Clint Cummings: A legend

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Avery

climber

Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 15, 2014 - 11:58pm PT

Clint Cummins bring so much to supertopo, I believe a lot of Supertopians take him for granted (especially me)
So, let the tributes flow.

Avery

climber

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 16, 2014 - 12:00am PT

Clint Cummins kindly provided the following info

Pete described the first 8 ascents in a nice article over on rockclimbing.com in 1999.
A lot of his work got destroyed when they modified the site, though.
I saved copies of much of it; here you go (unfortunately the links to
photos are gone):

Jolly Roger trip report

by Pete Zabrok, 1999-09
from rockclimbing.com

INTRODUCTION

Jolly Roger was possibly my favourite and most memorable big wall route ever - great climbing, great partner, great weather .... perfect! We brought along our solar-powered shower, ghetto blaster and of course plenty of Olde English! Our friend Julius Kessler from Kentucky joined us, as well.

I guess I could tell you I've got lots of juicy beta, but you'd better have something good to trade for it! . [Note: I will accept one carry to the base of El Cap prior to my next solo in exchange *grin*]

Jolly Roger's combination of difficult runout free climbing and pretty damn hard aid climbing has kept away the riff-raff. In 1999, Jon Fox and I made what was only the eighth ascent since its first ascent in 1979. The ascensionists' names read like a Who's Who of Big Time Climbers. This route has attracted some of the world's best climbers, so how the heck did some life insurance agent who only climbs part time ever get up?

Sheesh.

[Hint: He may know a better way...]

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Let's take a look at the list of ascensionists who have climbed Jolly Roger.

The first ascent of Jolly Roger was made by Charles Cole and Steve Grossman. These guys were very active in establishing many Yosemite big wall first ascents. Steve climbed three other first ascents on El Cap, and made over fourteen ascents of the Big Stone, though he was somewhat overshadowed by Charles' amazing solo big wall first ascents like Space on El Cap and Queen of Spades on Half Dome. Steve is still kickin' around and involved in the indoor climbing scene - he designs some really rad climbing walls including the Urban Krag in a renovated church in Dayton, Ohio.

Charles went on to develop some REALLY sticky rubber and to found Five.Ten, a climbing shoe company with some brilliantly creative ads that reflected Charles' sense of humour and his Yosemite heritage. It's sure obvious Charles has not forgotten what it is to be a Valley climbing bum!

I actually do all my aid climbing in a pair of Charles' big wall shoes, which I got for free after my Five Ten El Caps completely disintegrated after only one wall! These new shoes are not lasting as well as I might have hoped - I only wish Charles' shoes would hold up as well as Charles himself!

The second ascent of Jolly Roger was made by the Swiss climbing legend Xaver Bongard, who together with the ultra-prolific John Middendorf later climbed The Grand Voyage. This climb is a really sick Grade VII found in the awesome Trango Towers of the Baltoro region of Pakistan's Karakoram, a beautiful but hostile alpine big wall arena.

The way that John and Xaver met is quite an amusing story - Xaver was in Yosemite and wanted to climb the hardest route, so John sent him up Jolly Roger -- solo!

The third ascent of Jolly Roger was also made solo - by none other than Yosemite's own Brad Jarrett. I think but am not certain Brad was involved in the first ascent of Tempest on El Cap, but whether or not he was, I'm gonna stick in this link to this AMAZING photo of Tempest on El Cap. Why not, eh?

Brad didn't have the benefit of an internet guru like Deuce, so it's kind of hard to find some decent links to him. But the big wall world is pretty small, and here is an interesting connection. Brad Jarrett went to Nameless Tower to climb a three-thousand-foot route called Wall Fiction (VI A4 5.10 WI3) with Warren Hollinger of Polar Sun Spire fame. If you read the captions to this Baffin Island Grade VII big wall, it says they climbed it in July. I think this is wrong - I'm pretty sure Warren, a friend of mine and fellow Hoser, told me they climbed in April because they needed to get in and out before the sea ice broke up. I do remember seeing his slides that were taken with daytime highs of -15C. Even in the Great White North, it gets warmer than that in July, eh?

In July 1998, Warren Hollinger made the first ascent of a new El Cap route that takes a line up the North America Wall directly from Easy Street to Big Sur to the Cyclops Eye. This route is called Nightmare on California Street, and is definitely rated "PDH" on the C.R.S. Warren put up this route with Grant Gardner, who made the sixth ascent of Jolly Roger along with Nate Beckwith, and this brings us back to the beginning of the Jolly Roger circle. In the spring of that same year, Grant dodged the storms of El Nino to make the coveted first solo ascent of The Reticent Wall, which he "stole" out from under the nose of Wally Barker, one of the Nameless Tower crew, who had been eyeballing it. Wally later soloed both Reticent and Jolly Roger along with Gulf Stream, the Ranch, and Plastic Surgery Disaster. I can't find any decent links for Wally, either!

The fourth ascent of Jolly Roger was made in 1993 by Slovenians Janez Jeglic and Miha Prapotnik. Janez Jeglic was one of the baddest-ass mofos who ever lived! Janez is actually a friend of one of Dr. Pee'd On's "patients", who is Tomaz Humar. Tomaz sent me a few photos to post here on the website, so I'll have to hop to it. Here's where Tomaz talks about his solo of Reticent Wall, and how I helped him by giving him beta when nobody else would! I taught him a few of the big wall basics like the hauling ratchet and the load release knot, and off he went. I would have to say he was one of my more promising "patients"! I'll get those photos posted - they're much better resolution than the ones which appear on his website.

Janez Jeglic was the first half of the dynamic duo of Patagonian big wall climbing, the other half being Slovenian Silvo Karo. I remember meeting Silvo after he and his Swiss parter Aischan Rupp had just got back from their record speed ascent of Half Dome via the Direct Northwest Face in 11 h 20 m. As I shivered beneath my raincoat in a soggy Camp 4, I listened in awe as Silvo and Aischan described how the rain they were climbing through turned to snow halfway up! Evidently they surprised a half-dozen sorry sods huddled beneath a tarp on Big Sandy Ledge and left their jaws hanging in amazement as they thundered through towards the summit! At the time I was speaking with them, I had no idea who they were. But one thing I knew for sure - these guys were totally MANIC!

Aischan Rupp made the fifth ascent of Jolly Roger in early summer 1996 with Norwegian hardman Odd Roar Wiik. Be sure to scroll down on Odd Roar's page to see his Baffin Island big wall exploits! Like "no doot aboot it, eh?" With this Baffin Island Grade VII on Polar Sun Spire on his resume, Odd Roar Wiik has proved himself unequivocally to be as MANIC as the rest of this lot!

While some climbers continue to push the limits and get away with it, others are not so lucky, unfortunately. It did not escape my attention that Xaver Bongard is dead, the result of a BASE jumping accident in Switzerland when his 'chutes failed. Janez Jeglic died on Nuptse while climbing with Tomaz Humar who barely managed to survive himself. And Aischan Rupp died on the Matterhorn in a rappelling accident on the Hornli Ridge.

A couple years later, I hitched a ride back to Camp 4 from El Cap Meadows with Odd Roar. We were swapping stories, one of which involved Aischan downclimbing the nearly hundred-foot runout on the sixth pitch of Jolly Roger because he was too gripped to make the mantel at the end! I proudly told Odd Roar I had just made a solo ascent of Iron Hawk which I believed to have been the second solo ascent after Brad Jarrett's first solo. Odd Roar burst my bubble when he told me that Xaver had soloed it too.

"How do you know that?!" I demanded.

"He told me."

"Oh."

As you probably know by now, Nate and Grant made the sixth ascent of Jolly Roger. [1997]
http://www.terragalleria.com/mountain/info/yosemite/jolly.html

The seventh ascent was made in the fall of 1998 by Mikio Suizu and "Uncle Kiyo" Shikoda from Japan, along with their pint-sized Female Belay Slave whose name escapes me just now. Fresh off my ascent of The Reticent Wall, and eager to pump them for info on the route, I hooked up with the Japanese lads in Camp 4, where Uncle Kiyo demonstrated that he is as fine a cook as he is a climber - the deep-fried breaded veal cutlets he made for all of us were delicious beyond description! We missed having Tomaz with us since he was up on the wall at the time. Suizu and Shikoda had decorated their tent fly with some outstanding artwork, and Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab and I added our two loonies' worth.

The next evening, I took the lads over to the Garden Terrace for supper. When Nate came in and walked over to our table, he nearly shat himself when he saw all the detailed beta the lads were giving me!

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! [diabolical Dr. Evil laughter]

To conclude this historical overview, I will share a photo with you that doesn't really have anything to do with Jolly Roger, but just sort of demonstrates how small the big wall fraternity really is.

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see that the photo caption reads, "Bérhault, Edlinger, Humar, Karo au pied du Triglav, dimanche 27 août 2000"

Patrick Bérhault is an alpiniste of some renown known for his mellow scrambles in the hills.

Patrick Edlinger is of course famous for his death-defying free solos, his tendon- stretching flexibility, and even his nudey scene in the ground-breaking climbing flick, "La vie au bout des doigts"

Tomaz Humar is no slouch, either. Climbing Magazine's Millennium Special No. 192 considered him to be the Best All-Around Climber on the Planet, a designation for which I can personally vouch.

And finally there's Silvo Karo, who eats Cerro Torre and Torre Egger for breakfast. Actually probably before breakfast.

Big Wall aficionados will notice one problem with the caption: the order is wrong!

The correct order, from left to right, is Karo, Bérhault, Edlinger and Humar.

OUR ASCENT

Jon and I set up Base Camp on top of Little John at the top of the first pitch. This is right at the foot of the fixed ropes coming down from the base of the Heart. From here we climbed up to Mammoth Terraces where we had our Advanced Base Camp, but the fixed ropes were handy for zipping back to the Valley for pizza and beer, eh?!

This route comes at you fast with some stiff aid on the third pitch. Pitch 4 is one of the most famous hooking pitches on the Big Stone - bring your talons, screamers and duct tape to protect this, and be sure think about those duct-taped hooks when you're heading the seam above.

Free climbing highlights include the L-O-N-G runout on sustained 5.10 on pitch 6 where a fall of well over a hundred feet is a very real possibility. Don't think it's all over when you clip Chris Van Leuven's shiny new (replaced) bolt, cuz it keeps coming at ya. The 5.11x handslaps above Mammoth Terraces made ME reach for my chalkbag as I was belaying Jon! At least Jon could take a solar-powered shower to wash off the smell of fear.

As for the memorable aid, where do I begin? This is a route where I really got good at heading and hooking. Either that, or I guess I'd be dead too, eh?

One time when I was placing some scary heads, a voice floated up from somewhere beneath, speaking in a heavy Italian accent:

"Hey, Michaelangelo! That's-ah pretty good work-ah you do with-ah the "chis!" Affa you finish there, you can-ah paint the ceiling of-ah the Shield Roof!

"Atsa the mattah for you, Luig'? First I gotta finish my work with-ah my "chis" so some-ah day the tourists can take-ah the piksh of my stuff! Maybe one-ah day they make-ah my stuff in-a plastic! That's-ah nice, eh?"

The Golden Doubloon was an all day affair for me, quite a workout, that. The penultimate pitch really had Jon thinking, too - Suizu had warned me that the rivets are well hidden by the lichen. Jon pulled an all-nighter on this pitch to get us on the summit and down in time for the big Camp 4 celebration, but we were accidentally sent the wrong way and regretfully ended up missing the whole thing.

Spoken in pirate's voice:

"ARRR, May-tees!" Here's a picture of Nate standing watch in the Crow's Nest. "ARRR-DEE-AAARRRR! Shiver me timbers, eh?"

There are two aid pitches on this route that really stick out in my mind. The first is the hooking above the body-cleaving pinnacle on pitch 11. That is most assuredly the RADDEST HOOK MOVE I have ever made! As you're top-stepping on one hook with another hook duct- taped to the end of your hammer to extend your reach, and when your hook finally sticks on something that is too far from your reach to be able to feel with your finger, and as you climb up your two aiders joined end to end, look down at that pinnacle and imagine what it'll do to you if you blow it. Oh yeah, the edge you're blindly hooking on is 1/3 the size of your baby finger nail, and not incut in any way. Yikes! This pitch definitely deserves the rating of PDH/DFU.

But that's not even the crux! The really sick aid pitch is the A4 ramp followed by the A5 heading corner. Call that one PDH/DFU. Bring tons of #0 and #1 heads - I used something like 25 or 30 in a ROW! If you fall on this pitch, bud, you'll break every bone in your body! Man, did it ever feel good to clip the anchors after that one. I still have some of those little #0 and #1 heads that my partner Jon cleaned out of that pitch. Pretty nasty little souveniers, eh? Check out this photo of some of my little aid trinkets and used heads from Jolly Roger, if you DARE!

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! [diabolical Dr. Evil laughter]

Witnessed by: Jon Fox
Added: 1999-09-20
Many of the photos are still there, actually, such as:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos/Big_Wall/The_Notorious_Hooking_on_Pitch_4_of_Jolly_Roger_1585.html
http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos/Big_Wall/P4_of_Jolly_Roger_-_You_call_that_Pro__1598.html
http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos/Big_Wall/_Pass_the_Pitons_Pete_s_Aid_Trinkets_3493.html

Some later ascents, with photo TRs:
2005 Ammon and Cheryl http://www.rocknclimb.com/jollyroger.html
2007 E and Levy http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Jolly-Roger-Photo-T-R/t357n.html

bob

climber

Jun 16, 2014 - 06:42am PT

Clint Cummins.

All knowing information work horse. He has almost always had information I needed. Thanks Clint!!!!!!! You are a legend.

Bob J.

mouse from merced

Trad climber

The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:00am PT

Avery good start...

He is an information automaton.

Want to meet him personally.

That's a fact.

couchmaster

climber

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:05am PT

I'll drink (coffee, it's 7am ya know LOL) to Clint. Dude always comes through with good stuff, never seems to get angry at all of our foibles and internet stupidities - so awesome.

clinker

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, California

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:26am PT

The guy is to consistent, He may not be real. A mechanized supercomputer designed at Stanford's robotics to study and record climbing culture. How else could he know so much and work so tirelessly.

It is simply a prototype, Probably at least one replication on each continent. Deep space is next.

Any pictures from sightings?

phylp

Trad climber

Millbrae, CA

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:35am PT

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/556158/Clint-Cummins-Appreciation-Thread

overwatch

climber

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:48am PT

He is indeed an incredible resource here and his willingness to help is exemplary. Thank you Mr Cummins

susu

Trad climber

East Bay, CA

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:48am PT

Our very own kind of Spock only much better because he is human afterall, and bestowed with kindly easy airs. A stealthily, extremely accomplished climber and climbing historian. His posts on ethics discussions are the finest anywhere.

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Jun 16, 2014 - 07:57am PT

Our very own Yosemite Wikipedia.....thanks Clint!

whitemeat

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo, CA

Jun 16, 2014 - 08:32am PT

He is for shore one of the top like 2!!!

Thanks clint! you have given me so much helpfull beta and done so much awsome bolt replacement on the rocks! You the man!!

SC seagoat

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?

Jun 16, 2014 - 09:07am PT

Thanks Avery for reminding us of an extraordinary person on ST. Some people deserve more than one appreciation thread! Clint, deserves many!
Thanks Clint for your phenomenal contributions and
Thanks Avery for bringing Clint front and center.

Susan

Mark Force

Trad climber

Cave Creek, AZ

Jun 16, 2014 - 09:15am PT

Clint is the essence of civility and responsibility, a font of knowledge, and seems like a really nice guy, too!

Avery

climber

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 16, 2014 - 03:46pm PT

I must apologize for the unforgivable gaffe of spelling Clint's name wrong in the heading. I was in a real hurry setting this up.

Avery

climber

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 16, 2014 - 03:49pm PT

Thanks ekat, for pointing out my spelling blunder. I'll make sure that I check my spelling before posting.
At the end of the day it's the sentiment that counts.

Banquo

climber

Amerricka

Jun 16, 2014 - 04:07pm PT

Clint is the hardest guy to get a good photo of I've ever met. I just scanned through some pictures from Parkline Slab, Fireplace Bluff and Starr King. Not a decent shot in the bunch.