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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 27, 2010 - 12:39pm PT
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I spent a fair amount of time climbing, and hanging around, with Eric, from about 1972 - 76. There were really only five or six of climbing regularly at Squamish at the start, though the number soon increased. So we all knew each other quite well. The two Daves probably did more social-type things with Eric, as they were more of an age. Plus Eric quickly outpaced most of us, particularly for free climbing. The Daryl-Eric partnership was kind of amusing, though, with Daryl being focused on walls and aid, and Eric on free climbing.
In the week after our expedition to Leavenworth at Remembrance Day in 1972, we all went to a slide show put on by Hugh Burton and Steve Sutton. It was at Simon Fraser University, and was of their FA of Magic Mushroom that spring. Pretty inspiring stuff, particularly as they were at most 20 then. The running joke of their show was that they'd done the route in only one pitch. Possibly the presentation was enhanced by beer or other means.
The following weekend - it was dry, for November - Eric and others went to Squamish, to try South Arete on the Apron. (In those days, most free climbing at Squamish was on the Apron.) The area was and is a bit bushy, plus there are several cracks. So Eric somehow got off route, and took a whopper, which was held by a sling on some scruffy stump. He called me from hospital and said he couldn't go climbing the next day, though he wasn't significantly hurt.
That winter and much of the next year Eric worked for my father. To be continued...
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 28, 2010 - 06:15pm PT
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There was some cold, clear weather in December 1972. Nonetheless, one day Eric persuaded me to go climbing, on the basis that it was dry, even if windy, and probably -10 in Squamish. We attempted Mushroom (after which Magic Mushroom was named), a two pitch A1 climb on the Papoose, wading through the snow to get to it. We didn't know where the trail was, and so thrashed through the slash under the power lines. Luckily as mountaineers this was fairly SOP. Anyway, I think I was leading, but only got three or four placements up before we thought better of the whole thing. I don't think Eric offered to try it in my place, which later he often did, so it probably was pretty ugly.
So we maybe had lunch or warmed up at the Klahanie (the restaurant by Shannon Falls), then Eric wanted to boulder. We bouldered on the road cut in front of the Chief - where the pedestrian bridge now is, but they blasted away a bunch of it when working on the highway. The blasted rock offered some quite good faces, with nice incuts and such. It was really windy, so I didn't last long before retreating to the car.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Jul 28, 2010 - 08:18pm PT
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Seems like a guy of Eric's stature deserves to be on the front page for a while. So...my only other Eric contribution.
It's a little humiliating, but I never actually scored in all my years of spending late spring and early summer in Yosemite (Valley or otherwise). Turns out, the closest I even got to first base was with this woman Beth, who worked at the Wells Fargo Bank in Yosemite Village. I'd flirt with her at every withdrawel (for some of you; in the old days, you withdrew your money from a person rather than a machine). Anyhow, at some point in this proto-relationship, I learned that her boyfriend was Eric Weinstein. Well, that pretty much did it for me. I think I started withdrawing more money at a single transaction or something after that.
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Jul 29, 2010 - 04:02am PT
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During the late winter early spring of 1977, Eric and I teamed up in Denver, Colorado and did "Pressure Drop" (5.11a) on Crescent Arch Wall in Estes Park, "Finger-tip Control" (5.11a) at Split Rocks on the way to Estes Park, and "Return to Forever" (5.10d) on the backside of Sphinx Crack in the South Platte area. After finishing my Ph.D. disseration at DU that March, I became the manager of a hippy apartment house in Denver nick named the Yellow Submarine because of the coat of yellow railroad paint that the owner, Tom Steele, had used to paint it. Eric used to come over with his big bamboo bong every evening and flirt with a girl named "Mindless Mary" who rented down the hall from my manager's office.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 29, 2010 - 11:08pm PT
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Eric turned us on to Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior and Di Meola's Elegant Gypsy in the fall of 76 I think.
Anthems for the time that still resonate today.
Yes Eric loved to drive fast and that influenced us as well.
I remember more than a couple white knuckle hurtles up the old Sea to Sky highway in his piece of sh#t Datsun.
He maintained the same cool control as when he was climbing. Naturally, we had to develop and demonstrate similar prowess.
Wish we had more pictures.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 30, 2010 - 01:29pm PT
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As long as I know who the ass belongs to, I am even happy for the buttshots!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 31, 2010 - 03:08am PT
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Before Eric had his Datsun, he had a Fiat, in 1973 - 75 or so. It was essentially a two seater, and gutless. We did trips in it in 1974 to places like Hedley, and then the Bugaboos, that took forever. The Datsun (a 510?) really created possibilities. Roomier, way peppier. Although Eric's driving habits left a lot to be desired. A trip to Squamish with him was often more exciting and riskier than the climb. He also collected a good number of tickets, mostly for speeding.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 31, 2010 - 03:16am PT
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This Eric guy sounds like the Real Deal. It makes me think of all the other young, talented, gifted, shining lights, that died before their time, or maybe it was their time and only our problem of not understanding. "It's a sad and beautiful world."
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MH2
climber
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Jul 31, 2010 - 03:41am PT
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He gave up climbing some time after the PO Wall in 1977, and eventually moved to northern California, where he was attending community college.
I remember being told by Darryl Cramer that he went to school with Eric in California.
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storer
Trad climber
Golden, Colorado
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Jul 31, 2010 - 10:38pm PT
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Thanks to Eric Beck for jogging my memory about Eric Weinstein. Indeed, Eric W. and I met in Camp 4 and climbed together for a spell. Eric was really interested in thin cracks and was a very polished free climber. I had always wondered what happened to him and thank Beck for enlightening me because I could only remember Eric but not the last name. I remember one climb we did, Catchy Corner I think, where Eric led, of course, but came down several times before doing it and without hanging. He got his torso into some awesome position before freeing it. As much as I tried to do the same, I couldn't and asked for, and got, tension which was freely given.
Eric wore, as I remember, white painters' pants and a white tee shirt and he liked the white courage (chalk) as much as I. Both covered with it up to the armpits we'd come back each day through a construction zone. The flagman said nothing until finally, "tell me, are you guys bakers?"
But Eric Beck: Didn't you once reach for salad at the cafeteria with hands that had been taped but still had splotches of tincture? The sanitary server on the other side admonishing you with, "is that fungus growing on your hands?"
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Ever since I heard the story of how Eric died, how he hiked off into the mountains and passed away by himself in his tent... I've often thought what a noble and dignified way to die. I would hope that I would have the guts and wherewithal to do it similarly.
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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The account of the 2nd ascent of the P.O. Wall in Mountain Magazine is a classic must read. Eric was a member of the party that accomplished this formidable (for the era) feat.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Cool. Another excellent bump SG. Thanks!
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the goat
climber
north central WA
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I wish I had the chance to climb more often with Eric, he was one of the most graceful climbers I ever met. I forgot about his mediatation and prep for a climb, I can't remember but I don't think you were supposed to talk to him while he was "preparing." I found this process extremely difficult since I usually can't shut up, but for Eric it seemed like the proper thing to do.
On one occasion we went to Reed's to do Lunatic Fringe, something he hadn't climbed before. For whatever reason, he struggled so I ended up leading it. Next on the list was Meat Grinder which I hadn't done before so I wanted to lead it but Eric was so ticked at his LF performance he wanted a go. Five minutes and 3-4 placements later I was struggling to get up what he danced over. He was an incredibly talented climber.
Rick LeDuc
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tarek
climber
berkeley
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Eric Weinstein. The name stuck in my mind after I stared at the guidebook page for a while. One of my failed early leads was Caboose. I had only passive gear--it never ocurred to me that it might not really work so well, given the nature of the leaning crack. I placed a few suspect pieces from a layback and ran it out to the one pin on the route. Tunnel vision removed the possibility of a hang from my mind, and I laybacked past, going into full desperation mode, too pumped to place gear. Got close, but no--whipped and survived on that pin. Made me wonder if there were more on the FA. A few years later went back and ran into PB right there, and he gave me the 2 pieces of gear lesson that, turns out, he got from Weinstein.
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the goat
climber
north central WA
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You couldn't have two more different approaches to climbing than Darryl and Eric's. Eric, the zen master, Darryl, der beer meister. As I recall they made a very early repeat of the Shield, 3,4,5th? Although not exactly his favorite, aid climbing seemed to suit Eric's personality. Had he lived longer, I think we would've seen some incredibly bold lines on El Cap not to mention more visionary free routes like Sentry Box.
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o-man
Trad climber
Paia,Maui,HI
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I would like to jump in and say that I climbed, trained, and partied a lot with Eric in the winter/spring of 1977 when he was in Colorado to do some climbing. He got a job at a creamery and I met Eric and Bruce Morris at Washington Park Rec Center in Denver a couple times a week for weight training. Pat Adams and Buck Norden frequented the gym often that season.
Eric and I stomped around in the Platte and did some of the established routes in the Cathedral Spires and Top Of The world.
I remember Eric arriving in Camp 4 with Charlie Flowler after their horrendous night trying to punch their way over the Sierras. Tuolumne was closed so they tried other weaknesses and finally found one. They were pretty whipped and crashed in my van for a day.
I also hooked up with Eric when he was a climbing ranger in Tuolumne.
I had always wondered about Eric and was sad to here of his passing.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Eric, a climbing ranger in Tuolumne? I never knew that! Sounds like there could be a story there.
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