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RonV
Trad climber
Placerville
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 2, 2014 - 08:19pm PT
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I have a story of lost history I would like to share. I have witnessed many times in my almost 40yrs of this sport how some people have received a great deal of attention and others not. Certainly I do not climb for attention, but sometimes our history gets it wrong. As a young climber from Placerville my friends and I spent many days climbing at Sugarloaf. In the 70’s we called the rock formation above the Silver Fork School, Dog Rock. Now the Guide books call it Sugar Bun. If you look at a current Guide, note some of the names, “Dirty Dog”, “Dog Fight”, “Mad Dog”. The best route at the time on this feature was “Dog Rock Finger Lock”. Now just called “Finger Lock”. One day a great friend of mine, Don Garret, spotted a line on the south east side of Dog Rock and top roped it and did some cleaning. He noticed during this that some visiting climbers from Washington State had watched his activity, but thought little of this until he returned a week later with his bolt kit to find that his route had been bolted. He had already named the climb, “Dog Lips Finger Tips”. This route was poorly bolted and because of the merit of the route Gene Drake returned a few years later and rebolted the route which is now known as “Make That Move Right Now Baby”. Now certainly none of this really matters, but guide books are written, sometimes by people who have little history in an area and names change. I still head up to Dog Rock to do two of my favorite routes “Dog Rock Finger Lock” and “ Dog Lips Finger Tips” and remember the great times I had climbing with my good friend Don Garret.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Ha! It's still Dog Rock and Dog Rock Finger Lock to me Ronald! There are some routes such as Pony Express, Taurus and Scheister whose FA 's are unknown. If these places we enjoy could only talk the tales we'd hear!
Another avoidable piece of lost history at the Loaf was the name change on the old A3 route Stanborough Memorial when it was freed. I didn't know Charlie Stanborough who I understand was killed in Yosemite rope soloing but his friends were motivated enough to name a route as a remembrance. There's likely many great stories of Charlie and his buddies climbing there in the sun of yesterdays some of which I've heard, most we'll never know.
These stones just sit there and change so little in the time we went from high school punks to old men. The climbers for me are so much more interesting then the routes so I'd say these things do matter, not that anyone else cares.
Such true words......"the first ones now will later be last", I swear these places are haunted.
Berg Hiel,
Charlie D.
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Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
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I remember how Don was pretty pissed off that those guys swiped Dog Lips Finger Tips from under his nose. Pretty rude. A lot of great efforts took place which were not recorded because some of us were never in with the in crowd, just out there doing it and not worried at the time with advertising ourselves. I figure we know what we did and we did it well and we had a great time at it, and we're still good friends. That's what it's about in the long run.
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crankster
Trad climber
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When I lived in CA it was Dog Rock, there were trees before the fire and Grand Illusion was The Fracture. Some of the best granite on the planet is in that canyon.
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Aki J
Trad climber
Placerville, CA
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Dog Rock Fingerlock... I remember some old guy telling me that's what it was. ;)
Didn't know about the name "Dog Lips Finger Tips" though, that's a good one!
Maybe the "youth" will hear about this someday...
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RonV
Trad climber
Placerville
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2014 - 07:57am PT
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Funny Aki. I am NOT an old dude...yet.
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Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
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I have always thought Don Garrett and Ron Vardanega to be a couple of the most under-recognized climbers around. Anyone who has climbed with them is forever in awe of their abilities. They just did it and didn't bother with talking themselves up. I have the greatest of respect for them and always will. Very proud to call them good friends of mine.
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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thanks for the write up RonV!
Wish i coulda climbed with ya when i lived there.
Did you ever do anything down canyon? Eagle rock? or those smaller crags across the hyway? Have any names for those?
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Ghoulwe
Trad climber
Spokane, WA
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Yep, I think Ron V. and Don G. were highly under-recognized too. They used to come into Sierra Outfitters where I worked and we'd talk about climbing. They were a few years younger than me and super-enthusiastic! One day they were talking about a route they did at Mosquito Bridge (Twist and Shout?) and I humored them by telling them I'd go do their route soon. When I finally got there, I was surprised that it was quite burly and made me bleed a bit! After that I took them pretty seriously! Branscom, I think you were one of that crew too, along with Dan Bolster?
Man, I love Spokane, but I do miss Hiway 50 and Donner Summit!
Eric Barrett
Ghoulwe Mtnrg Club
Spokane WA
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Ghoulwe
Trad climber
Spokane, WA
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Charlie Stanborogh was a good friend of Charlie Jones and Jim Orey and was active in the Sacramento and Yosemite scene in the early '70's. He died in a roped-Solo accident on Higher Cathedral Spire in probably 1974'ish. I never met him but climbed with Charlie Jones and Jim quite a bit - both super-competent climbers and all-around good guys!
Eric Barrett
Ghoulwe Mountaineering Club
Spokane WA
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Wasn't it Mark Stump or someone that did the FA of Make That Move Right Now. I talked to the guy at the Leap the day after he did it and Steve Miller and I did the second ascent the next day. Yes there was at least one bolt in an awkward/wrong place, but thats what happens when routes are done illegitimately by practice toprope and rappell bolting. Other than its genesis it was a good little face with some pretty thin moves. Dont know the genesis of the rocks name, but Todd and I were calling it sugerbun as early as 1971. Sorry if we got it wrong. Yes, lots of missing or mangled history in that canyon.
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Baggins
Boulder climber
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+1 for recovering lost history
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Killer stuff.
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RonV
Trad climber
Placerville
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2014 - 02:59pm PT
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All I know is I did not start climbing until 1975 and Dog Rock is what I was told. In fact I think it was Paul Crawford who used that name. As you know, Ron, this was a time of no cams and no internet, so what climbers from one place called a rock may have differed from another. My first thought was maybe this is what the Tahoe group was calling this rock, but I thought Paul climbed with Rick BITD.
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Tripod? Swellguy? Halfwit? Smegma?
Trad climber
Wanker Stately Mansion, Placerville
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Have not been to this fabulous forum for months and I was thinking of running into Ron and Charlie last night and figured I'd see if any old posting on Sugarbun/Dog Rock history.
I guess the conversation last night got the memories flowing...
The history is great and fills out the picture of these places we have spent many, many hours enjoying.
Dog Rock makes sense if for no other reason than the route names that are dog based (though the route I put up there is named after my daughter Annabel: A gorgeous little creature and certainly no dog!)
The route formerly known as MTMNB is hereby restored to it legal name of Dog lips Fingertips. Any objection....Good!
what is the A3 route now called to which you refer?
PS: damn that double IPA had to be 9% My grocery shopping mission was quickly scrapped:)
Cheers
a
PPS. Ron, be nice!
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Ha! Aidan I had 2 1/2 of those IPA's last night and had to come home for a nap late afternoon! Ronald, Aki is trying to tell you it's later than you think bro :^)
The Stanborbough Memorial became Captain Fingers. I watched Mark and Max free it in 1979 a feat that I remember well given the ease and grace they showed, such talent. It's great seeing them getting after it again after all these years.
I think RonV is right the SLT and West Slope/Sac groups had their own names and circles. People were siloed from each other and they seemed to like it that way! Collaboration is not something youth embraces with much enthusiasm.
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Hell Charlie even the north shore and south shore guys largely ignored each other back then . Except that pesky duo of Max and Mark who frequently transitioned to our shore to embarass us. Those guys were probably the best free climbers in the world for a few years in the seventies. Great days, close freinds, freedom and the belief we were actually doing something of importance in the then fringe pursuit of climbing.
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RonV
Trad climber
Placerville
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2014 - 11:36pm PT
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BLUE,
I have never climbed eagle rock. I've hiked around it one day and never returned with a rope. Now the lower canyon has several small hidden rocks and if you go far enough down canyon you come to the swinging Bridge on the way to Mosquito.
During my senior year of high school I was a chem TA. On my fist day in the lab I meet this college grad. An old guy. Bob Branscomb seemed lucid enough even though he was like 21 or 22. When I found out he was a rock climber I change my mind and decided he was nuts. Bob, Don Garrett and I started climbing together and the Mosquito Bridge became a common place for us to climb. Don lived right at the top of ridge on the way to the bridge.Bob wrote a guide book of Mosquito, then years later Will Cotrell wrote a new guide and called this area Mosquito Coast. Sh#t, another name change.
We lived.
End of story.
I'll let Bob explain the rest.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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love is way better than the truth.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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BLUE,
Dave Babich and Dave Stam did some climbing on a crag just east of Eagle Rock they called Sin City. Paul Brown who I think still lives at Pacific House did routes in the canyon on a number of smaller features. Paul took me on a tour of Branscomb/RonV routes up in the Crystal Basin. Amazing there is even some basalt up there. A route I remember was "Moving to Montana", somehow Bob ended up in Wyoming which I'm sure is a story in itself.
Rick,
I remember one time Jon Bowlin and I ran into you as you were putting together a guide that was to include Phantom Spires. You asked Bowlin about the Spires which was very much the focus of the Ghoulwe's and Hootowls and said, tell Barrett to get with me or I'll go there and climb all those routes myself. Too funny such energy and determination, hope you're well it's been a long time since we spoke.
CV,
Love you buddy and that's the truth!
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