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krustyklimber
Sep 20, 2002, 11:48 PM
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Jody,
I saw your question about the great late Jim Madsen,
""Oh, s#!* !" ‹ Jim Madsen when he rappelled off the end of his rope on El Cap's Dihedral Wall in 1968."
This was a random quote on the home page...Did the dude die or what? Just curious. What is the story behind this quote?
Yes, those were indeed his last words.
He was from my neighborhood, and was friends with my scoutmaster. He was a very accomplished mountaineer and a friend of many great climbers of his day.
He is also noted as the innovator of the boot axe belay and used it to save three members of his party when they fell past him on a mountain in Alaska, one of the Forrakers I believe.
He was legednary for his kind nature, huge balls, and keen sense of safety (ironic huh), and had caught some huge falls.
There is a lot of stone around here that bears his name, some he gave, some were given in memorium. Most notable are Madsens Buttress in the shadow of Mt Stuart, and Madsens Ledge on Index' upper town walls.
He was a true friend, and a Man of the Mountians, and I have never heard anyone say an unkind thing about him or of him.
The world suffered a huge loss in the death of this great man.
Jeff
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jmlangford
Sep 22, 2002, 12:20 AM
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If those were his last words, they have no business being a random quote. That is the last moment before the guy died for crying out loud! I thought maybe there was a good ending to the story, like maybe he grabbed the rock or another rope or something and saved himself. When I heard that he said that just before he died, I was shocked. I think that this quote should be deleted from the rotation of random quotes. I think having that quote is rather tasteless.
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rollingstone
Sep 24, 2002, 11:58 PM
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Older climbers will recall that in 1968, when Jim died, there were only four routes on El Cap: the Nose, the Salathe, and the NA Wall, and the Muir Wall. Perhaps the West Face had been done when the accident occurred, but the important thing to remember for all members reading this post is that in those days there was no rescue capability in the Park. (It was still another two years before Bridwell and co. rescued Oregon climber Neal Olson from the Nose.) Jim was rappelling with a pack on down towards some friemds who had been caught in a storm near the top of the Dihedral Wall, and in the dark he accidentally rapped right off the end of his rope. Jim was a very powerful climber, and his loss was lamented by all who knew him. I started climbing in 1971, three years after Jim's accident, and local Washington climbers still spoke highly of the man's ability and determination. I agree with Jody that it shows disrespect to a fine person to remember him in a quote like that.
IMHO
[ This Message was edited by: rollingstone on 2002-09-24 16:59 ]
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polarwid
Sep 25, 2002, 12:18 AM
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Agree 100%! GET RID OF THE QUOTE!!!
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krustyklimber
Sep 26, 2002, 5:28 AM
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Hmm, that's odd I never even thought about it being offensive, but then I have always known that is what happened and what he said when it did.
For me having grown up here and tuaght by climbers who climbed with him it is common climbing knowledge to me, like tying a figure of eight.
Jeff
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natec
Sep 26, 2002, 5:50 AM
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I believe the quote is still spread in order to send a message.
It is in several instructional books on climbing and is appears on several climbing websites.
Inevitably climbers find out the story of what happened to Jim and these simple words ring as a reminder.
It is very unfortunate, but at the same time it impacts us because Jim did indeed die.
I believe we should not let Jim die in vain by not learning from his mistake. No one would want those to be their final words, but they have become very powerful to the climbing community because they were final.
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