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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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Oct 20, 2011 - 10:11pm PT
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all he had to say was, its a rat race out there folks! jusayin.
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new world order-
climber
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Oct 20, 2011 - 10:47pm PT
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Twight's a pussy..... --survival
Awwwwww, don't feel bad survival. I hate myself too sometimes.
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Mister_Roborto
Trad climber
Queensland
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Oct 20, 2011 - 11:09pm PT
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Couple of fakts:
Steve House lead all the big efforts on the last 'hoorahs' that Mark keeps bragging about.
Gym Jones is nothing special. All the knowledge they proclaim is regurgitated from the ideas that others have already figured out. Gym Jones is yet to produce a truly world class Olympian, though makes out that their shed/facility is THE place to train.
Mark's French wife worked hard to pay for the rent, food and lift passes that allowed Mark to climb 'full-time' in Chamonix for a bunch of years - Mark the class act was a sod to cheat on her several times.
It's true that the dude's done some walking, but he's done a hell of a lot more talking.
He is known to lurk on Supertopo often enough.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Oct 21, 2011 - 12:29am PT
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New World Order's a pussy too.
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Happy Boulders
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Oct 21, 2011 - 01:58am PT
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was Mark an egotist during his climbing days? from what I've read, he probably was. However, he was also very cynical(of himself too).
regardless of how anyone feels about him, his climbing accomplishments speak for themselves.
I wasn't a Twight fan in the beginning, but have come to understand what he is saying.
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Tung Gwok
Mountain climber
South Bend, Indiana
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Oct 21, 2011 - 09:42pm PT
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DMT, your best post yet.
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YoungGun
Trad climber
North
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Oct 21, 2011 - 10:13pm PT
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Twight, in the opening to Extreme Alpinism:
Great climbers remake themselves. They pare away impedimenta from life on the ground and cast a new character suited for the challenges ahead. Although born with an internal fire, they temper that fire with the recognition that only an unsentimental view of themselves will show where they need to improve and learn. Once they see the path theo their goals, they adhere to it despite setbacks and difficulty.
It makes sense to emulate the great, but don't look at their accomplishments. Instead, learn from their preparation. Focus on the mental over the physical. At some point on a climb that stretches the limits, the only strength that matters is the mind.
First, understand who you are, what you want, and what drives you. Self-understanding is the first step toward building self-control. Practicing self-discipline while climbing constructs habits of mind that begin to kick in automatically as experience grows.
How can any climber argue with this? This seems really thoughtful to me. And while I've never met Mark Twight, it seems really thoughtful, and I haven't met any thoughtful as#@&%es.
I'm surprised by the number of comments that want to portray him as some egotistical monster. He's human, like the rest of us, and he has his flaws. We all do. You have to maintain a certain level of self confidence to attempt some of the things he's accomplished. Hate him? He's a an insane punk, driven by desire to do things most of us will never do, and he had the skill to do it and get back alive. Did you? Could you? Go try. I wish I had the balls and skill. Most of us don't.
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Mister_Roborto
Trad climber
Queensland
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Oct 21, 2011 - 11:08pm PT
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Twight only wishes he hated things as much as he says he does.
Climbed some cool stuff with some very strong men. He is a powerful writer, probably more powerful than he was as a climber.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Oct 21, 2011 - 11:13pm PT
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civilized life is life-killing. Been there myself, and would still be if not of the econ collapse which has thrown me out into the cold. ha ha
Move over and make room for me on the group W bench there Mike! I have a little more control over my destiny but the econ crash has been .... interesting. I still have plenty of resources and a great wife, 31 years together now, but maybe this will turn out to be an opportunity to tie in again and start lapping harder stuff:-)
ps, just got back from 2 weeks in Vegas lapping the moderate classics. Like an hour ago. Woot! PDX is 62 degrees high but rain(duh) and Vegas was dry and 90's!
-Bill
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bergbryce
Mountain climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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Oct 22, 2011 - 12:37am PT
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How can any climber argue with this?
Because this thread is about a selection from Twitchin' with Twight, not the intro to Extreme Alpinism.
Extreme Alpinism is no BS bible. Not sure what to call Twitchin'. Thought provoking it seems for many, and if anything, an example of the breadth of his writing capabilities.
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reddirt
climber
PNW
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Oct 22, 2011 - 09:56am PT
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I think the rift b/t the written person & the in-person person is not just found in Mark Twight... I think it applies to a significant amt of posters on the Taco.
a minor fleeting thought: did anyone ever actually listen to KMFDM? I mean, I may have had a cd (or was it a cassette tape? vague recollection of black & purple cover?) but never really listened to it...
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the goat
climber
north central WA
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Oct 22, 2011 - 12:16pm PT
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Was Twight the first alpinist to bring lycra to the mountains? Flashy dresser who talked/wrote too much about death and his ordeals. Guess that's why I read Bonatti. Just the facts, mam, just the facts......
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Oct 22, 2011 - 02:53pm PT
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Twight's a Wipers fan, that's a significant data point in my estimation. A lot of that 80's & early 90's writing is full on drama queen spray, trolling before we even had defined the term. I'm not surprised to hear from Tami, Chief, and other that he wasn't that way in person, its reassuring in fact, it wouldn't be healthy to be that much a knot of slavering chaos. The fact that he always came home suggests there is rather more calculation and control involved than was evident in the writing he sold.
Seems like his current rage is the whole cross-fit Gym Jones training thing, and I know a lot of people who's climbing has really benefited from that regimen, including work with Mark himself. There's nothing selfish or dismissive about a commitment to helping others become the best athletes they can be.
Personally, I'd like to see Mark as a contestant on Project Runway, that would be pure entertainment brilliance.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 22, 2011 - 05:16pm PT
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I've never met Twight, but have read much of his stuff. He clearly does some serious, hard climbs. His style of writing isn't to my taste, in that it uses an excess of adjectives, and overstates things that can often be stated clearly and simply. It verges on parody at times.
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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Oct 22, 2011 - 05:51pm PT
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Yeah, it is kinda easy to write that stuff if you have the means and luxury to give it up.
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alannamal
climber
B.C.
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Oct 22, 2011 - 06:36pm PT
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who was it that said "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation"?
Hey Bruce, I believe that's a Henry David Thoreau quote. The Walden dude. Bang on don't you think?
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Oct 22, 2011 - 08:27pm PT
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Dave
Mountain climber
the ANTI-fresno
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Oct 22, 2011 - 10:00pm PT
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Just sounds to me like Twight just watched Fight Club one too many times.
Doesn't he run a gym for suburbanites now?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Oct 22, 2011 - 11:56pm PT
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no wonder I don't read his work.
hee hee!
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Oct 23, 2011 - 09:33am PT
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I read Kiss or Kill a couple of weeks ago.
Pure young agressive exploration of things. I hated it at first, but later caught on to what he was saying. The book is a collection of shorter writings over many years. Dude was wound very tight.
I first heard about him from Bouchard who absolutely raved about him. Anyone who tries to stick it to the French in the French alps is OK by me. I looked at pics of a route I did before I hit the rocking chair and it was a sport bolted ice climb.
The fact that he and guys like Jello and Donini are still alive is actually quite remarkable. Alpinism is incredibly dangerous. Plan on having a daily near death experience!
From what I could read into it, he was saying that nobody should live a life that far out on the edge. He was doing it out of personality, and it could get pretty weird. Yeah, it was narcissistic, but a lot of first person narrative comes off like that.
Hey, the Wide Boyz like Gym Jones
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