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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Mar 10, 2006 - 01:31pm PT
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Hades. Oh, yes. I was unaware that Darrel and Kevin had freed the first pitch and when we first did it I was psyched. It used to have a sketchy run out off a fixed blade but Johnny Woodward installed a bolt and now it's safer (but the first bolt is a ways up there). That first lead is one of the best pitches
5.12-) at Suicide, and really long. Once you know the sequence it's far easier but that traversing bit is tricky to dick first try. It's also very unusual climbing for Suicide--not thin hold stuff but strange cross countering and Gastoning off rounded shite.
The next pitch is sequency, real thin and almost impossible to keep your feet on the holds. There's a grim high step over a small ceiling that I bashed my shin on about 20 times. Above, it's grim to clip the last protection bolt and get set up on two sidepull dimes. From there you huck a big mo out right to a two finger scallop, stick it--if you can--and fire through.
I went up there two or three times and the last time linked all the moves but had to hang on the last bolt. Finally I returned with DB and got it, probably because I knew every crystal on that thing and also, we were bouldering a ton out at Roubidoux during that period. We were happy about our performance because we never top roped it or frigged around much. From the start we tried it from the bottom. It was really frustrating because I got to the very last move about four or five times and either my feet skidded out during the dyno or I couldn't stick the catch on that scallop. One time I stalled on the scallop, started to pull, and pinged. Jesus--that meant yet another drive out there from LA, reclimbing the first pitch, geting up to that last move and hopfully doing it. And we eventually did, on my third or fourth try.
A year or so later Skinner rolls into town and immdeiately raps down from the top and starts hanging and working out the moves on a TR. At that time (1980??) I thought it was needless and silly to use such a tactic on that route. Plus, he totally avoided the first pitch--coming down from the top like that--and the first lead is the best one, just not the hardest one. It also requires a touch of sac 'cause you gotta run the rope a bit here and there.
We never believed Skinner cleanly linked all those moves on the last pitch--but we don't know what really happened. One or two hangs on one or the other of those bolts and it's not the same fandango at all. It pissed us off because we'd put all this effort into doing it ground up and totally clean--no hanging or tensioning or anything.
Interesting note about this route is that this was the last time I was at around 200 pounds. After that I went up to about 210 and never got back down to a featherweight till I went to Borneo and New Guinea ate nothing at all for months.
Gotta wonder if that route sees any traffic these days. Crime if it don't, since that first pitch is spectuaular. The second pitch is basically a 30-foot, Roubidoux boulder problem.
JL
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Mar 10, 2006 - 01:36pm PT
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the very first time mike paul and i went to santee (we hitchiked all the way ther form,, this would have been sometime in the winter or spring of '73, shockly was there and he gave us the tour.
ran into him there (santee) again, winter before last, over christmas vacation. we got to talking and it's amazing how different the place looks now. housing and development right up to the boulders, the high school, all the graffiti....in '73 the place seemed like a wilderness area!
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Mar 10, 2006 - 01:40pm PT
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yeah, i remember when fraud spinner wrote up his ascent of hades as "an easy afternoon at 5.12c"
others who witnessed the "ascent" reported that our hero didn't do his momma proud and that he'd used every base trick in a cheat's repertoire to frig his way up the thing.
hangdogging at suicide???? jesus wept.
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hashbro
Trad climber
Not in Southern California
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Mar 10, 2006 - 01:56pm PT
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We met Shockley and Largo on our first ever trip to Stoney Point on one of the first boulders encountered. Our little group of Orange County teenage craggers were blown away when the real big boys took us for a tour through the boulders on that day in 1972 (or maybe 1973). Bacher had not yet discovered cragging so guys like Dick, Largo and Bob Kamps had the run of the place back then.
Bongs did not exist, so Largo took repeated hits off of a re-smoked (and resin soaked) joint that he had stashed in his pants. I quite clearly remember that neither of the rock stars had a chalk bag; instead leaving a partially used block of gymnastic chalk at the base of whatever problem they chose to impress us on.
Dick's flowing (ballet-dancer) style, his methodical and intentional motions on the rock were contrasted by John's intense and explosive dyno moves this way and that. We had never seen such experise on the rock before and it was inspirational!
Our three greenhorns hooked upward aghast at what we saw. We were also pretty excited that these two Stonemasters took the time to nurture us with new techniques and vision we had never experienced before.
Early memmories...
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Jul 23, 2008 - 11:48pm PT
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holy frickin hand bags Joker! this here thread has a few things I missed on the first go around.
solid selection of pics in there offwhite!
major stories and general fun thread
bump for sure
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Jul 28, 2008 - 11:29pm PT
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I ran into Schockley at The Knobs in Tuolumne 2 weekends ago. He looked better than I have seen him look in a few years and it was heartwarming to see him climbing again.
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dogtown
climber
Cheyenne,Wyoming
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Dec 23, 2008 - 02:57am PT
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The Best read on the taco EVER!
Thanks Guy's
BD
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dogtown
climber
Cheyenne,Wyoming
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Dec 23, 2008 - 04:49pm PT
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Back in part3 Henny wrote;
When I said in my initial post that the Stonemaster legacy would live on through the climbing of the people they influenced I wasn't kidding. Others like John, Ricky, and Mike had helped to get me kick-started. They did it for me, I was supposed to do it for others. Quite simple. So we see their influence twice removed. And you've probably done it for someone else. Three times removed. And so it goes on...
See what I mean? Is this stuff killer, or what?
The StoneMasters and You Henny have been the biggest influence on my climbing over the years.The face routes you guys put up at T & S have to be Among the best anywhere.
Thanks Bruce.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Apr 23, 2009 - 12:23am PT
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bump at part 5, follow the links backward... way to amazing to believe...
the reason why we all linger here on STForum, this sort of stuff is gold!
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FRUMY
Trad climber
SHERMAN OAKS,CA
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Jul 19, 2010 - 03:03pm PT
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BUMP
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Mar 16, 2013 - 01:13am PT
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bump
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Fish Finder
Social climber
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Bumping without adding content is weak sauce
10b4me your alabama hills trip report was refreshing
The sqeeky wheel doesnt always get greased
Hey dingus, see what I did there
Thats Old school talk for us old guys
I dont use imogees cause im a man
but you can be sure there are smily faces behind all the above statements
LOve this place and all of you!
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Feb 16, 2015 - 01:49am PT
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for catching the middle with linksz thanx Werner for the links.
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