gosolo Posted March 2, 2005 Posted March 2, 2005 If you care. On RC.com in AID Climbing you will find the most comprehensive list of stories of Zion FA's by some of the characters that put the routes in. Colorful and be forewarned, there is more than a little bit of animosity between some of them. Colorful history for color country. Quote
chirp Posted March 2, 2005 Posted March 2, 2005 As far as I am concerned...before Middendorf, there was only : Lowe, Olevsky, Forrest/March, and a few (free climbing focussed) others ( Becky/Rowell/Bjornstad on GWT notwithstanding). Anyone after that is a "newcomer" ( I came in for a short period in the mid 80's ). Dangle aka R.O. has some good stories, hes a local with some color and a not so pristine record. Definitely a good read, check out my post of Ron's Space Shot story. I have his original "constructive scarring essay" if anyone wants me to post it. Quote
gosolo Posted March 3, 2005 Author Posted March 3, 2005 Yes I am very familiar with RO. And, there were more than the guys you mentioned. Dave Jones for one and Smoot put up a few. I wasnt meaning to start a thread here but just to alert people who were interested.... Quote
chirp Posted March 3, 2005 Posted March 3, 2005 Yup, there were a quite a few more, but they came and left in a vacuum. I lived and worked in the Kolob district and at the time, the focus was on the main Zion Canyon. I wish the rusty booty I found could talk as I know there were some sweet "pre-mainstream" stories and adventures it would tell me. The 2" angle lying on its side in the dirt of a pod 80' up last rites. The mangled wood handled Chouinard hammer in a flashflood tangle of roots at the base of Paria Point. The Chalky rotted slings and the biner marked "Trout" at the nose of Beatty point. (No doubt from Ken Trout.) The cairn built in a cave on the Top of Rooster Tower. Some of the coolest of times were had when the desert was new and unexplored. I had a chance to meet and chat will Bill Forrest and Bill March when they visited Kolob. I had no clue who they were and I started to explain to them about climbing on Navajo SS...after a few comments I got a hunch and shut up and listened There is much talk about the golden years of yos climbing, but I believe an AWESOME tome could be written on the golden years in the Southwest. The original Bjornstad guide Desert Rock had some GREAT tales and accounts. I was dissapointed to see in subsequent versions that was dropped for more "pertinent beta". Thanks for the thread alert gosolo! It touches on some cool stuff. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.