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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Feb 24, 2014 - 01:20pm PT
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The HARDEST of the hard.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Feb 24, 2014 - 01:53pm PT
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Damn! When I first saw this thread I thought it was a sick troll. Damn!
One of the truly greats is gone. RIP.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Feb 24, 2014 - 01:53pm PT
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A legend. Really wish I'd have had the opportunity to meet him.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Feb 24, 2014 - 01:54pm PT
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A sad loss. Never met Charlie but his reputation is immense. A modest, quietly-spoken, behind the scenes legend.
A couple quotes from the R&I interview:
“I remember Bev Johnson saying, ‘Hey Charlie, get with it. Short, hard free climbing is where it’s at!’ I’d just take my pitons and wander off and do something else.”
And this:
“We thought climbing should be an amateur sport—or not even a sport at all.”
Much respect.
RIP
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Feb 24, 2014 - 02:11pm PT
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Look at Ed's list at the top of the page. It is an awesome rap sheet for a lifetime yet only list three year's worth!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Feb 24, 2014 - 02:14pm PT
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Say it ain't so. Deepest sympathy to friends and family -- and to the climbing community at large, because we feel he was part of us.
John
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Spanky
Social climber
boulder co
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Feb 24, 2014 - 02:26pm PT
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Hey Chief that is so cool you have some letters from Charlie. I'm probably not the only one but I would love to read what he had to say so if you could post a couple up in their entirety that would be awesome.
thanks in advance
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Feb 24, 2014 - 02:27pm PT
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Great quote Chief.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Feb 24, 2014 - 02:39pm PT
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McLean spent a lot of time with Charley. I just phoned Russ - he's been sick, but intends to say a few words.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Feb 24, 2014 - 02:59pm PT
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Sorry to hear this news.
Charlie leaves quite a legacy! An iconic figure in the history of climbing.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Feb 24, 2014 - 03:25pm PT
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Charlie in Puerto Williams on his boat.
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sibylle
Trad climber
On the road!
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Feb 24, 2014 - 05:03pm PT
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So sad. Bev was staying at Charlie's before we went up on el Cap, and I wentto Briceburg to get Bev. He was the mayor of Briceburg (pop.=1, I think)! Charlie lent us much of the gear we used on El Cap - ropes, pins, nuts, whatever we didn't own. Really a wonderful, kind, helpful person.
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craig morris
Trad climber
la
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Feb 24, 2014 - 05:59pm PT
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Rest in peace Mr. Porter
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Feb 24, 2014 - 07:17pm PT
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Too young.
Condolences to his many friends and his family.
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elcap-pics
Big Wall climber
Crestline CA
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Feb 24, 2014 - 07:32pm PT
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Truly one of the great legends who earned very accolade bestowed upon him. He was the real deal. One of my heroes for sure. He will be long remembered.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Feb 24, 2014 - 07:48pm PT
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Sad news.
Never met the man but he was very much a guiding light for many of us.
Seems like he left us too early.
Condolences and respect.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Feb 24, 2014 - 08:10pm PT
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Time to pull out that copy of Yosemite Climber and look at all the cool photos of him swinging that hammer.
Total inspiration
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Bad Climber
climber
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Feb 24, 2014 - 08:14pm PT
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Damn. One of my heroes. One of the greats. As Largo said, Bad. Ass. I wish I'd met the man. I guess we're getting to that point where many of the Yos pioneers are stepping out--Harding, Bard, Porter et al. The end comes for us all. It's just hard to imagine it with such lions of the mountains. Rest well, Mr. Porter.
BAd
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Damo
climber
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Feb 24, 2014 - 08:54pm PT
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Hi Everyone,
It was me that posted that link at UKClimbing. I guess due to the time differences and locations Charlie's death reached some of us before others, in my case via Chilean and NZ friends. Another Chilean friend just emailed to confirm that Charlie had indeed died of a heart attack, after being medevac'd to Punta Arenas from Puerto Williams, where his yachts were often moored or visiting.
I hesitated to post anything right away here on ST because I'm not a regular visitor here, because Charlie was such a legendary figure, for me and many others. Some here knew Charlie personally (I did not), and so I just didn't feel right being the one to announce his death here. I waited, figuring someone else would post it. After a while, I put it on UKClimbing, figuring nobody reads that anyway ;-)
I was shocked at Charlie's passing. The combination of such significant climbing feats with almost total silence is something many of us admire but almost nobody really does, not to that level. He truly was a legend, a word used far too indiscriminately these days.
Before and after most of my Antarctic trips I spent a lot of time in Punta Arenas and Charlie was well-known in that part of the world, due to his more recent wanderings and work. We had a couple of mutual friends and one of them, we'll call him El Quiltro, saw Charlie regularly and was trying to get us together to go do something in the fjords. I regret not taking them up on that sooner. El Quiltro, incidentally, is the current owner of the 'Sea Tomato', for those of you familiar with that journey, and had talked with Charlie about using it for another trip (!).
El Quiltro knew Bev Johnson and Mike Hoover and many other similar visitors from those days in the 80s. We used to stand on the edge of the Straits of Magellan, at a house I used there, and he would tell me of Bev's kayak trip across to the other side, so cold she nursed a flaming stove between her legs.
Charlie was way too young to die, and in that way, but that's life. Death is the hard song to sing, none of us gets it just right, so the saying goes. Charlie died in a part of the world where he had loved to stay, where he was loved, had friends, had made a contribution and where he clearly belonged.
 Damien Gildea
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Double D
climber
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Feb 24, 2014 - 09:02pm PT
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Sad news... my condolences to his family and friends. He redefined Yosemite big wall climbing just after the pioneers of the major first ascents and just before in invasion of the Stonemaster clan. His routes on El Capitan went into no-mans land at the time on terrain so steep that it was unanimously agreed that there would be no chance of retreating once committed to the climb. He dropped his haulbag containing his sleeping bag once during winter-like conditions and survived by cutting arm holes in his sleeping pad and wearing it like an ill-fit poncho. There will never be another like Charlie Porter.
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