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guyman

Trad climber

Moorpark, CA.

Feb 18, 2010 - 10:23am PT

Very cool story.

Thank you for telling.

survival

Big Wall climber

A Token of My Extreme

Feb 18, 2010 - 12:23pm PT

Great story and pix Ken!

Thanks for showing us how the new guys did it back in the day!

Don Lauria

Trad climber

Bishop, CA

Feb 18, 2010 - 01:13pm PT

Boo,

I remember your Brewer ascent well. Do you remember that I climbed with you on Lucifer's while you were still working on it?

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Feb 18, 2010 - 02:09pm PT

I remember that the inspiration for Lucifer's came to me while you, Don, and Kor were on the 3rd ascent of the Leaning Tower. With all the snow in the Valley, I'd looked up at the Apron and could see snow clinging to the not-so-smooth route that diagonals up and right from the right end of the Point Beyond then back up and left to Lucifer's. And it was the snow piled up on Lucifer's that revealed it to me. I remember that I made at least one reconnaissance before completing the route with Dave Bercheff (who kept singing, "When I woke up this morning, I was on 5.9, and you were on my mind..." a take-off on a popular song or the time.) I'd forgetten that it was you, Don, was on that recon. Thanks for the reminder.

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Feb 18, 2010 - 02:12pm PT

I've copied this from the "Firefall" thread which is really mostly about photography of Horsetail Falls:

I have two very similar climbing stories related to the ACTUAL firefall:

On Memorial Day, 1966, when Tom Higgins and I were making what I think was the 14th ascent of HD's N.W. face, as we climbed the pitches below Sandy Ledges, a cloud formed over the dome, and we spent the late afternoon in a misty fog. At one point a golden eagle glided out of the fog to within 15' of us. We did the pitch behind Psych Flake (now gone) in complete darkness and fog. Within one minute of our arrival at the Sandy Ledges, the fog suddenly dissipated, and the whole of Yosemite Valley was revealed in the glowing light of the nearly full moon. And within a minute of that revelation, the firefall was released and streamed down the face of Glacier Point, imprinting itself on our memories.

Later that summer, I think, when Jim Bridwell and I made the first one-day ascent of Quarter Domes, I’d led the last pitch in the deepening dusk. After I tied off the rope for Jim to come up on Jümars, I sat down and let go of the day’s tension around getting to the summit before dark, and as I did so, I looked down Tenaya Canyon to see the firefall dropped from Glacier Point.

In both cases, each day’s focus on climbing as quickly as possible, combined with the rhythmic exertion-relaxation of the climbing-belaying cycle, followed by the nearly complete relaxation after each full day of climbing created the internal conditions for what I can only describe as “visionary” memories that have remained incredibly vivid to this day. These impressions and related phenomena are eloquently expressed by Doug Robinson in his article, “The Climber As A Visionary.”

Don Lauria

Trad climber

Bishop, CA

Feb 18, 2010 - 04:35pm PT

Boo,

All these years and I've always wondered how early (which ascent) I did the NW Face of HD. I went up in early May, before Memorial Day, with McClean, but he got "sick". Then I went up in early June with Cohen and he got sick - really ill. Finally on July 2nd, 1966, Chuck Haas and I reached the summit.

According to your memory, you and Tom Higgins did what you think was the 14th ascent on Memorial Day weekend in 1966 - that means if Russ hadn't got "sick", we would have done the 14th ascent, and more than likely, that Chuck and I probably did the 15th or 16th ascent, right?

BTW, "sick" meant "sick and tired of climbing so slow".

Oh, and with regard to our 8th ascent of the Nose. You MUST remember why we don't have any photos! You must!

Eric Beck

Sport climber

Bishop, California

Feb 18, 2010 - 06:27pm PT

Regarding ascents of Half Dome in the summer of 1966, the summer I did it, the success rate was exactly 50%, 11 out of 22 attempts.

I counted it as an attempt if the party carried all the gear all the way up to the wall. Some non-attempts included racking the hardware in Camp 4 or saying "Let's do it" in the bar.

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Feb 18, 2010 - 09:48pm PT

I can't believe how thoroughly I've been sucked into these supertopo forums; I spent the better part of the day digging out old climbing books and equipment for making pix for this site.

I want to add parts of the last paragraph of Robinson's article here because it illustrates what I was trying to relate about the firefall experiences:

In the last paragraph of his article, Robinson shares his own wide-open doors of perception:

“…the climber wonders how he came into that privileged visionary position vis-à-vis the universe. He finds the answer in the activity of his climbing and the chemistry of his mind, and he begins to see that he is practicing a special application of some very ancient mind-opening techniques… Oddly, it is not consciously worked for, but comes as the almost accidental product of effort in another direction and on a different plane. It is at its own whim momentary or lingering suspended in the air, suspending time in its turn, forever momentarily eternal, as, stepping out of the last rappel you turn and behold the rich green wonder of the forest.”

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Feb 18, 2010 - 10:56pm PT

Don,

Perhaps Eric and Roper can help with your question. But I do know the answer will depend on who else climbed HD in May of ’66. I think that was Dennis’ first time up (with Larry Marchak?). And I think someone else did it in May before Tom & I did it during Memorial Day weekend. I was kinda hoping that Eric and Roper and others might be able to compile a list of the ascents, at least up through ’66 such as was done in Guido’s Castle Rock Spire thread. Perhaps that’s been done; if so, I’d appreciate seeing a link to it.

I did want to tell a tale that I think came from May of ’66 on HD: This story was told by someone on belay on the lower part of the NW face of HD: “I was sitting on belay looking down the Valley when I noticed a fighter jet cruising up the Valley perhaps a thousand feet above the Valley floor but still several thousand feet below me. The jet started to make a gentle turn as if to go up Tenaya Canyon, but it wasn’t turning enough and instead began to head straight for the middle of the face of HD where it seemed as if it would certainly crash. At the last possible moment, the pilot turned on the jet’s after-burner, stood the jet on its tail, did several barrel-rolls, roared loudly over the summit of the dome, scaring the sh#t out of me. OMG!!”

Has anyone else heard this story or know whose experience this was? Certainly, in those days, jet-jockeys were more free to play than I think they are now…

Regarding photos from our 8th ascent of the Nose, of course, I remember the faulty design in that Alp Sport pack where by clipping in the cameras to the spring-clip that held on the hauling loop and letting it support the weight of the cameras, the clip pulled loose sending not only our cameras but also our raingear plummeting from the Stoveleg Crack to the ground.

Miraculously, somehow the film survived, so I have about 30 pics of our climb up to the Stovelegs. I think you have copies as well. I’ll scan them at some point soon, but for now, I’ve just gotten to 1963… But I have scanned this one from the Nose so far…

Captain...or Skully

Social climber

Last clip of Lichen Lunch

Feb 18, 2010 - 11:00pm PT

BooDawg....We have been diggin' it ALL.
We GROOVE on your input here, man!
YOU are more of the living history of what makes places like this great.
Or can be great.
I'm loving your contribution.
Thanks, man.

john hansen

climber

Feb 18, 2010 - 11:07pm PT

Yes , this keeps getting better and better.

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Feb 24, 2010 - 01:27pm PT

While I was in England in 1968, I met Ken Wilson who'd just taken over the editorship of what was previously called "Mountain Craft." He changed its name and had just completed the editing and layout for Mountain #1, a special issue on the history of British climbing from 1945-1959. Mountain #2 contained a summary of British climbing from 1960-1968. Wilson asked me to work on a special issue on Yosemite climbing. We enlisted Chris Jones' collaboration, and the result became Mountain #4.

There are many more pages of photos and text from Mountain 4 which, if there is interest, I could provide...

bhilden

Trad climber

Mountain View, CA

Feb 24, 2010 - 01:52pm PT

Ken,

you mentioned Lucifer's to the Oasis. Yes, that is one sketchy route. My partner and I did it sometime around 1977 or so. I remember some really runout pitches. I almost took a 200+ foot fall when I slipped trying what felt like a 5.9 move. Luckily, my foot caught on something and I stayed put. Of course, I had to still make that move. Up high, we had single nut belays, we didn't carry pins by then. That was a real adventure.

Bruce

guyman

Trad climber

Moorpark, CA.

Feb 24, 2010 - 02:09pm PT

Bo.... please keep posting

love every one of these.

GK

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Mar 25, 2010 - 08:36pm PT

I’ve been digging in a couple of boxes and have come up with some stuff that I expected to find, some that I forgot that I had, and am missing stuff that I thought I’d find… Here’s the last issue of Mountain Craft, #81, that was the predecessor of “Mountain.” This is a Special Issue on Patagonia and our first view of Ken Wilson’s vision of what a climbing magazine should be. Apparently a copy of this issue was donated to the Prescott College library, but who else might have copies? Please let me know if it’s worth posting the actual text of which articles that are listed in the Contents. Enjoy.

mooser

Trad climber

seattle

Mar 25, 2010 - 09:02pm PT

This thread is FANTASTIC! Please keep it coming, Ken, and others who were contemporaries during this time!

marty(r)

climber

beneath the valley of ultravegans

Mar 25, 2010 - 09:38pm PT

Ken~

R-A-D! Please let me know when you get the copy of 'Yosemite Climber' to sign. Would love to add your signature to the growing assemblage.

BooDawg

Social climber

Paradise Island

Mar 25, 2010 - 09:56pm PT

Marty, Roger said that he'd let me know when it gets mailed to me; I can let you know when it arrives. As far as I know, it hasn't been mailed to me yet.