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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 23, 2011 - 06:06pm PT
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Bruce is definitely getting warm, though I'm not certain that we have a winner. He kind of hedged his bets.
The route was Western Dihedral, climbed by Uncle Fred and Dan Tate in 1966. The account is from the American Ambling Club journal, 1967.
Western Dihedral: The dihedral starts as a white, curving crack from the trees lining the western walls of the Chief and then rises straight as an arrow to the summit rim, over 1000 feet higher. The climb is NCCS V, with mostly hanging belays. Two previous attempts proved to us the difficulty of placing pitons and gave us a leader fall, but we did de-moss the second, third and fourth pitches. The removal of a vertical ribbon of moss and heather was immense effort for the leader; I tore loose one such 150-pound floating carpet, completely terrorizing Dan Tate, who was belaying me. Those who follow on this now lovely route will never really know that horribly dirty dirt-removal work which was necessary to get iron into the solitary dihedral crack. Under a canopy of sometimes drizzling clouds, Tate and I did the ascent on June 3 and 4, spending the night on the only bivouac ledge. The first and third pitches took 14 pitons each, with a pendulum from a bush that may no longer exist; the second lead took 27 pitons. The very hard fourth pitch took 30 pitons, a fifi-hook and a belay bolt; the equally hard fifth took 29 pitons and three aid bolts on an overhang. Beyond the bivouac, the lead took 11 pitons, one bolt and a ropethrowing tactic. Then came a superb free pitch with five pitons, an awkward flaring crack (14 pitons and two belay bolts), and a finale ending with classic aid on cracks with a geometric pattern (8 pitons). An unexpected joy of this rewarding climb was our total oblivion to the public: not a solitary tourist discovered us.
I believe the route is now in part overlain by other climbs, such as the start of Freeway. Not sure what a "geometric pattern" of pitons (or cracks?) is. I hope to locate Dan Tate and ask him about the climb.
And here's a photo of Bruce's prize (actual size):
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Oct 23, 2011 - 07:59pm PT
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Ha. Loomer and I decided to climb the Western Dihedral sometime around 1975. By the time we got to the top of the first real pitch, we realized that pretty much anything would be more fun than continuing. Especially Loomer, cuz I drew the lucky straw and got to lead the first pitch. It was bad enough for me, digging mud and dirt and plants out of the crack for every placement, but everything I dug out -- which was tons -- fell directly down on him.
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Stewart
Trad climber
Courtenay, B.C.
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Oct 23, 2011 - 11:00pm PT
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I've got piles of slides (around 50 of them) of the Zodiac Wall epic. The third guy was NOT Brett, but I hesitate to identify the real culprit since he was one of the most spectacular creeps I have ever climbed with - he was such a masterpiece of greed, treachery and incompetence that he actually sparkled.
Since the as-yet-unnamed third guy insisted on leading every time we permitted him, Daryl and I were actually half-seriously discussing the wisdom of tossing his worthless body over the edge as we watched him spend three hours leading a 40' A2 pitch above Astro Ledge. You see, being trusting sorts, we allowed him to join us because he claimed to have done some hard routes in the Rockies and also appeared to know what he was doing when we climbed with him on the Island.
Some day if anyone is interested I may provide details of the above fiasco, but probably not soon since I still have trouble not having a psychotic breakdown when I think about it, even 35 years after the event.
By the way, Mighty Hiker - the route finding on Zodiac wasn't much of a struggle since there were plenty of stumps to show the way to Astro Ledge.
We found a CARPENTER's saw on the way and, as far as I recall, we left it on the ledge for future generations to admire.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 24, 2011 - 02:02am PT
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I'd love to hear Stewart's stories and see his photos of Zodiac Wall - possibly involving someone who later became a real estate agent? The SA party, in 1970, also noted lots of stumps.
I guess we've now spilt the beans on the famous Squamish fifi-hook manouevre (FSFHM).
It's interesting that the FA of Western Dihedral was in early June, 1966 - during or just after the FA of University Wall, which Dan was also on. A busy fellow that spring.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 24, 2011 - 06:45pm PT
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Nope.
Let's not forget that the companion route to Western Dihedral was named, by Daryl, Getting Down in the Brown. Those corners hold a lot of stuff, particularly as toward their bottom they're more like big ramps.
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Stewart
Trad climber
Courtenay, B.C.
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Oct 24, 2011 - 10:58pm PT
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Uh, the Zodiac Wall saga would involve some pretty lengthy & serious slag about this gentleman. Although I'm not in the habit of posting lies, I'm not too sure about my legal rights if I tell the story using an alias to identify the guy who, by the way, (to my knowledge) is not a celebrity of any sort in Vancouver or anywhere else. Any advice?
Photos & story perhaps to follow depending on how safe I feel about the above.
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Scrubber
climber
Straight outta Squampton
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Oct 27, 2011 - 12:00am PT
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I'd love to hear more about that story too! You don't have to alienate him to let the rest of live vicariously through the tale.
The only climbin' I was doin' back in the 70's was to the top of the jungle gym in the preschool yard. I sure do enjoy hearing all of these stories though! A friend pointed me here recently, and I spent the last three evenings reading this entire thread.
Many thanks to Anders for conceiving and nurturing this thing for so long. And thanks too, to all of you who were there laying the foundation for those of us who followed. I've met some of you over the years, and hopefully I'll meet the rest of you out there someday.
Kris Wild
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Oct 27, 2011 - 01:44pm PT
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A friend pointed me here recently, and I spent the last three evenings reading this entire thread.
Welcome to the zoo.
Maybe for your second post you should put up a version of the Polaris report you posted on cc a couple of years ago. Looked like a fantastic climb.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 27, 2011 - 11:54pm PT
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Thanks, Kris - luckily there have been lots of unindicted co-conspirators to help keep the thing moving and vaguely on track. Amazing the things you find out.
Followers of this thread may be interested to know that I recently heard from the family of Eric Weinstein. His niece and her partner, and so indirectly Eric's sister and father. They do some climbing, and we're hoping to get together and share stories.
Stewart: If you want, send me your draft Zodiac Wall report, and I can vet it for legal and similar issues. Given the passage of time, I suspect it's not an issue, especially if the person isn't identifiable.
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Scrubber
climber
Straight outta Squampton
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Oct 28, 2011 - 12:36am PT
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Maybe for your second post you should put up a version of the Polaris report you posted on cc a couple of years ago. Looked like a fantastic climb.
Thanks for the encouragement, I'm really proud of that route. Maybe I'll post that on the other current Squamish thread about pics and stories. I'll have to dredge up those images from the old computer....
K
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Oct 28, 2011 - 12:50am PT
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Maybe I'll post that on the other current Squamish thread about pics and stories.
No, put it up as a TR. Then put a link to it in the other Squamish thread. And in this Squamish thread.
And, as your entry fee to Supertopo, volunteer to tow me up the rig next summer.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 28, 2011 - 12:51am PT
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No don't cross post - happy post. And take me up the climb, too. I promise to tow the line.
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Stewart
Trad climber
Courtenay, B.C.
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Oct 30, 2011 - 02:33am PT
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I'll get back to the Zodiac saga in the next few days, I hope. I'll use an obvious pseudonym for the other guy to spare any possible injured feelings or damage to his reputation should he actually trip over this account, although it would be fascinating to read a response from him - I've actually got pictures to support some of my comments. I've been reluctant to tell the story for a while, since I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to keep the account short enough that I don't put people to sleep while still making sure I don't miss any of the uh, aura of our shared adventure.
Update (31/10/11): I got about half way through the story & it definitely looks like it's going to be a long one even with brutal editing. I've saved my draft and I'll keep hacking away at it, but don't hold your breath waiting for speedy results. I'll go with plan "B" and see if I can find some slides to post in the meantime.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Nov 14, 2011 - 03:19am PT
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Bump for Stewart
How goes the battle?
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 14, 2011 - 04:08am PT
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Yank bump for Stewart. I met you a few years ago at a memorial for a mutual friend. I love the gritty historical tales of woe. Cheers.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Nov 20, 2011 - 12:06pm PT
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Autumn afternoon in Squamish.
Winter night is past.
Father winter has started to crown his majesty.
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Stewart
Trad climber
Courtenay, B.C.
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Nov 20, 2011 - 10:50pm PT
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Hi Wayno: I remember meeting you guys from the States, and was very impressed to see you all take the trouble to come from so far to say goodbye to a friend. I hope life has treated you well.
My sincerest apologies re: the dearth of Zodiac stories. I've got a severe case of writer's block here stemming from the fact that it's a long story (Zodiac was a Grade VI in 1975) and, other than just listing the events, I'm having a lot of trouble condensing my account into something readable. Add to this that my computer won't permit me to send photos to ANYONE these days and we have at least a lame explanation for my embarrassing failure to follow through.
I'm trying to scrape together the cash to get this rig fixed, so I'll aim to come up with something before Xmas. Talk is indeed cheap, but this one's going to cost me money. Alas.
Here's a (sort of) Daryl story to hold you for the moment:
Have you ever met someone who just should not climb, period? We're not talking about someone that can't climb very well, or isn't very brave, but rather someone who is a walking advertisement for just about every form of stupidity possible in steep places. Well, Daryl found one of them (we'll call him Dibble), and I think I first met this guy in 1973. The entire footage of his climbing career would probably come out in the negative column, since EVERY time Daryl brought him over, the Dibble (who was a complete beginner at the time) would regale me with accounts of his latest gigantic screamer - accounts that were confirmed by Daryl.
I only went out climbing with the Dibble twice, which was more than enough for my nerves. The first time, Daryl, the Dibble and I went out aid climbing outside Victoria and as usual, the plan was for each of us to climb about a third of the pitch so that everyone got a chance, since the routes are usually quite short.
I think I climbed the first bit, and lowered off a Rurp to let Daryl (I thought) take over. No dice - the Dibble demanded to be next. Daryl & I repeatedly warned the guy to take it easy as he Jumared up to the high point. He was jumping up and down in his etriers as he ascended against our loud advice not to do so. Sure enough, he eventually ripped out the placement, but the ground fall was not fatal, as the next piece slowed him down enough that he survived.
The next time was even more bizarre. Daryl & I had our eyes on a two-pitch route at Sansum Narrows, and the Dibble had the only operable vehicle. We HAD to invite him. Daryl led the first pitch without incident and rapped off. A near fist-fight ensued as the Dibble asserted his right to lead the next pitch or else he was going to LEAVE us there. Short of strangling the guy there wasn't much to be done about it, so I jugged up to the belay and he came up to do the next lead. It was about 50' of traverse and A2 or 5.8 depending on how one chose to lead it. He led it on aid for at least four hours. For the only time in my life I actually fell asleep while belaying - twice. Eventually, I rapped off & Daryl took over. He fell asleep & it was my turn again to belay. By now, the Dibble had reached a short gully (5.4) and vanished up it. After a while I shouted up to him to see how he was getting on. Silence. After about an hour of increasingly frantic calls, he finally appeared - at the base of the cliff. We were not amused, since he couldn't locate an anchor and headed off into the forest, abandoning a rack of my climbing gear, my hammer, jumars and harness because "they kept getting snagged on the bushes". The gloves were now off. Daryl & I advised him that his life expectancy was now clocked at about 24 hours unless we got our gear back. I had to go to work the next day, so Daryl accompanied him back up - Island to make sure he followed our advice.
The last I heard of him, he was down in Yosemite. Daryl told me that the Dibble got busted stealing climbing gear AND promptly burst into tears and started begging for mercy from his captors, disgracing Canada for an eternity.
For whatever it's worth, someone told me that he actually finished university and is now a licenced professional, or as Sarah Slean titled one of her songs: Book Smart, Street Stupid.
I'd go a little more easy on this guy, but he was a jerk in about a hundred different ways - the kind of fellow who can brighten up any social event by not appearing.
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Nov 21, 2011 - 05:24pm PT
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The last I heard of him, he was down in Yosemite. Daryl told me that the Dibble got busted stealing climbing gear AND promptly burst into tears and started begging for mercy from his captors, disgracing Canada for an eternity.
Did he at least recieve a mild sh$t kicking? Poor baby...
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Nov 21, 2011 - 06:49pm PT
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Hmmm, I think I know who Dibble might be. I only ever met him in the Valley. Climbed Moby Dick Centre with him once - to be more accurate, I led him up it. Which learned me enough that I passed on trying the Nose with him.
Perhaps he had a control thing when it came to vehicles - we were once going down Valley from Camp 4, and he had a hissy fit and kicked out two people, IIRC for something they'd said about him.
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