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Brush with Greatness


dkemp

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In the Gunks I had breakfast with Dick Williams, Peter Dermi and Russ Calhoun

In the Titoune we had dinner with Jim McCarthy

In my old apartment in NYC Craig Luebben stayed over and the next day I met with Chris Sharma, Tommy Caldwell, and David Graham

In NYC I met David Bowie, Iman, Sting, and LL cool J, P daddy and J Lo, Adam Sanders, Ben Stealer, Eddy Murphy

Also came in to my party, Leonardo de Capprio, Dr Dre

Those just some, I cant remember all

 

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Got my ass hauled off the Grand Teton by Kevin Mahoney...he soloed up to us once he found out we were stuck on the mountain due to a BAD storm...and it was past midnight (we were up there awhile.) Nice guy though, and very understanding of our situation...

Climb with Conrad Anker out here in Bozeman from time to time...whenever he happens to be out and about. Climbed with Gadd, Ogden, Tackle, Roberts, and all those guys at the Ice Fest out here...spoke with Twight for a bit, also a very cool guy,

Met Dale Bard, Chris Sharma, Tommy Caldwell, Steph Davis, Dean Potter, and Lisa Rands at OR in SLC...John Bachar sat down next to me at lunch one day out there...and, a semi-highlight of OR was listening to Bridwell recount his journey from the east coast to Arizona for some climbign competition in a car that he bought for some ridiculously low price...listening to him tell a story about this car barely surviving on the way out there was funny...ahh, you had to be there.

It's fun to interact with these people, but at the same time it allows me to realize that they're normal people, except they can climb incredibly well.

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I had thanksgiving dinner with John Bachar. He wasn't climbing anymore, and was really into his 4 year-old son.

 

I met Ralph Nader and Eddie Vetter at the Nader Rally at the Seattle Center. A good friend was the regional coordinator for the Nader campaign, and I was helping.

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Doug said:

Pepole keep chestbeating about their brushes with greatness. Where's the photographic proof? Most would be able to identify the Mt. Rainier legend on the right, how about the left?

 

The name tags take some of the fun out of it... wave.gifyellowsleep.gif

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griz said:

Doug said:

Pepole keep chestbeating about their brushes with greatness. Where's the photographic proof? Most would be able to identify the Mt. Rainier legend on the right, how about the left?

 

Didn't think that a) they were legible, or b) most would be sober enough to figure it out. Congratulations!!!!!!

 

The name tags take some of the fun out of it... wave.gifyellowsleep.gif

yelrotflmao.gif
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pindude said:

Ski and avy science guru/legend Ed LaChappelle is the one on the left. The ugly guy on the right, I haven't a clue. wink.gif

 

No, that's Dee Molenaar on the left. The guy on the right posts here now and then, so I imagine quite a few people here know him...

 

I'm having a hard time thinking of famous people I've met (besides a few climbers and skiers). I did meet J.P. Patches when I was a kid. Does that qualify?

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I was renting a house from a local in Prescott, Arizona in the 70's and got a knock on the door one evening. A climber and his girlfriend were used to grabbing a shower there from time to time and asked the same favor of me. It was Ed Webster on one of his "bag all of the 5.11 first ascents" sojourns to Granite Mountain. A nice guy.

 

Scott Baxter (local climbing legend of the southwest) used to crash at my house in Prescott on climbing trips to Granite Mountain.

 

Chatted with Jim Sandford just days after his first ascent of "Pulse", the first 5.14a in Canada. He said his hands were numb as he reached the anchors. cantfocus.gif

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I lived for about a year in Prescott in the 70's. God I hated that place. I was a little kid though and longed for the verdant forests of the NW.

 

I'm friends with Tom Jones, a.k.a. Jrat. Super great guy. And I'm also friends with one of the best brewers the NW has known but I bet he denies it. If I can ever hold my hand steady enough to take a picture I may have photographic proof but that Terminal Gravity stuff is like liquid psylocibin.

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pindude said:

And I had a chance to hike/climb with Dee a few years ago through a mutual friend, but have never met him.

 

Speaking of Dee Molenaar and brushes with greatness, have you seen his personal copy of his book "The Challenge of Rainier"? He took the first copy off the press and for years carried it with him to any lecture or meeting were mountaineers were present. It's full of signatures of climbers like Hillary, Tenzing, Shipton, O'Dell, Bonatti, Messner and so on.

 

I met Dee at a lecture and book signing for "Cascade Voices" by Mac Bates. To my surprise, he asked me to sign his Rainier book. In my copy of "Cascade Voices" he wrote above his picture: "To a younger generation role model, Berg Heil!" Boy, that made me feel good.

 

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rbw1966 said:

I lived for about a year in Prescott in the 70's. God I hated that place. I was a little kid though and longed for the verdant forests of the NW.

 

Well, I worked at the Base Camp ca. 1976-1978. Prescott was on the circuit for a lot of good climbers looking for good weather in the Spring and Fall at the time. Granite Mountain was a classic sandbag area that took the measure of many a hardman expecting to waltz up the classics on their first trip. But it ain't no northwest- classic high desert location.

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I forgot a couple other things:

 

I hung out with Jack Tackle in Bozeman MT before he became famous.

 

I saw Fred Beckey napping twice at Peshastin Pinnacles and once someplace else.

 

I got beat a while back at a climbing comp by Stimson Bullitt, recently profiled by the Times in an article on aging (I think he's 84), but I figure I'll bide my time and get him eventually.....

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