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Watusi
Social climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Great shots folks!
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
Knob Central
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We are all weak. Once as a gymnast I was strong though. If only I were as disciplined as a climber as I was a gymnast....
If only I were an asian boy toy....
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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Ho man this is an inspirational thread. This restores one's faith in the taco.
Off White-- what an unreal city of rocks photo. Beautiful.
These photos are awesome!
Let the political/bs/other off topic threads go down the drain....the topo still rips...
I've got to start dieting!
love to posters of wonder...
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Wild Bill
climber
Ca
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Arrrgh! Piana on Salathe
From Todd's website
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Standing Strong
Trad climber
real eyes realize real life
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blinny - thank you for sharing that sweet poem. mr. sharsmith truly was the rare mountain sage. it was a privilege meeting him and going on some of his nature talks in the meadows. he taught us to use all of our senses to understand the layers of the natural world. when he told us kids we could taste the onions growing wild in the meadows, it opened up a whole new world of discovery. we just thought he was the last word.
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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When I was on the University of Colorado, in 1967, I learned for a short time the plange on the floor. Your body is stretched horizontal, about half a foot above the floor, held there by two straight arms extending in a diagonal down to the floor, with hands flat on the floor (somewhere near the upper thighs), fingers pointing out to the sides (away from body). This might be what Steve was calling a lever. I also learned a plange press into handstand. From the horizontal plange, you slowly raise your straight body into a handstand, without bending your arms at the elbow), but I only managed that a couple times. One spaghetti dinner was enough to make me too heavy to ever do it again. I worked out all the time with Big-8 champions, who could regularly do slow butterfly mounts on the rings, slow pulls into iron crosses, etc. Most were stronger than I was by a mile but couldn't climb as well. None of them could do my one-arm mantel on the two-inch wide ledge on a wall. One of the best gymnastics moves I ever did, and I never saw another person do it, though I'm sure others are capable, is the slow, pure muscle-up on the bar. I don't mean pulling up on the bar and going up and over. You have to go excruciatingly slow, with both arms going up and over (at that same excruciatingly slow speed) at exactly the same time. In other words you start with a slow-motion pullup, then pull the bar to your chest, crank a few inches higher, still keeping both hands and elbows exactly mirroring each other, then slowly press your body above the bar. I don't know how I ever learned that one. It was harder than a hollowback off the floor (which I could do solidly and slow, with no kick or quick first move to start). In the mornings I would get up and, before breakfast, do fifteen deep handstand pushups (i.e., get into a handstand -- away from the wall -- and press down, kissing the floor each time). Most of the time I would be happy to do five, but sometimes ten, without stopping, but once and maybe more than once I know I did fifteen. I wasn't as strong pulling as I was pushing, and the pulling strength is much more practical for climbing. Then in older age I hurt my shoulder just trying to put my hands on the floor and kick into a handstand... My daughter (who never saw the gymnastic stuff of yesteryear) was pretty unimpressed with me hurting myself trying to get into a handstand.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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haha-
pretty fun thread for a lark everybody, good going; 'speshly the gymnast stuff Oli, and I like those old shots JB, Peers, Lighting etc.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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One from the vault. The Shield back when it was a clean knife stroke. Seventh ascent Werner?
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Bachar shots are a glimpse of history...Pat writings are the same. Thanks to all that post here.
Later, Bob
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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FYI guys I am working at getting Steve Sutton's cell phone number.
I have it he is here in Colorado - he became a pilot and flies for a living these days.
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 9, 2007 - 10:36am PT
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Steve
Me and Dale Bard did the 5th ascent of the Shield. Sutton and Pratt probably sometime before us.
Yeah we placed a lot of rurps and blades up there back then.
A few years later I did it again with Merry and there were huge square pin holes. One place where I originally place a rurp the pin hole was so big that a 1 1/2 pition went in there. LOL
Still one of the most awesome locations on El Cap.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I would like to get up on the Shield again to do it hammerless once and for all. Solid belay anchors and nothing to hit for miles. No excuse for not trying even if the stopwatch is ticking.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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More cutting loose from the 1978 GPIW catalog.
Somewhere in Baja. Dudley Chelton photo.
An unusual view of Separate Reality from below. Vern Clevenger photo.
Ron Kauk on Sky . Where is this route Werner, since you took the picture?
A shot from the days of beige. Pile made its appearence in 1977 and caught on like wildfire despite the earthtones.
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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I used to think a lot of things that would seem strange to most today, such as if you had to wear gloves you were a sloppy climber. I mean none of the original hard men used gloves. You had to toughen your hands rather than protect them. You had to hammer carefully rather than whack a piton and take off a flap of skin. And if you had to tape your hands for cracks you didn't know how to hand jam (I went to Veedauvoo and climbed some really painful flesh cutting crystal handjams, just to see if I was right. That might have been around the time I got to thinking it was about time to retire). I used to think that helmets made you top heavy and were only of value in the mountains where there was a lot of rockfall. I used to think a simple swami around the waits was adequate for almost any climb, or even no more than a single loop of the climbing rope. Kamps and I did lots of climbs with no harness or swami, just a loop of the climbing rope. And I thought at least no one would ever use a harness on any sort of knee-size-or-beyond crack climb, as it would hinder movement and get caught inside, etc. Pratt and I did the Steck-Salathe in about 5 hours (maybe slightly less), in 1968, not even trying to go fast, just casually moving along, with a single strand of rope around each of our waist. Chuck bought about seven pieces of gear for protection. We had no lunch or water. There was a sense of freedom, without much gear. I remember leading the first pitch unprotected. He led the Wilson Overhang unprotected. We clipped one fixed pin on the crux third pitch. I recall we had a few pitons with us (we hadn't fully transitioned yet to nuts). I tried to place a bugaboo while starting to lead the slab pitch above the headwall, and my first hit with the hammer sent the piton flying down the wall. I went on without protection there, since I didn't want to lose another of Chuck's valuable pitons. He simply smiled at me. This is not an interesting story, but Pratt was so beautiful on rock, so smooth and elegant. I'll never forget looking up the last pitch and seeing him sitting there, pulling in the rope, watching me. Sun was overhead bright, no clouds, but rain was falling in a crystalling way, sparkling around him as though he finally had earned his celestial glory.
Tell me Werner, if anything is helping this site be less boring. Should I keep trying?
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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This thread has some great stories. Maybe the title could do with a bit of work, though.
Yes, 1976 and the appearance of Helly Hansen pile sweaters and jackets. Designed for Icelandic fishermen or something, all of whom apparently had pot bellies.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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thanks for the nice prose Oli - I like reading your perceptions about the period and the people very much.
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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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oli,
Nice stories about way back when. Your story of the steck-salathe describes to me what i strived for in climbing way back then.
thanks,
G
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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The caption reads "Chuck Pratt typically leading a crack in Yosemite without protection." In this case the 3D second pitch. From A History of Free Climbing in America by Pat Ament 2002. Ament photo.
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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I just wrote a big post and it got deleted somehow. It will probably show up in some other thread, the Paris Hilton thread. Just thinking about being involved with her, without being aware of what I was doing I started wrapping myself in sandwich wrap from head to toe.
Anyway, yes Chuck Pratt was da man. That day, from that photo, he made me lead the crux 5.10 offwidth above. A lot of people lately, I see, do the first two pitches and say they've done Reed's Direct. I always thought the first two pitches were the warm up for the third pitch.
Right about where Chuck is in that photo, he stopped for a second, bonked a red ant, watched it fall, and said, "You shouldn't be allowed to climb that well."
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Yessiree, the third pitch is the meat of the Triple Direct. Nothing but some slim prayer of an RP in a crease when I lead it and solid 5.10. Full value.
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