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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 16, 2007 - 02:48pm PT
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Matt M on the Slime Wall
At the new visitors center on Saturday Night.
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 16, 2007 - 02:51pm PT
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Where in the hell are all the Gunkies???
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jstan
climber
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Oct 16, 2007 - 02:55pm PT
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Doing chinups in the cellar.
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Oct 16, 2007 - 03:27pm PT
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Very cool!!!!
Thanks for sharing.
GO
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 16, 2007 - 04:07pm PT
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Rich G...head honch at Rock & Snow on Unslung Heroes.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Oct 16, 2007 - 04:18pm PT
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Where in the hell are all the Gunkies???
Maybe the bastids have gone climbing. It's kick-ass gorgeous outside my window today.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Oct 16, 2007 - 04:44pm PT
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Wicked pissah!
-Brian in SLC
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Smike
Ice climber
Gunks, NY
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Oct 16, 2007 - 08:45pm PT
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Ya know, I thought I had hit the Jameson a bit too hard the night before when the place looked like flash back to the 80's on sunday at the cliff...
Awesome to see most everyone out still pulling.
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LongAgo
Trad climber
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Oct 16, 2007 - 09:05pm PT
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Oh, wish I were there to tip a brew and tip and teeter on those lovely walls with fall colors blazing all around. Mostly I climbed there with Bob Kamps and Dick Williams in several trips in 80's and 90's. Once we stayed at a gorge-yourself-on-super food bed and breakfast with broken down beds, then with Dick at his woodsy place with the big TV. As fun as climbing was riding Dick's bikes over the smooth carriage roads, eyes streaming in the fall air.
Flipping through the old diary I see just for the Trapps: OBSTACLE DELUSION, P-38, INSUHLATION, FRIENDS AND LOVERS, COMMANDO RAVE, STIRRUP TROUBLE, SILHOUETTE, SCENE OF THE CLIMB, PINK LAUREL, BIRDIE PARTY, SON OF EASY O, NOSEDIVE, DIRECTISSIMA, HIGH EXPOSURE, ON ANY MONDAY, ARROW, THREE DOVES, THIN SLABS, 1ST PITCH ... the smart, apt names flying by conjuring bright rock, cool fall air, rustling leaves as if in a live painting, yellow jackets, beer, laughs after climbs, and of course Bob, only memory now ...
Just reading the route names brings the same old mix of excitement and terror one gets from the place. Bob and I used to joke about how your climbing brain fell out of your head the first few days at the Gunks, as you cranked your neck up to see still more improbable, overlapping roofs. Somehow, the steeps of Lovers Leap and Yosemite didn't gird the loins enough to avoid the scare, then big bang joy, then scare, then ... Everyone on this thread already knows.
Cheers to the place, the people who know and love all its inches, who remember, celebrate, come together in honor of the bonds climbing brings, and of course the rock, air, and my companions of those days, all seeming both long and not long ago.
Tom Higgins
LongAgo
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 16, 2007 - 09:23pm PT
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Tom...that was just wonderful.
I know how you feel about your times with Bob...we lost Kevin Bein (and others) and the huge void that they left has never come close to being filled. We have our memories and how these wonderful people added so much to our lives.
Kevin, Tom and Howie, Hans and Fritz (and others) were there with us this last weekend and as long as the stories are continued to told...always will be.
Gunks Two will happened next October...hope you can make it.
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BadInfluence
Mountain climber
Dak side
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Oct 17, 2007 - 08:55am PT
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Bob, when i pulled up to the gunks on Friday the air was filled w/ exciting electric. People were saying oh man the old Bad Asses are at the Mac Wall Pulling Down Hard! sounds like it was a great get together. I wish i was part of the Bad Ass era. thank you for posting pics.
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jstan
climber
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Oct 17, 2007 - 12:25pm PT
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Bad:
I hate to tell you this. As far as I can tell there was no "Bad Ass Era". Everyone was having a great time climbing. Just like you. The opportunity to keep on doing it ain't gone awa.
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 17, 2007 - 03:29pm PT
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Skytop...
Bad...the old farts took over a section of the cliffs everyday starting with the "land climbs" on Thursday and ending at "season climbs" on Sunday.
Even got to do a new route on Sunday. Great times and wonderful people.
The Gunks are a very special place.
John...you coming next??
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 17, 2007 - 03:33pm PT
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The Trapps...
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 17, 2007 - 03:48pm PT
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The lovely Barbra Bein...
Dr. Mark Robinson with a very serious belay look.
Mr. Millbrook...Richie Romano
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Laura Smith
Trad climber
Reston, VA
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Oct 17, 2007 - 09:32pm PT
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As Bobby D recounted, this was a fabulous week. There was a little rain in the middle but we climbed 8 out of 9 days.
The one day we didn't climb, a group of us took a hike to Millbrook which was like walking along the rim of heaven with the laurel and azaleas in full on autumn splendor. As we dangled our feet over Millbrook’s void, it was great to hear Bobby D’s voice on the cell phone speaker when he landed at JFK. I asked Bobby how he looked. He said, “Baby, I’m so handsome, when you see me you are going to drop Gene like a hot potatoe.” The laughter that followed typified the entire week together.
One person described the week as a "laugh-n-hug fest." Another participant claimed it was the most amazing week ever and that they had more fun and feel better than they have felt in years. Another described that the combination of timing, place and people was magical, food for the soul and sustenance for the spirit.
The love and affection that flows through this group is humbling and Gene and I are so grateful to be part of it.
We had several great parties (at Romano’s, Raffa’s), a special dinner with Steve and Marsha Wunsch (who had to travel onward to a wedding) and finally a fantastic evening graciously hosted by the Mohonk Preserve.
The momentum is already so strong for next year and the list one third larger. They say you can't go back, but going back for this reunion was so amazing not only because we celebrated the past, but because we are now reunited for the future.
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Laura Smith
Trad climber
Reston, VA
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Oct 17, 2007 - 09:49pm PT
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Here are some more photos.....
Handsome as hell!!
Romano and Feinberg - self portrait!
Michael Sawicky
Mark and Susan Robinson's visit was the impetus for the "Gathering"
Romano, Barb Devine, Matt Munchnick
Clune and Gruenberg
Sometimes the emotions got the best of us!
Rich and Mirium's potluck dinner!
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Oct 17, 2007 - 09:53pm PT
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Friends for life.
The Gunks=friends
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Curt
Boulder climber
Gilbert, AZ
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Oct 17, 2007 - 10:55pm PT
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Well, I recognize a bunch of the folks, but I never saw Bones carrying anything more than about 3% body fat. So, I never would have picked him out. Sounds like you guys had a great time.
Curt
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 17, 2007 - 11:13pm PT
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Thanks for the great pics Bob D. Barbra still looks like the last time I saw her in the 70's.
Does she even age at all?
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