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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 10, 2013 - 01:09pm PT
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But Steve, Nature's never worn (or at least in public), his
nice pink thong!!!!!
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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Jan 11, 2013 - 09:40am PT
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The follow up to the Pete stuffing story.
About 20 minutes later I realized he had not made it back to the condo. That plus Pulp Fiction being popped in the VCR made me get up and go look for him.
Found him sitting in the lobby listening to a girl play the grand piano there. He was pissed! He had passed out after being stuffed head first into the snow bank. "You guys left me to die!" or some other such thing came out of his mouth, with a little giggle, he did have a sense of humor after all.
He had a couple of small scrapes on his face, no big deal.
Julliard Music School was having a "retreat" at the same condos. The girl on the piano was fantastic. When she realized she had a small audience, she paused, embarrassed. I asked her her name. "Alanis" is what she said. I said "What?" a couple of times, hard name to get if never heard before and slightly inebriated. She was super good, as we all found out a few years later.
By the time we got back to the condo, the movie was almost over and all the beds were taken, leaving me no place to sleep. Pete was still kinda pissed at the guilty parties and went straight to bed. He had a double to himself, so I crawled in. We drove home together the next day and started dating after that.
I ended up on the discount list at Neptune's after this. Probably because I hauled a truck load of skis back to Boulder, or maybe because of fixing ski poles for Gary, but maybe because of Pete. The reason, "Good Sport". The employee who had to look it up was amazed, he showed it to me, and said he'd never seen that excuse before. I was kind of dumbstruck.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jan 11, 2013 - 04:14pm PT
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I guess the 70s have finally come to a grinding halt! It's nice that it took a while.
Somewhere there's a terrific black-and-white photo of Gary standing at his shoe cobbling bench, looking out over his shoulder with a smile; this is probably probably pre-Neptunes at Komito's in Estes Park. He looks happy in his work. I believe he "paid that forward" with things like four-day work weeks and group trips to fun climbing areas. (I once summited Devils Tower to find a gaggle of Nuptunians hanging out eating a watermelon they had hauled up!). Never got to work a stint at the shop: the floor manager during the time period in which I applied deemed me overqualified!
Gary and Bibi skiing in the hills above Boulder a couple years ago:
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jan 11, 2013 - 04:31pm PT
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Shouldn't that be "Kneptunians loved Kneissl skiis"?
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 11, 2013 - 05:39pm PT
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Tami
Did you know Steve Glenn?
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Prod
Trad climber
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Jan 11, 2013 - 06:08pm PT
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When do we get Tami back?
Prod.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 11, 2013 - 09:17pm PT
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Phil
I don't think Steve was there then. He'd been working there
1976-78 or so time period.
But thanks--sheesh, I wish I'd been checkin' in there
back then--I wuz shoppin' closer to Denver.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 11, 2013 - 11:42pm PT
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Phil
Steve was, back in 1976 to maybe 1978. I went to visit him
one day (this was when the store was on 28th st), leaned on
the counter and started chatting, looked down, and I was on
the cover of On Belay!
Now that was a surprise!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Jan 12, 2013 - 10:54am PT
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Phil. Thanks for the memories! You're gonna have to get your own account here sir ;)
That troll was masterful indeed. I recognized it right away but only becuase I had seen the letter posted before. (Greg@mountainproject, greg@widefetish) The way he re-worded it was hilarious!
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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Jan 12, 2013 - 11:41am PT
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Hey! Those Ramer shortcuts in that ski shot back there a ways are mine! I know because of the white plastic heel piece. Still have them. That was a demo pair I scrapped together at the Ramer shop, and that white heel piece was all we had left. It is softer than the black. (Plastic critical binding part. Bad idea.) I have not skied them since they pitched me down Hangman's at Mammoth in '98.
I had them tuned right before I moved at TNF when it was next to Neptune's in Table Mesa and they f*#ked them up, making them base high. I had not really checked them out until I felt that edge slide out from under me and pitch me headfirst toward the rocks. Managed to yank myself around, with much cussing, and hit the rocks with my ass instead.
Never could fix them, 1mm of daylight at the edges, it's hard to scrape off that much p-tex without running through the base, so now they are part of my Ramer museum.
(This has turned into a great thread, thanks Phil and Roy for the pictures.)
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Jan 12, 2013 - 01:26pm PT
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Phil, great pics! I was working at the Profiteer during some of those years and had fun with many of the suspects from Neptune's.
Did you guys ever help that guy that needed a left-thread ice screw we sent over?
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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Jan 12, 2013 - 02:38pm PT
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I can't place you either, Phil. (Phil, Phil, I know I know who that is, but......Pete would be all like, of COURSE you know Phil!)
But that looks like the load of skis I took back to Boulder with the first group, probably '95?
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wstmrnclmr
Trad climber
Bolinas, CA
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Jan 12, 2013 - 02:50pm PT
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This IS a great thread! I've never heard of Neptunes but I love the history and this represents the best of what Stuportopo provides. Great to to see it last through the sludge that has killed so many other potentially great threads. And any thread Tarbuster contributes to (a rarer occurrence these days) is a reflection of the integrity shown here. Keep it going!
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Jan 12, 2013 - 03:31pm PT
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mostly what was required was a sense of humor. I am quickly learning that this is the case most places in this world. You have done an excellent job portraying your experiences at Neptune's and giving some life to the name for the clueless (like me).
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Jan 12, 2013 - 04:02pm PT
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...the elite thing is BS. I see 3 matches for "elite" in this thread - 2 in your post above and one in mine upthread in the context of "elite town" - Boulder...
I think it's cool when people find a family and enjoy life. Love to see it. However, except for the slideshows, I'm failing to see how these activities were of any benefit to the larger climbing community, as claimed in many posts...
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Jan 12, 2013 - 04:14pm PT
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Hey Phil, thanks for all your great pics and stories!
This is a great thread.
I remember when Derek Hersey got the idea for climbing the Diamond, solo, in winter. He had no gear for this so Gary quietly gave him all kinds of expensive, top-quality winter gear. Poor Derek was a bit out of his element but Gary was totally supportive.
Derek's first attempt, he lugged a huge, monstrously heavy haul bag full of all the food and gear and stuff, all the way in and stashed it on the Boulderfield, ready for rapping to Broadway. He stumbled out in the dark and hitch-hiked back to Boulder for a few days to rest up. He had no car, so the logistics were not easy. He found a ride with someone and was about to head back up when he got a phone call, "Hey, we rescued your haul bag! Man, it was heavy but we brought everything back down for you; we got it safe and sound--in Fort Collins....."
Derek was horrified. He now had to go recover the bag from Fort Collins before he could even start over. The poor guys who'd brought it down thought they'd done a HUGE favor to someone and were expecting much thanks, at least; there was much sheepishness all round.
Much of that winter was spent with several exhausting forays up and down, before Derek finally called it quits. Gary's generosity benefitted Derek for years--he had lots of cold weather gear for many further adventures.
Quite possibly Gary never really expected Derek to succeed on the Diamond (few of us did, really), but saw in Derek the kind of raw, free-spirited, devil-may-care climber that deserved support, a fellow iconoclast.
Gary's generosity came with no strings.
I think the monster sleeping bag was inherited by Strappo, who, in turn used it for many more adventures.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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Jan 12, 2013 - 04:42pm PT
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Ron and I lived across the street from Gary for a year? Maybe a little more? What a gas that was. Neat stuff on the walls, Gary's 50th birthday party, having a fake rock thrown at you when you come in the door, a bouldering cave in the garage, good wine, food and folks.
The slide shows at Neptune's were pretty much my only social life.
I never worked there, but he always invited me to the Snowbird trips. Not Ron, just me ;->
Elitist? Boulder for sure, big reason why I left, but Gary? and Neptune's? Nope. A couple of the bigger names he had work for him, yeah.....
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Prod
Trad climber
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Jan 12, 2013 - 05:23pm PT
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"Hey, we rescued your haul bag! Man, it was heavy but we brought everything back down for you; we got it safe and sound--in Fort Collins....."
F*#king classic. I can nearly hear him now, that had to be a great rant!
Thanks for the story,
Prod.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Jan 12, 2013 - 05:30pm PT
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The only thing that annoys me about your posts is confusing what is obviously a pretty good man and a personal friend with someone who was a pillar to the community and made sacrifices for it. I don't see Gary as someone who crossed that line. All I see is all about him and his crew. Further, there seems to be some kind of insistance that he be respected as a great giver to the community. To place him with the likes of the guys who actually volunteer hours (make that years in a few cases...) for the AF, do cleanups, bolt replacements, etc - it's kind of annoying to me - even more so as this thread wears on. If you just didn't cross that line...
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