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Jobee
Social climber
El Portal
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Jan 27, 2006 - 12:37pm PT
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ahhh..haaa ha!
Harder you're outed! Great pen name Don, very clever.
I can still visualize you coming into the valley on that motor-bike just like something outa "Easy Rider". Crazy!
All the best,
jow
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Jan 27, 2006 - 01:50pm PT
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OK. So Mike Graham might have a better recollection of this, as he's much younger that some of us...
Right after we had done the first continuous ascent of Valhalla, I transferred to UC Irvine and got a part-time job working at Ski Mart in Newport beach. 'Twas a great place to work and it had a budding crew of young climbers who proceeded to turn this sporting goods store by the beach into a really good climbing shop.
Some of the other kids included Graham, Tobin and Steve West. Rick Accomazzo also joined the Ski Mart team. (Eventually, that store also employed Largo, though at a branch store in San Diego.) And didn't Harrison do a short stint?
Gramicci--a kid still in high school--was in awe that we had done Valhalla (with Steve Toy and Jim Hoagland, who were both attending UC Riverside at the time). I must have been, like, five years older. Many new routes were going up at Tahquitz and Suicide, and Graham started keeping a new routes book at the shop since the Wilts guide has getting hopelessly out-of-date as we started ticking-off new ones.
As I remember, right after Mike too climbed Valhalla, two things happened... 1) the Stonemaster name was coined (I vaguely recall it was suggested by Doyne Pedorski, and--with all the surfing kulcha in Newport Beach--this was a natural.) and Graham drew up a logo for the group using a lightning bolt, and 2) Mike decided that this new "club" would have a membership requirement. (Sheesh. Kids...) That was, you had to have climbed Valhalla. I think that "can't say" has a pretty complete list [see above] of the originals. (Of course, the first ascentionists Couch, Dent and Reynolds couldn't count because they didn't do a continuous first ascent, and they were "not us". Ya know?)
So... Along with new lines, the book also included a record of the early ascents of Valhalla. And after a while, Mike got tired of keeping track. So, at some point, I remember Mike getting us all to agree that members of the first 10 parties (or was it 20?) that bagged the line were the REAL Stonemasters!
I wonder if that book still exists...
Of course, it was all a joke. There was never a rigid roster of Stonemasters, we all just did stuff together. And the Stonemasters eventually grew to include friends in the Valley, etc.
Stonemaster outings... El Gran Trono Blanco... Ricky's Pinto (a.k.a, the Death Mobile") and the biggest trundling session known to man or beast! Remember, Largo?
Some of my stories:
http://www.cusd.claremont.edu/~rmuir/stonemaster-interview.html
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Jan 27, 2006 - 03:42pm PT
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Too cool, another one makes his debut on ST.
This is better then crack
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mastadon
Trad climber
Seattle
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Jan 27, 2006 - 04:32pm PT
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Mike-
Life is good-thanks. I always wondered what had become of you other then becoming famous and making a world-wide successful clothing company or maybe it was the other way around. When you disappeared after the Aquarian epic we all wondered where you'd gone.
Werner-
No. I'm not running the ski area anymore. I'm still in Tahoe, though. I'll see you the next time in the trench.
Jobee-
Great to hear from you. Did you ever get those pictures I emailed to you?? The pictures of you and me at Squamish when you were about 16 years old?? Just joking, I'm sure you were way older then that-at least 19.
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scuffy b
climber
S Cruz
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Jan 27, 2006 - 04:57pm PT
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My first words to Rob on meeting him at the base of Suicide:
"Are you Couch?"
sm
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John Vawter
Social climber
San Diego
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Jan 27, 2006 - 06:58pm PT
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Trundling on the Throne reminded me of something I haven't thought about for years. Sometime around '79, Werner (another Werner) and I were poking around on unclimbed rock at the toe of the South Face. It was blowing like a motherf***er and way steep, so we didn't get very far the first day. We backed down to a pretty good ledge with a lot of rock litter on it, and we trundled it clean. We thought we had the place to ourselves, bright moon and a view of big canyon. We felt lucky to be there, even though it didn't look like our route would go anywhere.
The next morning we heard people coming up the gully!! We couldn't see them but Largo's booming voice was unmistakable. I think we yelled down to them, but never saw them. Then we heard music bouncing off the walls!? Somebody had a boom box and was toting it up that horrid gully. If you've ever crawled out of that canyon, you know you wouldn't want to carry an extra ounce. As they made their way out, the plaintive strains of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald echoed weirdly off the walls. Surreal.
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2006 - 08:54pm PT
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Dude, you think we'd actually trudge all the way down that gulley without tuneage? Not!
I used to tote a 32 pack of batteries so we could keep our groove on. The weight was an issue I just dealt with. Of course I was 20 and stupid, but we were living large.
JL
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Yed
Trad climber
Wa
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Jan 27, 2006 - 09:38pm PT
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I got caught up with climbing in 1975. Took climbing lessons from Steve West along with my girlfriend at the time(who is now my wife, Mike ,do you remember the Hahs family,lived right around the corner in Santa Ana Heights)out at Suicide.Steve was a great guy and took us out for a few guided trips as well and introduced us to a few of the regulars at ski mart, as I lived in Costa Mesa.Bought my first pair of Eb's at SkiMart along with my swami ,even had some of my Ceramic art work there in the mountain shop.I became somewhat of a regular at Idyllwild and JT and alot of bouldering at pirates cove. Never managed to reach the skills of these guys but it was always something to work for.Whenever these guys would come and boulder I'd watch and think"how do they do that"as I would flail away and sometimes after much effort figure something out. I continued to climb up until abut 8 yrs ago,never gave up that 2" swami and leg loops either.
Never having the abilities of these guys I followed their exploits with interest,especially Tobin. I think it was in 1979 or 80 my climbing buddy and I went to a slide show with Tobin and Jack Roberts, up here in Washington . Fresh back from a trip to the Canadian rockies, Tobin told about his climb of the direct on the Eiger with Macintyre,in which he mentioned was too scary to stop and take pictures, in fact I don't think Tobin had much in the way of slides at all that nite, he really didn't need them.The trip up the matterhorn N. Face. And a desciption of a climb on the Grandes Jorasses that I remember made my blood run cold as he described the situation they were in. He described all these like they were a footnote to the real reason for going to Europe was to bring bibles to eastern Europe.Plenty impressive for an aspiring alpinist. I guess it was the single minded ferocity on the inside and the calm outside that amazed me. I knew I'd never be one to set the standards like these guys,but it sure was a great time to be out climbing.
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Wonder
climber
WA
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Jan 27, 2006 - 09:42pm PT
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one name i havent seen here is bullwinkle. always wanting to smoke Bong loads, Bong loads, bong loads. but then i met yabo and then we were alwasy on the search.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Jan 27, 2006 - 10:39pm PT
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use to boulder at the beach in CDM(very close to the above mentioned "ski mart") and on a good day you could be bouldering with: Randy Vogel, Maria Cranor, Mike Lechinski, Mari Gingery, Tony Yarniro, Rob Raker, Shawn Curtis, Nick Badyrka, Tobin Sorenson, Yabo, John Long, Lynn Hill, Eric EEEErickson, Uh Howard King, Rick Accomazzo, Pat Ney, Rob Muir, Dave Wonderly, Jack Marshall, Kevin Powell, Darryl Hensell, Mike Paul and others I couldn't begin to remember their names. That place was a training ground for the southern group and there was plenty of good karma going around that place. The "stonners" home ground when they weren't out blowing away everyone at the rock. You guys remember the place? Last I heard...the lifeguards won't let you climb there because it's too dangerous...for the beach goers! Great memories of chaulk gooo if the humidity and/or the tide got too high. "Bowls in the Cave boys!"
Peace
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Jan 28, 2006 - 11:01am PT
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All right Johnny, here’s one.
John and I stop at a hardware store to get a part to repair the Pinto, before the long haul out to JT.
We ask the hardware store guy to help us find the part. He leads the way down the parts aisle. John pulls even with him and the following dialogue ensues:
John quietly: “Your tool, man.”.
Hardware guy: “What??”
John, casually: “Check your tool.”
Hardware guy looks down quickly, puzzled look on his face: “Huh?”
John is insistent: “Your tool: it’s hanging out of your pants.”
Hardware guy checks his jeans, everything seems to be in place. Now he’s getting angry: “What are you talking about?”
John says nothing, raises his hand and points behind the guy, where a phillips screwdriver is sticking halfway out of a hole in his back pocket .
Hardware guy meekly: “Oh….. thanks.”
Quintessential Largo, circa 1972.
The story about Gramicci dropping a loop of rope to terrorize the top-roped second reminded me that this was not an uncommon practice and even had a name: the “simulated leader fall.”
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Roger Breedlove
Trad climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Jan 28, 2006 - 11:23am PT
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In the early 1970's, I was walking through the courtyard area of the Lodge and hear this big voice beginning a recitation of a poem. I stopped and saw a small group of climbers and pretty girls listening to this big guy.
As more people stopped to listen, the voice got bigger and stronger--and more theatric. It was a soliloquy from Shakespeare, and a long on at that.
I have no idea if John captured any of the young ladies' hearts. But he certainly hushed the whole place down until he was done.
Hey, Rick, that's a funny little story about John.
Welcome to ST Land, Roger
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John Vawter
Social climber
San Diego
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Jan 28, 2006 - 12:41pm PT
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John composed some of his own poems too. I heard him recite a mini epic in a limerick format (IIRC), about a climbing lass scampering over El Cap and leading men on a merry chase. I complimented him, but he dismissed it a just a little doggerel he made up in his spare time. I wish you'd written those down. They inspired me to imitate. I made up a few verses on the spot for Maria one afternoon up on the Apron.
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paulj
climber
utah
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Jan 28, 2006 - 02:41pm PT
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Largo,
Just a suggestion, but you might wish to include a couple of stories from those of us who have always toiled in well-deserved obscurity, but had encounters with Stonemasters during the heyday. I'll bet there's a great writer out there with the outside perspective needed to tell a story that explains just why you guys were so well-known and influential (beyond the hard routes, of course). Many of us operated at the edge of the scene for years, watching you folks at C4 or in Josh or wherever, with very little interaction with you guys. But then, maybe once or twice, we got "inside" for a day or two, and discovered that all the stories we'd heard were probably true, or at least frighteningly plausible.
I know you won't remember this because it probably happened very frequently, but my own encounter was at JTree in 1978, with you Mike, and Mari. Over the course of 48 hours you guys heckled me and my partner mercilessly as we botched our way up one climb, applauded us loudly as we styled an even harder climb later that same day, and then at the campground asked us if we wanted to boulder the next day. The bouldering session was what we had always imagined a quintessential Stonemaster day to be: hard climbing fueled by intoxicating substances. My buddy and I were what today would be called "stoked", and we each had one of our best days climbing ever. And that's the key: obnoxious as it may have been for you guys to heckle us, we climbed better for it.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jan 28, 2006 - 05:06pm PT
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Well done, paulj.
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Bldrjac
Ice climber
Boulder
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Jan 28, 2006 - 05:49pm PT
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YED,
If I remember it correctly. Tobin gave his slide show about the North face of the Eiger with Alex Macintyre (Harlin route) and he only had six slides. He was also well into his religious phase and sorta let everyone know how he felt about that sort of thing. At the end of that trip and before we left Canada he and I had just finished the first winter ascent of the central couloir on Kitchener and I'd got frostbite so bad we had to get to Bellingham so I could check into the hospital. So the night of the slidehow comes around and I'm stuck in the burn dept. Tobin bribes the orderly with a six-pack of beer, wheels me out of the hospital in a wheel chair and then after his show I do mine on the North face of Huntington, in my wheelchair on the stage hign on pain killers. Probably the worst show I've ever given. Afterwards, he wheels me back into the hospital and he and the same orderly put me back in the bed. The nurses never knew.
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todd-gordon
climber
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Jan 29, 2006 - 06:56pm PT
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Here's a JL story..(See if you can jog your memory to this one, John)..during the Stonemaster's era.......I was living and climbing in So Cal. during the end of the Stonemaster days.(Late 70's). I took a trip to Boulder and was climbing in Eldo. Some climber's came up and said, "John Long is in Eldo." I knew John from seeing him at the crags. Everyone knew and saw everyone in the late 70's;...it was a very small, close-knit sub-culture. I said to myself," Cool; a familiar face and a bro from California". As we went about our business, I didn't see Largo, BUT everywhere I went in the Canyon, EVERY climber said, "Have you seen John Long? He's in Eldo." John already had a name for himself in California, but seeing him at the crags wasn't front page news where I came from ; if you climbed in So. Calif, you probably saw him every week-end. Anyways, finally we spotted Largo, the Largo of the late 70's had big ol' bi-ceps. I was walking up the road with some Colorado climbers, John's is facing away from us. My friends whisper," There he is, There he is, There's John Long." I whisper back, " That big doofus? That's what everyone is all worked up about? How much will you give me if I jump on his back? " They whisper back, "Don't man, he'll kill you; rip you apart with one hand." I was all of 150 lbs. back then....John probably over 2 bills. As we get closer to " The Man", I sneek up behind John and quick as a snake on a lizard, put my skinny arm around John's neck in a choke hold,........I look over at my friend who are white as sheet; it looks as though they are going to cry because I am about to get ripped apart , limb by limb, by John Long. John wheels around, quite quickly and surprised, and in a big booming voice says, " You're a dead man!!!".......actually he says, " Gordo, what the hell are you doing here?" My friends hearts again started to beat, we chatted a bit as we walked up the canyon. The Largo name , myth and mystery was alive and well in Colorado ; we were in our mid- 20's. I completely enjoyed freaking my friends out, and seeing John away from home was cool for me . (I used to get homesick on roadtrips up until I was in my 40's!!!)
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Jan 29, 2006 - 11:19pm PT
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I think it was the summer 1975; one of my first trips to the Valley. It was a solo trip, with the idea of spending a month or so and hooking up with other So Cal climbers who said they would show up. After settling in to C4, not seeing anyone familiar, I was feeling kinda out of place.
Later, I saw Mike Graham, Largo, Jim Wilson, and some of the other usual suspects from the Tahquitz/Josh scene. Though they were people I saw most weekends, they were certainly the "in" or "A List" climbers. I was not.
The Stonemasters had, at that time, what I can best describe as a "hanger on." Not a particulary good climber, he had other favorable attributes: a Porsche 914, a house near Tahquitz, and apparently, something all of us young climbers lacked, discretionary income. It seems in memory he was in his 30s, far older than any of the Stonemasters (or us "B List" climbers). But, from appearances (and to hear him talk), to an outsider such as me, Ed was another lesser god, cranking 5.11s.
I was hoping to do some long routes in the Valley, perhaps even my first wall. One afternoon, in casual conversation with Mike, Largo, et al, I'd mentioned my interest in doing a wall and my lack of a partner. Ed's name was volunteered as someone who was in need of a partner for the Regular Route on HD. Everyone assured me Ed had all the gear needed.
Though Ed was essentially a stranger to me, an endorsement from the Stonemasters was as good as it got; I was pysched, even if a bit nervous by my lack of aid climbing experience. I figured if worse got to worse, Ed could take the hard leads.
After about 5 pitches of swinging leads, Ed said he "didn't feel well" and was ready to bail. But after hiking those long miles up to base, I wasn't about to head down. Perhaps to Ed's chagrin, I volunteered to (and did) lead the remainder of the route. Later, I came to know that no-one expected us to actually climb Half Dome. Unbeknownst to me, Ed had apparently had a pretty good track record of not completing ambitious plans. I had been set up; the Stonemasters had no intention of sacrificing their valuable time in humoring Ed's big wall aspirations.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 29, 2006 - 11:56pm PT
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We were climbing in pretty much complete make-it-up-as-you-go obscurity in SoIll from '74-'78 and rarely if ever climbed straight. In fact it was almost hard to imagine how you'd find a groove that way. We'd go out to Eldo and everybody would kind of freak out when we'd get high and climb; they'd all be happy to after, but never before or [especially] during a climb. We ended up thinking they were a pretty tightly wound crew and kind of kept to ourselves a bunch. Then we heard about you guys and true or not assumed a double entendre and finally felt almost human for a change. In hindsight we should have just kept heading West on one of those trips, particularly in '77.
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todd-gordon
climber
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Jan 30, 2006 - 12:16am PT
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Got one more. I spent a summer climbing in Australia. Even though it had been years since his visit, they were still talking about it. Seems a very young American climber named Tobin came over to Australia to climb. At the time, I believe there was this 5.10d slightly overhanging hand/finger crack that was one of, if not THE, hardest climb in Australia. Some locals took Tobin over to take a look at it;.... he on site free-soloed it. I led the climb when I was there.....placing many pieces, and thinking of Tobin, especially at the crux, a section in the middle, where the crack disappeared and there was 5.10+ face climbing before the crack started up again. Tobin was unusually gifted, and, though I did not know him well, I did often see him out at Joshua Tree, always with a good word to say, and a big smile on his face. I remember hearing about Tobins' accidental death;....I had just gotten off the Prow with Rick Lynsky ....we had stormy weather and even a bit of snow, but faired fine.....As soon as I got off the wall, I had to call my parents to tell them I was fine (so my Mom didn't worry), and when I called, my Mom said she read in the paper about a climber killed in an accident;.... she asked if I knew him. It was Tobin. I was young, tired from the wall, and quite sad. We all loved climbing so much; it was our lives, and sh#t like this wasn't supposed to happen.
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