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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO
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Once twas a climber Donini
Mighty proud of his horse-size weenie
No sign of Maestri high on the Torre
Egger's bones far below so gory
Donini found all this odd
Pronounced Cesare a fraud
Italian returned with Compressor
Removing all doubt what he was about
Maestri rapscallion
Donini the stallion
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Anastasia
climber
Home
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He is awesome.
Enough said.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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TWP! Re your Donini literary post.
Once twas a climber Donini
Mighty proud of his horse-size weenie
No sign of Maestri high on the Torre
Egger's bones far below so gory
Donini found all this odd
Pronounced Cesare a fraud
Italian returned with Compressor
Removing all doubt what he was about
Maestri rapscallion
Donini the stallion
Sigh.
You may not be a great poet,
and all on ST now know it.
However you climb well,
and don't emit bad smell!
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO
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Fritz: I accept your literary verdict.
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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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Feb 25, 2013 - 06:47pm PT
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A poster upthread stated that Jim changed from a "fun in the sun" rock climber to an alpinist. But Jim's roots are more in alpinism than rock climbing. If I remember correctly when I first became aware of Jim it was as a result of some solo escapades in the Canadian Rockies soon after he got out of the Service,(Correct me if I'm wrong here, Jim). In the summer of 1970 Jim had a good season in the mountains, doing amongst others, such then well-respected Teton alpine climbs as the Black Ice Couloir (there was ice in it back then) and the West Face of the Grand. That season in the Tetons Jim and his partner, Ross Johnson, a fellow veteran, kept their distance from the "hippie" element in and around the notorious Campsite 38 at Jenny Lake. However when Ross became injured or ill (I forget which) Jim had to settle for doing the West Face with one of the denizens of 38---i.e., me.During that climb Jim complained about what he felt was the inadequacy of his rock climbing ability---though in fact he was very competent. He told me that after the summer he would be moving to California to "learn how to rock climb". When I next climbed with him 2 years later in The Valley, he had achieved that goal and then some....
Attached (hopefully--we've never tried this before) is a (blurry) photo of a young (well, younger) Donini on the West Face in August, 1970
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Feb 25, 2013 - 07:33pm PT
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Alan! I love your story.
Aside from having had the pleasure of much climbing with Jim, I also knew Ross Johnson well -- although he was a very successful businessman with a lovely house and business interests all over the world, he sort of moved in with Jim and I when we were sharing a house in Boulder in the mid-1990s. Ross couch surfed with us for more than a year after his wife, Sandy, died of brain cancer.
The amazing detail of the above is that Sandy was Jim's first wife. Ross married her after she and Jim broke up, an all-in-the-family detail that didn't damage any of the involved relationships. Ross and Jim stayed great friends through all of it.
Sadly, we lost Ross a few years later, too. He was a marvelous guy, really intelligent and entertaining. I loved having him around.
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Roots
Mountain climber
SoCal
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Feb 25, 2013 - 07:55pm PT
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I met him at Splitter Camp a bunch of years ago. Here's how the initial introduction conversation went:
Donini gave me a warm welcome: “Hey I’m Jim. Welcome to Splitter Camp! You seem really fit and look like an uber climber. What grade are you leading?”
I sheepishly answered “5.7”.
“How long have you been climbing?”
“Twelve years.”
He looked at me dumbfounded and replied “You should be able to climb better than that”.
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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Feb 25, 2013 - 08:02pm PT
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When J-Do met Maestri for a momentous debate at the World Sushi Summit:
I forget that Jim was representing me at the Summit. Maestri didn't stand a chance.
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Taylor Spiegelberg
climber
Wyoming
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I met Jim Donini over Thanksgiving at the Creek. He was the nicest guy Ive ever met climbing and told us story after story about his days in Patagonia, the Karakoram and Alaska. We ended up spending hours around a fire and he asked us to come to Thanksgiving dinner at the Technicolor wall with him. We had an awesome night especially since we went to The Creek knowing absolutely no one. Hopefully I run into him again someday!!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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He has always been cutting edge - first guy I knew who had a Mac.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Donini is one of the few who are born with the ability to earn the respect of other men. And Cosmic is still one D smurf down...
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10b4me
Ice climber
Bishop/Flagstaff
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In Alpinist Issue 2 ("A Climber's Life"), Jim Donini describes his 1978 attempt, with Michael Kennedy, Jeff Lowe and George Lowe, on the north ridge of Latok I (7145m) in Pakistan's Karakoram Range. The four men, perhaps the strongest American alpinists of the day, climbed more than 100 pitches on the ridge before Jeff's altitude sickness forced an end to the ascent. The resulting descent/rescue defined the term "epic." More important, in the nearly thirty years that have passed, twenty expeditions, comprising the world's strongest climbers, have thrown themselves at the ridge to finish those last three pitches without success. What has emerged is one simple fact: the 1978 effort may have been one of the strongest climbing attempts in the history of alpinism
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Cheers, Mr. Donini. I respect the wonderful life you've lived. Will never catch up with all your travels, but you are a great inspiration to me.
lynne
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Tami
Your point: Donini is one of the few men who are born with the ability to earn the respect of women. ;o) And Cosmic is still one D smurf down...
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Johnny K.
climber
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Jan 10, 2014 - 09:45am PT
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TTT, Respect
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Jan 10, 2014 - 02:30pm PT
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Missed this one.
Much respect for doninis wisdom, hope to tie in with him sometime. Either up here or down in the grounds he stomps. Cheers!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Jan 10, 2014 - 03:13pm PT
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Did I mention that he is a big inspiration for many reason?! Well he is, to me! Especially because it seems like he continues to enjoy climbing at a pretty high level after so many years of doing it and is not getting tired of it! Love it.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Jan 10, 2014 - 03:19pm PT
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I guess if I could sandbag climbers 1/3 my age, I would like it too. Ha,Ha
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Jim Clipper
climber
from: forests to tree farms
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Jan 10, 2014 - 03:22pm PT
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Real deal. Thanks for your service. Allez. TFPU. Keep your dog away from him at the crags. I don't know how he maintains the wiry frame, but I've heard dog meat is lean and tough (but might pair well with a hearty burgundy).
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Jan 26, 2014 - 12:29pm PT
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A great story to be retold: Jim Donini. The Torre Egger Climb. Mountain 51, 1976.
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