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Steve's sister
Social climber
Las Vegas, NV
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May 16, 2012 - 12:44pm PT
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Still weirds me out that it was 11 months to the day after my brother died.
Car crashes I get, rouge wave...WTF....
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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May 16, 2012 - 01:24pm PT
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Wow...I never met the man,but you guys are making me miss him.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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May 17, 2012 - 01:13am PT
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The first time I met Reardon was at the base of the bat crack. He was climbing it with Mortimer, the filmmaker, and they were sussing out the details in order to film a solo ascent in the future. They offered to let us go first, but we knew we'd be slower. Reardon especially was very nice, and super psyched for me once he realized I was feeling intimidated by the line of the Vampire. Utter positivity.
Watching him climb, I remember thinking his style was very smooth. He placed one piece of protection before exiting the crack. On pitch 2 I saw him dyno for the flake, and then we lost sight of them.
On pitch 3, my partner took a fall and was resting on the rope while he got his head back together. Suddenly Reardon, in the middle of some hairy downclimb off to the right of us, called over with a good natured joke about how he was pissed that he'd missed that no hands rest, shouted some encouragement, and climbed down out of view.
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Yafer
Trad climber
Chatsworth, California
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Jul 13, 2012 - 10:18pm PT
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Just thinking of Mike over a beer with Guy.
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Alois
Trad climber
Idyllwild, California
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Jul 14, 2012 - 11:51am PT
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Some three weeks or so, before Michael left for Britain, he was at our place in Idyllwild, sitting on Pen's kitchen counter. We were drinking tea and chatting about his trip, Penelope is from Yorkshire, England so he was interested in places to go. When he was leaving, he hugged Pen and she said in a motherly way, Michael be careful out there. Michael just chuckled and said, I will never die climbing, trust me Pen. He jumped into his car and left. A few days later came the news, totally chilling us both to the bone. As we all know, he was right. We miss you Michael, you were the most wonderful human being.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 14, 2012 - 12:02pm PT
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five years
where does it all go
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Anastasia
climber
InLOVEwithAris.
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Jul 14, 2012 - 12:12pm PT
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Time flies out the window with some very special moments we can never recapture. I miss Reardon, Karafa, and Bachar. It's why I rarely climb since it helps me remember and I'm not ready to remember that much.
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TYeary
Social climber
State of decay
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2012 - 12:54pm PT
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I know what you mean Anastasia I still climb, as a matter of fact I'm posting from the Cafe Andino in Huaraz, Peru. But hardly a climbing day goes by ,that I don't think of those guys. Climbers,friends,fathers and human being , flawed and all. But I misss them because of it, not inspite of it. TY
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jul 14, 2012 - 01:53pm PT
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Jeez, five years! We recently moved and so my wife made me (finally) made me get rid of all my old issues of Climbing, Mountain, etc. I was flipping thru them and saw that old add (Metolius?) of Michael sea cliff climbing in the UK. Kind of hit me in the gut. That one I got to keep.
Where does all the time go?
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Anastasia
climber
InLOVEwithAris.
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Jul 14, 2012 - 03:22pm PT
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You rock Tony! How is being in Peru so far? I can't wait for the trip report!!!
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jul 14, 2012 - 03:29pm PT
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Michael was a fun guy.
I bet he would even laugh that a spelling error reports that he was killed by cosmetics,...
rouge wave
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westhegimp
Social climber
granada hills
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Jul 15, 2012 - 02:04am PT
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Missing you my brotha.
Wes
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Jul 15, 2012 - 10:40am PT
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That Krispy Kreme t-shirt in the picture at the top of this page is a classic. I have KK shirt just like that one I enjoy climbing in, helps justify my figure. It looks better on Mr Reardon though.
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TYeary
Social climber
State of decay
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 15, 2012 - 11:50am PT
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MR would say, quit bitching, and get on with it. Get out there and get after it! Times 'a wasting. He lived at the "no limit". Who you looking at?
Reardon would say the joke's on us. I would agree.
TY
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10b4me
Ice climber
Soon 2B Arizona
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May 14, 2013 - 09:37pm PT
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Bump
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mountainlion
Trad climber
California
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May 14, 2013 - 10:23pm PT
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read my mind 10b4me I was looking up the reardon threads using the search feature and reading some about him.
I only met him once but it was a memorable meeting...watched him solo the vampire downclimb back to the bat crack and do it 2 more times!!!
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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May 14, 2013 - 10:47pm PT
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hey there say, beth... i just saw this this bump...
oh my, did not know you had this hard trail to tackle, as to to the loss'
of your friend:
Michael was my friend. I'd just started climbing and he got me stoked on everything in Joshua Tree.
One of the worst days of my life was when my work called me in early to produce an obit on him (since the Times ran his obit, KTLA needed to do something and I was the only climber in the house.)
Went out to Boulderdash and talked to kids he inspired. Got videos of him climbing. Then had to go back to the station and write it and put the piece together with the editor.
I went home drained and in tears.
I imiss him to this day
thoughts and prayers to his family and friends/loved ones, this eve...
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Synchronicity
Trad climber
British Columbia, Canada
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May 14, 2013 - 11:37pm PT
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Amazing how life works, for some reason I was thinking about Reardon today, and then I came home and saw this.
I never knew the man, but I followed his adventures from afar. I never understood the harsh criticism he received, I guess I always considered climbing to be a sort of gentleman's sport where truth is paramount.
I'd be hard pressed to think that someone who had so much exuberance for life would be able to live with himself if he was a liar. More likely his exploits were just too far out there for some people to believe.
Clicking on the link to his website made me feel eerie, his last post, and then poof, nothing at all...
Your spirit lives on MR in all the people you've inspired
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Leggs
Sport climber
Is this a trick question?
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May 15, 2013 - 01:04am PT
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bump
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Fluoride
Trad climber
West Los Angeles, CA
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May 15, 2013 - 01:14am PT
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Neebee...
I miss him to this day, just wanting to see what more he would have pulled off. He was a force larger than life. Never met anyone else in climbing with the insane energy he had. I feel lucky to have known him. He made everyone he ran into so stoked for climbing.
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