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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 20, 2011 - 03:35am PT
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MisterE, I am anxious to see your finished book. Sedona climbing sure has blossomed over the last 10 years. There is a lot of rock to be climbed!
What was that Larry The Cable Guy Saying....Get er done!
The Sedona guidebook will be a great seller in the stores! So no knife fight?...rats! Back to the Seagal movies!
Rock on!
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ChampionSleeper
Trad climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Jul 22, 2011 - 04:10pm PT
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The Marty train keeps me entertained at work. Keep on chuggin' Marty!
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 22, 2011 - 11:10pm PT
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HISTORY LESSON VOL 3
just one simple mystery on this round.
I am busy creating videos this week for Team Thrashers, the climbing team at the Phoenix Rock Gym.
The History Answer will be disclosed this Sunday night after dinner, AZ time.
Question: We all remember the Phoenix Bouldering Competitions.
The competitions ran from 1983-2004
Which year/years were there no competitor Phoenix Bouldering Contest T-shirts? And why?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:55pm PT
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That yr there was none... 99? 98?
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 23, 2011 - 12:22am PT
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Salt Lake City Outdoor Retailers Show in two weeks!
I purchased my new business cards five minutes ago. It's time to rock!
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 23, 2011 - 12:33am PT
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At the comps I am known as the Flying Zebra! Sponsored by Evolv.
Judging by the hand hold size, you can see that I am on a V14.
I thought the rating was kinda inflated, it felt more like a V14-
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 23, 2011 - 04:05am PT
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I remember 1987 like it was yesterday. The sun was rising in the morning as I prepared to go to work. The scent of the coffee brewing was eye opening as I yawned, smelling my dog breath which made me realize that I had not brushed my teeth yet. Suddenly there was a text message on my cell phone and I raced over to see what it was. Wait a minute! Back in 1987 there were no cell phones yet! Let me get my boots on again and restart the story. Sun rising, coffee, dog breath, and oh yeah, Jim Waugh stopping at my house to make sure I was attending his amazing Phoenix Bouldering Contest. Jim was known as the worlds greatest micro manager almost to the point that he stopped by every climbers house to tell them the comp was coming up in April. I worked under Jim's command for many years and noticed this micro managing as well. Until I was dubbed "Director" of the Thrash & Dangle Fest, an annual competition held at the Phoenix Rock Gym 5 years running so far. I never knew the extent of what micro managing was about, NOW I DO, and Jim's comp was 10 times greater in size than mine! Until anybody holds their own competition, they should never say that running a comp is an easy task. Jim, ALL of my hats are off to you!
The Thrash & Dangle Fest is not a small indoor comp, it is actually rated one of the top 10 competitions to attend in the USA, and it is indoors. To see what the buzz is all about go to Mountainproject.com, go to Forum, go to Thrash & Dangle Fest 2011 for the complete layout of the event. The Phoenix Bouldering Contest was an outdoor event drawing in 600 competitors, and was held over a 3 day weekend in Superior AZ. Basically in and around an area known as Oak Flat. Besides the comp, there were 20+ manufacturer booths showing products, a main stage with live music, Dyno competition wall in the campground, food trailers, and of course Beer! If you survived the beer, most became plowed from the stiff drinks mixed at the FISH booth. Russ, did you actually put any mixer in any of those drinks? So let's see, compete in the Arizona sun for 6 hours and then drink lots of alcohol. My stomach is still scarred to this day from what I call, "Green Sunday." That's the day after the comp where you woke up in your tent not realizing you were sleeping in your puke the whole night. But that never happened to me….No….No.
Jim asked me if I could help him with some tasks at the comps which I quickly said, "no problem." The Phoenix Bouldering Contest was totally awesome and yes, I wanted to be involved. Yes, Yes! Even though it was a lot of work, I loved doing it! Without the Phoenix Bouldering Comp, April was just another month, besides Easter of course, and besides the now, Thrash & Dangle Fest! I slowly became the Media Guru, where I set up interviews between the Climbing superstars and the TV media like ESPN, ESPN2, Outdoor Life Network, local TV stations, and many newspaper and magazine publications as well. It was a cool job! I also worked with Susan Peplow and Sandy Draus on the prize committee, helping them figure out which division winner got what item. Being on the prize committee also gave me the opportunity to be on the main stage, as we fired up the crowd by throwing schwag into the hundreds of hands reaching out to catch a free prize. Sandy always hogged the microphone which I grabbed at occasionally, but her swift hand getting ready to slap me seemed to keep away, just out of her slapping range.
Besides the few mentioned, Jim had hundreds of necessary volunteers to make this bouldering contest a successful event. Security, First Aid responders, Route setters, Roaming judges, people who hung the hundreds of ropes, Trail makers, Signage department, Route guide maps for the 300+ problems to choose from, Traffic control, Competitor check in people, Sponsor department, and so so so much more. And Jim Waugh was on top of everything making sure everybody was where they needed to be. This comp was huge!!! Being a staff person, I got to have a taste of all of the action. I really miss not having the comp anymore. It was just another element in my life that made being a climber so wonderful! Well, Yosemite can do that too but for the comp people you know what I mean!
Let's go back to "Green Sunday." I was always an early riser and helped to clean up the trash around the main stage before everybody else woke up. Those partying people sure can leave a mess! Some climbers never made it away from the main stage, and slept there all night. Good thing for friends, they all were covered with blankets or something were they lay. Sure it is Arizona in April, but some competition mornings we woke up to snow, or rain, or during the day is topped over 100 degrees. You just never knew what the weather was going to be. No matter what, it got cold during the night. Sometimes it got really cold! Jim's biggest worry about the comp year to year was always the weather. Somehow each year the weather cooperated and comp happened without a next day rain delay or something. My friend Rich and I volunteered to help with the Sunday pancake service, which was sponsored by Great Trango Holdings Inc. This volunteering came with the benefit of getting the first a cup of coffee in the morning, or being first to eat a few flapjacks before the big crowd lined up for breakfast. My stomach was usually still twisted from the after comp celebration, but I had absolutely no problem with having a warm cup of coffee in my hands.
A gentleman by the name of Malcolm Daly, who is the chief of the Great Trango company, came in to the pancake tent as Rich and I were setting up tables, and chairs, and cutting many oranges. He threw at us two Trango T-shirts and said "Your Sponsored!" Rich and I looked at each other smiling hugely as we then realized that we were now sponsored athletes. We were SPONSORED! I thought, Wow! SPONSORED! And a lightbulb went off in my head! Sure it was just one T-shirt, but it opened the door to my Paparazzi climbing life. The next year, Rich and I were first to the Trango breakfast tent to help, and we purposely left our Trango shirts back at our camp and sure enough, Malcolm threw at us both another T-shirt. We were sponsored again! This to us was way cool! We had no problem scraping the syrup goo spills off of the tables, or scraping the pancake fryer and cleaning the pans. We were Sponsored and were proud of it!
The next year Jim took me to the Outdoor Retailers show for the first time to promote the Phoenix Bouldering Contest. Jim informed me of what he needed me to do at the show, and when we first arrived, he ran me up and down all of the isles in the climbing area. To Jim this was work, but to me I became light headed from seeing all of the gear, especially seeing all of the climbing superstars all in one room. I became so dizzy that Jim sat me down in a chair, and went to the nurses office to get me some aspirin. Jim eventually returned and was speaking to me, but his words became silent as his mouth was still moving, and all I could think was, "There's Lynn Hill, Tom Frost, Jim Bridwell, Royal Robbins, Randy Leavitt, Scott Franklin, Bobbi Bensman, Ron Kauk, Christian Griffith, Mia Axon, and one hundred more superstar climbers all in front of me! Jim eventually left me sitting there to regain consciousness, which took about one hour. I could not remember what Jim wanted me to do at the show for him, so I started walking around, gathering signatures on posters and books and shaking hands with everybody.
15 years ago when the economy was very good, there were bucket loads of free keychain carabiners at every booth, free full size climbing hold samples, shirts, hats, and tons of free trial size products. At one show alone, I brought home over 100 different manufacturer keychain carabiners, besides suitcases full of other stuff. As the economy worsened, the schwag became very minimal, and today at many booths you have to ask to receive one sticker. I became friends with many wonderful people over the years which are still generous to me at the shows to this day.
I noticed that Malcolm of Great Trango Holdings had his booth at the show, so I wore his Trango T-shirt at the show with pride! I took this Trango shirt sponsorship idea to the next level, where eventually Patagonia was my Lip-Goo sponsor, Yates was my hat sponsor, FISH was my T-shirt Sponsor which I wore on all climbs over two pitches long, Blue Water was my Rope Bag Sponsor, Prana became my pants sponsor. Sure they may be seconds, but Beaver gave me a closet load of them! Sterling was my cord sponsor, Bison was my keychain sponsor, Metolius was my chalk sponsor, and then eventually I was approached by Evolv sports Designs, and I proudly have been wearing and supporting Evolv shoes for many years now!
I find it interesting that out of all of these manufacturers, not one of them even asked what ratings I was sending at the time. In this modern age, there are so many 5.13 climbers all fighting to get a sponsorship, stating how good of a climber they are, and how deserving they are for this sponsorship. I was rewarded with sponsorships by showing how much I just love being a rock climber, and how appreciative I am to the manufacturers who believe in me. Even though it was just a simple T-shirt, I still to this day hugely respect Malcolm Daly for saying to me "Your Sponsored." Over the years, Malcolm has donated many fantastic items to my museum, and even though we don't see each other maybe just twice a year, I still consider him a very close friend.
This is an older T-shirt, but once again given to me from Trango.
I still have the original Trango T-shirt somewhere in storage.
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 08:15am PT
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Phoenix Bouldering Contest Memories
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 08:17am PT
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 08:18am PT
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 08:20am PT
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 08:21am PT
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 08:23am PT
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 24, 2011 - 12:12pm PT
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Got one! Never seen anodizing that color elsewhere!
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jul 24, 2011 - 01:31pm PT
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Classic shot of Hahn. Fukker raised some serious hell that year, and won 3 raffles.
I got screwed by the new scoring/divisions thing. Did one too many problems and ended up in last place. Classic late night times with The Bird...Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner...sore tips...thanks Marty.
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susan peplow
climber
www.joshuatreevacationhomes.com
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Jul 24, 2011 - 01:51pm PT
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Marty that PBC stuff is great! It's like that old kids show where you see people through the lolly pop.... I see Felicia, I see Richard, I see Malcom, I see skinny Jim.....
That photo of Richard Horst is great as he hangs his head during the Star Spangled Banner. Richard was a Navy man, thanks for serving!
I can't believe that you saved that stupid tag for Amber's P Nuttles sales. She did go to camp but a byproduct of that was Russ and I gaining many pounds. Yummmm, P Nuttles!!!
Lot's of great things came out of the PBC. Friendships, good times, drunk nights, extreme cold, opressive heat, wet gear, many stressful months of preparation. As a bonus I found my FISH and with the author of this threads help took 1st place for my age the only year I competed. Almost snuck in with 1st place women's local but that young, strong girl robbed me with a single pull!
Thanks for all the coaching Marty and great times then and now.
xo
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2011 - 10:05pm PT
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HISTORY LESSON VOL 3 - ANSWERS
Question: We all remember the Phoenix Bouldering Competitions.
The Competitions ran from 1983-2004
Which year/years were there no competitor Phoenix Bouldering Contest T-shirts? And why?
Answer: There are actually 6 competitions that there were no Phoenix Bouldering Contest T-shirts.
1983 - First year was called Central Arizona Bouldering Contest. First year had no T-shirt at all.
1984 - Competition is still called Central Arizona Bouldering Contest. T-shirts start here but not PBC.
1985 - Competition is still called Central Arizona Bouldering Contest. Still not PBC.
1986 - Competition is still called Central Arizona Bouldering Contest. Still not PBC. 1987 was the year that the competition name was changed to the Phoenix Bouldering Contest.
1999 - There was no competition this year. Jaybro gets the answer correct Yes, but Jaybro also guessed 1998 which is wrong answer. The poster shown with the history question is the 16th 1998 competition and states "The Last." Of course Jim Waugh after the 10th competition always stated that it was the last one he will ever do, all the way up to 2004, which was the last comp.
2004 - Jim changed the competition name to the Phoenix Boulder Blast, so not PBC. Jim always said that the word "Contest" sounded like a kids birthday party event, not a major competition, hence the name change.
History notes:
1983 comp held at Camelback Mtn - Bolus area - 35 competitors
1984 comp held at Beardsley Boulder Pile - 53 competitors
1985 comp held at Camelback Mtn - Bolus area - 62 competitors
1986 comp held at Beardsley Boulder Pile - 125 competitors
1987 comp held at Camelback Mtn - Bolus area - 150 competitors
1988 comp held at South Mtn - Boy Scout Ranch - 246 competitors
1989-2004 comps held at Oak Flat, Superior AZ - 1989 had 340 competitors and grew to over 600 competitors in 2004.
The competitor entry fee in 1983 was $2.00, and a rope was the first place prize.
Chris Sharma won the overall 1996 competition at age 14.
Bobbi Bensman has the most first place wins in the Womans category.
Chris Sharma has the most first place wins in the Mens category.
Jim Waugh was involved with every competition except for 1994/11th PBC, where it was ran by David Gunn, Sandy Draus, Debra DePiero and Brad Sanders.
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Russ Walling
Gym climber
Poofter's Froth, Wyoming
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Jul 24, 2011 - 10:11pm PT
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I'll try to dig up the pic of all the slim price booze FISH used to roll out at those comps.... the pic I'm thinking of is a pickup truck bed full to the gills with swill. Those were some unreal times!
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Captain...or Skully
climber
or some such
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Jul 24, 2011 - 10:30pm PT
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Mmmmmmm. Swill.
Skully approved.
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dogtown
Trad climber
JackAssVille, Wyoming
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Jul 24, 2011 - 11:33pm PT
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Marty,
Good on you man for doing what you do. The young people in the sport should know the history and the personalities that made Climbing the Greatest sport and life style in the world. I have some old school hand made pieces from the early 60’s now I know where to send them. (someday).
Thanks, DT.
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