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hamie
Social climber
Thekoots
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Scrubber
Both of those figures are Culbert! The panorama is actually two photos stitched together. Nails took the rightside first, and by the time he took the leftside Dick had walked into that frame as well. Pretty cool. If it's your book you can be in it as many times as you like. Dick is also belaying in the first photo of the spire.
The guy with the pipe is some BCMC type. Wild guess=Paddy Sherman? Nails or maybe MH will know.
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Both of those figures are Culbert! The panorama is actually two photos stitched together. Nails took the rightside first, and by the time he took the leftside Dick had walked into that frame as well. Pretty cool. If it's your book you can be in it as many times as you like. Dick is also belaying in the first photo of the spire.
The guy with the pipe is some BCMC type. Wild guess=Paddy Sherman? Nails or maybe MH will know.
Hamie is bang-on about the panorama. I was going to upload a bulltweet story about how there were only two of us, but I was hallucinating and I managed to catch the illusion on film - very rare - but there's no point now.
On the spire, Dick is belaying Ashlyn Armour-Brown. It's in the Howson Range. Ashlyn lives in Cambridge (England) and is one of the nicest, kindest people around.
To keep gp happy, I'd better put in a bit of Squamish content. Ashlyn did the FA of Sickle (with my brother, Bob, one of the bolder free climbers of the day) and the FA of the left fork in the South Gully.
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hamie
Social climber
Thekoots
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Squamish trivia. One winter a large piece of the sickle fell off, and the route had to be re-established at a harder grade. I think that Nails and his brother Bob were responsible for that. For the new version, not the falling off part, of course.
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Squamish trivia. One winter a large piece of the sickle fell off, and the route had to be re-established at a harder grade. I think that Nails and his brother Bob were responsible for that. For the new version, not the falling off part, of course.
Yeah, makes you think whenever you are under that sort of unsupported downslab.
FA of the route by Bob and Ashlyn, 1962. In fall, 1965 a big slab of rock came off, changing the route and making it more difficult. I think Bob and I did the FA of the revised route, fall '65 or possibly Spring '66.
Trivia for MH history book: this was probably the first but not the last route at Squeamish to undergo serious remodelling by rockfall.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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Regarding the young guns' inquiries about the brothers. The Bear is the younger one, and he was (and still is) a speedy bear. When some of you guys were getting air in your jolly-jumpers, the Bear cranked off the grand wall five times in one day. That's five times down the trail, too. The guy was an animal.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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I'm the elder. And the cutest, too - six out of four economists agree. And smartest. Plus able to break trail for an entire day, in knee deep snow. Taught the cub everything I know about climbing - it took around ten minutes.
Which is - sort of - how I can to be sitting alone in the dark on a ledge on the Ironman in the Adamants, wondering not so much about how I was going to rappel, as how I was going to keep the ropes separated so that they'd pull. We had a glacier to cross. Leif, Henry and Ric were far below, and had not succeeded in doing so, but I had a plan. Unfortunately, Herr Foodeater has proclaimed that I can't tell you about it.
(Later I became familiar with another kind of Ironman - foreshadowing.)
Yes, I knew about the "Sickle trundle" - nails mentions it in his guide. How big was the piece that came off? How much damage did it cause to the shrubberies and rock below, and where did the pieces land?
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hamie
Social climber
Thekoots
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TDA TDA Thread Drift Alert
gregf be warned.......
Hamish Fraser's recent tale of his approach to the Rostrum reminded me of a minor variation to the same theme, but one played in a lower key. Nothing exciting about this, just another day at the office.
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, in a valley far far away, someone had a brilliant idea. It was Bridwell's idea. When things go wrong always blame your partner, especially if he is not around to defend himself. It was the middle of December, and it was cold. Jim's brilliant idea was to climb the north face of the Rostrum, thereby making the first winter ascent of a Grade V in Yosemite. Success would bring us instant and lasting fame, at least in Camp 4. Jim would move from the C Group to the B Group, while I would move up several places in the G Group. Robbins might recognize our names [but not us in-person], and Pratt would stop at our site to sample our wine. In the unlikely event that 100 co-eds occupied Camp 4 for a month, we might even get laid. It was a very good idea.
Warren Harding and Glen Denny had made the first ascent of this route two years earlier, and it had only seen two or three repeats since then. Fortunately for us, Glen was working in the lodge every evening, and we were able to question him closely. [scoopin' the beta, dudes] In retrospect he always had that little "what are these clowns thinking?" grin.....
Glen had a car, and kindly [eagerly?] volunteered to drive us to the approach. In those days you approached the climb from below, using the main Yosemite access road, and not from above [by rappel!!] as is done today. Carrying our bivvy gear we headed for the Merced River. The river at this point was not deep, but it was wide. and it was cold, very cold. Our rock-shoes were basically scaled-down versions of mountain boots, with thin Vibram soles, which we used for approaches as well as for climbing. We took off our shoes, socks and pants and started across.
The pain was immediate and strong. There were some ice-covered rocks half-way across. We thankfully sat on these and tried to warm our bare feet. Then into the river again. As we approached the far side we could barely walk, and our ankles began to creak loudly. "Eerk, eerk" they went with every step. [Some readers will no doubt be calling "bull" at this point, but I did read of a similar event in the AAJ a few years ago.] We were both smokers at the time, so a large fire was quickly lit, a number of smokes were smoked in quick succession, and time slipped by as our feet slowly thawed.
Next it was uphill through the poison oak to the base of the climb, where more smokes were smoked, and more time went by. The first pitch was a mixed aid and rising hand traverse flake kind of a thing. Amazingly there was a rattlesnake in the crack, which despite the cold was still awake. Every time we hit a pin, it rattled its tail and scared the heck out of us. [More readers are now calling "bull"] Several more pitches were climbed, but it was getting colder and scarier, and with night approaching it was only going to get even more cold and even more scarey.
We baled, crossed the river with our shoes on this time, and hitched to Camp 4. Glen smiled when he saw us back in the lodge a day early, but did not rib us too hard. That trip was actually an outstanding success when compared with Bridwell's next brilliant idea, and the ensuing fiasco which resulted, when we attempted a winter ascent of the north face of Clouds Rest............Jim always dreamed big. As time has shown, he later added whole new dimensions to the word 'visionary'.
Hamish M.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Now Hamie, you wouldn't be rattling our chains, now would you?
I did wonder about what Jim wrote in your red guidebook, at Bridwellfest, but adventure seems to follow you both. He clearly remembered your fun together fondly.
Another way to cross the Merced, not far upstream from the Rostrum.
Hamie, in secret training. Note "Kokanee" tee shirt.
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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Now that is a great story!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Hamie the First, outstanding tale! Er, I mean story.
How many Hamishes are up in those cold wet woods? Did you leave any back home for the sheep to seduce?
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thekidcormier
Trad climber
squamish, b.c.
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Awesome story; Mutch appreciated!
Fast forward a couple decades to the late 70s early 80s, the Might Hiker and Randy A. established a mellow corner crack in the little smoke bluffs and named it "neat and clean" circa 1978.
But then... I dont see Randys name pop up in the guide books until all the FAs in the northwalls area with dean hart and company between '85 and '87.
So the question I ask is, What was randy doing between said events; as far as I can tell he wasnt doing new routes in squamish. Was he routing elsewhere?
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Is any one else here heading to the south land of America? We are heading to Bishop next week for a couple weeks of pebbling. I heard at the gym half of Squamish will be there.
Anyone have a friend there with a home for rent? :) Actually, not even a home, a partial home. Floors are ok!
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MH2
climber
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Randy A at the VIMFF finale, seeing the humour.
Photo by Mighty Hiker.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Randy and I did several new routes in 1978 or so, and IIRC he was involved in some new things with others then and over the next few years. The 1978 climbs included Partners in Crime, which Randy pretty much led (I did the first few metres), and Seaside Rendezvous. If you look carefully at a comprehensive guide from the mid 1980s on, say the Campbell guide, you should find other things that Randy was involved in during 1979 - 85.
Not much later he was involved in AB Microtek, an early computer service firm, again IIRC.
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Thanks Bruce, I PM'ed you.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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An illustration of 1972 prusiking technique, as was useful on Big Daddy, and later in the Adamants.
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thekidcormier
Trad climber
squamish, b.c.
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Interesting technique, is the Eric W.?
Was that a self taught maneuver?
Bump for the mighty hikers history presentation tonight @ the Squamish adventure center
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Well, it actually worked reasonably well. Jumars existed then, but we couldn't afford them and were hardly about to lug them around the mountains. Plus they slip on icy ropes. And sit harnesses were just about invented, but not available here. So the technique was to have a chest harness of sorts, with the prusiks attached to the rope, through the chest harness, and into your pockets. The chest harness ensured you wouldn't fall out of the prusiks. If you fell in a hole - assuming that you were conscious and not too badly injured - you'd take the prusiks out of your pockets, and slip them on. Once you were standing, the compression would be off your diaphragm. If you had the prusiks adjusted to the right length, you could climb quite quickly - many of the early big walls were done with prusiks, not jumars, and they got quite slick at it.
Yes, it would be interesting to start over as a climber now, same age (14), modern advantages. But I have this theory that allowing for the variable of changing equipment, technique, skills and so on, that climbers of one era aren't necessarily any better than those from an earlier time. In context of what they had and what they were doing, their achievements are every bit as amazing.
(The climber isn't Eric W, but a fellow named Don.)
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thekidcormier
Trad climber
squamish, b.c.
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A classic example of making of making due with what you got. When my rack consited if ten wall nuts and 3 tricams I always used to say its not how much geAr rather how much fun you can have with what you got.
Thank you for the great presentation last night Anders, besT of luck with your research.
Don Serl by any chance.. Every body was rocking the bowl cut back in the 70s.
Bump for Mr Mutchs and Bridwells Yosemite adventure!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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I don't remember when the CMI ascenders became available - sometime in the late 1970s, or later? You could buy jumars at REI in the early 1970s. The next were the Petzl ascenders, but again not until much later.
Thanks to Big Mike and the kid cormier for coming to the talk last night. A presentation for the Squamish Historical Society on the climbing history project. And Big Mike saved the day with his techno-expertise.
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