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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 31, 2009 - 10:14pm PT
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Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt must have been addicted to thin edges and smearing on gold/orange polish. They had it dialed. I can’t believe what these guys were able to drill from… it is so far beyond me… They must have been masters of stance drilling, yet when it comes to Tuolumne, they are not always the ones that you hear about. I’ve just been on a couple of their routes on Hammer Dome, but have eyed a few others, and Bob has climbed several of their routes and just raves about these guys. Bob and I replaced the old bolts on Barbary Coast and Murder by Numbers this past October – photo TR here:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1048207/Hammer_Dome_Bolt_Replacement_Tuolumne_Meadows
Dave Caunt posted on the Stance Drilling thread a while ago; maybe he is still around. I’d like to hear about these guys and their routes! Which of their routes have any of you climbed? Ever watch ‘em putting a route up? Got any stories or photos to share? I know that some of you guys here (Al Dude, Shipoopi, etc…) were involved in some of these routes. I bet there’s some good stuff out there, waiting to be told… Let’s see some cool photos!!!
According to the FA index in the most recent Falkenstein (Falcon) guide, Settlemeyer and Caunt have put up the following kick-ass routes in Tuolumne Meadows, along with some other climbers:
Stately Pleasure Dome – East
 Daddy’s Little Girl 5.10d, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 6/85
Full Metal German 5.11c, Dave Caunt and Rob Settlemeyer, 11/90
The Shark
Mallet Head 5.11a, Dave Caunt and Rob Settlemeyer, 10/90
Mountaineer’s Dome
Paris Is Burning 5.11b, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 7/84
Low Profile Dome
Orange Man 5.10c, Dave Caunt, et al, 1990s
Hammer Dome
Barbary Coast 5.11a, Rob Settlemeyer, et al, 7/81
Murder By Numbers 5.11d, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 6/84
Tin Pan Alley 5.11c, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 7/84
Shadow of Doubt 5.10c, Rob Settlemeyer, et al, 9/81
Daff Dome – South Flank
Tips Ahoy 5.11a, Rob Settlemeyer, et al, 6/80
Central Cottage Dome – North Face
Rugburn 5.10a, Al Swanson, Rob Oravetz, and David Caunt, 93
Dead Ranger 5.11d, Rob Oravetz, David Caunt, and Al Swanson, 8/93
New World Order 5.11d, Rob Oravetz and David Caunt, 9/93
Sex on the Flag 5.12a, Rob Oravetz and David Caunt, 8/93
Far Right 5.11a, Rob Oravetz and David Caunt, 8/93
Driller Elite 5.11d, Al Swanson and David Caunt, 93
Power Cliff
Radar Detector 5.12a, Dave Caunt, (Brad?) Watson, and John Piera, early 90s
Mariuolumne Dome – North Wall
Razor Back 5.10d, Dave Caunt and Charlie Hedly, 7/85
Medlicott Dome – North End
Omega Race 5.11c, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 8/84
Vapor Lock 5.11c, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 8/86
Medlicott Dome – Middling/Coming Area
Fight the Power 5.11c, Dave Caunt and Rob Settlemeyer, 91
Medlicott Dome – Center West
Dazed and Confused 5.11, Dave Caunt and Scott Burk, 8/85
Medlicott Dome – West
Slider-Banger 5.11d, Steve Schneider and Dave Caunt, 7/86
Living in Sin 5.12a, Dave Caunt and Jeff Schoen, 8/81
Dude Looks Like a Lady 5.11a, Dave Caunt and Brad Watson, 9/91
Bogey Meets Mr. Porcupine 5.13b, Steve Schneider, Dave Caunt, and Alan Nelson, 7/89
Shell Shock 5.11c, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 6/89
Drinking Buddies 5.10c, Steve Schneider and Dave Caunt, 6/89
Black Dahlia 5.12c, Steve Schneider and Dave Caunt, 6/89
Guy Takes a Bomma Gutsa 5.11c, Steve Schneider and Dave Caunt, 6/89
Dozier Dome
Angelic Upstart 5.11a, Rob Settlemeyer and Dave Caunt, 7/86
Pywiack Dome
Afternoon Fix 5.11b, Dave Caunt and Rob Settlemeyer, 9/91
Tenaya Peak Wall
Lakeshore Boulevard 5.10c, Dave Caunt and Eric Mayo, 8/85
Chimbote 5.11b Steve Schneider, Dave Caunt, and Rob Oravetz, 8/85
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Dec 31, 2009 - 11:21pm PT
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Daddy's Little Girl is one of the best one-pitch routes on Stately Pleasure Dome. Starts out with a difficult mantel and finishes with some interesting friction.
Bruce
ps- stance drilling is where it's at.
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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hey, i know those guys, and hell, rob oravetz is my roomate. rob settlemeyer taught me hows to stance drill on bald rock dome during my school daze. Stan miller, paul gagner, eric mayo and rick harlin round out the crew. i think dave caunt's best route is dead rangers. man, there should be more of those.
there was one route of caunt's i b acked off of...at the base of el cap, rock neurotic i think it is called. i got up to the first bolt, and then man, you really got to go for it from there. i couldn't commit and never returned. sorry, don't have any slides scanned. maybe i should do some old school slideshows, haven't done that for years. shipoopoi
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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Right On - fellow Defenders Of The Faith. Shell Shock is a dandy and Omega Race - fantastic! Got the second ascent of Murder By Numbers w/Bruce Morris and took a 40 footer off Paris is Burning w/Bill Price. Dave also did a bang up job on the first pitch (11c) of The SS. SKOAL !!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Caunt was way keen on that stuff: w/Rob also enthusiastic & kinda admirably low tone.
I have one slide of him in action BITD,
Maybe some chance that it is from the FA of that Dozier Dome route.
Nothing special photo-wise; I'll bookmark this thread & bump when I find it down the line....
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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You want to see a heck of an adventure in Orange, go do Mother Lode on Marmot. Schneider and Oravetz I think. Needs new bolts, but if you love the orange, you gotta go do that one. Only 10b but you can up the ante a ton by going straight up from the second to last bolt, instead of keeping on veering right. Long stretch of pure orange without even little chips forming edges.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Hey B, I changed the strings on the Ibanez, My house 2:30 Sat, Call John to verify we're back from the installation, Later.
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john bald
climber
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My hat's off to these guys! Always beautiful lines on the best polish. Was in slab heaven when I found their routes outside of Chico.
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 2, 2010 - 01:47pm PT
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Jeeze… I do have a cell phone and I do check my email… Talk about thread drift…
Dave’s post on the Stance Drilling thread, found here:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=492354&msg=835228#msg835228
“Stance drilling by hand on first ascents was the only way to do it, back in the day. Drilling quarter inchers in hard granite was not just hard work but would get the adrenaline going like nothing else.
My vote for the hardest stance drill that I know of was Rob Settlemire's first bolt on Tips Ahoy at south flank of Daff Dome. He literally tore his fingertips apart drilling that bolt.
Sometimes, as I liked to do, run it out to avoid drilling from hideous stances. But that sort of backfired when I went to drill the fourth bolt on Tin Pan Alley at Hammer dome. Looking at a potential 40 footer on a steep smooth slab, had no choice but to stop and drill from a slimy smear hold.
Rock Neurotic at base of El Cap is another sick like route.
Once the bosch became popular in the late eighties, it seemed the art of hand drilling on stance was destined for forums like this.”
More???
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dcaunt
Sport climber
Chico, CA
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Jan 22, 2010 - 03:08am PT
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Wow. It took me a while to get logged in, but now I'm in. And I gotta say, I am really honored to hear what you guys are saying about mine and Settlemeyer's routes. Never thought anybody gave a sh#t about our slab routes. I do know one thing, putting up those routes was the best part of my life and I will always cherish those moments. The early to mid eighties was a time of strict ethics as I always thought, and if you weren't drilling bolts on lead on stance then the route wasn't worthy. I finally decided it was ok to use hooks for the steeper stuff only after seeing that Bachar did.
Eventually started using the bosch but only because Bachar was using them.
I got lots of photos of first ascents but its getting late so I will leave you with a couple to look at. I'll post again soon, now that I know how to log in. Thanks Minerals for doing all that bolt replacement on Hammer Dome. Funny thing, I was just at that Dome this October myself reminiscing about the good ol days. Didn't do any climbing tho, that stuff is too damn hard and run out for me these days.
[photo[photoid=142213]id=142212][photoid=142215]Asta
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Jan 22, 2010 - 03:27am PT
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Dave,
welcome and thanks for all the great photos. Please post more. Agreed about drilling on stance and I think it is still appropriate today (hooks included).
Bruce
ps - Too bad the current generation equates stance drilling with unsafe routes.
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Jay Wood
Trad climber
Fairfax, CA
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Jan 22, 2010 - 03:42am PT
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This makes sifting through the drivel so worthwhile!
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Jan 22, 2010 - 10:44am PT
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And that... young gymrats... is how it is done!
Nice photos and true commitment to style, ethics and owning a sac!
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Jan 22, 2010 - 11:54am PT
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Whoa! This is turning into a great thread. Getting images out like the ones Dave posted is fabulous. The stories are even better.
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Jan 22, 2010 - 12:05pm PT
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I gotta say that those routes on Middle Cottage Dome are some of the best knobbing in Tuolumne. Hard, sustained, real cruxes, and well bolted. We have been working on climbing all of them the last couple summers. We still haven't got a clean ascent of the 12a (one fall) but will next year. It's too bad that these aren't done more often, if they ever had the lichen cleaned off they would be even more special.
And the routes with Schneider - Shipoopi and Slider Banger - could there be two routes more different and more the same at the same time?! Great lines, one for everyone and one for the few willing and able to put in some serious air time. Grigsby and I were on Pretty in Pink Point one day watching a couple take increasingly huge whippers off Slider Banger until they were finally so battered that they came down. We talked to them and they thought they were on Shipoopi! They were in for a very pleasant surprise when they went back the next day.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jan 22, 2010 - 12:32pm PT
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Holy shizzle!
Welcome Dave!
Wow, a real thread, about the real thing....finally!
Don't be shy about bustin' out old shots from back in the day. Hell, we all do it. Sometimes it's all we got!
It's a treat to hear you say that stuff is too hard and run out for you these days. Sometimes it's nice to hear that we're not alone in our weakness....
IhatePlastic, THAT my friend is a killer post!
And that... young gymrats... is how it is done!
Nice photos and true commitment to style, ethics and owning a sac!
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Jan 22, 2010 - 01:04pm PT
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cool stuff!
I've tried some of Dave's routes on Skyline Blvd in the Bay Area. Those Tuolumne routes sound awesome (and hard!)
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2010 - 02:19pm PT
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Woohoo! And I thought this thread was destined to the dark depths of the Supertopo Dungeon!
Awesome! Thank you for posting, Dave! I look forward to seeing more of your photos. Yeah, that’s some badass history, all right!!! You guys deserve credit for putting these great routes up in proud style. I just wish I could climb a little harder so that I could enjoy more of them. As far as the bolt replacement at Hammer Dome, it was something that needed to be done. Your routes shouldn’t disappear into obscurity – they are too good and more people should climb them!
Yup, there’s that second stance on Murder By Numbers… I thought you guys placed that bolt from a stance but it was tough to see the stance! Whew! Very impressive!!! The first pitch of Barbary Coast is listed as 5.10b in the book but… man, that sure felt hard for 10b, and I didn’t even lead it! That mantle to the belay… whoa! I’m sure your routes will stand the test of time and will still be sick, long into the future. Thanks for your contributions to Yosemite climbing, Dave! Slab climbing is not dead… slab climbing RULES!!!
I hope Bob gets a chance to see this thread. He will be psyched to see those photos! He made a comment at one point, saying that you guys must have been Olympic-caliber athletes.
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Jan 22, 2010 - 03:50pm PT
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Shadow of a Doubt on Hammer is great. Have the bolts on the second pitch been replaced? Does anyone do the second pitch anymore?
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Jan 22, 2010 - 09:30pm PT
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Bump for a climbing thread....
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