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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jan 29, 2008 - 11:07am PT
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The old fashioned supermen were the same crew that said it wouldn't go free.........
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Jan 29, 2008 - 01:51pm PT
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With apologies to the late, great Warren Harding here is my (sort of) Astroman story.
One night a few friends of mine wandered into the old Mountain Room Bar and there was Warren Harding sitting there drinking wine. One of my friends introduced me to Warren as "one of the young guns" and as I was wearing white painter's pants at the time, I guess I looked the part.
Warren was pretty drunk and he started mumbling how the East Face of the Column would never go free. In his funk, he grabbed my arm and started trying to drag me out of the bar saying that he wanted to see me do the route free. Warren was sloshing red wine all over my nice, white pants and my friends were trying to gently pry me from his death grip. This comic scene continued for a few minutes, Warren continued to insist that his route would never go free and he wanted to see me do it.
Bruce
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jan 29, 2008 - 02:04pm PT
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Haha!
Good one Bruce.
James wrote:
"I wonder how often this thing gets onsighted. It's within mortal reach but doesn't get done much. Lucho fired and Honnold and probably a couple of other hardmen but I know a lot more people that haven't onsighted as have. "
In 1980, my first time up, Dan Michael and I free climbed the route, with one fall each. Dan popped off leading the layback into the Harding Slot, and I came off leading the tricky, bottomless layback move on the next pitch (there is a good jug just at ear level to complete the moves). Many people now skip that bit of 5.11 for the right hand variant.
In 1981, I went up a second time, leading all the pitches free, no falls, while guiding two Navy Seals, who jugged the whole thing.
Around that same time, Skip Guerin on sight floated it with a diet rack: his partner was, as I recall, the same Randy Joseph who was later to be Jello's partner for the climb, mentioned upthread.
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scuffy b
climber
Stump with a backrest
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Jan 29, 2008 - 02:15pm PT
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I think that most of the people I have talked to over the years
tell me that they have done Astroman but had to use some aid.
Which translates to me as almost doing Astroman.
And, No, I'm not speaking from a "superior" position. I've
never tried it because I don't think I can do it.
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Bubba Ho-Tep
climber
Evergreen, CO
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Jan 29, 2008 - 02:18pm PT
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Back to the Jello/Joseph ascent.....
I want to hear more about the "few bears" you guys had the night before.
Haven't seen Randy since the 70's......Hope he is well!
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jan 29, 2008 - 02:45pm PT
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Yeah, the first time I did Astroface the second time up the same section of Rock I did Astroman.
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mike hartley
climber
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Jan 29, 2008 - 06:41pm PT
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I'm not sure who his partner was but Mark Wilford told me he on-sighted it somewhere around '81.
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:25pm PT
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Werner: just curious...how many times have you done Astroman now?
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bachar
Trad climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:30pm PT
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One night in Tuolumne I was at the campfire with Harding and TM Herbert. Harding was telling us about how the East Face of the Column hadn't been free climbed yet and how he had secret info that proved it.
He said me, Largo and Kauk were just "powder puff boys". He finally revealed that the bolt on the ninth pitch was placed using aid and since we clipped that bolt our ascent was aid as well.
Then he passed out and fell face first into the fire! We pulled him out quickly and brushed off the burning charcoals that were imbedded in his forearms. He passed out again and after fifteen minutes he popped up shouting that John Long was a powder puff kid. Then he passed out for the night.
The next morning he wouldn't talk to any of us because he said we threw him into the fire....
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WBraun
climber
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:38pm PT
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LOL John
mooser --- " Werner: just curious...how many times have you done Astroman now?"
Only Harding really knows, he has the secret info.
Unfortunately it burned up when the "powder puff boys" threw him in the fire.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:42pm PT
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Thanks - John B, John L, and Werner for sharing your cool stories. It's really fun to get a feel for what it was like back then.
Going up there with hexes - definitely for masters only! And thanks also to Mark for asking.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:45pm PT
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You guys threw Harding into the campfire!
That's bad form.
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bachar
Trad climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:52pm PT
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Rare photo of the first ascent of the East Face...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:54pm PT
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You're lucky he didn't exhale. The fireball might have taken some of the powder puff boys too.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:55pm PT
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Hahaha!
Spencer Tracy & Robert Wagner = Largo & Kauk.
(I know you meant FFA)
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Larry
Trad climber
Bisbee
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Jan 29, 2008 - 07:59pm PT
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Overheard in the arking plot, May '75:
"Long and two kids just free climbed the East Face of the Column. And get this! They renamed it Astroman!"
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jan 29, 2008 - 08:25pm PT
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Rare picture of Largo, approaching the FFA of the East Face!
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Jan 29, 2008 - 09:02pm PT
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Werner: OK...that was funny!
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Mimi
climber
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Jan 29, 2008 - 11:27pm PT
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Thanks for the thread and all the tales. Hilarious!
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