Clint Cummins Appreciation Thread

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Mungeclimber

Trad climber

sorry, just posting out loud.

Mar 14, 2008 - 03:14am PT

"Pinnacles climbers won't forget the 300 or so bolts he and his friend Bruce Hildenbrand have replaced there just in the last 3 - 4 years. Nice public service."

absolutely! glad you mentioned. that guy drills like a machine.

thx clint, i think i've told you this before. it's appreciated. u too Bruce H.

Zander

Trad climber

Berkeley

Mar 14, 2008 - 11:20am PT

Thanks Clint,
Hope to meet you some day.
Zander

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Mar 14, 2008 - 11:34am PT

Pinnacles climbers can also tip their hat to Clint for being instrumental in getting the Park to relax it's dusk closing time. Heck, I believe it was he (and BruceH) who got the park to install the gate on the West Side that automatically lets you out if you're there after the rangers leave.

I guess his motivation was too many $100 tickets for coming back late after rebolting far, far away routes.

steelmnkey

climber

Vision man...ya gotta have vision...

Mar 14, 2008 - 11:50am PT

Always seemed like a good guy all the way back into the wreck.climbing days.
I hijacked a couple of his topos and redrew them and he didn't even seem to mind.

Hope to meet him face to face as well one of these days. Cheers Clint!

piquaclimber

Trad climber

Durango

Mar 14, 2008 - 12:04pm PT

Good thread.

I have never met Clint but have benefited from and enjoyed his posts for years now.

Thanks Clint.

OldEric

Trad climber

Westboro, MA

Mar 14, 2008 - 12:33pm PT

Clint and John Imbrie were a very strong partnership and had a major impact on climbing in the NE all those many years ago.

jpdreamer

Trad climber

St. Louis

Mar 14, 2008 - 01:17pm PT

Reguarding the "Clint lives and breathes climbing":

In June my brother was up for graduation and we decided to join in the weekly Handley Rock trip. So we show up at the regular meeting spot and pretty soon Clint shows up too. So introduce my brother and say that he's up for graduation, and ask when his daughter's graduation is as she's a senior from high school. Clint: "Oh it's probably starting about now."

Also, while the rest of the bay was watching the world series, he was hanging off a hook drilling a bolt for a new route at Pinacles during the earthquake.

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Mar 14, 2008 - 02:24pm PT

Also, while the rest of the bay was watching the world series, he was hanging off a hook drilling a bolt for a new route at Pinacles during the earthquake.

Haha!
Clint, let's hear that story!! What'd you name the route, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On?

Clint Cummins

Trad climber

SF Bay area, CA

Mar 14, 2008 - 05:33pm PT

> Also, while the rest of the bay was watching the world series, he was hanging off a hook drilling a bolt for a new route at Pinacles during the earthquake.

It was a different quake, actually. Not the 1989 Loma Prieta, but a 12/22/03 quake, with epicenter at Paso Robles.
The route was on Long's Folly.
Here's what I wrote in my trip report at the time:

------

While I was hanging from a hook to drill the
second bolt at 11:16am, a 6.5 earthquake hit! (Epicenter: Paso Robles).
It was a unique ride for about 15 seconds.
------

The way I usually tell the story is that I was hanging from the hook, drilling the bolt, and I noticed my legs were shaking a bit. I was a little scared but not that scared... I also remembered belaying earlier in the cold at the base and shivering a bit, but I wasn't that cold.... So I realized it was a quake. Pretty gentle rocking, back and forth. I remember wondering if there was anything above me about to come down (hey, it is the Pinnacles...), but I knew the Long's Folly summit area was pretty clean. So I just rode it and enjoyed the view, then resumed drilling after some joking with Bruce.

By the way, on the rebolting, it might seem like I am doing a lot, but that is probably because I like to post here with photos to "promote the cause" (see cartoon above?). Bruce Hildenbrand is the true master of rebolting at Pinnacles (and elsewhere), while Greg Barnes, Roger Brown and Chris McNamara have done so much in Yosemite that I will never catch up with those guys, either! I have fun getting out and replacing a few from time to time, because it can be an interesting challenge. Actually I don't mind climbing and hauling on 1/4" bolts, but they seem to freak out other people, and I've certainly seen a few truly bad ones.

I looked for a photo of my "prison shiv" nut tool, but can't find one and don't remember ever posting one. It looks like a Leeper hooker tool, but with the hook part worn off years ago. This shape is pretty handy for poking directly into the side hole of big stoppers, to lever them loose (like the booty stopper in my other post). Also good to insert for loosening knots. I just used it last Saturday to finally liberate the rap chains above Little John Left, which had a fixed rope tied into one of the rings since last June. Here's an "after" photo:

Previously the olive green fixed line had been tied into the lower right ring, with a very bulky knot, which resulted in the core shot.

P.S. In the above photo, you can assume (correctly) that any gear which does not look like booty belongs to my partner. :-)

[Edit to add:] Brad is right about Rock Around the Clock and the lifting of the hours restriction. But Bruce Hildenbrand, Larry Arthur, and Jerry Case (of NPS) were the prime movers on that. I did go to a meeting with Kelly, Larry and Jerry where it was discussed, and Jerry had already been working on it, so I didn't do much. Bruce got one of those $100 fines, too. The fine was not fun, but even worse was trying to run out from Machete with a heavy pack on my bad ankle a couple of times, trying to beat the stupid closing hour. It's good to be able to enjoy the sunsets there again.

martygarrison

Trad climber

atlanta

Mar 14, 2008 - 05:53pm PT

Clint, with all these accolades, generous, patient, smart, brain like a search engine, great all around guy......I was just wondering can my family and I go ahead and move in with you? We don't take that much space really, a couple of rooms. A shared bathroom will be fine. I can't think of a better place to live! :)

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Mar 14, 2008 - 06:31pm PT

k-man wrote:

"Pinnacles climbers can also tip their hat to Clint for being instrumental in getting the Park to relax it's dusk closing time. Heck, I believe it was he (and BruceH) who got the park to install the gate on the West Side that automatically lets you out if you're there after the rangers leave."

I think their newer route "Rock Around the Clock" was named to celebrate the closures being lifted. And, he was actually hit with the $100.00 late departure fine only once - but that blew his whole climbing budget for the year:)

phylp

Trad climber

Millbrae, CA

Mar 14, 2008 - 08:33pm PT

I just registered to post on this forum, after years of lurking, so I could join the chorus of Clint fans. I met Clint on the regular buildering circuit we all had at Stanford in the early 80's (before gyms). He adopted me as a "partner" even though I was a complete novice, after my husband found other interests and took a break from climbing. He was a fantastic mentor and we climbed a lot together for years, until I moved up the Peninsula and the logistics got more difficult. He is an all round great guy. Clint, we'll definately have to connect for a trip this season!

healyje

Trad climber

Portland, Oregon

Mar 14, 2008 - 08:51pm PT

I think Clint does a fab job as a photo contrib, a human historical reference, and in his attitude and speech on-line. Can't beat that no matter how you look at it...

jsb

Trad climber

Bay area

Mar 16, 2008 - 08:41pm PT

bump for Clint! he's awesome!

as a Stanford graduate student, I've had the privilege to participate in several of the trips Clint has organized for the climbing club there. without fail, everybody on these trips always has a great time... this is due, i'm sure, to Clint's patience and great attitude towards climbing.

actually, my first trip down to the Pinnacles was with Clint in a group of about 8. we hit the Balconies area on the west side and Clint led the first pitches of a few of the routes to set up topropes for the rest of us. it was great! i remember having a blast on the Lava Falls and Conduit to the Cosmos topropes, among other climbs. If you've never done these climbs... let's just say the climbing holds sometimes break off and the 1/4'' protection bolts are sometimes a little suspect. At the time, I never would have even considered trying these climbs on my own. Recently I've been back to do them, but I doubt I ever would have even tried if I hadn't seen Clint happily climbing them for us first.

I also joined Clint on a trip to the Valley last spring to climb the Lost Arrow Spire Tip and then set up the tyrolean from the spire to the rim. I think Clint had never done this climb before and was eager to see what it was all about. Anyway, somehow the group size grew to more than a dozen people. We separated into groups of 2-3 to rap into the notch, climb the thing, and then tyrolean back to the rim. All the while, Clint helped to set things up from the rim and even belay people back over. Anyway, daylight grew kind of short, and it worked out that everybody on the trip made it out to the spire... except for Clint and his son. I was pretty bummed about that, but if Clint and his son were, they didn't show it at all! That was a great, classic clint weekend. :)

Off White

climber

Tenino, WA

Mar 17, 2008 - 08:43pm PT

I've been a fan ever since his crisp and informative Index guide, took it out for a day at that crag just last year. Sorry to say some of those routes have disappeared back into the primordial Index ooze.

the Fet

Knackered climber

A bivy sack in the secret campground

Mar 18, 2008 - 11:39am PT

I just saw on the climbing routes beta page that Clint installed a new set of rap anchors on the Royal Arches rap route. Thanks Clint!

bhilden

Trad climber

Mountain View, CA

Mar 19, 2008 - 02:10pm PT

I have waited to post my comments in hopes of keeping this thread alive a bit longer.

What can you say about a guy who, after leading poorly protected climbing on loose rock then replacing 7 or 8 bolts then with the sun long ago set and with the rappel ropes dangling in a poison oak bush offers to go down first?

Now that's a climbing partner.

Bruce