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cmbclimb
Mar 3, 2005, 9:47 PM
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sorry to bring the news just heard tonight that Bob Kamps had sufferd a heart attack and died at a local climbing gym in westlake village california
wed evening.
they said he was on a route and leaned back and asked to be lowered, apparently he had a heart attack. they tried to resusitate but were unable to revive him.
my thoughts go out to any family members he had
chris brewer
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dingus
Mar 3, 2005, 10:12 PM
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Rest in peace Bob. You left some mighty footprints and some famous tiny holds in your wake. I still aspire to rise to the level of your routes. And you died climbing.
Raise the mug, a forefather has passed through the veil. We will all miss him, especially those of us who only knew him by his routes and his reputation.
Condolences to family and friends.
DMT
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curt
Mar 3, 2005, 10:30 PM
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My sincerest condolences to Bonnie and to all of Bob's friends and family. You will be missed, Bob.
Curt
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thinksinpictures
Mar 3, 2005, 11:37 PM
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Bob Kamps is the only legend I've ever met. He was also one of the friendliest guys of the friendly evening crowd at Stoney Point; he showed me some great problems at Stoney when I was just starting to boulder there. I only talked to him a few times, but I watched him highball all over Boulder 1 on many a Tuesday or Thursday evening.
It'll be sad to go back down there without the possibility of running into him.
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rgold
Mar 4, 2005, 6:24 AM
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(I posted this first on SuperTopo, which, as a California site, seemed the most appropriate place for a reminiscence.)
Bob Kamps died suddenly Wednesday at the age of 73. A number of the old-timers on this site must have known and climbed with him. Kamps and I climbed a bit in Tuolomne, a bit in the Gunks, and for years and years in August in the Needles in South Dakota.
He was one of the unsung greats of his generation. It was his misfortune to excel at steep face climbing at a time when the climbing world viewed big walls and off-widths as the ultimate achievements, and he was never accorded his rightful place in the climbing pantheon of Robbins Pratt, Kor, Chouinard, and Harding.
Kamps' most noteworthy achievements occured in the iron age before nuts. His ascents in Tuolomne, onsight and ground up---armed with a few pins and a bolt kit and shod in footwear that nowadays would be considered as substandard for approach shoes---are classics, and I'm sure there are folks on this site who can attest far better than I to the quality of the routes and the boldness of heading up them, not knowing where or whether one would be able to stop and drill. Although it was not really his main interest, Kamps did do a bit of big wall climbing, as was obligatory for any serious American climber in the sixties. Along with Dave Rearick, he made the first ascent of the Diamond on Long's Peak. This ascent was something of a coup at the time, since the pair from California snatched what at the time was the biggest prize in Colorado out from under the noses of the Colorado climbing community.
Kamps came to climbing relatively late in life, especially by current standards. I think he was nearly thirty when he started, attracted to the mountains as an employee at Yellowstone National Park. He made up for the late start by longevity, consistently climbing at or above the 5.10 level for forty years. His climbing style might best be characterized as playful, cunning, and crafty. He was not a graceful climber, with small feet and an extreme turnout, he often edged way back on the balls of his feet rather than on the big toe, bringing his body unstylishly close to the rock. His partners learned the hard way that when he looked just a bit awkward, they were in for a major struggle, and many a leader has arrived at one of his bolts and wondered how to let go to clip in, much less achieve a stable no-handed stance and drill.
Bob was a sixth-grade teacher for a good part of his life, but he also had a passion for collecting what he called "junk." His junk jones took various forms, all of them involving some type of adventure. He collected barbed wire, telephone line insulators, and old bottles. The insulator collecting involved climbing poles and trees of varying degrees of slipperiness and replacing the "valuable" insulator with a modern and uninteresting one he carried for the purpose of switching. His passion for old bottles took him on various cross-country tours of old dumps and junkyards, which he enthusiastically dug up in the search for rare specimens. A beautiful and valuable display of old bottles on shelves on a picture window in his Los Angeles home was destroyed in a few minutes during one of Southern California's earthquakes. After retiring from teaching, he found he could make an excellent living bidding sight unseen on the contents of abandoned storage units, a practice that combined his love for junk with his delight in gambling with the unknown.
Bob is survived by his wife Bonnie. Together, they modeled the steadfast constancy, tolerance, and devotion of a classic midwestern American Gothic union, a kind of marriage that survives today primarily as a mythical icon from a time when Americans somehow knew and agreed on the meaning of values.
One of the elders of the twentieth century tribe has passed on. May he rest in peace.
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cmbclimb
Mar 4, 2005, 6:26 AM
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I spoke with Herb lager last night, he was a close friend of Bob's they put up some routes together and some classics I imagine.
Herb mentioned a memorial next thursday, he didn't have a time probably afternoon I'll let you all know if someone else doesn't post up before
chris
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photon
Mar 4, 2005, 6:52 AM
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Very sad news Bob was a legend, definitely one of the most prolific climbers ever. My condolences and thanks for all you did for the climbing community
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reno
Mar 4, 2005, 6:59 AM
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I silently lift my mug in salute to a climber I know only by reputation, but feel connected to by a shared love of the sport, the outdoors, and the spirit of the climb that lives on.
RIP, Mr. Kamps. The climbers of Arizona feel a great measure of sadness today.
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phaedrus
Mar 4, 2005, 7:05 AM
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phaedrus moved this thread from General to World Climbing News.
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epic_ed
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Mar 4, 2005, 8:15 AM
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Excellent eulogy, Richard. It sounds like he led a very fulfilling life. Condolences to Bob's friends and family.
Ed
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dingus
Mar 4, 2005, 8:26 AM
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bump
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michael
Mar 4, 2005, 8:45 AM
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Sixteen years of knowing him, and every day was a new challenge to keep up with Bob. He was simply the best. Heartfelt condolensces to Bonnie and the rest, the climbing world will never be the same.
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edge
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Mar 4, 2005, 9:33 AM
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Rest in peace, Bob.
I never knew him outside of the stories, but the stories were the kind that legends are made of. The climbing world will be lessened by his passing.
Sincere condolences to his family.
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holmeslovesguinness
Mar 4, 2005, 9:43 AM
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Thanks to rgold for that thoughtful and well written eulogy, we should all be so lucky to be remembered in such a fashion.
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tim
Mar 4, 2005, 10:11 AM
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This is terrible! Who will sandbag the young'uns and make them humble?!?! More to the point, how could anyone ever take the place of Kamps? Oh -- that's right -- no one ever can and no one ever will.
Bob Kamps was a great man and got a hell of a lot of people in this sport started. My sincere condolences to his friends and family. A life well lived, to be sure, but I doubt that makes the loss any less saddening.
My regards and respect to a pillar of the Southern California climbing community for decades. It won't be the same at Stoney Point anymore.
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vivalargo
Mar 4, 2005, 11:09 AM
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First, my condolences to his wife, Bonnie. They had no kids, only each other. I've very sorry.
I don't know how I missed Kamp's passing yesterday, but I wasn't paying attention to RC.com.
That is crushing news, folks. Kamps was much more of a giant (of American climbing) than most people realize. The idea that he won't be roaming about Stony Point anymore brings tears to my eyes. At least he died climbing.
This takes the wind out of me. I used to follow Bob around Stoney when I was a kid, trying to keep up. I feel aweful.
JL
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sowr
Mar 4, 2005, 11:18 AM
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Very sorry to hear this. However, I'm convinced that we'll see his ghost out at Stoney Point, gliding over the crimpers, stopping a while to increase the burn and generally looking for new ways to view the old problems.
Sympathies to all who knew him.
Chris Owen.
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phaedrus
Mar 4, 2005, 12:32 PM
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phaedrus moved this thread from World Climbing News to General.
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phaedrus
Mar 4, 2005, 12:32 PM
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phaedrus moved this thread from World Climbing News to General.
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phaedrus
Mar 4, 2005, 12:32 PM
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phaedrus
Mar 4, 2005, 12:32 PM
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phaedrus
Mar 4, 2005, 12:32 PM
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phaedrus moved this thread from World Climbing News to General.
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fredbob
Mar 4, 2005, 2:07 PM
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Bob Kamps was truly one of the greats of U.S. rock climbing. Though Bob may have not garnered the attention given to the Hardings, Robbins and others, his impact on our sport is no less significant. I don't think Bob ever sought the limelight or trumpeted his own successes. Always friendly and generous with his time, he climbed actively and at a high standard til the end. His spirit may live on, but his presence will be sorely missed.
Bob climbed many places, but perhaps the impact of his climbing life is most deeply felt at Tahquitz Rock, Tuolumne Meadows and the Needles of South Dakota. It was at these places that his talent for face climbing and ability to visualize new lines blossomed. Most climbers did not know that Bob actually wrote one of the first guides to The Needles in 1971. The precise descriptions and large fold out maps of this guide speak of his attention to detail and have served as the foundation for every guide since.
The following is excerpted from my history of climbing at Tahquitz Rock and gives a small view of Kamps impact on modern bolt protected face climbing:
"The Tahquitz scene of the 1960's witnessed a new group of climbers even less loyal to the increasingly constrictive environment of the RCS. Nevertheless, the values of their predecessors deeply influenced this new generation. Again, free climbing standards took a large leap forward, and Tahquitz continued to lead the country in pushing the free climbing scale. Bob Kamps, Mark Powell, TM Herbert, Tom Higgins and Tom Frost were some of the individuals instrumental in continuing the free climbing legacy.
"Style and free climbing were very important at the time. "There was no question about what was right," recalls Tom Higgins. Just as Wilts and Mendenhall had influenced Robbins, Robbins influenced the next generation. As Higgins observes, Robbins' and other's influence "Was so strong he wouldn't ever think about doing otherwise." But again, Higgins adds, there was "no rationale for considering other ethics, as plenty of challenges were left without violating the existing ethical standards."
"Aid routes of earlier generations began to be freed and new, more difficult climbs established. Frost and Kamps' 1960 free ascent of The Blank (5.10a) was one of the first climbs in the country to be rated 5.10. By 1963, Blanketty Blank (5.10c), freed by Kamps and Higgins, firmly established Tahquitz as the center of hard face climbing in the country. "Blanketty Blank opened our eyes; you could get away from the cracks, out on the faces. When we later freed the Powell-Reed (5.10c) and The Punch Bowl (5.10a), both in Yosemite, we used the confidence from our experience at Tahquitz," says Higgins.
"Shoe design also began to evolve about this time which enabled climbers at Tahquitz to climb steeper, thinner, and more sustained pitches. The Zillertahl shoe was one of the first shoes specifically designed for climbing and was first used in the early 60's by climbers at Tahquitz. Another very popular shoe during the 60's was the Kronhoffer, and during the early and mid-60's was the shoe of choice by most climbers.
"However, Bob Kamps recalls that the "fit" of the Kronhoffer was not right for him, and he climbed most of his difficult routes in Cortina Pivettas, a very stiff hiking shoe with a vibramm sole.
"In 1967, Chingadera (5.11a) was freed by Kamps and Powell. Kamps originally rated this route either hard 5.9 or 5.10. "I was reluctant to call it 5.10. In 1967 everyone was reluctant to call anything 5.10, although I felt it was harder than Blanketty Blank which I did in 1963", states Kamps today.
"In the mid-60's climbers were extremely reluctant to rate any climb harder than 5.9, the "upper limit" of the Tahquitz Decimal System. However, it is very clear that climbs being established during this period of time were significantly more difficult than routes such as Open Book, the standard 5.9 (established in 1952).
"In fact, Chingadera was rated 5.10 until 1980. Chingadera was the next logical step in face climbing after the freeing of Blanketty Blank. But where Blanketty Blank had only one bolt placed on it, Chingadera had 8, away from any crack systems. This marked the line as the first in a genre of pure face routes. Chingadera was a significant advance in free climbing standards at Tahquitz, with Kamps leading the entire route (including placing of 3 new bolts above the end of the aid section) in one push.
'"I remember being really frightened, especially placing the last bolt. I was forced to sit in a crouched position to place that bolt. My feet were so sore that I couldn't even feel them when going out on the traverse (one of the cruxes)".
"As impressive as the unprotected tennis shoe lead of Mechanic's Route in 1938, few modern climbers would be able to even climb Chingadera in the inflexible Pivetta hiking boots used by Kamps on his first free ascent."
copyright 2001 and 2005 by Randy Vogel
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crankmarklar
Mar 4, 2005, 2:08 PM
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I just received a phone call from a friend of Bonnie Kamps the wife of Bob Kamps. Bob was a prolific climber from California who had many first ascents to his credit. Bob and Dave Rearik made the first of ascent of the Diamond on Long Peak in 1960. Bob also made the first free ascent of the Fairfew Regular route which was credited to Steve Roper because Bob was seconding at the time of his ascent. Bob had made many first ascents in Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows. Learning to climb in Taquitz and an avid boulderer, he spent many years at Stony Point.
Bob and his wife traveled throughout the United States hitting climbing areas. On one of their trips they made it to my local crag Quartz Mountain Oklahoma. This is where my friendship started with Bob and Bonnie Kamps. I had read about Bob and couldn’t believe that he was actually here in Oklahoma. That weekend we climbed the S Wall 5.9 RX. Bob led Last of the Good Guys 5.10c RX, Cruisin For Abruisin’ 5.11, Amazon Woman 5.10b RX, South Pacific 5.7, Stray Cats 5.10d. Most of the climbs at Quartz Mountain have long runouts and take a fair amount of boldness and commitment which was something Bob felt at home with.
Bob cruised these climbs! Amazon Woman is 165’ protected by four bolts; I was impressed Bob climbed like he had been on the routes before, WOW! Bob was sixty-three years old at the time. I was on a cloud for months after his visit.
That same year Lori and I drove out to California and climbed with Bob in Joshua Tree. On our way out to climb Rubicon we ran into Allen Steck, Joe Fitschen, Eric Beck, Steve Roper and John Harlin III were also in the area at the time. Bob was an instant hit! There eyes lit up and comments rang out. “I haven’t seen you in thirty years”! “The last time I saw you was on the Hetch Hetchy trail”. Lori snapped a photo as we stood back and listened to the legends of American climbing who gave themselves the title “wilted flower children”.
As we parted company Allen Steck asked Bob about Rubicon, Bob replied “it’s continuous but submits to good footwork”. Bob was quick witted a joy to listen to. The rest of the weekend Bob and I climbed several routes together including The importance of Being Ernest. Bob said that he wanted to climb it the weekend before but didn’t get a chance to. Bob led through the crux protected by a small 00 tcu, He then set up a belay partway down the climb so he could watch me. I hung and thrashed my way through the seemingly no hands crux. I remember shouting up to Bob that “I just want to be Ernest’s friend”! He just grinned.
Bob and Bonnie came out to Oklahoma a few years later on their way out east. I gave Bob a guide to Sams Throne Arkansas. Bob led a climb there which sees few leads mostly top ropes. The route is White Trash 5.9+ RX, a pumpy face route with no bolts only gear for protection is what you’re able to fiddle in before you pump out. Bob made light work of it. Bob was a face climber who didn’t care for jam cracks but could definitely climb them.
I wrote a guide for Oklahoma last year, in it I mention Bob and what he did for my climbing career. Meeting Bob was a major part of my start in climbing. Bob was the first climber that I had the priviledge to watch who made effortless movement which was artful and a joy to watch; he was the first world class climber that I had the honor to meet. I kidded him about his famous status he kidded me back saying that I was famous because he overheard someone mention my name while he was climbing in Jackson Hole Wyoming one year. Bob was lighthearted and fun to kid with.
Bob was one of a kind, my heart is saddened and I’m blown away at the news of his passing. Bob was so fit and such an athlete who had a love for climbing that spanned some fifty years. Bonnie was Bob’s love. Bob would look at Bonnie and just smile then give her a kiss. That is love I thought, what a beautiful thing to see.
The last time I spoke with Bob was sometime in September of last year. He had just received my book and called to thank me for it, I could just in vision the smile on his face as we chatted about climbing in Oklahoma. It was an honor to have known Bob and to have him in my book. He is and will always be my inspiration for as long as I live.
We love you Bob.
~Tony & Lori Mayse
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