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ajkclay
Oct 11, 2005, 1:33 PM
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Hi, I was just reading an article by someone who had visited the South Australian Climbing Mecca: Moonarie. They mentioned someone lending them a piece of gear and remarked how this was generous, but summed up the spirit of "The Moon."
It reminded me of the first time my friends and I went there; On the 40 minute walk back down to camp on our first day we were met by someone halfway (they were walking up and it's strenuous) who had noted that we would be coming down in the dark so they had brought a torch up for us.
Quite impressed at this amazing gesture we headed over to their camp after putting our gear away with some beers as thanks... After some discussion about what routes we planned to do the next day one of our new friends asked us what cams we had as there were certain sizes required to protect the crux.
When we said that we only had 3 cams between 2 parties this amazing person was immediately insisting that we take his rack of 8 cams as he was leaving in the morning and would not need them:
"I'll give you my address and phone number, and you can return them to me when you get back to town." He said.
Wow amazing that complete strangers would be so generous, but then as we found out, this is the spirit of Moonarie.
With so many negative vibes out there, I was wondering how many of you have similar positive stories that you feel embody the spirit of your favourite climbing area?
Cheers,
Adam
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markc
Oct 11, 2005, 1:57 PM
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Registered: Jan 21, 2003
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Generous may not be the right term, but one very kind gesture springs to mind. On the first day of a trip to Seneca, we were descending and pulling ropes at dusk. One of our ropes stuck badly at the end of the pull. After yarding on it and partially releading the route by headlamp, we decided to leave it until morning. When we arrived at the base of the route, it was sitting there in a neat coil waiting for us. Thanks again to those anonymous and kind early-risers.
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wings
Oct 11, 2005, 2:36 PM
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Registered: Jun 2, 2004
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My wife and I just got back from a 3 day hiking trip to Waterton Glacier Peace Park (or whatever it's called nowadays ... it's the park that spans Alberta and Montana). While there, a family invited us to partake in their Thanksgiving dinner, complete with roasted turkey and all the fixings.
Very generous and very unexpected.
- Seyil
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pawilkes
Oct 11, 2005, 2:43 PM
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Registered: Jul 10, 2003
Posts: 275
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i had a group of about 8 people cancel their plans for the rest of the day to help evac me after i broke my knee a couple years back. obviously this is one of those situations that people feel a bit more obligated to help but it was super helpful.
while not a climbing story, i was on a 360 mile bike ride a few years ago and it started raining and the temp dropped. i thought i was prepaired but i ended up getting cold and wet. this guy stopped and offered me a ride to his cabin. he fed me, gave me a place to warm up and spend the night. the next day he drove me 30 miles out of his way to get me back on my ride. he was one of the most generous caring people i've ever met.
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atg200
Oct 11, 2005, 2:52 PM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2001
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i've been on the receiving end of too many nice things to count.
no_one and a few other zion locals showed us the descent off touchstone in the dark - we probably would have bivied otherwise. even nicer, one of their group ran from touchstone back to the visitor center at 2 in the morning to get a car to drive us all out. that guy is a hero.
alf came over to my campsite at indian creek with an air compressor to fill a flat tire for me after he noticed me getting a jack ready.
when i was descending off north sixshooter in the dark, a couple of guys in a jeep drove out specifically to get us and give us a ride back to 2WD road because they thought me might get lost. very nice.
jaco and some other south africans climbed with me, hooked me up with a tent, sleeping bag, food, and a ride back to witbank so i could climb with them at waterfall boven.
saloman, an ecuadorian i met on cotopaxi, picked me up at the airport on my second solo trip to ecuador, let me stay at his house, and climbed with me all over ecuador for a week. that was a terrific trip thanks to him.
a big group of mexicans in the ixta hut a few years ago gave me hot food and tequila when i rolled into the hut at midnight in a snowstorm. they also gave me a ride from ixta back to mexico city the next day.
those are the ones that stand out most right now, but there have been many more. thanks to all of these great folks.
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shanz
Oct 11, 2005, 3:00 PM
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I remember an outing to JAX and some climbers dog was hit by a train- keep in mind the distance from the tracks to the parking area is a good hour walk- anyway it was like 10-15 climbers stoped climbing and help the guy. w This was a good feeling knowing that even though this didnt require that many people, everyone was concerned and willing to help.
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dingus
Oct 11, 2005, 4:14 PM
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Angus and I were descending the Cathedral Chimney after doing the DNB/Powell Reed exit on Middle Cathedral. We'd been without water for a couple of hours. Another 30 minutes or so to cold beer. We were dried up pieces of leather by this time.
After the last rap, a few hundred feet farther down, we encountered a hiker. A friendly chap, he was just out exploring the Cathedrals and thought he was in the Spires Gully. We corrected his navigation error and told him there was 'no way out' of the Cathedral Chimney cept the way he came.
He offered us water from a big ole Nalgene and of course we heartily accepted. I took a sip and as I tilted my head beack he said, 'Drink it all fellas, you look thirsty."
"Dude," I said, "don't tease us like that! We'll drink it bro, so don't tempt us!"
"No, I'm sure man, go ahead and drink. DRINK!"
I shrugged, "OK man, I tried to warn you." Gulp gulp, handed it to Angus, gulp gulp, done, gone in 30 seconds. Angus handed him the empty. I clapped the dude on the shoulder and we said goodbye and left him standing there holding the empty nalgene.
He looked into his empty water jug, looked down upon us as we raised little dust devils under our heals as we continued our crush-footing down the gully, shrugged again, put his bottle away and continued exploring the chimney.
That was a noble gesture, a great deed. We DID thank him, but I'm sure he didn't know zackly how fucking thirsty we really were. It wasn't 'just a drink' and he helped us more than he ever knew.
Thanks again stranger!
DMT
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areuinclimber
Oct 11, 2005, 4:34 PM
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Registered: May 29, 2004
Posts: 436
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i had a kind stranger cut my rope. (or should have)
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sevrdhed
Oct 11, 2005, 7:27 PM
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Registered: Feb 5, 2004
Posts: 923
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This isn't climbing related, but I did once have a woman pay for my gas. I forgot to factor in my car payment, and ended up not having enough money for the gas that I had purchased. She overheard the conversation, and when I was going to the ATM to try and withdraw some money, proceeded to pay for me. I wish I had gotten a chance to thank her more than I did!
Steve
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steelhands
Oct 11, 2005, 8:59 PM
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Registered: Aug 13, 2005
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Not climbing, but.... Freezing cold, rainy nite in North Carolina and my tire goes flat on the interstate. It's about 2 am and I'm wired from lack of sleep and blazed from...whatever. I get out of the car and try to jack it up but my hands are so cold I can't manage it. I try and try until I can hardly move. Two fellows in a pickup pull up behind me and assess the situation. They tell me to sit in the car and stay as warm as I can. Bonk, Bonk, Bonk the car goes up in the air. There is some rattling around in back and a few minutes later they tell me that the old tire is busted, the spare is mounted and looking good. I try to pay them but they say no thanks as they are walking in the rain back to their truck. Who knows what they saved me from that night. Good ol boys for sure.
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builttospill
Oct 11, 2005, 9:29 PM
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Registered: Jan 8, 2004
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Some guys in a pickup pulled my ass out of 3 feet of powder when I ran my car off the rode in Big Cottonwood canyon in a snowstorm two winters ago. The cop who came by stood on watching since I ddin't have a tow hook to attach to (he's not allowed to use the axle for liability purposes). I know these guys were tired and just wanted to get the hell out of there, but they spent 20 minutes helping dig me out and then pulling me out. Must've thought I was an idiot being up there in a little saturn.
Have had multiple offers from people to give me a ride when out on a long run in the countryside when a thunderstorm hits. I've never accepted because usually I like the rain, but sometimes when it's cold I've thought about it.
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builttospill
Oct 11, 2005, 9:32 PM
Post #12 of 22
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Registered: Jan 8, 2004
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Some guys in a pickup pulled my ass out of 3 feet of powder when I ran my car off the rode in Big Cottonwood canyon in a snowstorm two winters ago. The cop who came by stood on watching since I ddin't have a tow hook to attach to (he's not allowed to use the axle for liability purposes). I know these guys were tired and just wanted to get the hell out of there, but they spent 20 minutes helping dig me out and then pulling me out. Must've thought I was an idiot being up there in a little saturn.
Have had multiple offers from people to give me a ride when out on a long run in the countryside when a thunderstorm hits. I've never accepted because usually I like the rain, but sometimes when it's cold I've thought about it.
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kasharp
Oct 11, 2005, 10:24 PM
Post #13 of 22
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Registered: Apr 18, 2005
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this past weekend i went down to looking glass (NC) with a friend and met some really nice people who helped us out a lot, i hope they read this.
we got there friday afternoon and my partner aided the first pitch of invisible airways (it was too wet to free) and we set up a static line to come back to the next morning. well, we get back there the next morning and there are 2 guys camping out on the belay station at the top of the first pitch - portaledge set up and all. so we were like "crap", yelled up to the guys to see what they're plans were for climbing. my partner was doing the leading and he had never led the 2nd pitch and so informed the two guys (Doug & Nate). as soon as they found this out they yelled to us to come on up, my partner could use their gear to lead on, they'd be more than happy to give him any advice, take his time, etc. so while my partner led the pitch, i hung out with doug and nate, spent most of the day laying on their portaledge and doug gave us snacks, sending water and cliff bars up to my partner whenever he needed it. doug and nate had planned to lead the 2nd & 3rd pitch of invisible airways pretty quickly and then spend the rest of their day working on brain wall, but instead hung out with us, lending out their gear and giving away yummy snacks. one of the nicest things anyone has done on a climbing trip.
the end of our looking glass trip ended with more kindness. sunday we got a late start and went to climb the Nose and Sundial Crack ... but was met with several guide groups who took FOREVER ... so while we were sitting at the base we met two people, Audrey and Marcus, both going to college in Brevard. We chatted with them a while, hopped on their rope to play on the first pitch of the Nose, and finally gave up trying to do all 4 pitches when it was obvious the groups ahead of us were never going to finish (7 people at one belay station????) Audrey told us she was a bartender at a local pub in town and we should come by as she'd be working that night. Since we'd spent the previous 3 days camping, my partner & i thought it would be a nice change to head into town. so we packed up and headed to the gear shop in town and my partner blew the last of his money on a piece of gear ... both of us forgetting that money was our gas money home. by the time we realized this fact, it was too late to return the gear. so after some trickery with debit cards we managed to get gas, and then made our way down to the pub and told Audrey about our money situation, and she immediately offered to give us money in order to get home. we told her we had everything worked out, but didn't have much money to spend at the bar, so we weren't planning on drinking much. Audrey made sure that that wasn't a problem and we had a great time. unfortunately we ran into a bit of trouble after we left the bar and I had to be bailed out of jail and being that Audrey and Marcus were the only people we knew in town, my partner called Marcus who came and got me out of jail and let us crash at his place. Probably the nicest thing that any stranger, or any friend, has done for me. Thanks a lot guys :)
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sandstoner
Oct 11, 2005, 10:32 PM
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Registered: Mar 7, 2003
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back in 97 i lent my #5 BD to some german blokes going up on the salathe wall. i was leaving for thailand and just gave em my address.
got the cam back in a few weeks... cool guys.
also left my #4 in Ved back in 01. Local guy, nick, paid for postage and sent it back to me. still owe him the money, but cant find him.
also in Ved, the guys at laramie glass fixed the broken vent window on my vanagon for about 20 bucks, the cost of the plexi. they fed my wife and I beers whilst we waited, and stayed after hours to do it.
pay it forward
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horseonwheels
Oct 11, 2005, 11:56 PM
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Registered: Feb 3, 2005
Posts: 226
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Just two weeks ago, I was leading two people up the First Flatiron at about 2:30. We were held up by another party on nearly every pitch, including a 20 min wait at the base. We found ourselves on the summit at about 7:30 (getting pretty dark), with one person in our party that had little experience rapelling. By the time we started the walk back down, it was completely dark. We headed down using the light from a cell phone.
After a little while, we ran into two people hiking up with two flashlights. They told us to take one, saying, "I would feel terrible if you guys fell off a cliff." They told us to just leave it by their bikes at the ranger station. It helped out a bunch. I taped the couple bucks I had with me to the flashlight and left it there.
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ajkclay
Oct 12, 2005, 1:42 PM
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Registered: May 9, 2002
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sounds like we're not such a bad bunch after all :)
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climbingnurse
Oct 12, 2005, 2:26 PM
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Registered: Oct 30, 2003
Posts: 420
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I got a friend's red camalot stuck on some route in the Gunks a couple years ago. It was seriously freakin welded, so I had written it off and we agreed to split the price of a new one.
The next day we were hanging out at the base waiting for a climb and mentioned that to two guys we had struck up a conversation with. One of them produced the cam from his pack and gave it back to us. Awesome!
We left a 6-pack under the front of what we think was their car at the end of the day. I'm still not sure it was the right car or that they actually saw the beer.
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yetanotherdave
Oct 12, 2005, 4:01 PM
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Registered: Mar 19, 2005
Posts: 243
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My second or third summer climbing (early 90s), I was starting up the Apron Strings in squamish, and my partner took a big whipper on pitch 1 (he'd been too pumped to place gear, and opted to sprint for the belay). He wrecked his ankle, so we had to pack up our gear and head to the hospital to get it x-rayed - leaving several cams in the rock.
As we were packing up Peter Croft happened to wander by, and he soloed up and cleaned our gear for us! He offered to help us back to the car as well - truly a class act.
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kasharp
Oct 12, 2005, 5:17 PM
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Registered: Apr 18, 2005
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In reply to: Did Doug have blond hair, crew cut? And was Nate bald?
doug had dark blondish hair... maybe leaning towards light brown, nate had a hat on ... could have been bald, haha, not sure.
they were both from columbus, ohio
they're emailing photos & video to us, so i'll post up when i get them :)
In reply to: In reply to: unfortunately we ran into a bit of trouble after we left the bar and I had to be bailed out of jail Let me guess, random license check? The Brevard area is infamous for them!
yea, apparently 3 beers over 3 hours makes you legally drunk in the state of north carolina ... grrrr
edited to say: nate isn't bald. here are some of their photos from this weekend:
https://reef.arfy.org/.../lgr/lgr_2005-10-07/
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sandstone
Oct 12, 2005, 5:44 PM
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Registered: Apr 21, 2004
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This is a good thread.
I was hiking out from Titcomb Basin in the Winds one time with an injured knee, and 3 people from NY offered to take my pack. I wouldn't let them, but it sure was a nice offer. Still hobbling out the next day a guy all but forced me to get on his horse and ride out. Bouncing on the horse still hurt like hell on the knee, but it was better than walking with that pack.
After topping out on Whitehorse Ledge one time a partner ran down to the base to get the sandals I forgot, and ran them all the way back up to me. I didn't even know what he was doing when he ran off, he just noticed my feet were killing me and took off.
Hiking out from our campsite at Linville Gorge I found the sling I'd dropped on a route the day before hanging on a tree limb at a trail intersection.
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cchildre
Oct 12, 2005, 6:16 PM
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Registered: May 5, 2004
Posts: 671
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Short and sweet!
Mexico, first day of a full week of climbing. I head back to camp a little early for beers and to nose out some of the good stuff. Returning to the tent my partner and I see some French Canadian Hotties, Catherine and Christina. I sit down to finish my beer and Catherine offers to share a smoke with us...all I could think was JACKPOT! Too bad I broke her ceramic frog and screwed that one up good. If she is reads this...Je prie pour votre rémission.
I love Mexico!
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