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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Accomplished nothing, and yet experiencing everything!
Michael
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Love that random book collating story, Pat. Each copy unique unto itself!
Happy birthday, old man. Stay around awhile, would you? We'll all be pushing up daisies soon enough...
-Jeff
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Many happy returns Oli. This ought to take you back.......to July 1974! Let the Amentfest begin.
From Mountain 37
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 3, 2007 - 02:46am PT
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Oh my, Steve. Yes that does take me back... to one of the best times I ever had, with one of the best people I've ever known. The photo of Higgins and me standing together was actually taken by Robbins, after the three of us free climbed the Kor Book in 1968 (fall). Nerve Wrack Point came a couple years later, a really joyful, clean, sunlit route. Tom and I did Nerve Wrack again ten years after the first ascent. Some things had changed. There were a few more bolts, and the better shoes made things so much easier... Now it's some 35 or more years since that first ascent... To quote a favorite Pratt song, sung by Judy Collins, "Who knows where the time goes..."
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Happy Birthday Pat and many many more.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Gratulerer med dagen!! (Now that THE DAY has arrived...)
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Hardly Visible
climber
Port Angeles
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Happy 61 Pat may you be around for many more.
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jgill
climber
Colorado
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Happy Birthday, Ol' Buddy! I have appreciated our friendship over the years. You are a true renaissance man, and I hope you continue to provide both knowledge and entertainment to our climbing community for years to come . . .
John
(one of your problems that vexed me!)
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 3, 2007 - 09:00pm PT
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Thanks to all my friends above. John, of course by "vexed" you mean you had to look at the route a few minutes before finding your best way to do it... a little swing move to the pocket above, not too much trouble at all. I wish everyone were as kind as you. What a blessing to have climbed and bouldered with you through so many years.
Today my wife, daughters, and I went up into a little secret side canyon of the Monument and climbed in about 105 degree heat, and nearly got heat stroke. I had made the assumption my wife had packed plenty of water. She always takes over on my birthdays and does everything, refuses to let me lift a finger, and usually she does everything totally right, but today she packed one tiny water bottle for each of us... to my consternation when I was already dying of thirst half way up the long walk. We had a stiff and sweltering 2 mile hike to our rocks, starting late and finding ourselves in direct sun. It took awhile to get everyone roped up properly, shoes on the right feet, chalk bags, etc., and then I promptly backed off two different climbs for not wanting to run it out on sketchy holds. Finally I saw a steep dihedral I thought I might be able to protect. I had only brought about six or so nuts, so I used most of them on the first half of the dihedral but then found a little inspiration to get moving, since my daughter Maren, very sensitive to the heat, was beginning to feel faint and acting weak and strange. I ran it out to a ledge, climbing way above my current ability level (which isn't much, but...). An eagle was soaring above and calling out. Both girls tried to follow but couldn't get past a little face move up to the start of the dihedral(they both do some pretty hard stuff in the rock gym without too much trouble, so I have no idea how tough the move is). My wife said she would try, and to my amazement, after wondering also if she could make the face move, followed the whole pitch without a whimper, stemming beautifully and using great footwork on slippery, rounded holds, wearing a straw hat with wide rim (kind of Tarbuster style). When she arrived at the belay (I had reached the small ledge with only one nut left for a belay anchor but found a good placement for a number four R.P., the only placement in sight for many feet in any direction, and one requiring some skill to make work). I tied her in and, feeling faint in the tremendous heat, and feeling a bit stupid for finding myself in this situation, but needing to deal with the seriousness of my daughter's condition and get down, I had to lead what was possibly a 5.8 face move twenty feet above Robin to a small tree, hoping I didn't pass out from the heat. I got a couple slings around the tree and set up a rappel, hoping my daughter was not going into a coma yet. I could hear whimpering in the half shade of a bush below. The younger daughter had fewer problems but was indeed heat-worn like Robin and me. I lowered Robin and made a quick swami-belt rappel, and we were all so beat it was a real effort to walk back down those two miles, step by trudging step, in that oven-like air. A lovely breeze at times came in the nick of time and cooled us. We did come across a muddy rock hole with water and doused our faces and heads to cool down, but couldn't drink that stuff. Mountain lion tracks all around, fresh ones. I would have said to one, take me I'm ready go go. Anyway at last we got to the car and drove to the first place that sold any kind of drink. I said, "Give us four cups, and we'll pay later." They could see we were in a bad way, and did what we said. We then drank until we were bloated, smiling and chuckling that we survived. The real strong one on the trip was my wife. At one point as we started the descent, one of my daughters realized she'd left her chalk bag and cap up at the base of the rock. I said, "Sorry, but we're not going back to get them." I could barely stand up from heat exhaustion. Robin said, "I'll go up and get them and will catch up." Wow, she is made of sterner stuff than I. As we guzzled our drinks at the place in town, I said, "That is what we used to refer to as an epic." Then off to our house to open presents and get ready for a birthday dinner with friends. I'm red with sunburn. That was the first time I've climbed in about a year. Should have stayed retired, maybe. But perhaps we'll all look back at this as "an adventure..." as these things always do seem years into the future.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Looney
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Happy Birthday Pat! Sounds like a day you'll get to relay to others for years to come.
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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So, Pat, this sounds like the adventures of Fatman and Robin...
Just joking, of course. But it's true that women are better survivors than men.
Glad you and your family had a memorable - and ultimately safe - time together.
All the best, Jeff
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 04:27am PT
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Don't rub it in, Jeff. Yes I do need to trim down. After my gall bladder came out, I started eating uncontrollably, having for five years not been able to eat any saturated fat... I was like a kid in a candy store suddenly, inhaling pizzas and blocks of cheese... Now I am, as you saw in Ogden when we gave our shows last, quite a bit on the overweight side. I've been walking, though, and trying to eat right again. My wife is a bit of a slave driver and makes me take hikes with her up into the Monument sometimes before she goes to work at the school... I huff and puff up those trails, heart about to burst out of my chest, trying futilely to keep up. That's in the cool of the morning, though, whereas today it was the full heat of the sun turning us into burnt offerings... In my worst shape, though, I can outclimb these whimps like Kevin Worral, Mike Graham, John Bachar... (can I pretend, just for fun?)
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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It was just a joke, Pat, but of course you know that. I've used the same one on myself when I named a route that Pete Takeda and I did ten years ago, Fatman and Robin. If you know Pete, you know he's not the one I was referring to as Fatman. I've also gained at least 25 pounds in the last five years, for lack of exercise and unwillingness to count calories. Like you though, I can still outclimb all those wimps you named...in my dreams!
Glad you had such a memorable day, yesterday. Here's hoping for many more for you.
All the best,
-Jeff
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426
Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Pusher's a compliment for the record.
Hardly anyone can do one hand (stands) for 23 seconds anymore. Nor one arm mantles.
I only got 13,000 days left if I make "the average"...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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As JB would say,"dream on, sucka!"
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 10:41pm PT
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It reminds me of an old aphorism I once heard.
They thought it couldn't be done,
so he tackled it with a smile,
and he couldn't do it.
Or,
Always be sincere, whether you mean it or not.
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WBraun
climber
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Yes
When I did Shield with Merry she never placed pins before.
She asked me for a prep talk on her first ever lead placing pins up there.
I said: "Stick em in and stand up"
And that was all folks, all that was needed.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Who did the first solo of Athlete's Feat?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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I dunno Ron,
But man, that mantel is funky; I had to use my head against the rock to stabilize before I could turn my palm for the press.
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