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boltdude
Jun 18, 2003, 2:20 AM
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Here's an interesting view from the early 1980s. - Greg From the 1983 edition of Rock Climbs of Tuolumne Meadows by Don Reid and Chris Falkenstein, published by Chockstone Press. A Climbing Commentary by Thomas Higgins Climbing in Tuolumne is much more than picking your way along the lines and symbols of route descriptions. Climbs here will vibrate within you for awhile. The very blue sky of Tuolumne quiets you, if you gaze into it from up high. The sparkle of crystals and the sheen of polished granite can haunt you, if you turn to find them. The water and meadows you pass fix your climbs in memory, so you may long recall them. Climbing in Tuolumne will titillate not only your senses, but your mind. With some knowledge about who climbed here before, what they tried to create, and what were the rules of the game, you can speculate about the vision, motives, fears and skills of climbers. You can wonder how or why some routes were done earlier than others, or think about how some routes led, and will lead, to others. You can play detective, historian, anthropologist or judge. And best, you may be inspired or challenged to make your own contribution to the best traditions of Tuolumne climbing. The Beginnings At first, Tuolumne served as a pleasant diversion for climbers from Yosemite Valley. Warren Harding and Dick Leonard played some on Lembert Dome in the 1950's. Chuck Pratt and Wally Reed climbed a prominent crack system on the west face of Fairview Dome in 1958. They used lots of aid and didn't proclaim the route a superior one. Now, of course, the Regular Route on Fairview is well known as a wonderful free climb. In 1962, Jeff Foott, Jim Baldwin and Hope Morehouse climbed the Great White Book and told people it was great fun. But the prestigious action, the "serious climbing," was in Yosemite Valley where big walls and hard cracks focused everyone's attention. Driven crack man Frank Sacherer visited Tuolumne in 1963 to do West Crack (on Daff Dome) with Wally Reed. Frank liked the route but climbed few others in Tuolumne. And, his secret log of planned first and free ascents always listed only Valley routes. Nevertheless, 1962 and 1963 brought stirrings of the great climbs and free climbing tradition to come. In these years, Bob Kamps and Mort Hempel virtually free climbed the Regular Route on Fairview. Mort used one pin for aid, but Bob free climbed past it. Kamps and Reed also free climbed the Inverted Staircase. The crux pitch, a three step arch, was hard 5.10. Suddenly it seemed that the little knobs on Tuolumne domes might provide incredible free climbing possibilities. No sooner were the possibilities raised than discussion began of ends and means. If the little knobs and flakes could be climbed, how could and should the climbing be protected? Jeff Foott, Eric Beck, Bill Amborne, Bob Kamps and others had some experience with bolt placements on Glacier Point Apron in Yosemite Valley. It was possible to stop in some places and put in a bolt. But many of the domes in Tuolumne were smaller and like playthings compared to the oceans of rock in Yosemite. Would it be okay to come down on rappel here and there, place a bolt and create a fine, safe climb? Or create a short aid ladder to allow for free climbing attempts? Naive neophyte I was then, I put these questions to Frank Sacherer and Bob Kamps in 1963. Sacherer never answered. But by his look I knew that climbers might die doing such things if Frank caught them. Kamps answered. He said, "No." Tom Gerughty was perhaps the first to climb and protect a large, crackless expanse of Tuolumne rock. He demonstrated that bolts could be placed while free climbing, but not without difficulty. In 1966, Tom began climbing the lovely crystal dikes on the northwest face of Pywiack Dome. But Tom had an aversion to bolts and had little experience placing in them. Once in Yosemite, Tom stepped on a bolt in the presence of Sacherer. Frank yanked the rope so hard Tom nearly fell off the wall. Perhaps Tom learned the lesson too well. He trembled up and up on the dikes of Pywiack, unable or unwilling to stop, the drill dangling uselessly from his side. Dave Meeks and Roger Evja, his partners, waited for the 200 foot, slab splashing fall. Somehow, it never came. Tom captured the aesthetic plum, The Dike Route, on Pywiack, as well as the respect of numerous climbers who imagine leading the last pitch with two less bolts, since added with Tom's permission. The issues of how climbers could or should protect with bolts lay dormant in the late sixties. By and large, climbers sought out the major crack systems. When they did venture onto blank, open faces, climbers abided by the prevailing ethic - placing bolts from stances on lead, and leaving alone what could not be done this way. Examples of the better face climbs created during this period include Rawl Drive, Nerve Wrack Point and The Vision. The Vision is on a far-away buttress that glows in the afternoon. Look at if from east of the climb. Rawl Drive is just for fun, perhaps after dinner, and by using the original protection and not the bolts on another route to the left, you can feel the old challenge of the route. Period pieces of the sixties following major cracks include Phobus, Deimos, The Yawn, The Coming, Hobbit Book, Crescent Arch, Cooke Book, Chartres and Lucky Streaks. The Yawn presents the only long chimney and crack climb in Tuolumne. You won't find a more astounding dihedral than at the top of this climb. The Hobbit Book features waves of curling rock. Phobus and Deimos are wonderful, moderate crack climbs. The approach suggests that you might be visiting Japan. Has a crazy Japanese gardener been working on the trees, creating gigantic, twisting shapes? Lucky Streaks is a superb gem, following wispy cracks on a steep, golden wall. Kamps and I turned back once before doing the first ascent. With so little done on Fairview at the time, we refused to believe free climbing would be possible on such a steep wall. What a joy when the route proved feasible, well within the standards of the day! After fifty routes were done between 1965 and 1971, and four climbers figured figured in over half of them. Tom Gerughty, Bob Kamps, TM Herbert and I climbed in this period. A couple of reports in Ascent and the American Alpine Journal told a little about the routes, but no guide book ever evolved and few other climbers visited Tuolumne. Rumors developed suggesting that certain climbs were horrifying. Consequently, many routes were not repeated for several years. Lucky Streaks and Chartres are examples. TM Herbert did much to scare climbers away with his rubber-faced, wide-eyed tales of first ascents he had witnessed. "God, you should have seen them," he would say, referring to a first ascent team, "...their butts quivering, no place to stop, no protection except for some dinky bolt..." Of course, the routes were not horrifying, however intimidating in appearance. A Time of Controversy As the seventies arrived, the era of boundless opportunities drew to a close and a controversy began over climbing styles. Climbers began attacking more fearsome faces and cracks. New climbers on the scene spent long periods in The Meadows, sometimes returning several times to try the same route. Climbers hung ropes for weeks at a time to reserve a prospective route and allow repeated access to high points. A few aid climbs appeared, unheard of since 1958. Also, climbers resorted to preprotection (placing protection on rappel or on aid, then free climbing); previewing (viewing and/or rehearsing moves on rappel or by top rope); and resting on protection or yo-yoing (repeated tries at moves, lowering, and possibly hand-walking the rope to try again). Needless to say, climbers of the sixties were appalled at the new styles. The new stylists argued that many new routes couldn't be done in any other way, or that the final route was more important than the means. Several routes focused the debate. On Fairview Dome, aid was used on the Plastic Exploding Inevitable to climb the giant roofs above Crescent Ledge. What a disappointment to the climbers of the sixties who unsuccessfully tried the roof, then turned back with the expectations that some day it too would be free climbed. Death Crack was rehearsed several times with a top rope before it was finally led. Hoodwink involved a short aid ladder to protect immediate free climbing. Wailing Wall was preprotected, as was a short section of Shambles. Handbook was yo-yo'd. Perhaps the lightning rod for the debate was Willie's Hand Jive. Here, nearly the entire route was created by placing bolts on rappel. In 1974, in a fit of righteousness, I chopped the bolts and lectured one of the first ascent team about traditional styles. Later, the bolts were replaced on rappel, this time more numerous than last. Such was the intensity of conflict between new and traditional styles! Hand Jive taught me more than had my old, strict mentors about adhering to traditional climbing styles. The route broke no frontier of difficulty, while robbing others of the opportunity to try the first ascent in traditional climbing style. You may want to do the route and judge whether or not it could have been protected in the same way most face climbs of the sixties were done. Ponder the same question on Hoodwink, just above the roof on the last pitch. Finally, the super crack climbers of today may want to try Handbook, Death Crack, Wailing Wall and Blues Riff without rehearsing, preprotecting or yo-yoing. My hunch is that some of today's climbers will find these climbs possible in the traditional style. If so, how will they feel about losing the chance at a first ascent in traditional style? Go Climb! Maybe the campfire is the best place for debates on style, history and ethics. When the sun comes up, you are lusting for the raw experience of climbing, for testing your limits and nerve. For climbers craving the jitters of tiny edges and knobs, Polly Dome and vicinity is a must. Try Get Slick, Piece of Grass, Sweet Nothings and Golden Bars. Or, wander a little way to Ursula, wonderfully wicked and hidden in the woods. In the roof category, Thy Will Be Done might warm you up. Then try Wailing Wall. Can you do it in good style, your first try? What about doing Boa? No matter what you answer, you'll want comic relief. So, do Un-Huh on Fairview - its twenty-five foot ceiling is only 5.3! Getting to the roof is more of a problem. Be warned, TM Herbert nearly lost his life (again) on the third ascent, trying to find the way on the second (or third?) pitch. In the category of long climbs, Pièce de Réstistance on Fairview Dome may be the best. Several climbers figured in the ascent. Bob Kamps and I had tried the route a couple of times in the late sixties. We stopped at a headwall which appeared to need a couple of bolts of aid. Vern Clevenger and Bob Harrington climbed the headwall after placing some bolts from difficult stances and other bolts with aid. Then, in 1974, I returned with Clevenger to free climb the pitch and complete the climb. The headwall involves ceaseless 5.10 and 5.11 climbing. Most climbers now call it 5.12, saying that little flakes keep falling off to make it harder. Whatever the case, the line is a most dramatic and direct one. An enormous arch marks the route, powerfully drawing you along. Of course the wonder of climbing is not in mulling over the past but creating the future. Think and question yourself as you climb in Tuolumne Meadows. Try to assess which routes and ethical traditions seem best. There are magnificent routes done by compromising the traditional style, the most recent example being the Bachar-Yerian on Medlicott. Always the compromise seems justifiable at first, then doubts arise. Maybe the climb could have been done another way? Or, maybe the wall should have been left alone? Probably, you will be torn between climbing in the traditional style and relaxing your standards to do the hardest routes. If so, consider that most mortal climbers have only ten or fifteen seasons with sufficient energy, time and ability to do their best climbing. Then, a time comes when climbing memories far outnumber climbing prospects. A guide book may mention your name, and so might a few old friends. But the end result will be your own memory and evaluation of climbs you have done. Will you prefer to remember having done the most severe routes in whatever way was necessary, or having done a few of the hardest in the best style, while perhaps failing miserably on some others and avoiding altogether some others? It is a question the tumultuous climbing traditions of Tuolumne forces upon you. Think before you answer it, for your best climbing days too soon rush by.
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jgill
Jun 18, 2003, 4:16 AM
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Amen. What more needs to be said? I knew and bouldered with Tom in the Black Hills in the 1960s, and he and Kamps and others maintained this admirable tradition there, as well. In 1967 Kamps and Mark Powell made the FA of Chingadera (5.11) at Tahquitz. On this route Bob placed what is probably the most amazing protection bolt ever done on lead. Modern climbers have trouble just clipping into it. How do you think this feat compares with someone climbing a 5.14 sport route today?
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kalcario
Jun 18, 2003, 4:56 AM
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*In 1967 Kamps and Mark Powell made the FA of Chingadera (5.11) at Tahquitz. On this route Bob placed what is probably the most amazing protection bolt ever done on lead. Modern climbers have trouble just clipping into it. How do you think this feat compares with someone climbing a 5.14 sport route today?* umm...having drilled from precarious stances a little myself, I'm gonna say that pointing a 14 is far more impresssive than drilling a bolt. As for Kamps, to this day he rests not on his laurels, but on jugs, being an avid sport climber and all, and xenophobia not being one of his particular vices. What I don't understand, Mr Gill, is what's holding YOU back. You have stated that sport climbing is merely extended bouldering, and that you can't jump off problems anymore due to bad knees and back (I can't either). Logically you should be following Bob's example...
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pbjosh
Jun 18, 2003, 7:21 AM
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In reply to: In 1967 Kamps and Mark Powell made the FA of Chingadera (5.11) at Tahquitz. On this route Bob placed what is probably the most amazing protection bolt ever done on lead. I can attest to this. It's mind blowing to contemplate climbing this in freaking boots -OR- hand drilling it on lead. However hand drilling it on lead while wearing a pair of Cortina boots is just a whole 'nother level. josh
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notintoclimbing
Jun 18, 2003, 4:42 PM
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What do you mean, what's holding him back? Perhaps sanity, perhaps a promise to quit this kind of thing. I don't know anything about what you meant, I am not a climber, but you have courage to confront him with that phrase, what's holding him back. Resting on laurels, that's another one, sometimes people move on, delve into another side of things. Don't accuse Gill of resting on laurels, is that what you are saying! I know nothing of Bob or any of the rest. I only know of Gill from discovering him on the net. He is a math professor for goodness sake, if he wants to do math problems the rest of his life, that's his choice. Whatever. Inform me. I am ignorant.
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jgill
Jun 20, 2003, 2:36 AM
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Kalcario, what did you say your real name is? 8)
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curt
Jun 20, 2003, 3:39 AM
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In reply to: What I don't understand, Mr Gill, is what's holding YOU back. You have stated that sport climbing is merely extended bouldering, and that you can't jump off problems anymore due to bad knees and back (I can't either). Logically you should be following Bob's example... Joe, What keeps Gill from sportclimbing? I suppose intelligence, high ethics, good judgement....the list could go on and on really. Haha. Curt
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kalcario
Jun 20, 2003, 4:13 AM
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* What keeps Gill from sportclimbing? I suppose intelligence, high ethics, good judgement....the list could go on and on really. Haha.* Which of these qualities would you say Bob is most deficient in? From Higgin's essay: "Of course the wonder of climbing is not in mulling over the past but creating the future." Couldn't agree more.
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photon
Jun 20, 2003, 3:24 PM
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nice kal
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dingus
Jun 20, 2003, 3:24 PM
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I was rereading the Steck / Rowell interview of Robbins about chopping the Dawn Wall this morning (yes, yes, I am hopeless). I encourage all who read the Higgins essay to also read that. And no, I'm not going to type it in. I'm pretty good at typing my own thoughts, but I'm terrible at typing the words of others (in other words, I'm a terrible typist!). The parallels of that episode and the thoughts and ethics of those who pariticpated are extremely interesting. DMT
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bobd1953
Jun 20, 2003, 4:04 PM
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In reply to: What keeps Gill from sportclimbing? I suppose intelligence, high ethics, good judgement....the list could go on and on really. Haha. In reply to: Curt, what's the deal with sportclimbing? Are you against bolts, safety, hard moves with good protection, freedom of movement on the rock without the concern of bodily damage? As most boulderers know, Gill and Bob Murray toproped most of their high, difficult problems due to safety reason. Having climbed with both of these fine, intelligence human beings, I could see, especially in BM, the desire to do extreme moves in a fairly safe environment. Having spent many summers with BM bouldering in Colorado in the 80s I could on occassion, get him to sport climb, trying to get him to trad climb was a waste of time! Gill chooses not to sport climb and that is his personal choice. I doubt if Kamps is less intelligence (he is a math professor), lacks good judgement and high ethics just because he sport climbs. I would imagine that he is doing it to have fun!
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reasontobehave
Jun 21, 2003, 3:52 PM
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Someone has to do it, form some kind of synthesis of the work that did go on before, and his idea to have someone consolidate it all, just as much a part of American History as anything else they put in the syllabus. Why should anyone with a rich history of experience even share their knowledge with punks like you? It's beyond me. And as for the future, are you teaching the youngsters self rescue techniques yourself, and sharing your wisdom with beginners so that they don't get to be counted amongst the numerous casualties. They would be "the future," if not for so many of them becoming statistics. Kathy
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kalcario
Jun 21, 2003, 4:09 PM
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*And as for the future, are you teaching the youngsters self rescue techniques yourself, and sharing your wisdom with beginners so that they don't get to be counted amongst the numerous casualties. They would be "the future," if not for so many of them becoming statistics.* Semi-snottiness is our stock-in-trade here, welcome! The topic really had more to do with climbing ethics, not safety, and yes I take beginners climbing fairly often, my version of self-rescue training being "don't fuck up in the first place". By the way smirkingchimp.com RULES, thanks!
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reasontobehave
Jun 21, 2003, 5:07 PM
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OK, you made my day.
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alpnclmbr1
Jun 8, 2004, 3:30 PM
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bump
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