MARTY KARABIN'S MESSAGE TO ALL CLIMBERS

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karabin museum

Trad climber
phoenix, az
Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 7, 2011 - 07:50pm PT

Since 2001 I have been experiencing spiritual awakening and now it has escalated to the highest level. I knew this was within me since I was a young child but nobody would believe me and most, even priests, thought I was delusional. I knew of things that the church does not tell people or maybe the church slightly misunderstood what Jesus was trying to teach us. I escaped all of my doubters by running to Arizona's vast desert, getting away from the church, and smoked a lot of pot to rid myself of the spirits. I lived my life in partial confusion but at the same time have met many thousands of the most incredible people you can meet. These people are a big hearted family of rock climbers.

In 2001 I was going through a divorce where I was crushed having two babies and the family being torn apart. I visited a doctor who gave me an experimental drug to ease my pain. I only asked for sleeping pills but this was what I was given instead. Over a two week period this drug caused heart spikes where my heart would stop, and moments later would start again. The drug was called Remeron. At first nobody believed me but eventually many experienced me passing out and they saw that I was not lying. The doctor still insisted that I continue taking the drug even though my Xwife was on the phone yelling at his office explaining that I was right then having a heart attack on the floor. I insisted seeing the doctor again and on my visit I had another heart spike in his office. When I woke I was in the hospital hooked up to monitors and other machines. I could see in my doctors eyes that he was very scared at not listening to what many had tried to tell him. I like my doctor and knew that this would eventually all be returned to normal. During one of the heart spikes I found myself in a dark tunnel with a very bright light in the distance. A figure appeared in the tunnel and I had a short conversation with this man? I am certain it was not Jesus but was a spirit. This spirit comically explained that it was not my time to be where I was.

Two years later, while I was on an in town boy scout climbing trip, I was approached by an amazing spiritual healer named Glenn. I like showing kids the magic I felt in climbing when I first started climbing, so at times I volunteer for free to teach kids on the weekends. Some of my friends saw the magic in what I was doing and joined me on my teaching, while other of my friends could not take a day off of their climbing weekend to help out without pay. Glenn excitedly told me that I was contacted and to prove it he told me the exact same words the figure in the tunnel told me. I am still blown away today from this awakening.

Of course I put the walls up in my mind again and was back to blocking my thoughts with the weed. In 2009 one day after the Outdoor Retailers Show in Salt Lake City, I had a climbing accident on a one move nothing boulder problem which somehow flipped me upside down landing me into a leaf pile. I had pads, three spotters, it was only 6' tall and visually nothing to get hurt on if the climber fell. This boulder problem is in the beautiful Little Cottonwood Canyon named Double Dyno. I somehow shattered my right leg femur bone in seven places. My two friends that I was with were leaving on a plane the next day which left me alone knowing nobody I saw. I live in Arizona. While I was in the Utah hospital I knew everything was going to be okay. I had a feeling that I was being cared for by higher forces than just the doctors, but it was a scary experience since the nurses were in a school environment of teaching and the faces that took care of me changed every day.

On the 5th hospital day I had a surprise visitor - Brian from SLC. I still tear up today reflecting on that moment as I first saw his face as he walked into the hospital room to surprise me. He of course had a prototype Chouinard/Frost Climaxe in his hands so I teared up even more in jealousy. Thank you Brian for being a great person! During my time in the hospital I was once again taken by the spirits on a journey of understanding. I was shown things that I cannot explain but I was granted an amazing feeling of peace. When I got back to Arizona many friends were there insisting they take care of me. I was truly Loved and I thank all of you over and over,…..and again!

The spiritual visions were still happening to me at my house and I called upon Glenn to help me understand what was going on. I have not seen Glenn in three years and he was at my front door step early the next morning. I wish there could be a Glenn in everybody's life then this world would only be about kindness and Love. My parents were present witnessing his amazing ability and my parents commented that it was a nice trick or something that he knew what he knew and said things aloud that he could not have known. This kinda scared my parents but at the same time Glenn came to me to give Marty his message, and not a message for my parents to understand. Kinda like the Oracle in the Matrix movies.

I went through my painful physical therapists smack down process which got me back onto my feet and walking again. Vincent you are brutal, but I Love what you have done for me. After a year I was back to climbing but kept having small accidents which kept me off of the rock. I am lead course setter at the Phoenix Rock Gym. I fell back into the same Marty pattern and put the minds walls back up and was back to the weed. Suddenly my leg was not responding, I was once again walking with a cane and went into a second surgery on January of 2011 to remove the hardware. My leg felt Soooooo much better after I had the Femur bone hardware removed. I slowly started working out again and then took a strange fall in the gym twisting my knee just right preventing me from climbing even again. Finally after healing, in June I went bouldering at the Draw in Flagstaff and during the warm up climbs on the simple walk down I slipped landing my right hand into a very healthy Agave plant.

I could not believe it! 21 spikes were shoved into and sticking out of my hand and a few totally through the knuckles of the two middle fingers. I had help from my friend Neo/Nick pulling out many of the spikes that we could see while the blood was flowing. Neo thank you for being strong with the situation and reacting to my injury as fast as you did. I am still upset that we had the video cameras right there and neither of us filmed the injury. We saw Zak Farmer the next day working at the Flagstaff gym and I tried to gross him out the best I could. My purple two middle fingers had puffed up twice the size they usually are. Amazingly I still have two spikes in my middle finger which I need to get surgery on to get them out.

I finally was able to get back to work and was excited to be climbing again, but this days work was reorganizing the back storage room with my super strong friend Joe Czerwinski. We finished up the work and Joe left leaving me to do the final tasks and then I was going to climb. Yeah! While shutting the roll-out back receiving door at the gym somehow my middle finger got trapped between the door panels. This was quite a shocking experience since there is no room between those panels when the door is shut for a middle finger to be stuck between them. I was by myself and had to roll the door back up to open the gap to get my finger out. Once again I was being told to focus on my mission, not my distraction.

Just after the Agave accident I was experiencing an intense spiritual awakening where my bed every night was soaked over and over. I was not sick but there was so much water in my shirt that I could ring it out. And I changed the shirt three times a night! I listened to the message and my need for the weed was taken away. No I did not just quit, I was so cleansed that I feel like I have never smoked any in my life. So teenage years to the mid 40s and now the code has been broken. I reflect on why I was even doing it in the first place for all of those years. It makes no sense.

This spiritual sensation is so great that I feel like I am floating now. Two weeks of the sweats and then I walked with God for four days. I understand so much now and everything in life makes sense. The formula to life is so easy no wonder kids act the way they do!!! While I am awake or asleep I feel that I am in two places at once. No I do not see Matrix atoms, but I can see the genuineness in everybody when they are not even talking. Surprisingly when people are talking to me having conversations at the rock gym, I only am picking up the words that have weight to them. I mention to my friends that I did not hear what you just said and could you please repeat it. If everybody would just talk out of their heart, everybody else would hear their message. There is so much unnecessary surface gibberish that people use between each other, no wonder the world is falling apart.

I met Chris Sharma when he was 14 years old. I was the media representative for ESPN and many other media companies that were present at the 21 Phoenix Bouldering Contests/Boulder Blasts. I never knew at that time that Chris was going to become the biggest inspirational figure in climbing to most climbers around the world. I set up interviews between the climbing superstars and the TV/ magazine representatives. Over the many years through familiarity Chris and I became passing friends. My greatest moment in my climbing life was while at one of the Phoenix Bouldering Contests, Chris came up to me near the end of the competition and said that he wanted to be my personal spotter for the last hour. Chris had already completed the 8 hardest problems at the competition with one hour to spare. I was very honored to have Chris following me around and carrying my pad. I was so honored that I stopped competing, and had every passing competitor stop to take a photo of them with Chris. Everybody has pictures of themselves hugging Chris with the biggest smiles I have ever seen in life.

I own many of Americas most priceless pieces of historical climbing gear and would trade all of it away just for the feeling I still feel from that moment in time. Chris now is so swamped with people wanting to see him climb that we have chased him out of the USA. I feel you Chris. My greatest moment was hugging him and I could care less what he climbs. Everybody else pushes the challenge "let's see if he could flash my route" and if he failed he would only be laughed at on these new Facebook's, My Spaces and U-tubes.

When climbing superstars come to my house, I do not take them to the local crag. We go out to the water park or paintball arena and to a fun lunch. Why do you think that your small local crag will interest these superstars when they are already climbing in the most fantastic places in the world? And then they are always pushed to climb the hardest routes at the local crag. People, a hug and a lunch will go further with these amazing talented climbers and they will remember you for life. If you want to challenge them, then you are just another wolf in the field. Chris also has a camp that he teaches youth kids the magic of climbing.

I started collecting climbing gear 20+ years ago. My greatest collecting inspiration is a man named Stephane Pennequin who lives in Corsica France. Stephane has the passion and started collecting climbing gear a few years before I did. Him and I had a beautiful relationship where we have never met each other, but we shared an amazing common passion for gear. Computers were just starting to come around, but Stephane and I only wrote hand written letters to each other occasionally surprising each other with an amazing gift we would receive in the mail. This bond between him and I was, and still is, very magical. The problem that developed is the creation of Ebay. Before Ebay, Stephane and Marty's only outlet for gear was through the climbing manufacturers, and through visiting the hero climbers of yesterday working to preserve gear we have never knew existed.

Over time we stopped writing each other, became distant in our lives, and became greedy on major pieces of gear that showed up on Ebay. There are many other collectors out there today that jump in on this Ebay dream and really bring up the cost on trying to save/preserve this gear for a museum.

I was dubbed the chosen one in the USA by many manufacturers that saw my passion for preserving climbing gear. On some Christmas's, 30+ boxes of gear would just show up at my house unannounced as a surprise. Some of these boxes had traveled from the other side of the world and contained full sets of cams, nuts, prototypes, old gear, hair from an Elephant that fell off of the trail on the way to Everest base camp, you name it! My wife stopped giving me gifts at Christmas because she felt she could not give anything greater that what she saw. In reality if she just gave me her Love, it would have outdone my entire collection, but she searched for a trinket instead to represent her Love. At that time in life the pressure of her job, two babies at home, her parents not accepting that Marty was not working and was a home husband, lead to divorce. Please do not get me wrong, My Xwife and I stayed good friends because of the kids we have together. My two kids are the greatest thing in my life. They are beautiful and I Love them! I Love them more than anything!!!

Until this walk with God I was still on Ebay riding the greed train that I had to win every trinket I did not have. I drained my bank account to nothing to obtain what? I denied my kids a new $30.00 video game exclaiming that "WE HAVE NO MONEY" and two days later I won a nothing piton that I didn't even know existed for $70.00. My collection is so huge that when I placed the newly acquired piton into my collection, it disappeared like a single blade of grass added to a one acre lawn. I have nothing now but a big pile of WHAT that is in a backpack so huge that now it is breaking my back. My cabinets are empty of food and I am denied working because of the constant accidents that keep happening. God said to just believe and all will be granted to you. From the miracles that I have seen over the past few years I do believe this is going to be true, but it is very hard to stand there with your hands outward in belief as I am feeding my family again with packs of Ramen soup.

There are many collectors out there that have this passion for collecting climbing gear and we are all falling into this Ebay trap. We are constantly outbidding each other on pieces of gear that someday will all be on display in the same place anyways. Many of these huge collectors are getting old and do not know what to do with their collection when we move on. There are so many climbers in this world that would Love to visit/travel to some Smithsonian Museum which houses the most amazing pieces of climbing history that we need to preserve. If every climber just donated 5 dollars to this building, this building would exist but instead 5 dollars is too much to ask because of this greed thing us humans enjoy wrapping ourselves around.

It blows my mind that Ken Yeager has started this museum building called the Yosemite Museum, but everybody just donates their gear and no money to him. He has to work a full time job and then try to get all of these museum artifacts together that everybody is so excited to see. Why has nobody sent him enough money to keep him concentrating on just the museum alone? The museum could be a whole Disneyland style climbing park near some real crag and rock gym with outdoor moving kayak river rides, hiking garden path and bike trails all hooked together in one. But no, my 5 hard earned dollars is for a 6 pack of beer instead, or a $100 bag of weed that will be gone in a week.

You people with money out there why do you not create this dream? Because it does not give you return of money? Many climbers are constantly attacking each other on these forms for WHAT? You all share the same passion but the egos seem to drive the common sense where in the end, none of the hatred words even mattered. I Love Chris Sharma for what he has given me in life, a hug in a photo with him. Not that he just climbed another amazing route.

I understand my mission clearly now and that I was not to become the big museum, I was entrusted by thousands as a storage unit until this museum was created. I am the "collector" chosen one yes, but to only make sure these precious items go to the correct place for all to Love and enjoy.

I need to get back to work so I do not lose my house in foreclosure. I need somewhere for my kids to live. Ken, I will be visiting you soon. I have many fantastic Yosemite museum pieces for you to share to everybody. This is better than having them just sit in a storage shed collecting dust for years.

Please climbers….just think about the dream.

Love Marty Karabin

1301 E. Weldon Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85014
Karabin714@aol.com
marty@onedollarministry.com




healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Jul 7, 2011 - 08:06pm PT
Marty, thanks for the missive.

I've been a minor contributor to Stephane, Marty, and Ken over the past few years and have conveyed to Stephane, and to Marty to a lesser extent, that I hope they are all considering what will become of their legacy.

Between the three of them they could put together sufficient gear for a permanent museum in the U.S., one in the EU, and still have enough left over for a traveling exhibit.

I've contributed to all three in the hopes at least one of the three will survive intact over the coming decades and find a good permanent home. Maybe that's Ken's museum, or maybe the AAC or BMC will eventually do one or join with a conventional museum to create something.

Marty has a good point that maybe now effort should be put into finding / creating a permanent home for our collective legacy. I'm all for that being Ken's museum or any other viable alternative. I'd personally like to see all three of them put their heads together on that front to see what could be done.

My two cents anyway. Anyone else? Suggestions?
Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Jul 7, 2011 - 09:01pm PT
Marty;....you are full of life;....keep the spirit flowing......and wear a helmet and /or kneepads when you leave the house. If I ever have anything you wish or need for your awesome collect;...just let me know;...it's yours for the asking......Your Queen Creek guide is still one of the best guides ever written;.....thanks for all the sharing you have done with the climbing community. Good luck on your spiritual quest.......climb on.....and...as I tell my son lake who seems to get hurt quite often;.......today is a day with no more boo boos........and thanks for sharing your story with us too....a facinating journey;....so far;.....and I'm sure there is much more excitement to come....
MisterE

Social climber
Bouldering the Gnar
Jul 8, 2011 - 01:06am PT
So one primary message that I am getting from Marty is that most climbers are cheap dirtbags. They think that donating their unwanted unusable climbing gear is really helping out when what they should actually be doing is really stepping up to the plate and making a real donation. Yeah thats my opinion of most climbers too. Cheap, self fixated, self important slugs.

I dont't know if you have noticed how many climbers commit suicide. Well in the dark of night when no else is around they get a little dose of reality and they get to see how hollow, shallow and pathetic their lives actually are.

You reflect your self-loathing, Bob Gerber.
drljefe

climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
Jul 8, 2011 - 01:08am PT
BUMP!

Thanks for all you do.
Best of luck to you.
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Jul 8, 2011 - 01:34am PT

Bob, I think you may have been a little drunk when you reached for your butt plug. I was starting to think, "how bad can it be...?", butt then I remembered the glass glue suppository - ouch dude! - no wonder you're grumpy.
karabin museum

Trad climber
phoenix, az
Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 02:06am PT
Climbers are the most generous people I know. Money makes a person greedy, not rock climbing. I have a storage full of historic climbing gear, what should I do with it?

Keep in mind I have NO MONEY nor ANY TIME.

Marty
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Jul 8, 2011 - 02:43am PT
If I remember right he already has one...
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
Jul 8, 2011 - 02:52am PT
Marty,

I do not believe you are "the chosen one" to collect gear for others.

I do believe your collecting habits are somewhat obsessive, but you have retained some perspective, which is a good sign.
That is, recognizing that you must be careful to try to not let your house go into foreclosure. This is solved by getting back to work; limiting your collecting budget won't be enough.

Donating money to buy property / a building for a museum does not work for Yosemite Valley - the land there is not for sale. It is more of a negotiation for space in a public building, competing against other interests who also want such space.

More fundamentally, I am not sure if there would really be much demand to visit such a climbing museum, unless it was expanded well beyond gear. I think there is more interest in stories and photos than the gear. Also, there are very few truly historic pieces of gear; most of it was pretty generic. Even if a good museum exhibit was constructed, most climbers will spend a fair amount of time traveling to Yosemite and want to spend their time there actually climbing.

To most climbers, gear is interesting to the extent that it enables them to do good climbs, or as an illustration of how climbs were harder in the past because the gear was worse.

I wish you good luck in your mission to turn your climbing gear collection into something positive for others. And in your desire to gain control over the collecting obsession. Admitting you have a problem is an important first step!
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Jul 8, 2011 - 03:39am PT
Anyone out there know both Ken Burns and Jim Collins? A couple of folks like that focused on climbing's history / legacy in conjunction with a Smithsonian + AAC partnership could be a powerful thing. Seems like the NYC Do we have any climbing folk in Congress? Maybe sic Malcolm on it as well.

Ideas anyway...
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Jul 8, 2011 - 04:25am PT
Marty,

If it comes down to it, I agree - sell it all. I am pretty torn as I'd hate to see one of the few major collections scattered back to the wind versus find a permanent home. But...

Bottom line? I wholeheartedly agree a home for gear has to take a far back seat to a home for kids. Wish I had the resources to solve both issues for you with one stroke, but I don't.

But you do have my best wishes and hopes for you and your family...
survival

Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
Jul 8, 2011 - 08:19am PT
Give it away. To Ken or Stephane. The great religious seekers gave away their possessions right? Then you can reap the true rewards of your spirit quest.
steveA

Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
Jul 8, 2011 - 08:23am PT
I donated some very rare Ewbank wired nuts to The Nut Museum in Corsica. I have some very early "junk" in a box in my attic collecting dust.

I also think you would be better off unloading this stuff on Ebay to generate money to keep your house.
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Jul 8, 2011 - 10:08am PT
Marty, thank you for the full meal deal story: supersized of course:-)

Rock on!

For myself, I can't think of a better location for a rockclimbing museum than in the valley. Maybe the lord will bring it to pass. I hope it's better than if your amazing collection of stuff all disappeared in a house fire, a break in or something heinous.
karabin museum

Trad climber
phoenix, az
Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2011 - 12:10pm PT
Thank you all for your great words. My museum is not for sale nor do I want to jump over anybody else's museum. The reason I obtained all of this stuff was to preserve it for all climbers to see. To me my Chris Sharma photo is worth twice the value of the overall collection. I value my entire collection as one penny. Please note that I stated that Ken is the museum to be. Ken has a big box of history that's going to come to him soon. But once again Ken also has no time to put all of what I have onto display since he is also trapped with no monies over being able to put his entire time into his passion. So my collection now goes into his storage so what was to gain here? I know that many donate money to Ken, but it probably is just enough to pay for the display cases, over it paying for his bills as well. Stephane too is trapped by family, job and time otherwise he would have already created the most fantastic book of gear history that the world has seen.

I am not a priest and am not versed very well in the Bible. I am just Marty the climber. God has opened my eyes and I feel an anointing so great that I plan on infecting all of you with it. I know all of you out there have a deep story like mine to tell. The problem is that nobody is doing it! Instead people walk around with this amazing image of themselves which others easily see the baggage they carry.

What people do not know is that Lucifer is just as beautiful as Jesus. Lucifer is an Angel! Lucifer is doing a great job making people believe in Religion so others will feel the need to fight you over it. Once you dialed in Religion it gives you the feeling that you know the answers to life! But the reality is like going all of your life feeling great joy and happiness with your parents and brothers and sisters, then you find out you were adopted. The feeling of deception is that great or greater when you "Awaken" to the truth.

The message I receive is: "Those who walk in faith wear a shield of armor so great that it can not be penetrated." "Those who know faith are lost." "Stop believing that you are Religious, and start believing in Jesus."

Sell my collection for money, that's funny! Lucifer is money. He has you all hooked on his "Money" drug!" I have so many people in my life that will give me their house if I lose mine. You actually think I am worried about my life? I HAVE JESUS!

Love Marty
pyro

Big Wall climber
Calabasas
Jul 8, 2011 - 12:13pm PT
sorry you feel that way!

that's funny! Lucifer is money. He has you all hooked on his "Money" drug!"


i have to make lots of money just so i can live in malibu :)
Russ Walling

Gym climber
Poofter's Froth, Wyoming
Jul 8, 2011 - 12:28pm PT
Well if you are not selling..... that might mean you are still buying:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1547539/1950s-and-60s-Vintage-Pitons-For-Sale-Sporthaus-Schuster
survival

Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
Jul 8, 2011 - 01:46pm PT
Way to wave the crack pipe under the junkie's nose Russ.....
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Jul 8, 2011 - 01:48pm PT
Russ, don't be mean...
ChampionSleeper

Trad climber
Phoenix, AZ
Jul 8, 2011 - 02:30pm PT
Marty-
Maybe God/Jesus/Lucifer/Spirits are trying to tell you to.....


STOP BOULDERING! :-)


Take it easy man, bouldering is for kids. Get on a rope more often and I think you will have less injury.

And leave the crap work (sorting holds, bolts,etc) to Georgio and Jeremey. Com'on man, you've got seniority; you shouldn't even be washing holds anymore.

Heard the comp went really well this year! See you soon,

Paul
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