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doktor_g
Oct 7, 2004, 6:26 PM
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Howdy folks,
Just a question for an art project I'm cooking up. I want to do a wall mural in our new gym/store here.
The subject would be the greatest (not necessarily the best) climbers and naturalists in the world past and present. The one's I've come up with so far are extremely "Western US-centric." Heavy is my list with big wall greats and famous/accomplished alpinists of US and British origins. I'm also interested in the short stone masters too. I know there are spectacular Korean, Japanese, S. American, Eastern European climbers, but I don't know of many. When I say climbers, I'm including also greats who've added something to our climbing experience including folks like John Muir and Ansel Adams too.
The mural is only an idea now. What brought it up was primarily a big blank wall and also that cheesy-ass wallpaper in Barnes and Noble stores with all those authors hangin around a cafe.
A secondary question are ideas for a cool mural maybe? Ranges of the world?
Sound off,
G
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jurch
Oct 10, 2004, 1:20 PM
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Go find in a library or buy yourself a copy of Reinhold Messner's The Big Walls. Nearly every name, mentioned in the book can be considered "one of the greatest"...
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nonick
Oct 10, 2004, 1:27 PM
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Assume your project also includes alpine.
Well dont forget the sherpas without whom many of the pioneering climbs would have never happened.
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montaniero
Oct 18, 2004, 12:08 AM
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If you are thinking of the "greatest climbers in the world past and present" (no nothing about naturalists), forget about US nationals. US nationals may have this sentiment of world champions in all sports, but climbing is hardly a discipline in which they have excelled, past or present. Although maybe there is a couple of british on that list.
In any single climbing discipline but maybe Big Wall, western and eastern Europeans reign over US climbers, by a long long distance. Just ask Mark Twight about his years in Chamonix and the things he saw euro climbers do, eg. Christophe Profit climbing the north faces of the Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses in less than 24 hours!!!!! This people are superhuman.
I don't know the names on your current, but if it doesn't include the following it might be a little biased:
- Reinhold Messner
- Walter Bonnatti
- Hermann Buhl
- Jerzy Kukucza
- Lionel Terray
- Gaston Rebuffat
- Christophe Profit
- Erhard Loretan
- Jean Triolet
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dylanransom
Oct 21, 2004, 4:58 PM
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montaniero....just a quick correction on your post. U.S. climbers have excelled in all areas, at almost all times. There usually aren't AS MANY U.S. climbers excelling as several other nations, but their presence is there at the top.
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jurch
Oct 26, 2004, 10:51 PM
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In reply to: montaniero....just a quick correction on your post. U.S. climbers have excelled in all areas, at almost all times. There usually aren't AS MANY U.S. climbers excelling as several other nations, but their presence is there at the top.
:D... really trying to be objective, but go check some history...
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thegreytradster
Oct 27, 2004, 11:38 PM
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I'd put Norman Clyde up with anyone on montainero's list.
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iclimbtoo
Oct 27, 2004, 11:57 PM
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I'd definitely get Arthur Guinness in there...1759...
I mean, a climber and his/her beer are inseperable. :wink:
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adeptus
Oct 28, 2004, 4:24 PM
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Read Walter Bonatti's book: The Mountains of my life.
You'll get an idea of what this man was capable of.
I would call him THE greatest climber ever.
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montaniero
Oct 29, 2004, 1:21 AM
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In reply to: montaniero....just a quick correction on your post. U.S. climbers have excelled in all areas, at almost all times. There usually aren't AS MANY U.S. climbers excelling as several other nations, but their presence is there at the top.
Dylan, I am not saying that US climbers have not excelled at "certain" (not all) times in "most" (not all) climbing disciplines. But if you haven't noticed the title of this post is "Greatest Climbers World Wide". So just get your facts straight when using the word "all". Just to help you get started, here you have two of them:
- No US climber has ever made a first ascent to an 8000 meter peak (close in K2, but failed).
- No US climber has ever made a first ascent to one of the classic 4000's in the Alps.
I mean, don't get me wrong, there are excellent US climbers but were are talking here about the greatest ever here.
I second the Bonnatti vote. Maybe the greatest alpinist ever, with Messner the best himalayist of all time. Sport and Trad are "rather new" disciplines to call yet the best ever on each of them.
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dood
Oct 29, 2004, 1:41 AM
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In reply to: I'd put Norman Clyde up with anyone on montainero's list.
Right on. And Bolton Brown. That man had some serious 'nads!
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