!
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