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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 16, 2006 - 10:32pm PT
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Jody,
I wanted to ask you a question but the forum might not be the ideal place. If you want, could you send me an email to honeybeesgal@aol.com? If you'd rather not trade emails, I understand. Thanks---Jennie
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Mateo Pee Pee
Trad climber
Ivory Tower PDX
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Jul 17, 2006 - 12:14am PT
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Jennie and Jody,
I first saw the bouldering guide in the Jenny Lake Ranger Station in 1970 and it was still there when I worked there in the late 70s (1977-1979). I think it was later moved; one of the "old guard" climbing rangers might know its whereabouts. It is a real classic.
I do not remember the right side of Red Cross ever being 5.7 (V0?) and there was also a nice, more difficult route on the left side of the overhang. I believe Steve Wunch (sp) and somebody else repeated the Gill Route in the 70s.
Cheers,
KH
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 17, 2006 - 01:26am PT
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Thanks Mateo. I came onto the Teton Bouldering scene kinda late and much of what I heard about the early history came from my dad. I was told there was a real jug for the left hand there but that it broke of in the early 70's. It was quite difficult for me but overhangs have never been my specialty. I was told that it was 5.7 in the old days but ratings are fairly subjective and so I don't know.
I wish whomever had the original guide would post it.
Thanks for the info. Were you there before Ralph Tingey left?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 17, 2006 - 01:41am PT
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I just dug up a double sided xerox I got from the Jenny Lake Ranger station:
"Guide to the Jenny Lake Boulders (1987)" by John Gill.
I'll get it scanned and post up here. I suspect I'll have to transcribe the text, I don't see it posted on John Gill's website...
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 17, 2006 - 12:03pm PT
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Sewellymon,
I can't say for sure cause I wasn't born but I think Mr Gill is wearing the old style PA's which were blue. PA's go back to the 1930's I believe. Later, they were improved somewhat and came out in Red and Black. This information was given to me by my uncle but if someone has more details, hopefully they will post something.
I was told that EB's weren't readily available in U.S. until the early seventies. I believe both PA's and EB's came out later with a green (?) edition. This was after the Fire' and much stickier rubber. But they didn't match the appeal of the Fire'and Boreal took the lion's share of sales in US. Some climbers that were around in the fifties and sixties might know more.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 18, 2006 - 01:03am PT
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The link to the .pdf scan of the sheet I picked up at the Jenny Lake Ranger Station in 1997: [url="http://home.comcast.net/~e.hartouni/doc/JennyLake.pdf"]Guide to the Jenny Lake Boulders (1987) by John Gill[/url]
It is one sheet, with front and back:
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 18, 2006 - 10:23pm PT
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Thanks a lot for posting that, Ed. That's classic material
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Mateo Pee Pee
Trad climber
Ivory Tower PDX
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Jul 19, 2006 - 10:36am PT
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Jennie,
I was at Jenny Lake before Ralph left. Pete Hart was the South District Ranger when I started in 1977 replaced by Tom Milligan the following year. Jim Olson and Dan Burgette were also supervisors at Jenny Lake with Bob Irvine being a fixture since the last Pinedale glacier advance . . . All were great people to work with. Of course there was also "Howie" (Bob Howard) who struggled a bit with the rest of us . . . especially after he rolled the ambulance. Seems someone bought a plastic ambulance that was prominantly displayed in the Jenny Lake Ranger Station turned upside down whenever Howie arrived for work. He would always turn it right-side-up when he arrived but it somehow turned upside down everytime he turned around. The Jenny Lake RS is haunted I guess :)
BTW, last time I was at Red Cross (mid-90s?), about 2 feet of material had eroded from underneath the left side route requiring a "cheater" rock for those of us stature and strength challenged.
Ed,
Thanks for the pdf!
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scuffy b
climber
Chalet Neva-Care
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Jul 19, 2006 - 06:33pm PT
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The original guide was the one with spoof text, lines like
"these are big boulders--big enough to make their own weather"
"many an ant has lost his dignity, or even his life, tumbling
down the Badille-like North Face of Falling Ant Slab"
Their was even a "section" on the East Face of Mt Fonda, which
is a rock about 5ft high right on the edge of the old loop road.
something like the most important member of the party could be a flagman.
I think the old one had several problems on Falling Ant Slab.
Most people who think they have done the Gill problem on Red Cross Rock have actually done 5C, the variation with the chipped handhold, not the original 5G.
The only time I bouldered at Jenny Lake I couldn't touch most of
the stuff, but I did get Falling Ant Slab no-hands, as well as
the East Face of Mt Fonda.
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 21, 2006 - 01:37pm PT
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That's interesting stuff, guys. I've tried the no hands route on Falling Ant but couldn't quite pull it off. Blame it on the shoes! My dad told me climbers in the sixties often did better in stiff mountain boots,(on Falling Ant) than rock shoes.
I remember Bob Irvine, Mateo. I was told he was a seasonal ranger back when my dad and uncle were teenagers. I think Dan Burgette is still there. Not many climbers know the range better than those two.
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Jennie
Trad climber
Salt Lake
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Jul 23, 2006 - 08:47pm PT
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Out of curiousity, was there ever anything written describing the bouldering at Boulder City (Boulder Town) in the Tetons. It seems to get more attention that other bouldering areas in Jackson Hole, now. Was there ever an attempt to document things?
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hooblie
climber
from where the anecdotes roam
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Oct 17, 2010 - 08:21am PT
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there's some fresh air trapped in the basement.. i never knew about the langford lineage, nor blue PA's. olson (two jim olsons?) and ashworth in green? jogill's math ticks, i've wondered. jennie did pretty good unearthing some history right out of the gate. intrigued. high marks for deportment. just padding here. all i really meant was ... bump
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