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rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 10, 2010 - 11:42am PT

Rich Romano, one of the most prolific climbers in the history of the Shawangunks and the primary developer of the Millbrook Cliff as well as other outlying areas, recently had a serious accident at City of Rocks, Idaho. His rope, which was too short for the pitch he was lowering off, ran through the belay, resulting in a serious fall. Full details about the accident and his recovery are on the gunks.com thread

http://gunks.com/ubbthreads7/ubbthreads.php/topics/54460/ALWAYS_tie_a_knot_at_the_end_o#Post54460

Rich's insurance is supposed to cover the enormous helicopter evacuation and hospitalization costs, but it does not cover his ongoing post-ER visits and the various co-pays and deductibles, all at a time of lost income from the inability to work.

A few of us have have started a project to raise some cash for Rich for his ongoing medical expenses and at the same time provide some value to climbers, based on Rich's extensive and in many cases exclusive knowledge of Millbrook. We are producing a series of "harness route cards" for "The Bank," Rich's affectionate name for the cliff. These are 4 X 6 cards, laminated, with a cord loop that can be clipped to a harness. The cards will have two or three classic routes on a high-resolution photo. The photos we are using afford nearly straight-across views that show superb cliff detail, at an angle that is easily interpreted by a climber at the base of the routes. There is no comparison between the photos we are using and the aerial photos in any of the current guidebooks, which are exceptionally hard to interpret and which, because of the time of day they were taken, fail to reveal even massive features of the cliff.

In large part because of Rich's efforts, Millbrook is one of the "traddest" cliffs in the country. There isn't a single bolt anywhere, and perhaps a handful of fixed pitons, just about all of them from the early soft-iron days of climbing in the U.S. Almost every route is in the same condition as it was on the first ascent. It's steepness, functionally remote location, and the seriousness of many (but not all) of the routes makes Millbrook one of the premier destinations for high-level trad climbing in the country.

The route cards are an attempt to make some of the mysteries of Millbrook just a touch more accessible without, we fervently hope, reducing the cliff to the modern paint-in-the numbers beta-fest that now dilutes the trad experience worldwide. In keeping with the adventurous spirit of Millbrook climbing pioneered by Rich, the cards show clearly where the routes go, give their grades, but leave all the other details of the ascent to the climber.

We are planning on producing a combination of classics at various levels of difficulty, some of which do not appear in any of the Shawangunk guidebooks. The first card is now ready. It lists two of the best and most accessible routes at Millbrook, Westward Ha!, among the best 5.7's in the Gunks, and Cruise Control (a Romano Route), a superb line at 5.9-. On the flip side is a schematic map of the best trail approach to Millbrook from the West Trapps parking lot and the location of the standard rappel tree.

we are selling the cards through Rock and Snow for $5. Because of the support and generosity of Rock and Snow, every penny of the $5 price of the card goes to Rich. Please feel free to add an additional donation if the spirit moves you. We can only handle either cash, if you want to send it through the mail, or a personal check made out to Rich Romano. Send a stamped self-addressed envelope big enough to hold a 4x 6 card to

Romano Fund
Rock & Snow
44 Main Street
New Paltz, NY 12561,

Or stop by Rock and Snow if you are up at the Gunks.

Have a safe and happy holiday season, and remember to tie a knot in the end of your rope whenever lowering is involved.

scuffy b

climber

Three feet higher

Dec 10, 2010 - 11:58am PT

Thanks for posting up, Rich.
This seems to be a wonderful, creative fundraising tactic.

As an aside, this kind of accident seems to be unusually frequent at
City of Rocks, and I don't think my impression is solely based on
familiarity with the area.
Seems a lot of the climbs are just a little bit longer than they look, or
the belayer needs to get into that patch of shade just a few feet away,
or something.
The switch from 50m to 60m ropes reduced the action on some climbs, but I
guess it shifted things to a different set of slightly longer ones.

klk

Trad climber

cali

Dec 10, 2010 - 12:25pm PT

good project.

climber, injury, insurance won't fully cover is becoming depressingly familiar.

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2010 - 03:37pm PT

As a way of bumping the thread, here's a sample of the type of image we'll be providing.

It has been compressed for web viewing so has lost some of its resolution. Still, you can see that the perspective and level of detail will enable one to find routes pretty easily when they are drawn in. And anyone with a Gunks guidebook that has a section on Millbrook can compare photos and see the substantial difference in usefulness.

If anyone has shots of Rich climbing to post, it would be a nice way of keeping this thread visible for a while...

The Lisa

Trad climber

Da Bronx, NY

Dec 10, 2010 - 03:42pm PT

This is a worthy cause, Richard. Thanks for the information.
The route cards look really nicely designed.

adam d

climber

Dec 10, 2010 - 03:51pm PT

Bummmp...I could've used that last picture when I was on White Corner! (Fun route!) The corner is obvious, but how to get to it wasn't for me.

Best wishes for Rich healing up without bankruptcy.

seth kovar

climber

Reno, NV

Dec 10, 2010 - 03:54pm PT

Will for sure be stopping into Rock and Snow when I come home for the holidays in a week or so...

Big Bump for a major name from my home cliffs...

SteveW

Trad climber

The state of confusion

Dec 10, 2010 - 06:39pm PT

Bump for Rich Romano!

TKingsbury

Trad climber

Dec 10, 2010 - 06:50pm PT

is there a paypal for donations?

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Dec 10, 2010 - 06:50pm PT

I'll do what I can, though I am in dire straits myself. This trip to
the Gunks not long ago, where I got to stay with various friends, and so
forth, brought me to a whole deeper understanding of what a fine bunch
of people live out there and how phenomenal they all are as climbers...
Rich, of course, was certainly equal to any stonemaster on the other side of the country and one rad climber...

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Dec 10, 2010 - 08:09pm PT

Best wishes to Rich: I met him very briefly, when I was climbing with Donini at City of Rocks, earlier in August. He & Mim were then going backpacking in the Sawtooths, and it makes sense they would have stopped by City of Rocks on their way back to SLC.

I'm very glad things turned out as well as they have.

I never saw anything about this accident in Idaho news sources. Even a Google search doesn't show much except a tidbit dated to 1996.

Park ranger Brad Schilling reported that there were six other serious accidents that year at City of Rocks “caused by a belayer letting the rope-end through the belay device.”

From About.com http://climbing.about.com/od/climbingknots/a/StopKnotBelay.htm

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2010 - 09:26pm PT

is there a paypal for donations?

Not at the moment, TK. We've just got this thing off the ground while juggling the multiple other responsibilities of life and work.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Dec 10, 2010 - 09:55pm PT

thanks for the opportunity to help Rich out, Richard,

Millbrook is a wonderful place, though I only did one route out there, at least that I recorded...Strange City 5.7, in September of 1993... I remember it being one of those sublime autumn days with the trees starting to change, and great views to the Hudson River.

It was a melancholy occasion, a long time climbing partner was moving away to the west... it was sort of a last climb together in the 'Gunks, we were sitting up on one of the higher pitch ledges, all alone, and a bald-Eagle flies by below us... punctuating the magical day.

Always wanted to return... the cards would give it some impetus...

happiegrrrl

Trad climber

New York, NY

Dec 10, 2010 - 10:02pm PT

PayPal is not at all difficult to set up. Worth trying to find the time to get that done, if possible. Can use an email address dedicated specifically to the donations, and link payments directly to Rich's bank account.

Best of luck to Rich as he recovers through all this.

Morgan

Trad climber

East Coast

Dec 10, 2010 - 10:29pm PT

Awesome day at The Bank: Rich & Miriam on Sweet Meat, Tony and Felix on Lessons in History, and for us, Time Being.

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Dec 10, 2010 - 10:38pm PT

Hope you have a speedy and complete recovery, Rich R, and thanks for bringing this to our attention RGold. I'll do what little I can to help. A paypal acct really would help out.

-JelloWishesRichASpeedyRecovery

MH2

climber

Dec 10, 2010 - 10:48pm PT

Thanks for posting here Richard. I've sent a contribution. I remember Rich from his earliest days at the Gunks and he is a strong connection to the spirit of those times.