Trip Report
The Classic 'Pumping Sandstone' by John Long (Climbing 1978)
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Saturday August 25, 2007 8:19pm
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In celebration of kicking those dips, thought you might enjoy some shots from the glory days back when ADD stood for all day dynoing. Gotta love the slack TR and the swami. Your brisket was never more chiseled!
Cover caption: JL at midpoint on the notorious Ripper Traverse near Pueblo, this being one of John Gill's most vicious 'test pieces.' The strain on his tendons is so intense, it is nearly audible to the onlooker," John Gill (and photo).
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Trip Report Views: 11,421 |
Mimi
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About the Author
Mimi is a climber from . |
Comments
Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Aug 25, 2007 - 08:34pm PT
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I always wondered if his folks really split without leaving him a forwarding address.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Aug 25, 2007 - 08:39pm PT
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John's parents were the two of the most loving people you could ever hope to meet. This was probably the only time where Johnny used hyperbole in his writing...
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Aug 25, 2007 - 09:19pm PT
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thanks, mimi!
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bachar
Gym climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Aug 25, 2007 - 09:34pm PT
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How about that Bachar dude - all he could do was scroll reefers and sheet!
Man what a loser.... heh heh
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Aug 25, 2007 - 10:48pm PT
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classic stuff
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WBraun
climber
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Aug 25, 2007 - 10:51pm PT
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What you can't see in that article is the smoking fast dyno moves that Largo could do.
It was unreal.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Aug 25, 2007 - 10:53pm PT
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Great stuff Thanks!
I think the rope was there to keep him on task
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Aug 25, 2007 - 11:15pm PT
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seems like that article was a big one (along with Pat's book on John Gill) toward making Bouldering what it is today.
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Curt
climber
Gold Canyon, AZ
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Aug 25, 2007 - 11:15pm PT
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Those are all great problems...
...photos by John Gill.
Curt
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Aug 25, 2007 - 11:21pm PT
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From a climbing mag around '80 or so. Article about climbing the boulders of Tahquitz. The one with the tilted shot from the Kong Boulder on the cover. This dude is honed...
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seamus mcshane
climber
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Aug 26, 2007 - 09:48am PT
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Verm wrote that Largo looked like "an albino bull gorilla on a Nair kick:" in that "Where Boneheads Dare" picture.LOL
Too funny!!!
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Aug 26, 2007 - 11:20am PT
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You've gotta have vision--for sure--but the real key is TUBE SOCKS!
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Aug 26, 2007 - 11:24am PT
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I thought bouldering was invented about 5 years ago! This article can't possible be true.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 26, 2007 - 12:29pm PT
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How about those nifty tape spats on the Kong Boulder shots for style points.
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mack
Trad climber
POKE-O-MOONSHINE
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Aug 26, 2007 - 12:43pm PT
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Does he have a cigarette in his mouth? How's the kick the habit going?
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Mimi
climber
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Author's Reply
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Sep 1, 2007 - 09:01pm PT
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Hooooman! How bout some of that speckled stuff? The third installment of the series (Pumping Iron, 1977, being the first with that Arnold guy who went on to Pumping Handshakes). Check out his brisketoliciousness™™ at work.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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I had forgotten this “pumping granite”
Love the last sentence, last paragraph, hell the whole thing!
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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That article was like a small bible that sent me on a search for bouldering salvation.
Classic!
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Curt
climber
Gold Canyon, AZ
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I noticed last year that the big old tree behind Largo on the "Way too High" boulder problem has since been cut down.
Curt
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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I have fond recollections of JL and John Bachar coming down to Pueblo for some sandstoning in the 1970s that led to this article. I was pleased they displayed the dynamic style that I was partial to, soaring up many of the local problems with a graceful gymnastic exuberance. Superb athletes, both of them - fun to watch.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I am sure they derived equal pleasure from watching you move. As a tall man myself, your power and grace on the stone has long been an inspiration. How did you discover the Pueblo boulders?
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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Mostly by just driving around the local area in 1971, when I moved to Pueblo. However, the Lost Canyon boulders (Pennyante, Juggernaut, etc.) were discovered when a friend of mine, a realtor, was introduced to the elderly gentleman who lived on the edge of the canyon and controlled water diversions from the Huerfano River at that point.
Thanks for the compliment.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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You and Pat inspired me to breifly venture into gymnastics to develop some power. Best muscle tone that I ever attained came from it. My 5'4" partner Paul Davidson could do these through a loop of 7mm cord but a tall man! All of that rope climbing must have helped.
Any stories connected with the next two photos, also yours, from Climb Godfrey and Chelton, 1977?
Left side of the Eliminator, Ft. Collins.
Pennyrile Forest in Kentucky.
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nvrws
climber
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Wow, I didn't know Mr. Long was hangdogging way back then...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Say what.........? There's no hangdogging in the conquest of the boulders.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Largo- not sure that you even saw this thread so bump.
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Mimi
climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 3, 2007 - 01:35am PT
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From the Verm's classic Stone Crusade - A Historical Guide to Bouldering in America, 1994.
Mark Wilford slaps the lip on Pinch Route, a typically dynamic Gill route on the Mental Block. The pinch hold in his right hand is America's most famous sandstone hold, the mantel above, one of America's most notorious.
Just getting both feet on the rock is a triumph. Steve Mammen on the upper half of Meathook.
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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I lived by these words indeed!
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Tahoe climber
climber
Davis these days
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Bump for an awesome thread.
My favorite quotes:
"Keen concentration and focusing of strength provide the top rope, but judgement is always the belayer. With this concentration, plus honoring the consequences of a gigantic whistler, calculation generally replaces the boldness with confidence, providing the ticket to ride. This confidence is gained by slowly pecking away until the sequence is revealed."
"…the excessive telecasting of one’s inner climbing experiences is in poor taste and embarassing – like forcing home videos on a stranger. Anyway, a theological approach to bouldering proves to be just that much more psychological luggage to keep the mere contemplator grounded. The personal beauty of the sport is in the doing, and there alone."
Beautiful, John!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 12, 2008 - 12:24am PT
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Raw power bump! For tales of Olympic rope climbing.
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dogtown
Trad climber
Cheyenne, Wyoming and Marshall Islands atoll.
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Aug 12, 2008 - 12:59am PT
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I remember looking at that cover in amazement! It still blows my mind.
More please !
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 13, 2008 - 11:08am PT
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Largo!
Are you ever going to join this thread, the spotters have been asking for ya!
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Aug 13, 2008 - 11:56am PT
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yes, the people demand more JL and will not be denied!
i lived and breathed those articles; they dumped gasoline on my already-raging bouldering fire and i've never looked back. sometimes writing can shape your life. so it was with pumping sandstone and pumping granite.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Aug 13, 2008 - 01:21pm PT
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Sorry, doods, but I've been busy and haven't been keeping a bead on ST.
Many, that stuff sure sounds arch and overblown but hell, I was just a kid when I was writing those articles and they served their purpose and got people stoked for bouldering. Look at it now!
Bachar and I sure had fun on those sorties to secret Gill areas. He was our hero. Bachar showed me a bunch of obscure Gillo stuff like Acrobatic Overhang, and other arcane problems at Split Rocks, Ft. Collins, and up at Estes. We became Gill experts.
The Left Eliminator is still one of my favs.
JL
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midarockjock
climber
USA
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Aug 13, 2008 - 09:59pm PT
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Largo your an amazing climber especially with your size.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 13, 2008 - 11:07pm PT
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A couple of tasty Gill shots from Oli's Master of Rock II.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 23, 2008 - 01:44am PT
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Highball bump!
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Aug 23, 2008 - 06:18pm PT
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Yeah! Largo rules...chill out!
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 23, 2008 - 08:23pm PT
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I thought that one of those pumping granite shots had Largo smoking a cig. That and that NIAD photo led me down the dark path of tobacco. Yep, it is all their fault.
I remember reading those articles over and over with the mag open on top of my textbook in high school. I sat WAY in the back.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 08:31pm PT
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Here you go BASE!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 08:35pm PT
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Photo credit for that one goes to Kieth Cunning.
In the climbing mag in which it appears, no credits are given; I somehow thought Brian Rennie.
But Kieth made it to one of our reunions this spring and happily claimed the effort.
Shared some hilarious times with Kieth, John & The Uplanders...
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 23, 2008 - 08:38pm PT
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Yep. That's the one. I wanted to be just like Largo. Except the muscles. I could never quite pull that one off. My wrists were bigger than my biceps.
Cough, cough.
I mean, geez, look at that guy. He was ripped. Probably still is.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 08:42pm PT
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"HO MAHN...whos the BASE Jumper with pipe cleaners for biceps" ...Long may have said.
and then:
...Sayy BUDDY, can you spare a dimp???
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 23, 2008 - 09:11pm PT
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Yeah, I had bad genes. I am still trying to get over that part...Maybe they could inject me with some of Largo's stem cells. 30 years too late, alas.
I am working out right now. I have about 40 well logs in front of me and am trying to sort out a horrible correlation. My mouse finger is twice as big as my thumb. It would be great if I were a doctor with that finger....
Keeps me rolling til midnight 24/7. That and lots of smokes.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 09:14pm PT
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Dimp for a Chimp however?
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 23, 2008 - 09:23pm PT
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No way, Roy, dipping is BAD for you.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 09:30pm PT
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Yup, that chaw juice is vile.
Lemme see if I got it right...
A Camel straight has no filter.
A Dimp is with filter.
If you "square" a dimp, you have a makeshift straight.
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Mimi
climber
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Author's Reply
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Aug 23, 2008 - 09:50pm PT
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I thought a dimp was a cig and a dip was a dip? Isn't the usual transition from dimp to dip to quits if you're lucky? So glad I never went down Tobacco Road. Just say no.....
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 09:53pm PT
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Correct Mimi, a dimp is a cigarette, but with filter.
A dip of chaw, or chewing tobacco, is just a dip.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 23, 2008 - 10:07pm PT
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Yeah, Mimi, I am still a horrible smoker. Not all of the time. I quit for a few years and smoke for a few years. I am a bi-smoker.
I wanna hear some stories about that jungle trip he took with Bridwell. Like if anyone got the Guinea Worm.
Geez, I got all this work in front of me. I am glad that I don't have a boss....
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Mimi
climber
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Author's Reply
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Aug 23, 2008 - 10:24pm PT
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I wonder if these gadgets would be off limits on a no hands problem?
Largo, from back when you and Bridwell were hangin' with these curly gents...got any tales?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 23, 2008 - 10:47pm PT
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Sorry BASE,
All I got is this clip from Ma Vie a la Verticale, by Lynn Hill:
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 23, 2008 - 10:57pm PT
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Man, I gotta get me one of those penis gourds and show up at a meeting. They already know that I am a brick shy.
Plus, you get a big gourd and it makes you look more burly...those curved ones are really cool.
Really, I gotta hear about that trip.
Somebody told me that when they were in the valley after that, Fish or Shmutzfink or somebody drew a picture on their van of Largo with a bone in his nose with the caption, "I dig the jungle." I didn't see it, so not sure.
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Mimi
climber
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Author's Reply
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Aug 23, 2008 - 10:59pm PT
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A brick shy, but a foot taller.
Edit: In the saddle that is.
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Robinson
Trad climber
Chattanooga
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I cut all those shots out of the mags and had them plastered on my walls in the late 70's. I coveted that kind of power, and tried to amass as much of it as I could. (Looking back I wish I had only worked on contact strength and done yoga.)
In the late 80's, I hooked up with John, and remember one day in particular when we went for a bouldering tour at Stoney Point. I'll never forget watching him sprint towards an insane-looking overhang sporting a pair of half pad holds about nine feet off the deck, launch -- completely airborne -- and then locking off like some mutant Dobermann shredding a bite sleeve. After a couple of casual swings he stabilized and then (with power to spare) torqued up into an improbable mantel before high stepping to the top. It's too bad there's no video out there of John bouldering back when he was still at the top of his game....
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 14, 2008 - 01:16am PT
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A Wilford Horsetooth classic from Mountain 91 May/June 1983.
Jerry Moffat on Armed and Dangerous (B2), at the Quarry Area, Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins Colorado. Mark Wilford photo.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 18, 2008 - 06:54pm PT
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Horsebump!
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Bullwinkle
Boulder climber
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Dec 18, 2008 - 08:26pm PT
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Supertopo, where copyright's mean nothing. . .DF
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Dec 20, 2008 - 02:48pm PT
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Thanks for the tap on the shoulder Bullwinkle.
The photo attribution upthread IS in fact correct for Brianne Rennie.
Clearly I misunderstood Kieth's Cunning's reference.
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Double D
climber
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Thanks Steve!
I'll add a little "late to the party" appetizer of Mark Wilford at horsetooth with a broken arm still pulling off amazing stuff.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nice shot DD! Especially like the executive length chalk bucket. LOL
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Lasti
Trad climber
Budapest
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Aug 26, 2014 - 07:31am PT
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From the Bowels of Supertaco...
BEHOLD.
BUMP
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Friend
climber
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Jan 14, 2016 - 09:12am PT
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Bumping Sandstone
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7SacredPools
Trad climber
Ontario, Canada
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Jan 14, 2016 - 06:08pm PT
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Inspiring stuff. I even bought a pair of those clunky shoes Jerry Moffat is wearing on the cover of Mountain 91. I'm sure Jerry could work them. Me, not so much...
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Jan 14, 2016 - 07:30pm PT
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Are those clunky shoes Galibiers? If so, I think that's what Cantwell wore on Hall of Mirrors, and what I had to get a pair of to be hard core myself. Didn't really work, and I hated them, but I bought them directly from Royal Robbins. So...you know...I could never admit at the time that I didn't really like them.
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melski
Trad climber
bytheriver
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Jan 17, 2016 - 12:41pm PT
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Largo always was telling us [the Oregon bong teem ]we could climb harder if we werent in the clouds so much,,but hey thats just about numbers,,
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