tell a Reinhard Karl story?

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426

Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 22, 2006 - 09:10pm PT

..one of Gullich's idols when he was a grommet.



RH wrote my favorite wall story ever about the Heart. I too, have thought about throwing jumars off the wall (for retreat), but got scared of somehow "Karling" them....
WBraun

climber
Jul 22, 2006 - 09:41pm PT
We had diner in the 4 seasons the night before he left the Valley. He was on his way to the Himalayas to climb some big cold mountain. He said I really don't want to go, I like it here in the Valley and want to do more rock climbing. It's so much fun here.

He perished over there ..........
mooser

Trad climber
seattle
Jul 22, 2006 - 09:41pm PT
I met Reinhard Karl at, of all places, the Santee Bouldering Contest around 1982 or so. He had this beautiful blonde woman with him (there was a collective dropping of the jaws), and a guy filming a documentary or something who was following him everywhere. Seemed like a really cool guy, and I was way sad to hear he died not too long afterwards. Not a story...just a memory.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Jul 23, 2006 - 01:17am PT
A "diner" in the Four Seasons. Damn! They've got all kinds of weird concessions in the ditch.


Reinhard and Mugs Stump attempted the FA of the SW face of Angel's Landing in, I believe, 1981. They climbed four pitches to the top of a distinct finger or pinnacle some 120 or so meters up the 340m wall.


To my knowledge that side of the wall remains unclimbed. In '83 I did a route up the right side, Angeline, that (again to my knowledge) remains unrepeated.
Mugs had some criticisms of Angeline that were unfounded, as he assumed extensive bolt ladders that I never resorted to.

In '94 Dan Langmade and Keith Brown attempted Angeline but made the mistake of consulting Middendorf for info.
Rather than say he just didn't know and suggest they contact me, Deuce told them that they had already fixed rope on the "Lowe" route.
(The Lowe-Roghar is the first technical route on the Landing, and is on the East face. Two years ago the Zion "rescue" crew added 3 monstrous bolts to the top of this route (which was climbed WITHOUT bolts) as they apparently felt that the pine tree some 14" around was inadequate. At least four other routes now end with the same crap.)

When Brown and Langmade reached the top of a dihedral capped by a roof only 100m from the top they didn't know to look for my sneaky traverse (that, yes, used a few bolts) and as a result they retreated leaving numerous weird new bolts with hangers that had the inspiring message, "NO GUD".

Some years later Joe French and Kevin Reilly made a similar attempt, This time, however, I was working a line next to it from above and had left a rope that reached to near the same spot.
As they could not find the route they jumped my rope, using it to reach the top and my gear stash.

Then they helped themselves to everything.

For months Joe saw me around Springdale and said nothing. The gear was covered with my initials.

He knew whose it was.

Finally he approached me.
A significant amount was returned, but much was not.
Most interesting was the stuff with my initials that had been painted over.

When I met Reilly he offered no apology whatsoever





Anyway,

as far as I'm concerned the route remains unrepeated.




In the mean time however somebody attempted the Stump-Karl line reaching their high point. They then fixed a line down the left side of the finger.
Stiff, bleached and rotting, it was still there last time I looked.

Could this line or wall be jinxed?

Just look at what happened to Karl and Stump.
They died years apart and on different continents but essentially the same way.

(Someone please supply the Twilight Zone theme)
There are other walls I'm more eager to try...
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Jul 23, 2006 - 01:24am PT
I remember seeing Reinhart out oat Josh a few years before he died. The smashing blond (brunett??) was by this time his wife and everyone always hung around just to stare at her. Reinhard was one of those charismatic guys with a huge heart and a friendly, salt of the earth kind of soul. He could also take great pics--and did.

It seemed really wrong that he should ever have died so young.

JL
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Jul 23, 2006 - 02:51am PT
The flames that burn brightest,...
426

Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
Topic Author's Reply - Jul 23, 2006 - 12:20pm PT

Thx gents...
426

Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
Topic Author's Reply - Apr 19, 2008 - 12:55pm PT
bump for "new" BITDers...tell an RK (the other RK) story...



also PR-- NO GUD evidently was a Bandito (?) thing referring to a climber by the name of Marshall Gud....
can't say

Social climber
Pasadena CA
Apr 19, 2008 - 01:47pm PT
On my first trip (77) to climb in the Valley, I did El Cap Tree Regular with him, my then g/f and a climbing buddy from the Army named Bob Beager from WA. Both Bob and I were fresh out of Germany where we worked for the Armed Forces Rec. Center in Garmisch. Well Bob was fluent in Bavarian and had hooked up with Reinhart due to the fact that he spoke German and he was looking for partners.

My g/f was very new to clmibing and had only done the standard Tahquitz moderate routes I had taken her up and hadn't experienced the joys of rapping an overhanging wall with a change-over station halfway down. Well Bob went first and then me...no worries..my g/f comes down a bit freaked out by the steepness and exposure of the station. I calmed her down and rapped down to the ground after making sure she knew how to hook up her rap device. Karl was bringing up the rear and I wrongly figured he would make sure she was ok. Well he got to her and started verbally berating her for her lack of experience and overall gumbyness. By the time she was on the ground she was close to tears and was not happy with his Bavairan manners. But other then that he seemed like a nice enough guy...for a German.
Brutus of Wyde

climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
Apr 19, 2008 - 03:21pm PT
Climbed with RK a few times in Josh... a couple years in a row.

He was always taking pictures, always remembered me and always glad to see me. I still remember his battered white opal station wagon, and his complaining how the himalaya left him fat and out of shape for rock.

Great soul.

I've missed him and his enthusiasm for life.

Brutus
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Jun 12, 2015 - 10:20am PT

Nuages du Karakorum
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Extrait du film "K2 Himalaya" de Jean Afanassieff with Yannick Seigneur, Reinhard Karl and Martin Göetz
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