One armed solo ascent of Mt Starr King

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BBA

Social climber
West Linn OR
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 8, 2009 - 12:48pm PT
I'm was going through the Mt Starr King Register and found an entry by Eric Beck (right side of page)


If Eric is out there, how was the descent? Down climb?

Has anyone done it "no hands"?

I'm guessing this was done to fill in recovery time after the fall on Middle Cathedral (page 162 in Camp 4 by Roper).
cleo

Social climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 8, 2009 - 01:29pm PT
Ha - good find!

Peter Haan

Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
Dec 8, 2009 - 02:09pm PT
BBA,

Eric is here on ST. Hopefully he will notice the post. His contact here is, "Eric Beck".

Interesting also is the register showing Bruce Cooke reached the summit the next day. "Both routes"? and solo. Bruce was a wonderful older climber who hung out at Indian Rock back in the sixties and seventies, mentoring and being friends with just about everyone. A very good friend of Higgins also. We have discussed him a few times in recent years here.
Jingy

Social climber
Flatland, Ca
Dec 8, 2009 - 03:30pm PT
IDK - But it seems that Eric was spooke by the decent.... At least that's what he wrote from the top of the hill..


Good luck!!!
Eric Beck

Sport climber
Bishop, California
Dec 8, 2009 - 10:59pm PT
Wow, what a trip into the past. This was a 2 day trip to bag Starr King and Mt Clark. I was in mountain boots. The descent was indeed scary, backed up and down several times before committing to the moves. Still here, though. Camped up the drainage that evening. After Clark, got a bright idea to descend straight to Merced Lake. This turned out non-trivial, with a moderate amount of high 4th.
How do we survive the bright ideas of our youth?
Buju

Trad climber
the range of light
Dec 9, 2009 - 12:24am PT
last year about this time:
Inner City

Trad climber
East Bay
Dec 9, 2009 - 12:40am PT
such an amazing thing this internet chat. Eric Beck chimes in! I love that dome. It's location, remoteness and vantage point are all wonderful....but climbing it with less than two arms? We had 2 sleeping bags when I did it...nice little bed up there...

dmalloy

Trad climber
eastside
Dec 9, 2009 - 12:52am PT
craziest thing is, I just saw Eric at the Happys on Sunday (and last Thursday, for that matter) and he now has TWO arms!!

The dude regrew an arm!
guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
Dec 9, 2009 - 02:06am PT
Wow BBA

On June 27th, Dave French and another party with Dick Irvin-that register is full of "oldies but goodies."
BBA

Social climber
West Linn OR
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2009 - 11:07am PT
I'm currently digitizing the microfilm reel and will have to figure out what to do next with it. It is slow work, but what a trip to read the entries and names.

HEY GUIDO - What do you know about Dave French?
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
Dec 9, 2009 - 11:26am PT
I thought this was going to be a John Wesley Powell story.
Slater

Trad climber
Central Coast
Dec 10, 2009 - 12:01am PT
Any more pics of this place? A profile pic? top down views of climbers coming up? I've often wondered about Mt. Starr King. Funny how it just made it in the park and Wamello and Shuteye got shutout. At one time I think they were all inside the boundary?

EDIT: Nevermind... just found the previous thread!
Mighty Hiker

climber
Vancouver, B.C.
Dec 10, 2009 - 12:10am PT
Does that make Eric a one-armed bandit?
guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
Dec 10, 2009 - 12:16am PT
BBA

Well first off he is not French. Bay area climber of the 60s. Dozier, Morton, Beck may be of help??????????Certainly our very own SR would have all the "facts".

Irvin I last saw in Nepal in 85, so not much help there.

cheers



tuolumne_tradster

Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
Dec 10, 2009 - 12:26am PT
Buju

Trad climber
the range of light
Dec 10, 2009 - 01:52am PT
more pics

we brought a set of nuts, a few slings, and a half length of noodle rope. i would not hesitate to do that thing ropeless now. suuuuuper cool feature.

guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
Dec 10, 2009 - 03:15pm PT
BBA

Recollection from the past: I think it was around 61-63, Pinnacles where Roper and I were putting up some first ascents. French and team had been dicking around with the West Face route on the Machete Ridge for years and we were impatient. Roper gave them an ultimatum around the campfire one night, finish the route tomorrow or we will finish it. They completed the route the next day and Roper and I did the second ascent a day later. All that I remember was there was a short bolt ladder, steep steep climbing and horrible rock. Since this was the era BHH, (before hard hats), the belayer had to place his pack over his head for protection. Pretty sure it was French.

cheers

Guido
tom woods

Gym climber
Bishop, CA
Dec 10, 2009 - 03:22pm PT
Was that Bill's Bad Bolts?
guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
Dec 10, 2009 - 03:32pm PT
??????????
BBA

Social climber
West Linn OR
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2009 - 04:31pm PT
It looks like the years have been hard on the cairn put up in 1935, almost reduced to nothing in tuolumne_tradsters photo (a great one it is, too). This is what it looked like in 1938 - holding up well in the weather. There is a note in the register for 1935 where some guys say they erected a big cairn on top.

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