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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Mar 24, 2006 - 08:19pm PT
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Hi Werner, i'm just trying to chase Steve West down!
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Uplander
Social climber
Upland
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Jun 26, 2006 - 12:55pm PT
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I was one of said "Uplanders". We all rode around in a stationwagon with a 500 CU motor that could easily haul six guys, all our gear for a week of climbing. Back then, Largo was working at a raquet ball club, and he would sneak us in so we could overtake the Gym for free. He'd pretend to be vacuuming and pump out a few reps while one of us covered for him. In reality, I don't think Largo ever did any work at all, as we probably did most of it but all got free access to the gym so what the hell, it was a great deal.
Then when we'd leave he'd follow us to the car, and huff the party bowl and go back to "work".
One time we all loaded up the wagon and hit the road to JT, but the motor started making noise so we turned back. Unfortunely for me, the fistfull of mushrooms I had chewed up when we hit the road kicked in just as we got back home to Keith's parents place. JL had a remarklable ability to maintain composure under those kinds of circumstances. I didn't. It was a long night.
I'm going to get some old pics from those days and post them here. Keith Cunning and I are business partners and he has thousands of slides all scanned. Keith is working on an article about a climb in Mexico that John may remember???
This is written inside the cover of my old orange JT climbers guide, circa 1977
Yabo's a man who climbs rocks.
He carries his home in a box.
We walks up in bare feet,
Asks for something to eat,
then spit's while he eats and he talks.
Anybody remember the JT ranger that hassled us every weekend? Officer Jan Dick. Appropriate.
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Pigtails
Sport climber
Berkeley, California
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Jun 27, 2006 - 04:31pm PT
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Hey, JL:
I'm from the early 70's era, former summertime resident of Camp Four, with a minor reputation (Sybille Hechtel once greeted me with, "Oh, you must be a climber GROUPIE!"), but have simple stories of our campsite at the corner of "Arizona Avenue and Berkeley Way" (stolen street signs). Knew (and still communicate with) the notorious "Glacier Point Annie"/"Chinquapin Annie" -- now with the NPS in Ajo, Arizona. Probably have stories to tell, but at the moment, am wondering the whereabouts of, for example, "The Old Man", i.e., Dave Bircheff? Dan Asay? Steve Williams, aka "Slings"? Pettigrew? "Millis" (Dennis Miller)? etc...
signed, "Pigtails"
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MisterE
Trad climber
One Place or Another
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Feb 25, 2009 - 03:08am PT
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An early bump to a 5-parter
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Kironn Kid
Trad climber
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Feb 25, 2009 - 10:29am PT
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Wow! Mat Cox, I haven't heard his name in forever. He Gary Shwartzenberger and Howard King, are the ones that taught me the basics. Out at the Tree, Matt would solo (tennis shoes) the middle Ski track before taking a leak in the morning. He told me that "Oliver Moon" could do it blindfolded... Matt's rack cosisted of a few small wires, saying that he never saw cracks much bigger than those.
Kiron Kid
Russ
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Kironn Kid
Trad climber
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Feb 25, 2009 - 10:41am PT
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Speaking of Yabo, my girlfriend and I ran into him at Swan Slab, and we all did a couple of short routes together. After finishing and walking back to the camp, she says to me, "he's got internal Demons, and isn't long for this world." Then months later, I read of his passing. :-(
Kiron Kid
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Kironn Kid
Trad climber
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Feb 25, 2009 - 11:05am PT
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This is a great thread. Ski-Mart in Newport Beach? I bought my first set of Jumar's (grey editions)there. Remember Holubar in Costa Mesa. Later, the Ski-mart had a fire, and they unloaded a bunch of climbing gear for way-cheap, due to smoke damage. I was there for that sale. I believe Bullwinkle was there too.
Kiron Kid
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Kironn Kid
Trad climber
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Feb 25, 2009 - 01:50pm PT
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Bought my first rope (Goldline) from Jim Dutzi, out at Rubidoux. Goldline, EB's, swami hip belays and homemade chalkbag. Man, those were the days!
Kiron Kid
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Robb
Social climber
It's like FoCo in NoCo Daddy-O!
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Mar 22, 2009 - 01:26am PT
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Bump
'bout time to go back to the good re-runs.
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Mar'
Trad climber
Santa Fe, NM
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I wasn't a real Stonemaster— my partners were Sutton's girlfriend's little brother, Malcolm Best and Karl Koch, eventual creator of the "Hardman" comic series. I remember when I got to shake hands with Hugh Burton down at Idyllwild's town center, by the pull-up bars. If we wuz called anything at all, it was "youth". We were the "wineheads" …not because of wanting to be like Warren Harding, but simply due to the fact that I'd sewn some hilarious, ugly violet-colored pullover fleece hoods for each of us.
I love that Skimart's old piton rack is at the climbing shop in Idyllwild. I saw my first pair of real ski-mountaineering boots at Skimart on the barrel at the top of the stairs. I was blown away that they existed. They were "San Marcos" with many buckles and a built-in gaiter. That must have been in '72. I didn't have a clue about what was involved in using them. It's really awesome that I've come to find out… I still have the aluminum cordlocks I stole :x. And I did my first 5.9 on the famous boulder out back!
Eventually I ventured to Rubidoux and was watching some guy in teensy shorts and sawed-off EBs play around on the slab to the right of the 5.2 crack …so I guess the first time I really saw Largo climb, I have to admit my jaw did actually drop. I never did have sawed-off EBs, but I wish I hadn't sawed-off my Fires. La Sportiva is actually now selling performance "mid"-height crack and edging shoes after all these years of nothing but low-tops. I'm getting my Fires re-randed and resoled at the shop in Bishop right now!
Somehow I'd gotten a camera gig hauling lenses up to the base of Bye Gully for that Wheaties "Operetta" commercial from one of the Poway Boys. Man, did the "art department" tear that tree up! That was 1982… I ended up giving the gig to Malcolm and he got paid ninety-five bucks cash + pack rental~ but that came back as I'd get tossed guiding bones from Malcolm and Mike Paul when they were off blowing their minds! All because I'd been squatting at Humber for a month, and a rat or something had taken up residence in my 1957 rolling Whillan's box. That's why I spent that day plugging all the holes in it, instead of working! Said tree at the base of the descent gully is history, now that the slab that used to be by the belay bolts above the Weeping Wall is gone!— which is something that really takes me back.
My first "ascent" of Suicide, with $20 half-shank "Hanwag" closeout mountaineering boots from Steve Mackay's "Backpacker" store in Santa Ana was a link-up via the 5.2 gully, Bye Gully and Continuation. My partner had real RDs. We were using a doubled "greenline" (5/16" Marine Corps antenna-line), which gave us a 60' cord. I ran out of rope and the closest feature was that same big split slab. So, urging my partner not to fall, we simul-soloed toward it until I could throw a home-made dinosaur egg back into the crack. I forget how we got down. Probably walked all the way around to the north side.
But I'm about as obscure as a taoist cloud as the only print I've ever seen is the last page of the "Hunk Guide" where Randy states: "It has come to the attention of the author, that a 'brave(?) soul'" is sea-cliff climbing the 40' high rib jutting out into the surf at the south end of the cove where the old beach-front trailer-park was between CDM and Laguna. That, and an ice-climbing shot of Rick Linski following the line up to the tree-belay on the Trough that appeared in the Chouinard catalog in '83 or '84.
Later, Rick and I were at the June lake ice-fall. I was leading and suddenly I got a ferocious tug. Fortunately I was using BOTH tools again and wondered what the heck had happened. Seems a plywood sheet sized piece of ice had calved and hit Rick pretty bad as he tried to tuck into the belay. Somehow he made it up and I lowered him down the slope off to the side. We made it to the ER and it turned out that he'd broken some ribs on that one!
I must have gotten the Iron Cross perfectly though, because the Troll let me lead that and when I popped-off the crux, I was smiling before I landed. I got it the 2nd try. It's a perfect name, as the move is padding up while pressing the thumbs outwardly in opposition in a full wing-spread lock-off. Excellent!
Once, Clark Jacobs saw me with a French Red Patagonia Bunting full-zip at Jan's one morning and accused me of stealing his …I should have lied, but I was just a kid then~ and didn't think to mess with anyone, even Clark!
Another time, the usual (local) suspects were looking for …well, body parts (sorry)— for the County Sheriff. A terrible thing had happened one Memorial Day weekend on Tahquitz. Well, that's what we were doing, and with a good dose of black humor, as I recall. We were combing the base of Sahara Terror— then someone found something all covered with ants! They shook off the bugs and started to wrap it carefully in a big sheet of paper, when somebody hawked "$2.69 a pound"!
My Valhalla experience was graced in a pure style as I wandered up to the crag by the crack of gloaming afternoon light. The Stonemaster smiled down as Kelly and Malcolm lowered the rope for a proper "mass" ascent!
Where is Nyberg and Steve Mackay? Last I heard of Steve was he started working at a bank~ after he had had that store. I was with Bruce and Kelly on Hubris in the late-ish 80's. Sutton mailed a new Metolius rope to Malcolm Best for his 40th bithday from Telluride, but that was already 7~8 years ago.
Oh yeah— does anyone really know why Fred Becky blew off the slide-show at Rock+Ice? I'd seen him the previous night at Holubar. He showed so many lovely and professionally exposed shots of beautiful mountains in perfect light that some people were actually complaining that it went too long. Unbelievable— I'd gone to Rock+Ice the next night for more!! "…are you Fred?"
This thread has been an amazing experience of tears and laughter. Thanks to everyone and the Stonemaster in us all. Now, after all these decades, I finally know where my partners got "HO-MAN"! I never really noticed the expression, as such, to actually utter it myself. This is the best thread ever!
Probably the funniest thing Largo ever wrote, imo, was his account of climbing "Hades" in the AAC Journal… "razor-sharp sidepulls" :o
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Bump, for the men of stone!!!!11111
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rotten johnny
Social climber
mammoth lakes, ca
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Jul 10, 2009 - 09:03pm PT
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largo....drove my 62 bonneville up to humber park one fine warm summer evening in 75 into this raging stonemaster party....it was dark and there was a boxing contest and tree climbing contest going on and some guy named jim wilson was half way up this 100 ft ponderosa pine....those guys knew hw to party.....was in the valley when tobin and graham got rescued on the prow....it was easter vacation and snowing...mead hargis and dennis miller were on the rescue and hargis took a swig off a water bottle that turned out to be white gas...according to millis , the veins in mead's neck started distending....i remember seeing tobin and mike after the rescue in the c4 parking lot....johnny rotten
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rotten johnny
Social climber
mammoth lakes, ca
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Jul 10, 2009 - 09:15pm PT
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mar...last i heard , steve mackay was working at a trash dump entrance station in oregon....that was several years ago....i think i remember the rock and ice ..was it in santa ana...? bruce nyberg was living in mt. center last time i talked to him getting into teaching....j. rotten
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dfrost7
Social climber
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Jul 11, 2009 - 01:14am PT
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Another great thread.
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fred haering
Boulder climber
New Zealand
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Hi. Just saw the film: Nordwand. Recollecting my own life adventures, I remembered earlier when living here in New Zealand in 1979, when a guy named Tobin Sorenson came through on a climbing lecture. I didn't bother to attend, but at I thought at the time, the name was familiar, mostly as it was unusual.
In the autumn of 1970 or 1971, I had climbed one weekend with a 14-year old lad with that name. It was Tobin's second weekend out. He was donning a pair of a new-age of climbing shoes....what would later become the standard. I remember seeing him clutching in his hands these weird-like women's dancing shoes. They were tourqouise in colour. The Royal Robbins climbing boots (blue with red strings) had come onto the market in recent years, replacing our Clutter shoes or simple hiking boots. Longware pitons and bongs were being phased out by Dolt and Chouinard stuff as the European stuff became more costly (excepting the Bonatti stuff).
Tobin was brought out on our Sierra Club trip to the Granite Mountains. This was a climbing area some of the Rock Climbing Chapter people had found situated deep in the Mojave Desert. somewhere behind Joshua Tree National Monument and 29-Palms. It hosted some awesome, bigger scale Joshua Tree climbing. I later heard that the local Indian tribes had closed it to public access...probably due to increasing accidents and liability issues.
Jack Schirr, a fireman and a well-accomplished climber, was about 5 years older than I, making him about 22 or so. He was well known in the Riverside Chapter as a young, keen type, who even already was well encsonced in the Riverside Mountain Rescue unit. Jack told me he had come across this lad who lived in the vicinity where he lived, somewhere arouund Upland, California. Tobin, Jack and I set off to climb a new route named "The Purple Haze". It was one of the Granite Mountains' more formidable new routes, in asmuch as it was an 80-foot roof that actually started almost immediately from a ledge to which we climbed under a huge boulder-bulge-like buttress. The rock seemed to have a purple hue to it. I led the climb out to about 45-feet with etrier and direct aid (bongs and pins). Jack belayed, as Tobin was still learning "the ropes". Once exhausted, I rapelled off. Jack rigged up some prussocks, then showed Tobin how to ascend. After that, he coached Tobin with the remainder. Tobin continued with ease up around and over the roof, then up a very steep bit of crack climbing, until it panned out on a vertical, still unbolted face. He then rapelled off. It took him only 20 minutes or so, with protection. I was impresseed with this kid's tenacity and ability. He was the first of what would become a new generation of young urban climbing lads.
Later, I heard much about a kid named John Long, for example, who was easily doing direct and even un-roped some of our Joshua Tree direct-aid cracks of the 1960's.
I heard later that Tobin had continued with much zeal and success. Jack once mentioned that he was climbing almost every weekend, mostly at Taquitz or Suicide rocks. After those years, I transferred my university studies from Riverside City College to Chico, then thereafter out of the USA. I think the memory of that weekend of climbing stuck in mind, mostly as Tobin would typify a new era and breed of climbers who emerged in the early 1970's out of Urban America: driven, focussed, almost religious in finding an interest to which they could attach and ossify their fledgling identities. Every male teenager in a competitive nation needs some kind of outlet. Life in the Southern Californian overt-urbanesque human-ridden setting, can smother ones sense of identity in general.
As mentioned earlier, years later, when I was resident here in Christchurch, Tobin came through on a lecturing and climbing Austral-Asian stint. He gave a lecture across the street here at Canterbury University after climbing with many of the local lads at Mt. Cook. He seemed to have made quite a name as an alpinist. I thought his lecture was about an Eiger North Face soloing effort, but it might have been his reknowned mid-winter Matterhorn climb.
Only a corollary now, but here I am in my late 50's. I have a new young lady in my life with a 13-year old Tobin Sorenson-like son. He shows uncanny focus, ability and tenacity for anything physical. Maybe it is a sort of Zen-like obsessiveness, couple with a loner's attitude. I put Connor into some shoes and took him along to "The Roxx", a "Real-Roc" indoor climbing gym we built here (have a look on the web). He is already climbing steady 19's and getting onto 20's. It is his second month of climbing now. I hope his fate is not akin to that of other Tobin's I have met continuously in my life and are no more. Somehow pushing the limits of ourselves is a personal thing that only knowing how to strike the balance of our entire being ensures continuance.
I saw the photo someone had posted of Tobin Sorenson with the characteristic white taped hands (for Joshua Tree-like crack climbing on that big and sharp-crystalled Quartz Monsonite). He was with the same hair style I had met him that weekend sometime in the autumn of 1970-71 (?)
I must find Jack Schirr, if he is still around. He'd be about 62 or more now.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Nice story Fred.
A good friend reminded me yesterday was the day Tobin died back in 1980. so its curious to read your post.
When ever I look at any of my Photos of Tobin I see a Man/Boy frozen in time and forever young.
Thanks for the picture you painted for me.
Cheers,
Mike
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 7, 2009 - 03:56pm PT
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Fred,
His name is Jack Schnurr. He taught me how to climb.
JL
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Robb
Social climber
The other "Magic City on the Plains"
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May 25, 2010 - 11:35am PT
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'bout time for a bump.........
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