Welcome to Kevin Worrall

Sep 19, 2006 - 12:20pm PT
Great story Kevin, I hope you’re published.
Steve, one of my favorite encounters with Royal was when I first met him. I was working at our local ski\climbing shop in Newport
Beach. He was visiting the store with his wife and three year old daughter. We were selling his “Galibier” Boot line he was
importing so his mission was somewhat business. Me of course being all business, walks up to him shakes his hand and can only
say “Did you hear we freed the Vampire”! He looks at me kind of cross-eyed, tries to grin and musters a faint “Really????” I don’t
remember if I was more cordial after that (probably not) but he didn’t stick around long. All I could think of, was it something I
said? He really was one of my heroes maybe I should have opened with that line.
Hi Tom! Yeah I knew that was Rik and Phil, Rik and I were pretty close after his mishap on PO. I could barely get him down the five
pitches by myself since he was unconscious for the first three. that story will have to wait for some other time.
Mike

Sep 19, 2006 - 09:24pm PT
Kev
Oka y, okay, that was a low blow and has forced me to totally refute your otherwise wonderful post about the BO. Unfortunately I
have gotten lost in the cobwebs of my mind in trying to find anything that might for sure say that was NOT dog food.
Great to connect again.
Jorge

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 20, 2006 - 05:02pm PT
Hey Jorge, (George Meyers) just start slow. Look at some old pictures of Middle. Maybe glance at some old photos of your climbing
friends.
Maybe it will start to come back.
Just to get you going, you were climbing in the Valley in the early 1970s. Had lots of close friends. Did some really stellar routes.
Things were going really well for you until you ruined it all by going into the writ'ng and publish'ng business.
We all make mistakes. Let it go.
I know that dementia really sucks. But we'll help you through it.
Just glad that you are setting a new low standard for memory retention. I'm feeling better about myself already. Hee, he.
Your friend, Buzz
PS: Of course it was dog food! It was cheap. Besides it was only John and Kevin that had to eat it. What the hell did they know?
Got any pictures?

Sep 21, 2006 - 01:22am PT
Steve - Your idea of epoxied pins - I don't think it'll work. Even if you could prep the stone for good stone to epoxy bond, I think
you'd still have the rusting on the pin's surface and expansion/contraction that cause problems with any fixed piton. Not to mention
the potential mess around the placement. I do agree that shiny hangers could be an eyesore. I retrobolted an obscure route once
leaving the original Leeper hangers and 1/4 inch splitshanks next to the new ones for a little history.
If there were pitons available with wider than standard blades, a 3/8 inch hole could be drilled near the eye for a bolt without
weakening the eye too much. If the pin was driven intentionally leaving that part of the blade exposed, and then a hole drilled in
the rock through the hole in the pin, and a bolt placed through it, you could clip the eye of the pin like a bolt hanger. Wouldn't be
doable in some situations of course, but it might solve the problem. You'd have to finish driving the bolt home with some kind of
steel rod or punch. You're the man for the R&D!
KCW

Sep 21, 2006 - 12:30pm PT
It was dog food, Jorge, and sans vittles, we had to bail meaning when I returned to do the whole route I had to climb those lower
pitches again, which was exciting. I remember being very proud that I made it all the way up those first ten leads with no falls.
I also remember Mark Chapman had just returned from Alaska and wasn't really dialed into rock climbing at that exact moment
and he got out there on one of those 5.9 pitches down low-- with basically no pro--and things got a little sketchy. There's also a
5.10d pitch up high, like 2,000 feet up there--Kauk led it and it's a dandy. Ron also ended up with the short but chilling A4 bit.
Those adventures on Middle were amazing, none moreso than the first ascent of Stoners, before any of us knew what the hell we
were really doing. Kevin was at the top of his game and did some amazing route finding out on the sharp end. There must have
been like 20 people involved in all the probes of that route.
JL

Sep 21, 2006 - 10:12pm PT
Hey John: Yeah those routes were special. Mostly the wandering into the big unknown that set them apart from the crack lines. I
truly don't know how anybody could do similar routes any faster than we did. It just was mentally tiring to get out on the sharp
end over and over, and placing those bolts by hand.
Stoners was a breakthrough climb. I've got some clas sic pics of you on stuff. We'll get it out there eventually.
I think I lost interest in the upper Mother Earth when we started putting in the ladder off the ledges. You know some young punk
could probably sport it out free these days...
And remember the impressive wall above the traverse ledges? WHat stunningly steep and featured climbing that would be? Maybe
3 pitches, way up high and real steep. How we fanticized how it could be protected on lead with hooks and slings on horns,
opposing slings held with bungies, etc., not rap bolted by some yahoo... And it's still there.... Certainly bigger than us...
Jorge

Sep 21, 2006 - 10:27pm PT
Largo, I'll never forget your response when we were all at the base of Stoner's and I voiced my skepticism about the first pitch
going. I said something naive like " it doesn't look like there's any holds up there!" ,
You simply replied with the utmost confidence " Oh man, there's holds up there!"
Must have been all that Tahquitz /Suicide experience you already had, 'cause you sure were right!

Sep 22, 2006 - 02:09am PT
Unbelievable...Kevin W., George M., Roger B., Largo ??., (well largo!...he always defied description) Mike G., Werner B., and
others...What have I stumbled upon in cyber space?? To the Mother Earth crew: I have a photo of Kev in his RRs with George
(chesire cat grin in place!)at the base of Mother Earth that fateful day the four of us set out...One of my favorites and a fond
memory indeed.
Chappy

Sep 22, 2006 - 02:21am PT
Wow!
Way to go Chapman; 'good thing you showed up.
Right on time.
Cheers,
Roy

Sep 22, 2006 - 07:05am PT
Wow, welcome Mark Chapman. Another Stonemaster who has succumbed to the Taco Stand.

Nov 25, 2006 - 01:27am PT
Dug up these slides of climbing on Middle Rock. Except for the first shot, these were taken by The Warbler himself.
North Face slab on a nasty day. Black Primo climbs the black coneshaped intrusion above and left of the climber.

Nov 25, 2006 - 11:54pm PT
Hey Steve- just got back from craggin and saw the photos you posted, really nice way to end the day. Thanks for taking the time
to do that. I especially like the shot of the climber on the snowbank, it really captures the wild feel of that area.
Of all the routes I did on the North Face slabs, Jigsaw could be the most unique and probably the least done. Looking at the shots
of you leading off the belay on the second pitch, I could almost feel the hidden cutter edges that make that section so positive and
improbable.
When George and I did that pitch first I led straight up off the belay to an arch filled with 10 or 15 stacked breadloaf sized blocks all obviously depending on each other for support. As I gingerly probed for a weakness George had no choice but to totally trust me
as I was twenty feet directly above him with little pro. Then I noticed the sequence of edges that you're climbing on in the photo
down and left of me, and carefully downclimbed to check it out.
It went together so well it was as if it was designed to climb. A sensation not uncommon on Middle Rock.
Later when we rapped the route I gently pulled on one of the breadloaves and a couple hundred pounds of stone rained down and
over the belay bolts to the ground.
Thanks again Steve.
Kevin

Nov 26, 2006 - 12:26pm PT
Boy, those pics of Black Primo bring back some memories. Like KW said, that snowbank shot gives a visceral feel for the magnitude
of the place. The dark rock and shady vibe made it all the more intimidating when you're up there, on sight, trying to find your
way. A couple things stand out in my mind.
First, the boots back then were not great for smearing, which is mostly what you find on Middle. I climbed Stoner's in those old red
PA's and had to edge everything. EBs weren't a lot better. I remember going back and doing Stoner's in sticky boots (the original
Fires) and thinking how much more secure they made the climbing. Also, especially on Stoner's (before we got dialed into route
finding), we often did the hardest climbing on stuff that was actually off route. Kevin led a pitch down low that was probably 5.11+
(remember that weird roof thing) that we later found we could travers around at 5.10b.
Another thing(on first ascents)-- when you really had to buckle down and go for it the main concern wasn't so much cranking the
moves, it was hoping that somewhere in the next twenty or so feet you'd find a hold to place the next bolt, or maybe a crack for a
wire or a blade. This was particularly so on Mother Earth and Black Primo (or Black Rose as it's now called) because they were
steper than the other routes and you couldn't eyeball options with much certainty.
On the hardest pitch of Black Primo, Kevin and I went up and down putting bolts in and after Kevin finally sank the last bolt before
the crux (a sh#t-your-pants placement on a truly steep wall), I recall going back up on the sharp end and studying the rock below
for quite a while, trying to see what I'd hit if I popped. The wall below was steep and smooth and eventually I went for it, on fairly
rounded holds, totally clueless if I could crank the moves and if so, if there was anytwhere above on which to stop and arrange the
next pro. That was one of thge few times in my whole climbing career that I said, F*#k it, I'm going for it and come what may. I'd
seen Tobin work this strategy to disasterous results but thiings worked out for us on that day. More than simply hard (I imagine
this route is still pretty hard), Black Primo was a great route with high adventure. You had to be a solid face climber with good
mental control to have any chance at all.
Great memories.
JL

Nov 26, 2006 - 12:45pm PT
Funny how abject terror fades to great memories!
I remember going back to that slab recently to climb some of the better protected routes that seemed like sport climbs when they
first went up (in my mind) now they seemed pretty led out!
A long time ago, I took a 35 foot upside down and backwards whipper on Freewheelin when my foot slipped on some sand after the
crux. Knocked out half of one of my front teeth. We bailed to the denist! I went back for revenge a number of years later and when
I got to the place where I could clip the bolt to protect that section, the bolt was gone! I finally found the rusty hole and figured
"enough is enough" and I was outa there.
great memories!
;-)
Karl

Nov 26, 2006 - 01:34pm PT
Karl- sorry about that! I think on the second ascent of Freewheelin' the first and last bolt on the route were missing, probably the
result of rockfall, most likely in winter.
If your fall was on the fourth pitch, I caught Meyers on a good one there also. The pitch traverses up and right from the belay on
runout but easy face on big incut orange edges, then up a left facing corner to a bolt protecting the crux. When he fell above the
bolt all the nuts in the corner lifted out and came spinning down the taut rope, adding to the length of his fall and leaving one of
those quarter inchers between him and a huge (100ft?) ride.
On the first ascent I led up the right facing arch all the way til it hooks over to meet the left facing one before I realized the face
traverse off the belay was the way to go. Last time I did the route the arrow I drove under the high point of the arch was still
there.
Talking about this stuff 30+ years later makes me realize how intense the experience was. The sensations are still there.
I hope all those bolts get/have been replaced. Black Primo is the best route over there IMO, due to the amazing line it follows, and
its consistent difficulty. It's gotta be a lot easier with sticky rubber, but I still get butterflies in my stomach thinking about leading
it.
I took Bridwell up on the first pitch before we finished the route 'cause he wanted to check out what we were doing up there. When
he got to the belay he just said " you're f#cking crazy, I'm not leading anything up here!"
Maybe Largo could guide me up it for old times sake.

Nov 26, 2006 - 01:46pm PT
Kevin wrote: "Maybe Largo could guide me up it for old times sake."
Since Christmas time is nigh upon us, kindly bone up on a classic X-mas song known the world over as, "I'll be home on
Christmas," paying special attention to the line, ". . . if only in my dreams."
JL

Nov 26, 2006 - 01:49pm PT
Greetings All
I hope everybody tucked away a little mantle insurance over the holidays, just in case. Great to have you on Mark. How about
posting that teaser photo of KW? Lots of juice kicked up by those dusty old images.
Great post on Black Primo John! Locking and loading in the spirit of God's righthand man, I love it. Not just another day pulling the
trigger at the office fa sure! Incidentally guys, Black Primo is Black Primo and by any other name would not smell as sweet though
the Rose lingers curiously on.
The grand cast of characters and quality stone on Middle Rock make for such a uniquely rich and wonderfully challenging
experience if you are solid enough to pay the piper and get on up there. I dream on it every day. An Ansel Adams photo of the
lower main wall from Space Babble to Stoner's winks at me every time I sit in the clawfoot tub at days end.
More tales and pics please!!!!

Nov 26, 2006 - 02:27pm PT
Kev wrote " then up a left facing corner to a bolt protecting the crux. When he fell above the bolt all the nuts in the corner lifted
out and came spinning down the taut rope, adding to the length of his fall and leaving one of those quarter inchers between him
and a huge (100ft?) ride. "
Yeah, that sounds like the culprit. I thought that maybe I could get away with a piece in the corner but the memory of the previous
flight made me think better of it. It was one of those deals when the crux was all but finished and there was one move to
bombersville but that when the mind slipped it's attention for a microsecond and whoosh...!
I know the first part of the climb was rebolted and I think I remember that they went back and finished the job. I'm gettin too old
for long flights though. Maybe Russ will guide me up there.
I was on the first pitch of Stoner's a few years back and Bridwell shows up and says he thinks the route used to start like 35 feet to
the left. I'd done the route over 20 years earlier and it hadn't moved so it was hard to agree, but it was Bridwell so it was hard to
disagree. I'm pigheaded so I disagreed anyway.
Peace
Karl

Nov 26, 2006 - 06:24pm PT
I might be mistaken about this but I believe I made the second ascent of Freewheeling, and Kevin came along as a guide. Kevin
was huge on these new routes and being a face climber I had to go up for a look see. I also remember a sling belay up there off
dreadfully sketchy wires pasted behind a little flapjack flake, and Englishman Ed Drummond climbing directly off said belay on
greasy, insecure slab moves and me thinking if Ed pops here we're all done for. I trust that belay has been shorn up since.
JL

Nov 26, 2006 - 07:13pm PT
Whoa! THAT stirs up some memories. As I posted earlier I think the first and last bolts of the route were gone, and I remember
discussing the possibility that Royal had chopped them to keep us upstarts in line. The route was one of the first bolted slab climbs
in the Valley aside from those on the Glacier Point Apron, and the first on Middle to be mostly bolt protected, so we thought maybe
it offended him like the Dawn did. As I said I think it was rockfall.
Drummond was a jolly good chap as were all the limeys that hung out with us in the Valley. The old Mountain Room Bar really had
a good flavor at night with Al Harris, Pete Minks, Drummond and the like. We may have shown them how it was done on the cracks
during the day, but those guys ruled in the pub afterward.

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2006 - 08:04pm PT
Hey Kevin, I don't think that Royal would have had any difficulty with the bolts we placed on Freewheeling--they were a long way
apart and he was only concerned about slipping standards. I don't think anyone accused us of that--maybe stupid!
I have some old b&w pictures of you, me and George on the first day tries on Freewheeling. I'll try to get them scanned and
posted.
I have a question on the first bolt. I placed one directly above the bleay on the second pitch, to move up and right into that thin
corner. I thought that that was the first bolt we placed, but that would have meant no bolts on the entire first pitch. But in all the
topos, I've seen there is bolt half way up the first pitch. Do you remember if we placed that bolt on the first pitch? Is this the one
that was missing?
Roger

Nov 26, 2006 - 11:18pm PT
Hi Roger! Good to hear from you!
The bolt that was missing was the only one on the first pitch some forty or fifty feet up, not the scond pitch. I just can't remember
the sequence of events. Maybe you saw my post on the rescue thread about me passing a gripped Ron Kauk on that lead to drop a
toprope for him. I also remember it was missing after a winter passed.
I vaguely remember debating whether to replace it or not after it disappeared, 'cause it didn't seem so bad after you got used to
Middle. Don't remember doing it though, just know it got done.
Maybe General Meyers can shed some light on this most perplexing issue, or perhaps Largo who did the second ascent.
I really like that black and white photo- we both look so young and psyched! Happy holidays to you and yours!

Nov 26, 2006 - 11:46pm PT
Hey, Roger--
I'd love to see any photos of any of our generation during Middle C. explorations. I never had a camera during all my early climbing
days and the only pics I have prior to about 1976 were taken by others. It doesn't much matter to me who the photo is since back
then we were all basically interchangable partners.
Per the second ascent of Freewheeling, I don't remember the first pitch having any pro whatsoever. It didn't seem all that
horrendous for one reason: We'd spend hours traversing and climbing around at the base of Middle in order to get used to the rock.
Many, many times we'd go crack climbing and on the drive back from the Cookie or Arch Rock or El Cap or wherever we'd stop by
Middle and spend an hour or so traversing. After about fifty of these sessions you learned just how far you could go on the orange,
white, grey and black holds, what your boots would stick to and not stick to, and you developed a certain style of cross presuring
and mantling off finger tips and so forth--stuff that worked well on Middle and nowhere else. This gave us the confidence to go for
big runouts and keep the lid on because there was nothing you'd find out on the lead that you hadn't seen in one form or another
during the traversing workouts. Sometimes you'd have like six guys, some 30 or even 40 feet off the ground, just meandering
around and getting the whole thing dialed in. The reason for this was that there were sections of the harder routes like Space
Babble and Black Primo where you couldn't afford to fall. That's why stuff up to about 5.10b (probably 5.10c/d in the old EBs) had
very sparce pro. They guys who put in the time traversing knew what they could do. I think what made this climbing so interesting
is that it was far more mental than gymnastic--especially so on first ascents. It was much more a confidence game than a
bouldering fest.
JL

Nov 27, 2006 - 12:09am PT
Whoa whoa whoa Largo easy on the trade secrets!

Nov 27, 2006 - 12:12am PT
hey steve --
been trading some old war stories and pm's with a few folks on greasy but groovy -- did you ever get on GBG, or shaky flakes?
seems like the kind of self-inflicted, one-move-at-a-time chinese water torture you'd be attracted to. did thanksgiving with hatcher
and eve in moab this year, was flipping through the new "valley free climbs" book and noticed the GBG now sports an R/X rating,
as oppposed to the old "R" rating...
by my count i've now identified three parties i personally know (not counting the FA party, I sort of knew rick back in the 70's when
he was going to USD) who've done the route, and they all count it as a rite of passage. pretty sure danny McD has done it, gotta
call him and chat him up about that rig.
shaky flakes felt a bit harder, but it was a sportclimb compared to GBG.....usually it was ok to fall on shakey flakes...GBG felt like
free-soloing with a rope and (very nervous) belayer...!

Nov 27, 2006 - 12:33am PT
Man, I've taken nearly all my most harrowing free climbing falls on Middle Cathedral. Maybe I should do some traversing. I've
never actually found anybody doing it there.
What's the beta for the best places on Middle to traverse, you know, for mortals that don't want to deck from high up?
peace
Karl

Nov 27, 2006 - 12:42am PT
Bvb
Done all of Shakey Flakes but only done GBG to to top of the third pitch. That Third pitch of GBG is so continuous and beautiful, it's
one of the best slab pitches in the valley. It's got good pro too, except if you fall on the 15 foot (more or less) runout to the first
bolt and crash down onto the lower angle slab below. Jeesh.
There's one pitch high up on Shakey Flakes where you're something like 50 feet runout, have to make some dicey moves, and if
you fall you're going over a roof way down below, but will hit the slab eventually anyway.
I love(d) it, but no wonder slab climbing is more or less dead these days. Somebody stop me from going back on those routes.
it's kinda like hard aid climbing. You don't know for sure if you gonna fall until get "that feeling" all of a sudden and bye, bye, hope
you come in for a happy landing.
Peace
Karl

Nov 27, 2006 - 01:02am PT
Karl - DNB to Stoners is all pretty reasonable, in places there are two or three heights to do it at. Seems like barely 5.11 if you do
it the easiest way, if I recall. From the start of SB toward the Kor Beck gets kinda off the deck as the base begins to rise, Steeper
and harder over there. The hardest traverse is SB to the Bircheff Williams, that's where "Kauk's Bead" lies. Kauk and Bachar had a
little competition going to try to do it first, and Kauk bested him. It's a section underneath a long 4 inch roof, can't miss it.
Kauk called it his favorite climb in that fifty favorite climbs book, it's a lot of fun and the best way to tune into Middle.

Nov 27, 2006 - 01:17am PT
karl -- jeeeeebus dude -- you lived through P3 and didn't gun for the top? lotsa runout sh#t up there as i recall (after 19 years it's
a bit fuzzy...) but i'm guessing P3 is the R/X pitch. althogh P4 has it moments, i beleieve you can fall anywhere on it and walk away
with nothing worse than a bad rug burn and a good story...as you sell all your gear and take up knitting...
mt first peek at greasy but groovy was when i beleayed lance lynch on a new route he was working on just left of it in '75; became
an obsession that took 12 years to put to bed after that....

Nov 27, 2006 - 01:30am PT
bvb, haven't heard that name in a great while. What has become of Mr. Lynch? He and a bunch of other Tucson climbers were at a
party. Lance was very drunk, and coupled with exceptionally bad eyesight, led him to hit Mike McEwen, the top dog in Tucson, in
the neck with a dart. He had no idea he'd done it and I'm not entirely sure why Mike didn't knock his block off. He still holds a
grudge about that.
I'll write up my tale about an early repeat of GBG another time. I took the screamer on pitch 3 and kept on climbing. More later.
Cheers,
Steve

Nov 27, 2006 - 01:59am PT
"I'll write up my tale about an early repeat of GBG another time. I took the screamer on pitch 3 and kept on
climbing."
that'd be killer, steve.
having been nudged by a PM from one of the psychos still breathing after the FA, i've been calling around to the olddads to see
who's been on it. a very short list it apprears.
i'd recalled that me and joc just went up there and fired it after doing shakey flakes, but she has inserted the reality that we
pecked away at the sucker for close to a year before we managed a continuous, no-falls ascent. she refreshed my memory on how
i wore through a brade-new pair of levis on one mmemorable skider....
this during a time when we'd go do the calf and play misty and quicksilver for laughs.
it's time GBG recieved it's due as one of, if not THE, gnarliest, longest, most nerve racking "slab" routes around.

Nov 27, 2006 - 02:03am PT
If I remember correctly, pitch 3 of GBG has OK pro after the first runout, which probably wouldn't kill you. (I do remember
thanking God when I reached the 'hole' where you clip the first bolt after some 10a moves looking at 30 foot slab whack if I
screwed up. I do think of that pitch as probably my proudest no-falls onsight on slab. It never lets up and burns your calves and
tips good.
I think the X rating probably comes from the 2nd pitch, which, even though it's only 5.7, has only one bolt in a ropelength. (maybe
none now, can't remember)
Either that or some of these routes have sick chossy pitches near the top. My newer guides are buried in the car and I ripped all
the relevant pages out of the ones in the house to take up the climbs back when.
I enjoyed the Rambler and Mid-Life Crisis. Both of these are exciting, thought provoking, and yet, not so death defying.
Peace
karl

Nov 27, 2006 - 02:13am PT
i dunno man, the first "hard" pitch on GBG is a hairball sonofabitch lead..and as with all hard slab, seems casual on a tr....i'm
pretty f*#king sure we pretty much soloed the first two pitches and didn't think much of it.
as i try to ressurect these old memories, i would not be surpriseed the the X rating comes from the long, long stretcheds of 5.8 -
5.9 on the last 4 pitches where you basically solo a pitch, trailing a rope for your buddies....

Nov 27, 2006 - 02:51am PT
I think you're right about the higher pitches of GBG getting the X rating.
The first 7 pitches of the Hall of Mirrors is another place I used to go for mind-numbing slab-0-meditations. Your shoes would
squeek on the stone like you were climbing a balloon and you could turn a 30 foot slider into a 15 foot slider by simply grabbing
the sling on the bolt on your way past it! (not that doing so was a good idea.)
Falling on the Apron seems comforting compared to Middle, which is steep enough to make you fly.
Peace
Karl

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 27, 2006 - 10:08am PT
Hey Kevin and John,
I have some very good sequence shots of 'Freewheeling.' Some were used by Wilson in my history of Middle Rock that he published
in Mountain.
Those bolt protected climbs on Middle, both the Northeast face and the Apron, set our generation apart. The 60s guys had nailed
crack systems and then guys like Beck, Sacherer, and Fredericks did them free. But by the early 70s, we were climbing on blank
faces, running out the leads, and placing bolts for primary protection. Ray's comment: "I got us into trouble, and Rik got us out,"
sums it up pretty well (about their first ascent of 'Paradise Lost’, the first of the new routes.) The second route, CPoF followed a
crack system and had no bolts until my ‘chicken sh#t traverse—didn’t Jim have a way of summing up the whole matter?—at the
first ‘top’. Then Jim returned with Billy and John and climbed straight up, thereby ruining a great climb with hard climbing.
I heard that John led the pitch by doing a full, four points off, lunge to a single blade of grass, which he captured in his teeth for a
deadpoint, off balance, stemming smear.
Launched a writing career, I think. Probably 5.8 static in sticky shoes.
The 60s guys never ventured onto those bolted face routes--I am sure Jim's comment to Kevin about leading on the Apron is pretty
indicative.
Regarding the first pitch of 'Freewheeling,' I don't think that we placed any bolts. I remember George belaying me, just standing on
the ground, and asking me if I was going to put anything in, in his super polite, gentle way. I remember replying that there were
no cracks and it was easy climbing. George just gave me one of his trademark quizzical looks and dropped the belay rope, with an
open palm gesture of resignation--(hip belays). I kept wandering around, back and forth, as if I were tacking into the wind. I
claimed the lead on the second pitch since the first pitch was an 'approach pitch.' I place a couple of bolts on that pitch. To John's
point, we had the head-trip wired so to speak, although I never bouldered on the base--too lazy.
(Come on John, what sort of freak were you? Driving back from climbing in the lower Merced River Valley, on your way to a beer
and hanging out, with the possibility of pretty girls to chat up, and you stopped at the base of Middle to boulder? To my knowledge,
pretty girls never hung out at the base of Middle, serving beer, waiting for climbers to show up. You had a lot of drive but no focus,
man. Heehe.)
As natural as it seemed at the time--fun too--those runouts above single ¼ inch bolts were sort of crazy. I don't think any of us
gave it a second thought.
I’ll dig out the pictures I have and post them up. George has some photos from those first years, right after he got his camera. He
promised that he would post them after he and Merrill returned from their trip.
Best, Roger

Nov 27, 2006 - 10:32am PT
Working on old Breedlove routes you get the feeling that there was a lot more "head work" going on in the training program...
bouldering or not, actually I'd call it "boldering." The correct identification of the climbing "limits" issue is that it is mostly mental.
Those routes had to venture onto ground that had no real natural protection to get to the features. Once you identified that ground
as "climbable," the only challenge was to actually go and climb it. Sometimes a 1/4" x 1" split shaft steel bolt was placed with one
of those Dolt hangers... probably was strong enough (originally) to hange a 1200 lb VW bug off of... and way less sketchy than a
lot of pro that got pounded in on other routes....
...but then Royal was watching over your shoulders too, at least in your thoughts, so you guessed you shouldn't put too many bolts
in.
You left us many examples of what it means to break through the thoughts that keep us planted on the ground... when you can
climb at a 5.10d level, you should be able to safely run out stuff at 5.8 and 5.9, maybe even solo at that level... and you put theory
to practice. But it was the idea that the mind needed to be able to do the route more than any body training (which you also did...
at least some of you); you left us some mental exercises to work on.
Thanks!
The Arches Apron is great for that squeaky rubber sound!

Nov 27, 2006 - 01:05pm PT
Greasy but Groovy
This was a sure bet for Richard Harrison, Rick Accomazzo and yo because the climbing on that apron was almost exactly like the
steep slabs at Suicide, one of our home crags, and we were totally dialed into that kind of work back then. However, the major
challenge on GBG was (like on Middle C.) not so much the moves or even the runouts, but route finding and drilling all those bolts
on the lead. This was especially the case on the 5th pitch, which has some decent edges but is no longer a true slab--it's steeper.
Truth be told, Rick A. was going for the Mother of all Runouts on the 3rd pitch, about 35 feet above the first bolt (the one placed in
that hole) when he ripped a flake off the wall and took a huge whistler. The 2nd bolt on that pitch was never supposed to be there
(it's about 10 feet below where Rick took his fall) and never would have been placed had Ricky not rodcketed off. Too bad, too,
because he was already on easier stuff when the hold ripped. This kind of dicy fandango was in line with the philosophy many of us
held back then--that you had to run the rope peoperly "to keep the fluff off" the route. Pretty arrogent come to think about it, but it
worked for us . . .
Speaking of Rick A., few people these days understand how skilled he was at the king-sized runout. Two routes come to mind:
Mouth to Perhaps, on the Apron, and Spooky Tooth, on Lower. I wouldn't suggest falling on either route. And all of these routes
were done in either RDs, PAs, or later, EBs. If anyone repeated Greasy but Groovy in EBs, my hats off to them.
I could go on and on . . .
JL

Nov 27, 2006 - 02:01pm PT
Good insight on GBG John. I have some vivid recollections of that route.
I thought I would contribute a few photos that seem relevant to both a Worrall Route and GBG conversation.
Bridwell and I did Free Wheelin with Max Jones and Augie West (is the last name right?) we were two parties of two which seemed
the most efficient and gave you more leads to boot.
If memory serves me right Augie did the long awaited second ascent of GBG with Bill Price And all.

Edit: Auggie Kline, Thanks now I Remember.

Nov 27, 2006 - 02:49pm PT
It's Auggie Klein

Nov 27, 2006 - 09:40pm PT
That's it- I'm gonna break outta my rut and learn how to use this scanner my mother in law gave us, I know I've got some classic
photos to add to the awesome ones you all posted.
Funny how you can talk til you're blue in the face about the old days and then a photo comes along and just takes you right back,
no flappin needed whatsoever.
I went up on Reefer Madness with Fred East and John Edgar and got a taste of the climbing on the arches apron and a good look at
GBG. I remember leaving the bolts behind on move after insecure move on almost identical holds and trying in vain to relax in the
face of steadily oncoming meltdown. The suicide boys were primed for that place for sure, Rockamazzo was the king of cool on the
lead. I'm sure John's boundless energy and Richard's quiet confidence helped make GBG a done deal.
I pretty much left the Arches Apron that day with me tail twixt me legs. On Middle rock you rarely climb such unrelenting stretches
of stone. There's almost always something to go for, definitely more mental as Largo said.
Thanks Jeff- I remember you hiked the Northwest Corner that day and I barely pulled it! What a great line that is!
Mike- cool photo of Augie on that traverse- I remember you tiptoe across on orange and black dots there that rise out of the white
wall just a touch. Makes me wanna go do it again.

Nov 27, 2006 - 11:07pm PT
Howdy folks,
Lots of action on this thread! Fig and I also did Shakey Flakes in preparation. Greasy But Groovy was a very mysterious
undertaking back when I was asking around. Nobody had been on it and the name alone seemed to invoke a good clench among
the folks that were aware of its reputation. I think that Fig and I did the third repeat of the first three pitches before the short
October days sent us down. My guide is hiding and I have been sorting through slides to bolster my memory.
I recall nothing of note until the thirty foot runout at the bottom of pitch three. The wall steepens and the entire pitch looks like a
mirage with hangers at first. A little rubbernecking and the celebrated hole shows itself as the only visible feature. Immediately, its
all silver dollar edges and every move feels 5.10. I remember being so absorbed that I was a little startled to suddenly see the
beacon of security just a couple moves away! To call it a hole is generous when you get to it and can't even catch your breath. A
quick glance down the wave face to Fig was the wrong idea and the adrenalin surf was up! Surging back on the tiny edges again for
my hands, I smeared with the left and foot dynoed high into the hole. My right foot missed the back of the saucer and just caught
the lip. Unable to press it out, of course, the left foot begins to ooze downward along with the rest of me. "Fig, I'm coming off!" I
yelled as the ooze turned into a squirt, then a gush, then a torrent. I looked down at Fig hastily hauling in rope through his belay
plate as I went geek skiing on by. Eventually l passed the stance and began sliding on my side down the lower angled intermediate
run coming up. About ten feet below the belay I suddenly stopped. Fig had reeled in no less than seven arm lengths of rope! After
the usual niceties and a moment's recollection, I swarmed back up to the belay. Awash in adrenaline and with much less fear of the
consequences, I didn't wobble the second time around and stood up proudly in the beacon hole.
Then the hard climbing actually starts and the entire coin collection is in play. The thin work doesn't let up for the rest of the pitch.
My memories are vague on what the fourth pitch had to offer beside more relentless crimping. Suicide style as JL pointed out. All
this fun and more since neither of us carried chalkbags back then. More images soon.

Nov 28, 2006 - 10:27am PT
steve, you did it without chalk???? didja use refried beans instead?? damn you are one crazy mutha. but from my visits to tuscon
when you and off and eve et al lived there, i always knew you tuscon guys were a bit addled from all that heat....

Nov 28, 2006 - 01:34pm PT
Eeewww...!
Steve, you fell from the ho'! the longest and knarliest whip! That was a totally classic description. Always wondered what would
happen if I whipped there! Nice fishing reel by the Fig.
The fact that you didn't get ripped up somehow doesn't help summon the inspiration to jump back on that thing. I AM inspired, I
just hope I know better.
I had no idea the thing had a reputation. We were just going through the book doing all the 5.10 or so multipitch routes that didn't
seem like certain death.
Thanks!
Karl

Nov 28, 2006 - 01:59pm PT
Christ, Steve, I can't believe you ripped from that hole--and lived. Skidding down that lower-angled slab below, with a head of
steam up, is enough to take you down to the bone, or so I thought. Fig must have had a power winch to reel in that much slack so
fast, otherwise that would have been a genuine 80 footer. That you went BACK up there suggests to me that professional help is
indicated. You da man.
Dood, I'd love to see any slides of this thing if you have any.
JL

THIS is the shot I was looking for, Kevin. The Warbler out havin' fun in the olden days!

Nov 28, 2006 - 09:49pm PT
I wanted to ad my thoughts on why these routes like GBG and the ones on Middle Cathedral are runout. I think it was more than
just “to keep the fluff off” as Johnny said.
I think we were aware that too many bolts could lead to the “murder of the impossible,” in Messner’s famous phrase. It made for a
better game if you got above the protection until you were a bit (or more than a bit) uncomfortable about the consequences. Alsowe knew that placing bolts was completely inconsistent with the “clean climbing” ethic of the time, discussed recently in Jello’s nut
thread. Placing a bolt was an admission of defeat of sorts , since you had to resort to permanent and unnatural anchors to
complete the route. Consequently, we all tried to keep these defeats to a bare minimum. Add to this the ordeal of hand drilling
from small stances and it seems to me that it was a combination of sporting reasons and practical reasons that caused the bolts to
be few and far between on rocks like Royal Arches and Middle Cathedral.
Correction to JL’s post: Richard Harrison and I did a couple of very unusual routes on the East face of Lower Cathedral, Shake and
Bake and Starfire. Spooky Tooth was the third route on that face and was done by Richard and Yabo.
Mike- that shadowed shot on Freewheelin really captures the brilliant colors that are a key part of the Middle experience.
Steve-Yikes! Great description of a monstrous fall. I can still envision those last moves like it was yesterday. As you indicated, the
hole is not as good as it looks from below. I remember that I climbed past it and then gingerly stepped left into it. Great effort for
you to go right back up there after that.
But this is Kevin’s thread and the subject is Middle Rock , so back on the topic. I helped in trying to push the Jigsaw project up a bit
with Roger, Kevin and George one day, but we were all stymied by some moves trying to go straight up one of those tiny corners
like the ones that can be seen in one of the photos early in this thread. When I met Roger and George for lunch recently, Roger
brought me a photo he took on that day. Thanks again, Roger. Hey Kevin, do you remember who eventually solved the part of the
Jigsaw puzzle that foiled us that day?

Nov 28, 2006 - 11:10pm PT
Geesh, I leave for a while and you guys can't leave it alone...
Here are some shots...A number of Jigsaw, then two of Black Primo. I really don't remember much from yesterday, let alone last
week, but I do remember Kevin getting burned a bit on pushing the last pitch of Jigsaw, as it steepened a bit more...and we talked
Clevenger into going up on that. We nicely led him up to that pitch, then said, well, we did the work, you just go ahead and finish
this off...He was straight up above us perhaps 25 feet with a #2 stopper in as sole pro, trying to blast in a bolt while holding the
holder behind his head. The bit split, hit his lip and the blood started flowing, he started freaking--we were a bit concerned
ourselves since we were directly below, and when he lowered off a slightly anchored bolt he was covered with blood and pretty
much swore off going with us ever...I really don't recall who finally did the pitch, Kauk?, but I do remember getting to a nice flat
ledge at the top...

Nov 28, 2006 - 11:27pm PT
A few more, mostly to show the line of Mother Earth...perhaps explains the allure...

Nov 28, 2006 - 11:30pm PT
Well, shoot, those Black PRimo shots, must be taken while we were on Jigsaw? who was it?

Looks like Yabo and Bachar

Nov 29, 2006 - 12:49am PT
George, o discupame, Jorge-that is the Yarbarian and Backstar on Black Primo and I love that shot of Yabo leading the black dike
pitch! I remember that day and being so stoked that two expert climbers were there to watch on the best route up there. I also
remember Yabo going up and down repeatedly at the crux just like I did the first time. Thanks for posting those.
Regarding the top of Jigsaw, I remember finding an easier route on toprope after whoever managed to do the lead to the ledge and
I think our intention was to go back and lead it that way 'cause it also offered pro possibilities, and less rope drag potentially. It
involved climbing to the right and over a small roof on hidden holds if I recall.
Ricky-I'd love to hear about those three routes on Lower straight from the horse's mouth, all I heard about them I've forgotten or
gotten second hand. I was just up there in September admiring that wall- what a great place to faceclimb and that rock looks
insane! With Yabo up there some classic stuff had to go down.
Jellmon- I wasn't smiling like that at the crux, and you were peering down at me like a gargoyle, trying to talk me up it. The first
time I drove up into Eldorado canyon after two years in the Valley, I remember being blown away by the lines of chalked holds
leading up to and over the roofs around Kloberdanz- didn't make sense to a Valley boy, but what a fine area it is. My crack climbing
improved a lot after Eldo taught me to look everywhere for creative solutions to cruxes.

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2006 - 08:51am PT
Welcome back, George. Hope you had a nice trip. Great thread isn't it?
Rick, I wasn't part of any of the drama on Jigsaw. I think that picture of you was taken by George. But I love that back story of
George and Kevin tricking their unsuspecting cohorts into leading the 'death' pitches. Someone is going to have to fess up to
leading the last pitch.
The lunch we had together in Denver was pretty special, at least for me. To spend some time with you and George after all these
years was great. I was a little disappointed that you looked so young and fit. I don't wish anyone any ill will, but compared to
George and me I doubt that anyone would believe we were in the Valley together. Must be the Italian blood line, like my bride.
So far, with everyone I have been able to re-connect with, the feeling and impact has been the same. All the great times come
roaring back and within half an hour, we are finishing each other's sentences. Talk about a time machine.
You raise an interesting point on the bolting and runout issues on those early 70s routes. I have never placed much importance on
it until it occurred to me recently--while reading posts--that the bolting and runouts may have been one of the first unique
contributions our generations made. Based on comments here on ST, very few climbers today have followed that path. Ed and I
have had lots of discussions about those times and I have tried to articulate why we did what we did—and we were all doing it to
one degree or another. I want to look at the first ascent data, but now that so many of the players are posting on ST, I think athread where we can try to figure it out is in order.
Roger

Nov 29, 2006 - 11:01am PT
Steve, that was a hair raising tale of big wave surfing. That headwall invoked the same analogy for me as I remember. I didn’t
know fig was off the white stuff back then. Great job, Largo’s right you da man
Rick you could rest your case on your summation on why the bolts were so spaced. Well said.
More nice pics Jorge!

Nov 29, 2006 - 04:43pm PT
Yeah Kev, I do vaguely remember something about finding a better way on toprope, but had we gone back up with Kauk? I just
don't remember. I do remember that on that dike pitch, I was pretty far out--I think on a single nine mil-- with Bridwell belaying,
trying to work out some moves when this voice comes up saying "I don't think I can catch you if you peel..." that snapped me out
of feeling pretty good and thus putting in that first bolt in lower than I was happy with. He was probably right, but then you went
up, stacked some pins to protect going higher still to another bolt placement, before Largo pretty much fired it... Or am I
combining days? If only I had a guidebook to refer to, it might all make more sense, but alas I have none but in storage...
Rick's thing on bolt placing ethics is right on. I'm gonna start a new thread here with some photos of the east face of lower, one
from a helicopter...

Nov 29, 2006 - 08:37pm PT
George wrote:
> If only I had a guidebook to refer to, it might all make more sense, but alas I have none but in storage...
Fortunately you distributed a few thousand backup copies to fans worldwide, so here is your topo of Jigsaw, pitch 4:

If you want to see the full page, just let me know.
Thanks for showing us how to do guidebooks right!
Not to mention the awesome action photos and stories in Yosemite.

Nov 29, 2006 - 08:48pm PT
"Rick you could rest your case on your summation on why the bolts were so spaced. Well said."
Yes! I copied it so that I could show my boyfriend later. He loves those routes and sees the style that you guys chose back then as
something to presently aspire to on new routes.

Those are good points Ricky brought up per our feelings about bolting back then. Messner, with his "Murder of the Impossible"
motto, was on our minds; but we also knew he was a child of the Alps and big mountains, and in the 70s, both venues were not
short of huge natural lines to knock off. Our situation was different.
At Joshua Tree we still had natural lines to bag and in doing dozens of first ascent out there I only had to place a handful of bolts.
However at Tahquitz and Suicide, and later in Yosemite, most of the obvious crack systems had been bagged, which left us the
open faces. So we accepted we could prosecute the Messner "no bolt" ethic in absolute terms, but we wouldn't be able to do many
new routes. Our compromise was to consider that bolts were legitimate but that their use had to be justified, and simply being
scared was not enough justification to start drilling. If it had been, all those Middle C. routes would have been sport bolted bottom
to top. The result is that people usually pushed things to the edge of danger and possible physical harm–sometimes farther–and
then sunk a bolt.
This ethic, running the line far as your mind could handle, was the thing that vitalized the game for most of us. The idea was to
acquire some modicum of mastery and self control, and you did so out on the sharp end. I went bouldering if I wanted to merely
crank hard moves. If I wanted the full dose, I had to get out there on new terrain with a few friends dedicated to finding out just
how far we could go and get away with it. Basically we were in it for the excitement, the more the better. The idea that 35 years
later I'd be writing about any of this never entered my mind. I was just worried about the next move.
What hasn't been mentioned here is Ricky A's blood-curdling roped soloing that he carried out on Middle. If I'm not mistaken, he
rope soloed a stack of the routes we've been talking about. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a very scary proposition, then, and now.
JL

Nov 29, 2006 - 09:27pm PT
So how did one rope solo a scarey slab/face in the pre-auto-feeding device era (so far as I'm aware)? Did you drag bights and hope
that the didn't catch on anything so that you had to fiddle with it less often? It seems hard to imagine being able to mess with a
clove while doing that kind of free climbing.

Nov 29, 2006 - 09:54pm PT
Hey George- as I remember it , the "pin stack" you're talking about was probably actually a tied off long thick arrow upside down in
a horizontal seam below the crux of the dike pitch. Again, as it's been over thirty years, not 100% sure, I think there was a bolt six
feet or so below that for back up and the crux moves were started with feet on the edge of the seam level with said pin and several
feet left. Up down up down up down...... It's all in the footwork there.
I think the day we finished the route Largo was there and I placed two bolts off the belay with the second being one of the steepest
stances I've drilled off of. Two opposing inch wide mini ramps made the stance semi secure fo the feet, but I was cooked after the
effort and John led past that bolt on the fourth pitch crux. The easy fifth pitch sticks in my mind as being especially sweet.
I completely agree with Ricky's evaluation of the style of bolting. I would add that we a had strong sensation on those new open
face climbs that something very special and powerful was at our fingertips and nothing less than an all out mental and physical
effort did the route justice.
Y'know - old fart idealism.

Nov 29, 2006 - 10:26pm PT
Well, yeah, you got that right about up there feelin' free, just thinking of going up. Rick is of course right on with the ethic we were
operating under... We felt that bolts were basically to be avoided, so you were honor-bound to stretch em out. Good times. Yeah,
that Black Primo dike pitch we all had a piece of, that worked out pretty well. I really need to see a guidebook. I remember so
little, but your mention of a real nice pitch above rings a bell...
I'm gonna overload the system with photos, and please bear w ith me if I repeat..
a couple more Jigsaw, a bouldering, 3 Orange Peels (kinda a minor, but fairly tech nical slab I remember, and then a string of
Mother Earths.
I may have to s tart a thread of my (at the time) unclimbed big ideas that time left...I'm so out of touch, I really wonder if some of
these have been done.

Nov 29, 2006 - 10:31pm PT
and mother earth: I particularly like the "staging"

Nov 29, 2006 - 10:37pm PT
and then, above the traverse ledges on Mother Earth:

Nov 29, 2006 - 10:45pm PT
And then more Jigsaw

and Roger Breedlove:

and no, Roger those shots of Black Primo were not tilted. They look pretty right on..