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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...
Posted

Great stuff for sure.

 

 

christ, dissappear for a fawk'n day n' everyone starts misspelling yer fawk'n name!

 

mike n' i, on my first attempted ascent of yw sans guide did the first 2 1/2 pitches proper, then went stupid right just short of the pin anchors (my fault, but fawk, there's pins up that slab and seemed logical at the time! - i have no giddamn memory of what happened after that short of the memory of abject fear while wallowing through endless amounts of moss n' shit until i lead out, at least 2 pitches later after following some very hard shit mike did, on the last bit of rock w/ desperate holds requiring cleaning 3 or 4 inches of leaf and ant-shit - i whined a particuliar tune of bruce springstein that vouched safe my immortal soul and gave me the proper nubbin, in some ways, i prefer that first ascent of the proto-yw more than any other

 

Thats the YW to SE Corner Lost Variation (un)happy finish. Probably a reason it got "lost". 5.8 my ass. No one does it twice that I know of.

 

Sorry to hear of your friend Sobo. I once had a bad encounter with the asswipe who later became the DC Sniper. When they fry his ass I'll breath a sigh of happiness that the world is a better place. There's evil in the world for sure, and I think it's OK to send it gibbering straight to hell when we find it.

Posted
Sorry to hear of your friend Sobo. I once had a bad encounter with the asswipe who later became the DC Sniper. When they fry his ass I'll breath a sigh of happiness that the world is a better place. There's evil in the world for sure, and I think it's OK to send it gibbering straight to hell when we find it.

Thanks, Bill.

The last day of November this year will mark the 19th anniversary of Frank's departure from this world.

I will lift many glasses his way on that night.

  • 2 years later...
Posted
Sorry for the buzzkill, ivan, but I've been experiencing a continued low pressure system lately. It looks like the barometric pressure is rising, tho... :tup:

Besides, what's a Wayback Thread without a mention of those fine people and good friends that have passed through our lives?

 

 

I still get all choked up every time I think about him, see that movie, or hear anything from the (now defunct) band Big Country, which was our favorite road trip music (Where the Rose is Sown and Just a Shadow were our favorite road tunes, especially the lengthy head-banging guitar and E-bow solos at the end of those songs).

 

I will never forget my first climbing partner and my best friend, Frank Seth Gibson.

OK, so I'm done for right now. Someone else can post something and hopefully brighten up this thread.

Had a few too many Planet Killers last night/early this morning, and broke out the ol' Big Country vinyl and "Best of" CD, and couldn't help thinking about Frank.

Even after all these years, I still miss you, man... :( RIP, my Brother... :brew:

 

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Posted
me1.jpg

me...1991, Summersville Lake...the years have me beat!

Ahhh... The good old days of the Virginia Tech Rock Climbing club! That club was instrumental in my decision to forgo responsibilities for at least 15 years.

Posted
me1.jpg

me...1991, Summersville Lake...the years have me beat!

Ahhh... The good old days of the Virginia Tech Rock Climbing club! That club was instrumental in my decision to forgo responsibilities for at least 15 years.

Man, those were the days!!!!!

 

Posted

The New was where I made my first trad lead. Well, first lead of any type, for that matter. And it's also where I took my first leader falls. Before I finished my first trad lead... :whistle:

  • 6 years later...
Posted

Wow! I forgot about this thread... What a bunch of old fukkers! Hahaha. No, really, there are some really great pictures here. I can’t believe that I didn’t run into some of you in the prehistoric days in Washington. 

Posted

I was in Washington a month ago and managed to find my way out to Index and up the new yuppified trail to the upper wall. There were fixed lines crisscrossing the area above Madsen’s ledge as well as a fixed line directly up to the ledge. I went back to my car and grabbed my harness and jugs and proceeded to jumar up to the ledge. There was stuff spread all across the ledge. Seems a little excessive but who am I to judge. 

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Posted

I'm going to guess that's a bunch of ropes set up for the local crew to climb rope solo with self belay rigs. Winters at Arch Rock in Yosemite are the same way, with fixed lines on a bunch of routes, making it possible to wander out by yourself some sunny afternoon and get in a half dozen pitches, assuming you can climb a half dozen pitches at Arch Rock that is. Not me these days, and I'd have no more luck on the UTW either. Its actually kind of a cool modern community thing.

 

Posted (edited)

Mr Off_White Sir,

Since I live just outside the park in the winter, I try (and I do mean try) to partake in the pain of the fixed lines at Arch Rock and the Cookie. This is different. The fixed lines in Yosemite are pretty stealthy. The ones on the upper wall are pretty in-your-face with a lot of baggage laying around. Seems kinda sloppy. Ok, ok.. Now I’m judging. 

Edited by stillcrankin
  • Like 1
Posted

Older than you? Ouch!! Now that really hurts. At least we’re both still out there gettin’ it done. When young gym rats tease me for being a has-been, I always reply with, “I’d rather be a has-been than a never-was-and-never-will-be”. Haha 😂....

When I rapped off of Madsen’s ledge that day, I moved the fixed line to the left so I could rap down Abraxis, Timson’s route that I took two 50 footers off of in 1970. Here’s a picture looking up the second pitch. If you look closely, you can see the crack is festooned with copperheads. Would’a traded my left nut for some of those back then. Also, here’s a picture of the single 1/4” belay bolt Pat used with a tied off knifeblade. Now there are four shiny 3/8” stainless bolts next to Pat’s original. 

 

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Posted (edited)

OK you old farts 💨 Time to throw down som more chit.

first pic: Amphitheater Peak 1971? If you look closely, you can see Dave or Donn in the dihedral on the left side of the buttress. I had to scuttle back to camp for more hardware. We hadn’t really planned on climbing the whole thing that day so we hadn’t grabbed much gear. It actually only took a few hours to get to the top.

second pic: Meat Grinder, Yosemite 1972

third pic: Steph Atwood on Breacfast of Champions 1976

fourth pic: Grand Wall December 1970

fifth pic: Town Crier UTW 1970

sixth pic: Green Drag-on 1972-73 maybe first ascent or first ascent attempt. I can’t remember which.

seventh pic: remains of the original 2nd pitch of Town Crier after it peeled off

eighth pic: Don Brooks Leaning Tower Yosemite 1973

ninth pic: Kit Lewis Midnight Rock mid 70’s

last pic: Dawn Wall 1980

 

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Edited by stillcrankin
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