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Your Climbing Heroes


wayne

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Ya got your "Great climbers" and then ya got "great people" who climb. Not having any "heros", I've been lucky to climb or hang with some great and awesome folks, some of you who posted on this thread, some of those named on this thread, and many others on this board.

 

One not posting. Jim Opdycke, seen here following me last weekend at 64 years old.

 

Jim_following_at_crux.jpg

 

Picture by Ujahn Davisson: -also on my list of great people who climb but do not post here.

 

I have to second that.....

 

Jim.....

 

IMG_1207.JPG

 

Jim_cig_mic.JPG

 

 

Movie night at Jims on Friday night......

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kev - what in the hell is that second pic of jim all about? w/ the traintrack below i assume it's beacon but looks wierd! looks like a goddamn spider shit all over him :)

 

fun times out at the zone 2night! almost earned my sport-climbers merit badge :P

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Warren Harding... put up the Nose with homemade pins made from stovelegs!

And he managed to find time to be a US president while doing it ;)

 

Huh? I dont get it..

 

harding didn't survive his presidency though - he was one of the illustrive 40% of us presidents who either died/was killed in office or survived an assasination attempt

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Warren Harding... put up the Nose with homemade pins made from stovelegs!

And he managed to find time to be a US president while doing it ;)

 

Huh? I dont get it..

 

harding didn't survive his presidency though - he was one of the illustrive 40% of us presidents who either died/was killed in office or survived an assasination attempt

 

Yep, you're right. He died of a heart attack while in office.

 

On a related node,40% isn't bad odds. Now why did the current president have to fall on the other side of that line....

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Warren Harding... put up the Nose with homemade pins made from stovelegs!

And he managed to find time to be a US president while doing it ;)

 

Huh? I dont get it..

 

harding didn't survive his presidency though - he was one of the illustrive 40% of us presidents who either died/was killed in office or survived an assasination attempt

 

Yep, you're right. He died of a heart attack while in office.

 

On a related node,40% isn't bad odds. Now why did the current president have to fall on the other side of that line....

 

Because you pansies were afraid of Cheney. Bwahahahaha

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kev - what in the hell is that second pic of jim all about? w/ the traintrack below i assume it's beacon but looks wierd! looks like a goddamn spider shit all over him :)

 

An old pic of jim cleaning route at Beacon about 20 years ago

fun times out at the zone 2night! almost earned my sport-climbers merit badge :P

 

Almost......

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Warren Harding... put up the Nose with homemade pins made from stovelegs!

And he managed to find time to be a US president while doing it ;)

 

Huh? I dont get it..

 

harding didn't survive his presidency though - he was one of the illustrive 40% of us presidents who either died/was killed in office or survived an assasination attempt

 

Yep, you're right. He died of a heart attack while in office.

 

On a related node,40% isn't bad odds. Now why did the current president have to fall on the other side of that line....

 

Because you pansies were afraid of Cheney. Bwahahahaha

 

I was sper confused so i googled it to discover that the warren harding that was apresident was a different warren harding than the yosemite climber we all know.. i was really confused for a bit haha

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Can't say I've ever had a hero, but I've always admired Willi Unsoeld. I see he has been mentioned prior, but I want to add that learning about his life inspired me to start getting serious about climbing. There was a man with no quit in him. The first ascent of the west ridge of everest, and subsequent traverse of that mountain by an american team including Willi and Tom Hornbein was committment personified. A truly incredible achievement in mountaineering.

 

I have had the great pleasure of experiencing similar committment albeit on a smaller scale, in the mountains, and in life, because of Willi's example.

 

Thinker, seeker, philosopher, and lived to climb. A very human man who lived very large. RIP

 

Many other great climbers have been mentioned and I re mention Willi with humble thanks.

 

d

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I met Jim Donini on the summit of the Grand Teton in the '80's. He was guiding for Exum and had a client with him. I popped up having climbed the Owen Spalding route solo. We had a nice chat about far off mountains and stuff he was working on in Alaska at the time in the brilliant morning sun. He was forthcoming, and very kind.

 

We decended together and did the double rope rappel. I found him very likeable personally.

 

THAT was a good fucking day.

 

Hard to imagine anyone not liking Jim, but wtf, I've pissed more than a few people off in my time too...

 

d

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Strangely, I woke up this morning pondering this question some more. I think of Alex Lowe when I think of a climber that I respected and admired. But my climbing hero will always be my "partner"... in the climbing sense of the word. :) Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Warren Harding... put up the Nose with homemade pins made from stovelegs!

And he managed to find time to be a US president while doing it ;)

 

Huh? I dont get it..

 

harding didn't survive his presidency though - he was one of the illustrive 40% of us presidents who either died/was killed in office or survived an assasination attempt

 

Yep, you're right. He died of a heart attack while in office.

 

On a related node,40% isn't bad odds. Now why did the current president have to fall on the other side of that line....

 

Because you pansies were afraid of Cheney. Bwahahahaha

 

I was sper confused so i googled it to discover that the warren harding that was apresident was a different warren harding than the yosemite climber we all know.. i was really confused for a bit haha

Hook, line, and sinker... :laf:

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George Lowe would probably be at the top of my list.

 

alp15-11-1.jpg

 

I've always been impressed with what I've read about him doing in Alaska (let alone the CDN Rockies, or anywhere else for that matter). Anyone that can get his cousin down off a route with a broken ankle, and get right back on to finish the FA, is certainly tenacious. Not to mention he went and did a new route on Foraker right after that.

 

But, my true climbing heroes are the ones that I spend time with regularly (or, as regularly as possible) in the mountains, at the crags, or even pulling on plastic at the gym. Here's to you guys (and gals). :brew:

 

I learned how to climb on many of his first ascents in LCC. I think that's what has truly been inspiring for me about individual climbers that I've never met: following in their footsteps, and being humbled in the process. He was sending 11D and calling it 5.10 when he cut his teeth.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Those in the climbing scene who should be recognized,

respected ...or other such adverb/adjective ...

 

Perhaps it is worthwhile to mention the volunteers

of Mountain Search & Rescue councils ....plus including the

Founders, ie. Wolf Bauer (previously mentioned)

Dr. Otto Trott + Ohme Diaber etc. ...

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Wolf Bauer on far left Jim and Lou Whitaker, and in awe of what local guy Ed Viesturs (also pictured) and Local Guide Dave Hahn (back to camera) have done, However I think a person has to be in their twilight years to be a hero?080.JPG

Edited by Spencer
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My Dad for taking me to Leavenworth even after he had broken his neck and had cervical fusions and couldn't raise his right arm above his shoulder. Still had Kung Fu grip though, not to mention that mysterious Old Man Strength.

 

BTW, 12 pages and no Voytek Kurtyka? Shining Wall? And still alive. Plus, he writes about as well as any alpinist I can think of.

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My climbing heros are any one putting up good clean routes I can get my old weak ass up. :tup: :tup:

Those famous names in the mags and books that I recall when I was a arm chair climber don't mean jack to me now :yawn:

 

 

Alex Lowe RIP :brew:

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