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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2013 - 01:18pm PT
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What about your Origins bk? I realize after looking back that I've told mine in bits and
pieces so I will have to give it a proper treatment..
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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When I started climbing at Squamish, p'terodactyls still nested on the Chief.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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bk,
I'd have to dig into the archive of less than 100 photos taken pre 2000 and do some scanning.
K2 was my first film job.
Got the call after another day running grapple yarder for Elaho Sept 9/90.
I asked the PM when they wanted me to start.
"Next day 06:00, having had" he replied.
"Can I call you back in a few minutes?"
Thought about it for ten minutes and thought "Fuk it, logging sucks,time to change it up".
Called the PM back and said yes.
Went back to the shop and told the Super and Siderod to find a new grapple operator.
"Why" they asked?
"I quit" I replied.
K2 was a huge adventure followed by Medicine Man and Cliffhanger.
Can't believe how quickly two decades goes by when you measure time in features and careers.
Here's the gang on top of Bute Mountain wrapping up after GI Joe 2.
Working with my friends on one of the best jobs I've ever had.
Left to right back row
Paul McSorley, Jason Kruk, John Willcox, Dave Edgar, Jia Condon, Scott Flavelle
Front row
Chris Atkinson, Val Fraser, PB, Paul Berntsen
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brownie
Trad climber
squamish
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those things are still up there anders; i heard them screeching with delight as they conjured up evil plans during the first night of zorro's. As the wind whipped our ledge and rippled the fly it swirled a frenzy of ancient sounds, a collective of voices swept from the cliff's face and swooshed through every available weakness of our nylon fortress. All I could translate (with skills acquired during my brief undertaking as a p'tero-translator) were "bear" and "breakfast"; before, with a jolt, the ledge tilted and torqued, nearly tossing The Kid into the darkness. After the crisis was averted and as the chinese bolts creaked and our ledge strained under the weight of our three bear bottoms I happened to find my mind wandering to a summer day in the year 2010. Gripped, soaked with swet and slipping from my purchase on the rock face I had found myself on, the soft soles of my Vans were melting off of the foot holds. I stared at the ductape wrapped around the shoes and cursed it, avoiding having to curse myself for thinking it would work. Terror was all I felt as I shuffled my hands; watching them slap the rock, wondering why I could not feel my fingers. The old Vans went first and then my useless grip on the rock failed and I froze as the rope became taught, my weight caught up in the ancient webbing that made up the harness I was borrowing from my friends dad. Relief flushed my body as I relaxed in the harness, but was soon followed by aching forearms and my pleas to be lowered. Down I went, ignorant to how soon or how strong the urge to return to that hair raising place would be..
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Yes Bruce, sadly a lot of them are dead from logging accidents or the perils of the lifestyle.
Over a dozen of my former logging accomplices were killed in the bush, the most recent last fall.
Another dozen met an untimely and ignoble demise having too much fun with illegal substances, driving motorcycles or hanging out with the wrong people.
Lord knows I had my fair share of close calls on and off the job and am glad to have survived.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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We were all pretty much the same, weren't we? Teenage real-world refugees, looking for something, but not really knowing what.
I grew up a thousand km from the nearest mountain or cliff, but quite close to some crazy-wild wilderness. Started paddling when I was thirteen and guided my first trip at 15. When I moved to BC I found the water was way too cold but I met a guy who climbed rocks. He took me out one day -- Slab Alley in my work boots -- and that was it. Fifty years later I've slowed down a lot, but I'll be up in Squamish as often as possible this summer and there are plenty of things I'll be happy to have you kids tow me up.
And for what it's worth, I never worked in a logging camp. But I think working on a fire crew in the Chilcotin in probably close enough to give me honorary status.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2013 - 05:09pm PT
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Hey Ghost, KM says you were part of the FA of Merci me with big jim s, any tales from that one?
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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IIRC, there were two David Harrises. Just as David Nicol, a Vancouver born and bred climber, is sometimes confused with an English climber named David Nichol.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2013 - 05:27pm PT
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I thought so.. It seemed a little odd..
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bmacd
Trad climber
100% Canadian
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Those KM guide books are inaccurate, my name is often misspelled as Les MacDonald or sometimes very erroneously spelled as "Robin Barley"
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Hey Ghost, KM says you were part of the FA of Merci me with big jim s, any tales from that one?
When I first got to Squamish, I found that some guy there had been using my name. So I had him killed, which solved the problem.
It also had the side benefit of making everyone who started climbing after that think that I'd done his ascents.
The interesting thing about this particular bit of history is that he stopped climbing just before I started, so there was never a time during which there were two climbers there with that name. Which is probably why a lot of people think there was only one.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2013 - 05:37pm PT
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Hahahaha... That's some mis-spelling! ;) I've been burned by Kevin before... That's why I always start with "km says" when I ask about historical references from his book.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2013 - 06:00pm PT
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Thanks Dave, we cross posted. So that's how you racked up all those early ascents! ;)
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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I never logged and I never tree planted and I never heli ski guided
Then I guess we have no real choice but to kick you out of the club, do we?
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Probably BK never even attended, or instructed, at the FMCBC mountaineering course. Looser! The sine qua non for Vancouver climbers of a certain vintage.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Hey, it's spelt "phatthead", not "fathead".
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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No Bruce, the FMBC has been relegated to less auspicious digs.
The most public facing and high profile aspect of the organization morphed from a subsidized outdoor education facility for public benefit into a privatized guiding company now known as Canada West Mountain School.
Hardly makes for a level playing field.
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Rolfr
Social climber
North Vancouver BC
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Bruce get it right . Joe Turley gave me the best nickname, after seeing my bloody hands from a battle with a Squamish crack. "Ruff Lieback"
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Hey, I thought I came up with that!
I think Joe stole it.
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harryhotdog
Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
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I know bmacd started his outdoor career pretty early. I don't know if he started there but like Jim Brennan, Elspeth Hayter and Jim Haberl they were all lucky enough to attend the TREK program at Prince of Wales highschool.
At my highschool in Hamilton Ontario I was not even allowed to join the outdoor club because they thought I was a trouble maker. I thought outdoor clubs were for helping challenged teenagers not excluding them. I still remember that teachers name, what an assh---. I was not a troublemaker as such I just skipped alot of school because I couldn't sit indoors at a desk all day.
Bruce?Jim? more info.
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