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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Copy on that Guido, for sure.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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RR: Right about then I got to go on that exorbitant rescue on Nose Camp 5.
Werner told me about that during the FaceLift. They got the helicopter pilot to fly by Porter and Bocarde on the Shield, fairly close in, and shouted at them. No pictures, though - that would have been all-time classic.
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
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Rik - Do you remember when CP climbed Clouds Rest in winter? Called it "Cloudburst". And back there somewhere he skied into Tuolumne and climbed OZ's drip with Billy Nickell too. I remember him talking about the north faces of the Grand Cyn of the Tuolumne being sensational ice - he had checked that area out as well.
One winter day in C4 he comes up with his Dachstein mitts on and hands me a can of heated pine tar - "pour this over my mitts" I'm thinking, jesus Charlie those are Dachstein mitts, this will ruin em. Anyway it was his idea of waterproofing/weather proofing the mitts. Said they gripped better too.
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
suspendedhappynation
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Rik - As I recall Briceburg was where he was making the Porter Cam Nuts? Anyone visit during those times and see the production?
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Geno Ottonello, the "judge" in Yosemite owned a nice piece of the Merced River frontage a ways down from the bridge. His daughter Carol and I, my squeeze at that time, spent a great deal of time exploring the area and would often visit Charlie.
How many of you remember the large "Jesus Saves" sign at the top of the Briceburg Grade? Always a time for reflection on the condition of your brakes. Coming down the Grade with mad man Ray Darcy at the wheel one time, TM reached over, turned the ignition off and pulled the keys out so we could all live to tell the story.
cheers
Guido
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C4/1971
Trad climber
Depends on the day...
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Jun 27, 2010 - 12:36pm PT
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The toilet at Briceburg had the largest collection of Black Widow spiders I have seen anywhere in my life. I thought CP was charmed after he did the Shield, but using that toilet daily would have had very little appeal to me....
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Bldrjac
Ice climber
Boulder
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Jun 27, 2010 - 01:20pm PT
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As I remember it, Charlie labeled himself the mayor of Briceberg and that's where he had his machine shop where he manufactored his special gear for aid climbing. Anyone remember his "grasshoppers" or "Centopedes"? They were multi-legged RURP-like pitons that you just tapped gently into seams. Built especially for horizontal placements. Somewhere I have a picture of him and Bev sitting on the porch, grapevines above them on the veranda.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 27, 2010 - 02:05pm PT
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I would like nothing better than to check out Charlie's custom hardware. All those "RURPS" in the Groove on the FA of the Shield weren't Chouinards. LOL
Charlie spent some time monkeying around with nut designs along the way.
I wonder how many sets of these rolltop hexes he ever made?
I posted some interesting Porter news tidbits on this thread...
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1193315/Classic-Valley-News-Clips
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Aug 19, 2011 - 08:22pm PT
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come on, I'm not going to register -- just post the f'ing content.
seriously. Just post it.
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JP.Franklin
Trad climber
Santiago-CHILE
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Aug 19, 2011 - 08:26pm PT
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come on, I'm not going to register -- just post the f'ing content.
seriously. Just post it.
Unfortunately it is wrote in spanish....
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Aug 22, 2011 - 11:57am PT
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I have a little experience with Charlie. He actually bouldered
with me a small bit. He wasn't so into bouldering.
I didn't know him from anyone, but he
had a rich smile. We laughed.
I always hate to contradict the historical
bastions, but I think Bridwell and more than one other person
were looking at that line, the Shield. I was there at the
time. I was there every season from '64 on, virtually.
It was clear that almost
any line would go, with a little luck and the right gear.
My pal Jimmy Dunn, for example, was looking at all sorts of lines...
another outsider who was easily equal to the task of Yosemite.
I personally remember looking up there and imagining all sorts
of routes. True, it might be that the big headwalls didn't
draw the eye to them, so big and blank looking as they seemed.
Yet we knew there were cracks, small tiny cracks through places
that looked blank. After the final headwall of the Salathe,
a lot of those kinds of things began to seem plausible.
I was an aid climber, though, and aid climbers see
lines where there are none. At that time I myself
was in no hurry to do anything,
though, but try to keep my mind in one frazzled piece after
all the damage of the... '60s...
Charlie looked me up in Boulder, and we climbed together in Eldorado.
I have one distinct memory of taking him up Supremacy Crack. Now,
some thought of Charlie as an aid climber only, or that aid was
his forte. He followed this solid 5.11c, overhanging hand-crack,
hammering out the pitons I had placed on lead, and he did it in
astonishing style. So he was a very capable free climber.
And every time I was with him or climbed with him he had that
cheerful demeanor, that light touch but strong spirit.... He and
I climbed some with Breashears, the best of the new wave of
free climbers, around 1975, and Charlie could keep up on
just about anything. By the way, another Charlie, one Colorado
master Charlie Fowler made the first hammerless ascent of the
Shield.... I often think of Charlie Fowler and Charlie Porter
as comparable geniuses, and brilliant at all types of
climbing, from rock to mountains and ice...., although Charlie
(who also free soloed the DNB) quicky mastered the 5.12 realm...
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O.D.
Trad climber
LA LA Land
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 28, 2011 - 11:28am PT
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Here's an update on Charlie Porter's activities in the Cape Horn region, based on an August 14, 2011 article in the paper El Mercurio (Santiago, Chile). He continues to live in Puerto Williams, Chile, and now runs his own research foundation, called the Patagonia Research Foundation. He has married a second time, to a biology professor who works for the Chilean sub-Ministry of Fisheries. His foundation specializes in climate, geology, and biology studies in the Cordillera Darwin. His expeditions continue aboard his sail-powered research vessel Ocean Tramp ( which he also rents out to other research groups, most recently the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute). He has personally established and maintains 31 automated weather stations throughout the Cordillera Darwin. He says: "Now I'm not here so much for the adventure, but more, for the science".
Wow -- this man never ceases to amaze. Godspeed, Charlie Porter.
Here are a few images that illustrate where he is, and what he's up to.
Humorous postscript: When the newspaper reporter interviewed Porter, he described Charlie as talking excitedly and non-stop, "...like one of Alvin's Chipmunks..."
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France
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Dec 30, 2011 - 04:17am PT
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A Charlie Porter new apparition.
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Dos XX
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 30, 2011 - 11:02am PT
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Cool gear, @nutstory! I've always admired how well you present and photograph the pieces in your collection.
I wonder if Porter cut and drilled these pieces himself? It looks as though the size # corresponds to the depth of the "I" section, in inches.
Good work, @nutstory.
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WBraun
climber
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Dec 30, 2011 - 11:16am PT
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To this day there's no one that can compare to Charlie Porter that came out of Yosemite.
He's the supreme bad ass.
Hardest core dude ever.
And one hell of a funny guy .....
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Dec 30, 2011 - 12:14pm PT
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How many first ascents did he make on El Capitan, and has anyone else done more?
ps Not that quantity is any particularly useful measure - just curious.
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Dos XX
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 30, 2011 - 12:54pm PT
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How many first ascents did he make on El Capitan, and has anyone else done more?
Addressing the first question:
From the 'Obscurities' .PDF here on SuperTopo
Charlie Porter Routes on El Cap (ordered West to East)
1. HORSE CHUTE, with Hugh Burton
2. EXCALIBUR, with Hugh Burton
3. SHIELD, with Gary Bocarde
4. GRAPE RACE, with Bev Johnson
5. NEW DAWN Solo
6. MESCALITO, with Hugh Burton, Steve Sutton, Chris Nelson
7. TANGERINE TRIP, with John-Paul St.Croix
8. ZODIAC Solo
Maybe Werner or deuce4 can help out with the second question?
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France
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Dec 30, 2011 - 01:00pm PT
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It looks as though the size # corresponds to the depth of the "I" section, in inches. Yes Dos XX, in fact it works like Chouinard Tube Chocks #4, #5 & #6.
A good photograph has often been the very beginning of the dream for me.
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WBraun
climber
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Dec 30, 2011 - 03:30pm PT
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It's NOT about how many first ascents one has done on El Cap.
It's NOT even about climbing at all.
It's about the man himself ......
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