Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Rollover
climber
Gross Vegas
|
|
|
Oct 26, 2014 - 10:30pm PT
|
Sadness
|
|
Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
|
|
|
Oct 26, 2014 - 10:42pm PT
|
Really sad news.
Said hi to Richard a few times back in the seventies but never got to know him.
Quiet, iconic.
Wasn't that him in the classic photo of the Aguille de Joshua Tree?
Hard to comprehend Lisa losing both parents in four days.
Sincere condolences to Richard's family and friends and especially Lisa.
PB
|
|
Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
|
|
|
Oct 26, 2014 - 11:08pm PT
|
It's been a tough couple days for me to process this. While I knew Richard to talk to and not as a friend, he had a huge impact on me very shortly after I started climbing.
I had been in the gym for a couple months and had fallen madly in love with climbing for the first time since I was a kid. I was reading everything that I could get my hands on and in the gym 4-5 days a week, and the Stonemasters stories were by far in my "favorites" catalog.
Richard was in climbing with Lisa that day, who I think was all of 12 at the time and leading a 5.10 across the roof like it was a walk-up. They got finished and sat down by me on the pads, and Richard gave me a warm smile and said "Hi! I'm Richard Harrison." to which my nervous response was "Uhhh yes, I know!"
He was the first person since I had started that had gone out of their way to talk to me, and that simple talk opened the door to climbing and the climbing community for me.
Watching him climb was unreal. His normal gait was halting and often obviously painful, but when he touched the holds it all went away. He didn't climb as much as flowed upwards, each simple movement so precise that you got the impression that he had imagined that move while in the car on his way to the gym. When Richard climbed, the whole gym often went silent, all of us knowing for a time what mastery was. I very much regret that I never got to see him climb outside, or have the honor of sharing a rope with him.
The only other climber I have ever had the honor to actually see climb like that has been Berndt Arnold - I think he and Jim would have liked each other. While I have sometimes caught the merest glimpse of that zen in my climbing, I fear that kind of perfection and vision is only granted to a very few remarkable individuals. And Richard was truly remarkable, with a smile and a wise word any time I or anyone I ever saw asked him for advice.
My heart goes out to you Lisa, and to you John, and all of Richards friends and those he touched over the years. I can only hope that the fact that Richard affected people's lives, sometimes in the smallest actions - like taking the time to say hi to a gumby - made lifelong changes, and that you find some small solace in the fact that his life was well lived and wisely spent sharing himself with others.
Rest in peace, Stonemaster. I will miss you.
Travis Spaulding
|
|
greyghost
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 12:44am PT
|
Lisa,
I can't express how sorry I am to hear your dad passed. I knew him and you from the gym and Richard in Yosemite. Funny, I was just thinking about Richard and what he was up to the other day. Thomas Beck
|
|
jludes
climber
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 01:23am PT
|
This is beyond belief. Legends never die.
I can't even describe how nice Richard was to me ever single time I ever saw him.
I feel like climbing has stopped.
-John
|
|
Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 02:56am PT
|
Sad news. My condolences to his family and friends. Thanks for posting Lisa. Your dad and I knew each other in Yosemite Valley in the 1970s.
-Roger
|
|
mcreel
climber
Barcelona
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 07:41am PT
|
My condolences. I never met him, but I've always had a lot of respect for his routes in the Tahoe area.
|
|
Larry Nelson
Social climber
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 08:05am PT
|
Have only read about Richard, but it was all good. Another great and adventurous spirit is lost. Condolences to family and friends.
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 08:05am PT
|
What a great post Lisa!
You're one tough and graceful woman, and obviously appreciative of your family.
Please pop up on the forum from time to time and show us what you're up to.
Thanks again,
Bruce
|
|
Roots
Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 08:12am PT
|
Wow - shocked. Much sadness and sympathy goes out to Lisa and all climbers.
Spoke with Richard just about 2 weeks ago. We tentatively made plans to climb together in December. He wanted to do FAs and have a good time as he was suffering so much with what his wife Tina was going through.
RIP Richard - you and your friends changed the climbing world!
RESPECT
|
|
eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 09:02am PT
|
My condolences to those who were close to Richard. I never knew him, but certainly knew of him. It's nice to hear some of his stories.
|
|
guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 09:10am PT
|
Very sad.
Sincere condolences to Richards family and many friends.
Guy Keesee
|
|
NPB
Trad climber
Bend, Oregon
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 11:21am PT
|
Very sad news. I remember my first trip to Paradise Forks, AZ in the late '80s/early '90s. My climbing partner said he'd bring his rack, and I brought a rope and draws. But the rack was accidentally left at home. I'd never met Richard, but he and his climbing partner were parked/camped next to us. Richard divided up his own rack and lent us half for the long
weekend....the generosity was astounding, even back then.
|
|
who am i this time?
climber
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 01:48pm PT
|
Add my sympathies to everyone else's here. To Richard everything climbing was in the doing. He had a soul dedicated to climbing, and I am delighted to read, a family to whom all were equally dedicated and loving. Richard also had a succinct, dry humor that made him always a pleasure to climb with or be around. Haven't seen him in years, and I'll still miss him...
George Meyers
|
|
dickcilley
Social climber
Wisteria Ln.
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 06:29pm PT
|
In the 70s 7 of us went down to Modesto in my van.Richard included.It was awild trip and we almost landed in jail.They have all passed on.The only one left is me. Strange feeling.RIP Richard
|
|
Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 08:32pm PT
|
Richard conceived--and led the crux copperhead pitch-- of the line that became Electric Ladyland on Washington Column.
The route was named because of a massive thunder storm that struck around the time we were in the vicinity of this ledge. We had watched it build for some time, helplessly pinned to the wall. When it hit, the storm was vicious, sending down sheets and ropes of rain. But to our delight, the route overhung so much that the waterfall coming off the top got no closer than 30 feet to us. We were snug and dry, just enjoying the show.
|
|
BrassNuts
Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 09:10pm PT
|
Very sad news. Richard was a legend, I was glad to finally meet him and chat just a bit a few years ago. A nice guy and obviously the real deal. More than once I have almost filled my trousers on one of his routes. RIP Richard.
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2014 - 11:28pm PT
|
I remember that, Dick, wierd.
"Bolt!"
If it's not too sensitive a subject, who else was involved?
You, Darryll, Richard, Yabo, Dante?
|
|
Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
|
|
|
Oct 28, 2014 - 05:02am PT
|
Such a force for so many years in so many places......my sincerest condolences to Lisa, the rest of his family and the many friends of Richard Harrison.
|
|
Roots
Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
|
|
|
Oct 28, 2014 - 07:56am PT
|
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!