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alvinswill
Mar 7, 2006, 6:35 AM
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Glad you got in touch with Jeff. He's got that story down pat.
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7robbster3
Mar 7, 2006, 7:29 AM
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ricknie
Only one's left?, sad to hear that.
The pictures....
I haven't seen those in 20+ years. I do remember that we were laughing/crying when we were striving on min. wage to get gear & here we're looking at piles & piles of it dumped out on the ground.
Alvinswill,
You hit the nail on the head.. I wonder what this unknown fact did for the pushing of the progress of climbing in the valley...
...another of life's odd realities.......
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ricknie
Mar 7, 2006, 9:06 AM
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Probably make another great John Long story about what might have happened if the crash never happened.
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ricknie
Nov 23, 2006, 5:22 AM
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Like all good stories, what appears to be real and what appears to be legend sometimes blend.
The fact is that all four that found the plane are still alive. I just talked to the guy that first discovered the wing and reported it to the Rangers. I also talked to the guy that was about 40 feet behind him.
People still keep coming out of the woodwork to tell their stories. Like the chief mechanic for the airplane when it was owned by the world's third largest steel company. It was used as one of their executive aircraft.
Or how about the reporter that was poking around the Curry Company's employee tent cabins to find out more about the story.
The saga continues
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superbum
Apr 9, 2007, 6:21 AM
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UPDATE?????????
Howsit comin along? Book done yet? Any new insights, etc, etc...??????
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ricknie
Apr 9, 2007, 6:46 AM
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Spent a day with the #2 guy in the drug operation. You'll not believe what he does now!
Turns out that there was quite a battle in Hollywood about Cliffhanger . The specifics I'll put in the book, but I guarantee it'll be an eye opener.
The plane wasn't what they always thought it was. It saw duty in W.W.II as a fighter bomber, not a cargo hauler. That also means the quantity of dope on board wasn't what they thought it was either.
I also have photos of the pilot making his first trek from Mexico on foot with a backpack full of dope.
(This post was edited by ricknie on Apr 9, 2007, 7:06 AM)
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scuclimber
Apr 20, 2007, 2:38 AM
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Wow, that's cool. Make sure to post up and let everybody know when it's published. I'd love to read it. It turns out that a guy I used to work with smoked some of that stuff in the Valley all those years ago. He said from what he remembered he thought some aviation fuel got into some of it because it was interesting stuff.
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ricknie
Apr 20, 2007, 3:51 AM
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Yep, that was the stuff and yep, that was why everyone called lightning. |
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ricknie
Jul 29, 2007, 4:34 AM
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Just when I think I'm putting it all together someone calls out of the blue and jams a wrench in the gears. They end up opening up more doors that lead to more intrigue. So all I can say is stay tuned...more to follow
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EPiCJAMES
Aug 19, 2007, 1:25 AM
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well, i just read through all of these posts. sounds like a great story. anything new?
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ricknie
Aug 19, 2007, 10:26 PM
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EpicJames...there is always something new. I have to say that just about every other day I'm contacted by someone that either made it to the lake, knew the pilots and or drug organization, or had something to do with the plane in its previous lives.
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skinner
Aug 21, 2007, 1:23 AM
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gullwing19 wrote: Hey! Who's parkin on the puffer. Pass dat bi-atch
ricknie wrote: Or, as the old guys would say, *Quit Bogarting*
Thanks for the translation ricknie!
Wonder where that came from "Bogarting"? Did Humphrey have a habit of "parkin on the puffer" or something?
Could make an interesting footnote in your book
(This post was edited by skinner on Aug 21, 2007, 1:26 AM)
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ricknie
Aug 21, 2007, 1:52 AM
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Dayuum...just what I need...more research.
(This post was edited by ricknie on Aug 21, 2007, 2:49 AM)
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skinner
Aug 21, 2007, 2:02 AM
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Just curious if you have any idea's for a title yet?
I'm really looking forward to this, as a "Book" and a "Story" about an interesting piece of history.
I wonder if those who have been condemning the possible climbers who profited, would be willing to forfeit the portion of their racks, if they were to discover it was manufactured by someone who got their start as a result of selling recovered jet-fuel pot? They couldn't sell the gear either or they would be just another dealer down the line 
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ricknie
Aug 21, 2007, 2:19 AM
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Yep, got a name. I've been asked not to put it out there yet.
As for the climbers that made their way up and back down. I'd love to do a chapter on "Where would we be if it didn't happen"?
That kind of speculation reaches not only the climbing community, but also the law enforcement guys as well. For some, this was their intro into something of this magnitude and changed how they saw like events as they made their way through the mill.
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dynoho
Aug 21, 2007, 2:46 AM
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skinner wrote: I wonder if those who have been condemning the possible climbers who profited, would be willing to forfeit the portion of their racks, if they were to discover it was manufactured by someone who got their start as a result of selling recovered jet-fuel pot? They couldn't sell the gear either or they would be just another dealer down the line
^Funny.
The posts on the RC and ST threads have very different vibes about this story. I have bit my tongue here for awhile.
Too many here have bought into the theory that because it is illegal, it is wrong/taboo/sinful. Do your research and you will find the reason it is illegal is wrong. Many doctors believe that alcohol, tobacco/nicotine and caffeine are more dangerous but deemed legal. This is a point I don't care to argue here. There weren't school yard sales, assassinations of judges or other unsavory associations with terrorism and drug deals, this is all DEA propaganda.
The fact is, this is history, and it is our history, that of our sport. It occurred in the climbing Mecca of the US, if not the World. If you don't want to buy the book, don't. If you want to believe that many of the great climbing luminaries were saints, go ahead. I might add, that with this rationale, you should also turn off the radio for fear of listening to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, Grateful Dead, Doors, Pink Floyd, Snoop, Willie Nelson..... I could go on and on and ON.
Before you flame, if you are a real climber, I would request that read the thread on ST. It is very interesting.
Edited: Grammatical error, there may be more.
-Jeff
(This post was edited by dynoho on Aug 21, 2007, 3:35 AM)
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trundlebum
Sep 8, 2007, 1:18 AM
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Funny Thread:
What's with the inevietable moral debate?
Anyway...
I recall my first trip to the Valley (fall 78) there was still lots of free weed floating around. I recall being in the Camp4 rescue site gym and this guy busts out a number, lit it and I thought 'WTF?' ... it kind of sparkled. A rescue site regular was sitting there and noticed my perplexed look at the way the dube burned and laughed and said to one of the guys "that's that sparkler weed, crap from the crash isn't it? Most of that stuff was total trash I can't believe it's still around". One of the guys said "we don't know where it's from, we just bought this really big bag for next to nothing from a Curry employee". The rescue site regular laughed and said you got ripped off.
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ricknie
Sep 8, 2007, 4:57 AM
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Funny, the stuff at the time was going for $400 a pound. Now back then that wasn't on a par with Columbian Gold, Panama Red, or Tie Stick (as Cheech and Chong referred to it as), but it was pretty good stuff as commercially grown dope was concerned.
Over the past two years since I've started the research for this book I've come across many up and down the West coast that remember the dope, but had no idea where it came from or what was behind it.
So once again this story seems to reach out and grab plenty....six degrees of seperation...as they say.
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EPiCJAMES
Sep 8, 2007, 11:56 PM
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this story keeps getting better and better. hurry up with that book!!!!!!!!!!
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markguycan
Sep 9, 2007, 8:36 PM
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good luck on the book, I enjoyed "Angles of Light" and will look forward to your version. When you're done consider making a screenplay as "cliffhanger" did no justice.
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jaybro
Sep 9, 2007, 9:56 PM
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See also, 'High Country,' by Nevada Barr, mark.
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ricknie
Sep 9, 2007, 9:57 PM
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For those that are following...I've managed to now make contact with old friends of both of the pilots from before they got into the "business". Its been interesting to hear what kind of guys do this stuff, especially from back then.
The chapters keep growning not to mention changing. Just when I think I have all of the details on a given story, someone comes forward with info that blows the first story out of the water. Then its back to the investigative research to make sure that all of the facts are once again true and not just someone's imagination.
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skinner
Sep 16, 2007, 3:23 PM
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Rick.. are you are planning on including any of these BS stories? I am curious now how far from the truth some of them may have evolved over time.
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ricknie
Sep 16, 2007, 4:41 PM
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Skinner...yep, but I want to make sure that people don't get the stories mixed up with the truth. I'm sure what will make for interesting reading is when one sees what they thought was the story for the past thirty years, nodding their head in agreement, only to then read what really went on.
I'll make sure there is a defined line between the rumors and the real deal.
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