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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Jan 20, 2011 - 09:13pm PT
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Idolize him? I remember more chastizing him! Like for not doing the dishes when that was the agreement for getting an otherwise free Clean Dan meal. Darn fool kid...
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Jan 21, 2011 - 01:39pm PT
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As others have said, I don't think most people who knew John idolized him at all. But, for some of us, John reflected a part of our own nature and we felt a kin-ship with him.
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billygoat
climber
Pees on beard to seek mates.
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Jan 21, 2011 - 02:39pm PT
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From Lynn Hill's piece in the Stonemaster book, "As crazy as Yabo could sometimes be, he made me think a lot about living life to its fullest. Though Yabo is no longer with us, he had a radical effect on my life as well as the lives of many others. Yabo has become legendary, even among people he never met. Signs have been posted and graffiti written on boulders that says, "Yabo lives!" I can attest that in some form, Yabo's spirit does live on."
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Nov 12, 2012 - 07:58pm PT
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Found this today in a box while cleaning out my closet ........
Yabo owes me $60...............(Catch you on the flip side, Yabo...you can pay me then...)...
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Nov 12, 2012 - 08:18pm PT
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Todd....
is that autograph worth anything????
Keep it for next SM auction/ fundraiser.
And Yabo would give you the shirt off his back if you needed, he was that kind of a person.
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FRUMY
Trad climber
SHERMAN OAKS,CA
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Nov 12, 2012 - 08:34pm PT
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A couple of years ago while talking about Yabo this Hawk lands on Yabo's mantel, struts all around boulder 1 & slant rock, looks everyone square in the eyes & flies off.
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Nov 12, 2012 - 09:50pm PT
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His hold on life was much like his climbing, tenuous and shaky.I climbed with him in '74 and i was in a cast from an "in effect solo fall" myself the day i watched his first solo of Leave it to Beaver (at a certain point i ducked behind a rock refusing to watch what i thought could well be a suicide in progress).His climbing often was not a thing of beauty to behold, but you had to admire his unbridled determination.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Nov 12, 2012 - 10:07pm PT
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Yabo had a big heart and was kinda wild, larger than life. He was "idolized" in a way, well before he killed himself. We all know he had as many demons as super powers.
here's a little story I wrote about Yabo back in Rec.climbing days
+++++++++
Meeting Yabo
In the early 1980ıs my best compromise between living and climbing in
Yosemite while avoiding poverty and parental heartbreak was to work for
Curry Company. For three years, I was the Night Housing Supervisor, in
charge of all the Curry employee housing areas between the hours of 5pm
and 1am.
In some ways, it was a dream job for a climber. I had a private tiny
cabin in Yosemite and was free to climb until 5pm every day. There was
a downside though. I was in charge of enforcing a plethora of rules and
keeping the company facilities free of exploitation by unauthorized
persons, particularly climbers.
I was a climber. Curry Company hated climbers. Resolving the dissonance
between these realities nurtured diplomacy in Karl and, eventually,
fostered tolerance within Curry Company.
Curry Companyıs strict grooming code made it easy to divine the
difference between the dorm residents and the Camp 4 residents. I
remember a funny cartoon on the wall of an employee bathroom. It showed
a guy with long hair and a crazy and confused look on his face. The
caption read "Before" Next to it was a drawing of the same crazy and
confused face but this time with short, clean cut hair. The caption
read "After" (employment) Years of the clean-cut company culture
inbreeding made it easy for long-term employees to adopt the attitude
that long hair or a beard were marks of dereliction.
The ex-marine president of the Company was chief among the those who
were pissed at climbers. After some random act of vandalism attributed
to climbers, he took a tour through Camp 4 to the boos and jeers of the
campers.
The behavior of the climbers sometimes didnıt help matters. Besides
snaking showers and drunken deli rudeness, some climbers would camp out
in the cafeteria and scarf leftover food, or shoplift from Curry
Stores.
Worst of all, climbers seeking comfort and love as part of the same
deal would seek out girlfriends among the Curry Employees. Many a young
damsel would be seduced into supporting the lifestyle of a "Park Bum"
or PB as it was abreviated. Now it wasnıt as if there were enough of
these beauties to go around. These were OUR women! Just like in
Alaska, in Yosemite, if youıre a women, the odds are good, but the
goods are odd!
As for me, I definitely had friends on both sides of the fence. I lived
across from Camp 4 and climber friends would come hang out with me. I
tried to encourage a bit of harmony by taking different managers
climbing. I started taking the Manager of Employee Housing climbing and
he got pretty good. We even climbed the grade 5 North Buttress of
Middle Cathedral in a day. One time I had numerous managers and
supervisors camped out on Yosemite Point and dragged them across the
Tyrolean Traverse to Lost Arrow. I hope I played some role in teaching
the Company that climbing wasnıt intimately linked with acts of
vandalism and dereliction.
At night, I tried to strike a reasonable balance between protecting the
companyıs facilities and allowing people to live their lives with
minimum harassment. I wouldnıt bug John Bachar about his Saxophone
playing or hanging out with his girlfriend in the dorms, but when a
world famous cranker emptied a fire extinguisher in the hallways, we
ran him off.
One night I got a call on the radio that there was a violent
disturbance at the Womenıs dorm. I headed my company truck straight
over there with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Responding to
unknown chaos revs the adrenaline, but also the humbling anticipation
that some drunk idiot might be inspired to break beer bottles over my
head. As a standard precaution in potentially violent situation, I
radioed the NPS to send a ranger to the scene as well.
When I arrived, I met a muscular guy of medium height at the foot of
the steps of the dorm. He looked battered. Next to him was a high-end
road bike that looked battered as well. He was reasonably calm. I
asked him what happened. He said his name was John Yablonski and that
he BEAT HIMSELF UP! Naturally, I wanted a further explanation. Yabo
said that his girlfriend lived in the dorm, she dumped him and was with
another guy at the moment. He was so upset that he kicked his own ass!
I thought he was pretty lucid for a guy who just whuuped himself, but
Yabo said he was a non-violent kind of guy who wouldnıt hurt anybody
but himself. He really did an impressive job of hitting himself. You
could tell he was headed for black and blue.
I quickly confirmed the story with Yaboıs girlfriend (and her male
companion) and, since no more conflict seemed eminent, called off the
rangers before they arrived. It seemed like the last thing the
heartbroken Yabo needed was an encounter with the law.
I went back and met with Yabo again. He also managed to totally destroy
his $1000+ (1981 dollars!) road bike that he won in the "Survival of
the Fittest" TV contest. I told him to throw his bike in my truck and I
would give him a ride back to Camp 4. We talked about life, climbing,
and women. Before he got out of the truck he asked for $1 for a pack of
cigarettes. I gave it to him even though I am a cheap bastard and hate
smoking to boot. Somehow, my heart just told me it was the right thing
to do.
The next time I patrolled the womenıs dorm, I was surprised to find a
$1 bill lying on the ground at the very spot that I first met Yabo. It
stuck me at the time that I was being repaid by the Spirit of All
Things for my gift to Yabo.
In the course of years since then, I heard a number of amazing stories
of Yaboıs larger than life existence. Apparently, he would go
free-soloing in fits of despair over relationships. He wouldnıt always
make it. He would always miraculously survive. One time he was caught
in the branches of a tree after falling off an 11c crack! Werner Braun
said "The Angels were watching over Yabo."
Sadly, tragically, Yabo eventually took his own life. He said if
natural forces wouldnıt take him, he would have do it himself. The
incident involved a woman and a relationship, but ultimately, it was
just Yaboıs inner demons. I thought he was a great guy in many ways.
Unfortunately, we are all a bit nuts and those of us with an extra dose
of energy and passion can sometimes be even more nuts. May his Spirit
reach the Summit after a dramatic climb.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Nov 12, 2012 - 10:12pm PT
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^^^^^ wow Karl
Susan
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Nov 12, 2012 - 10:16pm PT
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Yeah. As many people as I know who figuratively beat themselves up. He was the only one who did it literally....
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Edwardmw
climber
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Nov 12, 2012 - 11:29pm PT
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Bullwinkle, can you post up that short slide show with music and Yabo photos you showed at Yosemite Facelift a couple years ago?
Ed
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Russ Walling
Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
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Nov 13, 2012 - 12:24am PT
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 13, 2012 - 01:11am PT
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FISH pants!
'Like the Housekeeping ledge too!
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Nov 13, 2012 - 01:36am PT
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Thanks Karl!
I met Yabo a couple times at Stoney Point but he was always occupied. Your story is a great insight.
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Fletcher
Trad climber
Fumbling towards stone
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Nov 13, 2012 - 02:51am PT
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I come from the perspective of someone who never met Yabo. But I've always had the strong impression that those who knew him or encountered him pretty much saw him from a place of compassion rather than idolization.
Appreciating the stories and conversations here.
Eric
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Nov 13, 2012 - 08:34am PT
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I knew Yabo pretty good. He was a tortured yet happy soul. I never saw any hate in him and he was in many ways emblematic of what I think of as a "wild child", always in conflict with the society he came from and happiest when he was in his natural environment which of course was climbing.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Nov 13, 2012 - 12:23pm PT
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I really love the story and photos of the hawk.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Nov 13, 2012 - 06:29pm PT
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Weird,
I never met Yabo, nor Karl, but Karl's dorm story reminded me of one or two of my misadventures chasing after Curry Dorm girls.
And even more odd, this morning my wife was telling me the Los Gatos theater is being remodeled (I've been away for two weeks). Which made me think of Yabo since I believe his Dad owned or ran the theater and Yabo had worked there.
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Mark Rodell
Trad climber
Bangkok
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Nov 13, 2012 - 06:34pm PT
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Yes, his dad ran the theater and owned the sweet shop next to it.
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splitter
Trad climber
Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
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Nov 13, 2012 - 08:01pm PT
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First time I ran into Yabo was either 1971 or 1972. It was my first trip to the Valley, so I am pretty sure it was 1971.
Him and another young guy were camped fairly close to us. The whole camp (C4) was talking about these two young guys (13-14, or so) who were going to do the Salathe Wall. It turned out to be him and his friend. I was kinda doubtful about the reality of the whole situation, since back then that (their young age) was totally unheard of (as far as I new). But when i went over and talked to them and looked at their rack, etc, it seemed more of a plausible (i think they had done some other grade V, or whatever).
We left the Valley the next morning so I have no idea whether or not they were successful. Of course John was not even "Yabo" yet, let alone anyone I would have heard about. But I did recognize him as the kid I spoke with when I saw a pic of him leading "Orangatan Arch" a few years later ('73/'74).
I also recall him as being a very nice guy that very first time i met him. Very friendly.
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