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pip the dog
Mountain climber
planet dogboy
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Feb 27, 2009 - 01:57am PT
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[Warning ‘Dogboy’ Is Irish Slang For Endless Prattle. Think PgDn key]
In my ‘ute I went to this expensive old college on the east coast. I mostly starved and got kicked out twice (after midterms) for having not nearly enough cash.
But one of the stellar things about this place is that sometime back in the late 50’s one of my predecessor classmates had whiffed and bought it up in the Selkirk’s (.ca). And no disrespect to him (it’s a miracle I haven’t done the same since), the upside is that his family, one of enormous wealth, paid for a couple of swank buildings on campus in his honor.
They also, bless them, left a huge endowment for climbing books in the university library. I suspect, that outside of the AAC collection (and even they would love some of this stuff) – the widest and deepest collection of climbing guides and memoirs in the states. Simply massive. Certainly cost me a few decimal points off my GPA for all those hours when I should have been reading something else remotely related to my coursework
One of these books was a very early edition (perhaps first edition) of “The Night Climbers of Cambridge" I swallowed it whole. Then gave it to one or two of my actual climber classmates who did the same.
Soon after, we all had certain “ideas” – and as then in our youth, soon acted upon them.
It’s a wonder we survived these ‘ideas’. This campus is famous for it’s “gothic” architecture – even though most of it was built in the early thirties by skilled (and vastly underpaid) european immigrants using dollars from the roaring twenties that someone very well connected was tipped off not to loose in ’29.
Hence the number of hilarious and mocking gargoyles that can still be found there. I still especially like the gargoyle taking a poop onto all below from atop the high entryway above of the many undergraduate colleges. My own people were of and from the trades, so I ‘got it’ – yet it still kinda made me feel like a traitor to my people.
The stone they used for most of this ‘gothic’ building is a variant of the local trapstone. It has all manner of schwell fingery holds – but none of them especially reliable, especially as it was cut and cracked by people and not by nature. That and it is also in the middle of a swamp of local acid smoke and acid rain. In short, none of those crimpers could really be trusted.
We did all manner of stupid stuff, most often at night. My much missed younger brother ‘Ant’ (from the .wreck) did much of this stuff nearly two decades later. Only he somehow got permission to do much of it with a rope and in broad daylight. Or so I understand. Stuff like the outer Farnam Hall wall... probably fun with a rope from above -- but sheer terror without a rope in the dark with the holds popping off.
I have a friend who was one then one of our three climbing mouseketeers, and I am certain he still has his photo of a rather memorable moment. When I next find him I’ll get a copy and post it.
For at the main gate entryway to “Old Campus” (where the freshmen lived) – just 30 feet from the campus police office (the university paid for local _real_ police, who tolerated no such hijiinks), there was this old(ish) formed cement gateway arch. Surely 25’ high at it’s apex. And climbing either side of it was no big shakes. We had all done it (in the dark, very late at night).
But it was the crossover at the top – going from arms up and feet below to the switch-over to feet below on the downside that was the crux. And to our knowledge no one had ever done it. (I now suspect someone had, having read "The Night Climbers of Cambridge")
So one day, like on an early Tuesday morning with not much traffic, I get it in my idiot doggie head that I can tag the whole thing. My pals urge me to reconsider. But no, off I go. The up was, as we all knew, easy enough. But there at the peak of the archway it suddenly it got rather hard as I let my feet drop and then tried to reconnect for the easy trip back down the other side.
And as my luck would have it (if you know irish-gaelic, you know that any generic reference to the generic 'dog' has nothing to do with an actual dog -- it has rather to do with stunningly bad luck), like 5 or 6 of the local take-no-prisoners city cops (at the moment in university cop duds) suddenly step out for a cigarette, or a conference, or lord knows what.
And there I am at the crux all fooked and looking down at them. Fook! My fellow mousekateers quick back way off. And me, I just hang there hoping that none of the grim heavies with badges actually look up.
It seemed like forever, but eventually they all head back into their orifice. And with what little juice I have left I spin and get my feet locked into the downside and quick slither down for a much needed diaper change.
Never again did I try that. One of my fellow mousekateers just there just then took a photo of me at the top of that arch with the 5 or six cops hovering under me. Funny shot – well, now from a distance of many years.
I was a freshman then. Over the years that followed I got at least a half dozen tickets from those humorless police dudes for "damaging university buildings" (with my fingers and fires). Fortunately, the dean of my residential college was an occasional climber (we used to take him to Ragged – in his car of course as none of us had one) -- so he kindly used what horsepower he had to make those tickies pretty much disappear. This after extracting a full on irish catholic pledge from me that I would never do _ that _ again. Errrrrp…
~~~
All that said, what those kids were doing at Cambridge in the 20’s and 30’s made our teeny bopper escapades seem preschool. And rightly so. (And we had at least the first generation of sticky rubber.) Later I spent a year at Oxford. And there, then, I can assure you that no one got more than 5 feet off the ground without getting quick plucked off by a porter – with all manner of whistles and sirens going off. Well, perhaps some did. Only I was never with-it enough to even hear of it.
~~~
I sometimes kinda wish I had stolen that book back when I was starving among such wealth and had finally figured out how to use a battery powered cassette tape head demagnetizer to “borrow, long term” other texts I actually needed for my classes and couldn't begin to afford. But soon I figured out that the same tape head demagnitizer worked equally well at the university bookstore, so I left my beloved library largely unscathed. Better it be left for all.
Thanks for the memories….
^,,^
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Feb 27, 2009 - 02:16am PT
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dog,
I hope your long-suffering mother won't be reading this sad tale. But I'm glad I did.
Ta,
Reilly
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Feb 27, 2009 - 02:25am PT
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Great Posting Peter
I acquired a copy of NCOC while soulfully employed at the Hut back in the late 50s. Still have the copy but it is packed away with a zillion other books. Pratt, Roper, Steck and a host of other employees were known to sneak out at night and partake in such antics so well portrayed in that classic book. One of our fav excursions was to sneak into the womens gym for a buttass naked dip.
One Easter morning, a large stuffed rabbit was discovered impaled on the pole at the top of the Campanile Tower on the UC campus. Steeplejacks were hired from San Francisco but were unable to reach to rabbit. The University put out a plea for the individuals responsible for such a deed to please return and remove the rabbit. No charges would be filed, just get the dam rabbit off the Tower.
The following is from a post on Coonyard Pinnacle a while back:
"We used to do a bit of night time "buildering" on the UC Berkeley campus back them. Especially after a Sun evening dinner of the Sierra Rock Climbing session. Amply lubricated with cheap red wine we would venture out and climb. I remember one embarrassing encounter when we were "busted" by the UC police as we were making the leap from the roof of a ticket booth to a wall. They found our gallon stash of wine under Roper"s car, poured it out in front of us and commented, "you guys really drink this sh#t! "They called my mom and I got in some serious trouble at home. My parents took away my climbing shoes and I was not allowed to associate with the likes of Roper for some time. Since I was working part time at the Ski Hut, I just bought another pair and rendezvoused with Roper several blocks from my home whenever he could "borrow" his moms car. All seems quite funny and innocent by today's standard."
cheers
Guido
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 27, 2009 - 02:36am PT
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Buildering was very popular at UBC in the 1960s and 1970s, and there was at one time quite a detailed guidebook.
TNCOC was first published in 1937, then reprinted in 1938, 1953, and 1954. The author, "Whipplesnaith", was a pseudonym.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Climbers_of_Cambridge
It was reprinted in 2007, by Oleander Press. If nothing else, one can order a copy directly from them:
http://www.oleanderpress.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=168&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26&vmcchk=1&Itemid=26
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland: what's not to love?
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Feb 27, 2009 - 03:11am PT
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Cal's got it, you'd just have to request from NRLF, their holding facility in Richmond:
UC Berkeley Libraries (1 of 1 copies available)
Location Call # Status Notes
Main Stack LF129 .W5 1937 Not Checked Out Not checked out. NRLF #: $B 114 142
"The Great Escape" or "Saw bobbies so back rapidly"
Incredible reading!
http://www.insectnation.org/projects/nightclimbers/html/c281.html#AEN341
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Feb 27, 2009 - 03:28am PT
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Now that is a book I would love to have in my library.
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pip the dog
Mountain climber
planet dogboy
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Feb 27, 2009 - 07:40am PT
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Reilly,
> I hope your long-suffering mother won't be reading this sad tale.
Funny thing is that my mother and the other extant elders of my clan to this day call me the “quiet and focused” one of my many many siblings. Sheeesh. They still think I just forever go back to nepal to go hiking. I take care when showing them slides to limit the images to ‘hiking’ on trails.
I guess this makes a particle of sense as my many siblings exploits tended to involve long lines of police cars, lights blazing and sirens howling. So I guess in relative terms…
I also spent much time further bankrupting my fool self at UC Bezerkely, but never went buildering there – what with Indian Rocks and it’s lesser known outliers so close. That and of course the valley and the rest of the sierras at hand. Why do you think I picked bezerkely after so many years of tidily little ho-hum crags…
And, remarkably enough, I am the quiet one of the clan (all things are relative). Imagine what a family gathering of my people sounds like...
~~~
le_bruce,
Outstanding image you posted there. I especially liked the 'topo'. "First man caught here. Second fled thus..."
Priceless. Ah to be "Free Again!"
^,,^
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Feb 27, 2009 - 08:50pm PT
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"Like characters from Buchan crossing a Scottish moor on a stormy night, they are silent and solitary, mysterious and unknown except to their own circle, preferring to live their own epics to reading those of others."
Damn!. I'm busted.
Z
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Feb 27, 2009 - 08:57pm PT
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"Strength of arm is more important in roof-climbing than in mountain-climbing. Yet it is surprising how little need be used."
Ouch! busted again.
little z
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Feb 28, 2009 - 03:01am PT
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But the exaltation will come later. When all is over, you will enjoy facing your bed-maker's cross-examination, replying to her queries by a bland look of innocence and a rather fatuous grin. You will bounce about with tremendous satisfaction, and feel more pleasure in living than you have ever known. The exaltation resulting from a difficult climb lasts for about three days, and during that time you will feel the devil of a fellow.
 King's Chapel climber
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:45pm PT
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I ordered a copy from Oleander Press on March 4th, and it arrived today. Cost 16.95 pounds, plus 6 pounds shipping = 22.95. That works out to C$42.75. It looks fascinating, and I can't wait to start reading.
It came with two really cool postcards - copies of prints from the book, maybe - which are almost as good as those which Simon sends to winners of his contests. I'll see if I can get them scanned and posted.
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Mar 14, 2009 - 03:05pm PT
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Blast from the past! to find this far-from-forgotten book resurrected on ST. But I am mildly disappointed that Clint did not comment on our own US night climbers of Cambridge: the generations (?) of Harvard Mtnrg Club members who diligently placed a pumpkin on Memorial Hall every Halloween no matter what the weather. This was a 3-pitch climb not entirely trivial, especially in freezing rain: double lieback up a steeply sloping lintel stone, friction up the slate and copper flashing (yow! when wet), heart-stopping explosions of the huge flock of sleeping pigeons at the last belay ledge inside the upper part of the tower, all the ingredients of a great night climb (along with, pretty much no pro, the rare sling looped around something which would likely pull off if you fell). There were many other good building climbs around Cambridge (MA); plus more in Boston. Seems to me I recall Sam Streibert who was an architect or engineer used to design heinous wide cracks into parking structures. Maybe Alan Rubin can fill us in more, including where these little nightmares are to be found.
Later, we exported the pumpkin tradition to Duke, where it was a big hit. More on that one when I dig out and scan some action photos from the Chapel ascent. This one needed to be even more stealthy than the usual night ascent of a landmark building, because my partner had previously been busted on the climb (well, presumably after the last rappel): they had decided to fire off a couple salvoes of bottle rockets from the top. And this wasn't expected to attract attention of campus police???
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Mar 14, 2009 - 03:12pm PT
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OK, here ya go:
But I never climbed it in freezing rain.
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John Morton
climber
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Mar 15, 2009 - 03:58pm PT
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Peter, thanks for posting this marvelous discovery. I too had lost track of my precious Night Climbers, borrowed and never returned. It was read by all in the Berkeley campus scene, and we greatly appreciated the boldness and humor of our esteemed predecessors. Many of us had read most of the postwar Alpine Journals (British) from cover to cover.
The British have a talent for understated humor and dry cynicism that makes great reading. In fact it's a real downer to pick up a Rock & Ice after finishing one of those great tales of Brown, Whillans, Patey.
John
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Mar 16, 2009 - 02:56am PT
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hey there peter hann... say, had not seen this... interesting... thanks for the share...
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Hopefully there won't be a sequel "The Night BASE Jumpers of Cambridge". :-)
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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They even include beer!
Finally, a word about sobriety. By far the greater number of men climb sober, and for an expert climber it is ably better to do so. One man has told the writer that he notices a deterioration in his climbing after a single glass of beer. Another would never climb unless he was three-parts drunk, however, and was then extremely efficient. Whether drink improves climbing or causes it to deteriorate depends upon the character and constitution of each particular man. Where it gives "Dutch courage" without impairing muscular control, it may send a moderate climber soaring up places that defy the sober expert. Under the influence of alcohol, a man with an object in view often acquires an accentuated power of concentration upon one object. And if that object be climbing, he will climb brilliantly. Many men must have noticed that it is easier to climb into college while intoxicated, and the same applies sometimes to serious climbing.
Nevertheless, it is dangerous to attempt a serious climb while drunk or under the influence of drink. For the climber may "sober up" at the crucial point of the climb and lose his "Dutch courage". And while on one occasion drink may improve the standard of climbing, the next night it may have precisely the opposite effect.
Besides, a climber is continually conquering his fear, and enjoys doing so. If he allows drink to do this for him, is it not a confession that he cannot do so alone? It may at first need more courage to do an easy climb while sober than a difficult climb while drunk, but then the lesser climb is the greater achievement.
We used to do some nighttime buildering at university BITD. One time we set a toprope on this rather sweet 4-story-high dihedral, might have gone about 5.9. Another time I was liebacking up a drainpipe and was about three stories off the deck when the bloody thing started coming detached from the wall! Yikes! Had to slither back down - carefully.
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