See How We Are-Kurt Smith Profile Climbing 1988

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Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 26, 2010 - 03:12pm PT
An interesting profile at the turning point...From Climbing, October 1988.


Tube socks forever!
jsb

Trad climber
Bay area
Sep 26, 2010 - 03:18pm PT
Awesome. Has General Dymamics seen a second ascent yet?
LAP

Boulder climber
Golden, Co
Sep 26, 2010 - 04:12pm PT
Was this written before or after Kurt glued holds on a route in Clear Creek Canyon?

Lucinda
rurprider

Trad climber
Mt. Rubidoux
Sep 26, 2010 - 04:23pm PT
Great thread Steve. Hadn't heard about the holds at Clear Creek Canyon, but didn't Tom Gilje punch Kurt Smith (the General,the Kid...) out in Joshua Tree one time for chopping a route that Tom and Dan Osman put up near Hemet and than deficating on their ropes?
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2010 - 04:31pm PT
All this and more...LOL
bmacd

Trad climber
100% Canadian, Certified Kook
Sep 26, 2010 - 04:34pm PT
the article is good but the comments are even better, should be an interesting thread.
The ethic portrayed in the article, was alive in Squamish BITD ...
Prod

Trad climber
Sep 26, 2010 - 04:39pm PT
Hadn't heard about the holds at Clear Creek Canyon, but didn't Tom Gilje punch Kurt Smith (the General) out in Joshua Tree one time for chopping a route that Tom and Dan Osman put up near Hemet and than deficating on their ropes?

Hey Ruprider,

The Clear Creek stroy is true. He did the route with Mike Pont, some time around 89 or 90. An occasional poster here chopped it. It has since been done without the "Necessary" glued hold (pretty sure about that?).

Didn't hear about the punch out story....

Come on Steve, you seem to know the story. We could use a good chuckle.

Prod.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2010 - 04:47pm PT
I don't in this case.
hooblie

climber
from where the anecdotes roam
Sep 26, 2010 - 05:08pm PT
well parried kevin, glad you sorted out my confusion once i saw that your "see how we are?"
remark might have been an echo of the thread title. i was more provoked by
rurprider's tone than the article.

edit: more confusion, i mean LAP's tone. now we know who's ready for a nap
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2010 - 05:12pm PT
That part of the OP is my humor, not Kurt's.
Peter Haan

Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
Sep 26, 2010 - 05:22pm PT
Jsb, I don't know either if G.Dynamics has repeated or not but we do know it got new bolt replacement this year by Roger Brown et al.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1265655&msg=1265655#msg1265655
CubicleNation

Trad climber
Mtn View, CA
Sep 26, 2010 - 07:16pm PT
I think the glued hold at Clear Creek was unfortunate and sounds like there are still some sour grapes about that. Worst things have been done to the rock though. I always thought that was out of character from someone that came from such a trad background. But the thing that I will always remember best about those days is I did really enjoy Kurt's and Mike Pont's energy when those two worked at Paradise Rock Gym and then during the first few years of development at Rifle. Those were good times.
Prod

Trad climber
Sep 27, 2010 - 12:03pm PT
I think the glued hold at Clear Creek was unfortunate and sounds like there are still some sour grapes about that.

I thought the Clear Creek thing was funny at the time, and was pals with Pont back then. Didn't Mike write some controversial letter to R&I about the whole incident?

He, Mike Pont, was an awesome route setter to be sure, he took it to an artistic level.

What gets me about the Clear Creek thing is Kurts overriding tone of tradition in light of this part of his past. I’ve seen him called out on this 3 times on this forum, in threads where he defends tradition, and have not heard an answer. It’s really no big deal, just sort of funny psychology to me.

Prod.
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Sep 27, 2010 - 01:14pm PT
Why nit-pick the kid?

I would suggest he has climbed harder than %99.9 of the ST population.



survival

Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
Sep 27, 2010 - 01:32pm PT
Great read!

Thanks Steve.

Thanks Kurt.
Elcapinyoazz

Social climber
Joshua Tree
Sep 27, 2010 - 01:40pm PT
I remember reading an interview with the General circa early 90s. Think "mullet at Rifle" phase. A question was about why he'd embraced sport after coming up as an old school trad type. The answer was something like "I had pushed deep into the 5.12 grade on traditionally protected ground up routes and felt like I couldn't keep pushing the boat out there further and further or I was going to get really hurt."

That's completely paraphrased, but the gist is correct.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2010 - 04:58pm PT
There was a period where the folks on the sport side claimed that 5.13 wasn't even feasible ground-up so once that was established beyond a reasonable doubt, the dialog wandered elsewhere.

"Well, you'll never establish 5.14 like that" was too laughable to even try.
atchafalaya

climber
Babylon
Sep 27, 2010 - 05:02pm PT
"so once that was established beyond a reasonable doubt..."

what 5.13 route(s) was bolted on lead w/o hooks(i.e., aid)?
Messages 1 - 18 of total 18 in this topic
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