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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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May 26, 2010 - 08:39pm PT
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Wow this sh#t is getting hot!!:) Nice shot of GD Mooser! Who is this GDavis guy that has poked his head in here? Has he done anything of note? Just wondering as I have never heard of him...
edit: Yeah BVB if we were soloing .11a in '75 in Roller Skates 'n sh#t we must have been also climbing some .12's eh Broheim?;)
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 27, 2010 - 02:16am PT
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The Trapeze (from rc.com)...
"1975. We're hanging out down at the Ski Mart on Garnet Ave, where Largo works. There was a primitive bouldering wall carved into the brick wall upstairs. so we're hanging out there one night and JL is holding court. Me and my buddy Doug are talking to him about climbing and new routes and the life well-lived, and at one point -- I swear to God I'm not making this up -- he gets quiet, gazes off into space for a few moments, then murmurs as if to himself, "You gotta have vision, man. you gotta have vision." Me and my buddy were so starstruck we used that quote as the frontispiece to this horrific little supplement to the Mission Gorge guide that we hacked together a few months later, the immortal Scumbag Digest." Story by: BVB
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 27, 2010 - 02:21am PT
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General Dynamics, 1992...
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 27, 2010 - 02:25am PT
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Lilly's Delight, 1982...
My first harness and pair of EB's with leather uppers at twenty years old on Xmas Eve day.
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nature
climber
Tucson, AZ
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May 27, 2010 - 02:31am PT
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it could be worse.
it coulda been rated 5.8c+
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 27, 2010 - 02:33am PT
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Misbegotten, 1976...
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 27, 2010 - 03:06am PT
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Empathy, 1982...
A little story behind this one...This was on the same day as the previous photo of Lily's Delight when I was introduced to Mission Gorge by my mentor Roger Barnes and his visiting friend from Colorado, Pat Ament, who accompanied us. I recall swearing up this sandbag 5.9 when Mr. Ament chastised me from below, "Now, now, there'll be no cursing the rock!" as I looked down and noted that he was belaying me with the rope coiled around his right arm three times! " Uh, are you okay with that?" I pointed at the obvious concern in question. "I'm okay if you are!" he replies in his dry humor. I could swear Roger told me that Pat Ament wrote a book on climbing safety!
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gonamok
Trad climber
Dont look at me like that
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Topic Author's Reply - May 28, 2010 - 12:41pm PT
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I shudder when I see those pics of early leads on General Dynamics. I made those hangers by hand drilling and filing pieces of 1/2" mild steel angle iron, then punched a 1/4" buttonhead bolt thru the hanger. After hours of hand drilling (pulverizing the rock into dust with a dull bit, as anyone who has hand drilled at the gorge will recall) I slammed those pups in and called it good.
I never thought it would get so popular. Thank god that homemade rig held up until it got replaced.
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Port
Trad climber
San Diego
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May 28, 2010 - 12:49pm PT
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GDavis is a good guy and I kinda understand where he's coming from. At this point, we are only talking about a single climb being retrograded, correct?
Gonamok, are you in SD? If you are, I'd love to go climb some of these routes.
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gonamok
Trad climber
Dont look at me like that
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Topic Author's Reply - May 28, 2010 - 02:09pm PT
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Hey Port, maybe GDavis is a good guy, but the world is full of good guys with lousy judgement. If you are gonna dish out random criticism you shouldnt be surprised when it is ill received. This being my only interaction with the tyke, i have to stand by my initial reaction, which was basically if youre gonna be a turd go lay in the yard.
My rant is against idiots who think that writing a guidebook gives them the authority to change ratings as they see fit. If a rating has stood for 20 or 30 years unchallenged you dont change it without a dam good reason. "Because I said so" doesnt qualify. And no, we are talking about dozens of routes which have been arbitrarily uprated.
I appreciate your offer, but Im not looking for new climbing partners. Its taken 35 years to break in the ones I have.
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gonamok
Trad climber
Dont look at me like that
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Topic Author's Reply - May 28, 2010 - 02:24pm PT
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I recounted that ascent of The Misbegotten in my eulogy to my good friend Alan Nelson. I watched the whole thing in awe. Karl Mueller was belaying. Where did you get that pic Gary?
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 29, 2010 - 02:01am PT
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"pywiak" (don't know who that is) on rc.com submitted that photo Ron.
Ron, back on the subject of rating "creep"...
I was/am protective of the old school ratings as well for this is the spoon that fed me and was/still is the benchmark that I use to rate future problems/routes. Although, I'm starting to conceed that a consensus of a route rating is the most accurate. If (100) people do a historic 5.9 route and the modern consensus is 10b then, like it or not, it's probably more accurately a 10b. As you know, climbing is so subjective so getting a consensus averages out the subjectivity. What do you think?
Edit: I still think I Hear My Train A Comin' is 11c. Those sport climbers just need to hone their crack climbing skills! On the other hand, I feel California Night is easier than Jaws, go figure!
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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May 29, 2010 - 02:17am PT
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"If you are gonna dish out random criticism you shouldnt be surprised when it is ill received. "
Kind of like starting a thread bitching about... ratings at a crag? Pot... Kettle....
Never meant any offense homey, I call it as I see it. Its a silly thing to get worked up about, and I'd tell that to anyone.
And Watusi / BLR... cmon SON!
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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May 29, 2010 - 02:20am PT
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Apogee, that Peter Ustinov sure is one handsome son-of-a-bitch!
Reminds me of "the Most Interesting Man in the World"... stay thirsty friends!
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illusiondweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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May 29, 2010 - 02:27am PT
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Yikes! I remember that first bolt being a quarter incher and all the rest of 'em, including the anchors as well, no?! That first one was eventually replaced with a mondo, brown, "eye-like" bolt for a while then redone with the hefty 3/8" that's there today.
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gonamok
Trad climber
Dont look at me like that
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Topic Author's Reply - May 30, 2010 - 12:02am PT
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GeeDavis its cool, we all git to have our say in the USA and especially on the web, and if you want to bitch about my bitching (theres the ol' pot n kettle deal for ya) thats what youre gonna do.
You prolly see yourself as a zorro figure amongst your fellow critics at large, whereas I see you as a bozo figure who is likely compensating for sagging self esteem by talking down to people he doesnt know.
Honestly, no offense intended. Condescending interlopers rarely make a good first impression.
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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May 30, 2010 - 12:35am PT
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This brings back memories ... " the Ramp " was one of my first leads in like '75 or so , so proud in my blue Robbins boots , a size too big but I got em cheap , goldline , 1" swami .... damn I was more badass than I thought.
I think I like that new guidebook
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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May 30, 2010 - 01:20am PT
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If we support the 5.12 rating for trapeze it means we were 5.12 climbers back in the 70's, which means we were some of the best climbers of that era!
mid-70's,actually. i'll never forget how easy short circuit felt the first time i did it.
oh, how times change. the ramp is f*#king 5.10. 5.7? please. i did the ramp at the gorge and did shockley's at santee like three hours later. the ramp was desperate! if the ramp is 5.7 then shockley's lunge is 5.2,
the gorge is a f*#king feakshow of a climbing area. what a place to learn how to climb!
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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May 30, 2010 - 06:12am PT
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Hey just checkin' in on this one and GDavis...Callin' me son? Are you older than me? Am I missing something here? If so tell me how you know me, I could be mistaken...But I don't really know what blr is. If it's derogatory than F*#k yourself, if not, carry on...
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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May 30, 2010 - 03:03pm PT
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Its ebonics for "cmon dude." Not derogatory.
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