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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 5, 2009 - 12:49pm PT
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Noted for his extraordinary artwork and giving back to the climbing community, I thought it was time to give him his own thread. He is currently in Patagonia on a trip and it might be a nice thing for him to see when he gets online. Not only is he an amazing artist his resume on the climbing front is also quite impressive with ascents of El Cap, Half Dome, numerous desert towers (some solo), innumerable first ascents in Missouri and Arkansas as well as this pretty impressive feat that I am quoting from Climbing Magazine's web site:
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About two weeks after Cordes and Thompson's ascents, Kansas City climbers Jeremy Collins and Ben “Torch” Williams completed an all-free link-up of three big routes in Red Rocks’ Juniper Canyon: Cloud Tower (5.12a, 7 pitches), the Original Route (5.12b, 13 pitches), and Crimson Chrysalis (5.8+, 9 pitches). The two climbers’ original goal was to link the two harder routes in a day—a logical objective because they are separated only by a rappel descent and a moderate hike. Their first attempt was foiled by a freak April snowstorm, but two days later they returned and linked the two difficult climbs, with each man free-climbing every pitch—Cloud Tower in about two hours and Original Route in about four hours.
They still felt OK on their way out of the canyon, and as they passed Crimson Chrysalis and observed the day’s crowds rappelling the route, “for some reason we were drawn like mosquitoes to a bug zapper,” Collins said. “We ran up and simul-climbed beneath a chandelier of rappel ropes, adding another 900 feet to the day.” The two returned to the car after about 13 hours on the go.
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I am very fortunate to have snagged some of his originals.
Jer's website is: http://www.jercollins.com/
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Great artist, great guy and he will need a psychological boost- the weather here in Patagonia is crap right now.
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the kid
Trad climber
fayetteville, wv
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jeremy is a great artist and one i consider a friend.
Elaina and I first met him @ one of our "Kickin Access" events @ the gym in KC.
We hit it off right from the start and he was the first to offer his services and talent to our KA project and he gets mucho credit for helping us along the way to raise over 100k for the access fund. HE gives back more than the sport has given him and deserves the credit. and he is a very talented artist and solid climber with a big heart!
Have fun in Patagonia and tear it up!!
K
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2009 - 04:59pm PT
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A few random shots of Jer in action:
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scooter
climber
fist clamp
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I have alway been amazed at how good of a guy Jeremy is.
I really respect the brudda'.
Look for Chad in Patagonia Jer, if you read this.
Patrick
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beny
climber
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here's a jer story:
we had met in lv for the rainbow wall. we were racking up and getting our clothes together for the next day. jer acted like he had some indecision about what to wear. he asked me what i was going to wear. i had just planned on wearing the old rags i always wear. when i told him this, he pulls out a brand new pair of these super fancy mammut pants that he had picked up for me. those things were sweet. i'm still super careful when i wear them as i don't want them to tear on anything.
plenty more to come....
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beny
climber
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here's another goofy one:
we're in the deep woods of arkie camping in the middle of the week, setting up our tents in the middle of the night. there's not a hillbilly for miles and we're camping in a small clearing where the tree line isn't more than 20 ft from our tents. we both have those stupid little headlamps that are pretty worthless and don't let you see anything more than 10 ft away. its feeling a bit spooky that night for some reason i can't remember. all of sudden jer screams and half jumps-half falls over his tent. he swears something is trying to get him but he can't see it. i'm pretty skeptical until something comes charging at me through the woods but then stops right at the tree line. at this point, we're both screaming. jers worthlessly running around cause he's pretty much blind at night. and my headlamp doesn't shine more than 6 or 7 ft, so i'm worthless too. whatever is in the woods is big, really big. and its circling the clearing surprisingly quick. finally, jer thinks we should stop screaming like girls and just turn the car head lights on to figure out what this thing is. of course it didn't work as the lights didn't penetrate the trees. so after hiding for a bit, whatever the thing was, it just left and we spent a sleepless night in our tents. it was probably just an oversized squirrel, but jer still claims it was bigfoot.
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beny
climber
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being a missouri climber in the summer is a pretty misserable affair. one either travels a bunch (even more than usual), or develops strange methods for combating the bugs, snakes, foliage, and humidity. jer had the strangest methods of all. he had about a dozen sweat bands for the extremities to keep the sweat from pooling in his shoes and dripping off his hands. he would use a monster chalk bag and never forgot his secret weapon: holy smokes. these were circular rings that would burn slowly and put off this weird smoke that kept the bugs away. walmart sold the only ones that worked and he would buy them out every chance he got. at the base of every route he would set up his perimeter of holy smokes to guarantee a peaceful belay. sometimes it even worked.
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Derrick
climber
Washington
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I think it is awesome to see Jeremy getting the recognition he deserves. Out of every one I have climbed with he is the most dedicated. It is funny to watch him walk along the bottom of the crag because he is always looking for new routes. We were in Arkansas one one of the last nice weekends for the season and all he could do was thinking about was finishing his 3 projects, all 5.12, which involved adding bolts here or there, adding anchors and giving all of it a go.
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PaulC
Social climber
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Awesome artist. Great guy. He is one generous individual.
In addition to his more serious art, his cartoons are hilarious.
The climbing mags are better with the works of Jeremy and Tami.
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beny
climber
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this, i did not appreciate:
a few years ago when jer was mooching a place to stay, he somehow got on my computer and figured out my user name and password over at rockclimbing.com. i knew nothing of this until i started getting emails a few months later regarding the posting of some comments and photos on my account. of the worst were some of me shirtless with doctored boobs and such. since i don't know the codes for the account, they can't be changed and are still there for all to enjoy. once you see them you'll realize how much abuse i've gotten because of his photoshop skills. but considering his abilities as an artist i think i probably got off light.
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PaulC
Social climber
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Moobs! I was there when he got your password.
Part of his giving nature includes abuse.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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oh that guy! I recognize the art.
Have a great time down there in the almost antipodes, but for Gawd sake, be careful!
So Dogdad, where is that cave like crag? Would you say that is typical of midwestern crags? Except, of course Debil's lake, where I learned to climb. There, the climbs tend to be less than vertical, it's the ratings that bend you over backward...
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2009 - 09:21am PT
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Jaybro, that cave is at Sam's Throne in Arkansas. Jer got the first ascent of this in 2007 - Dark Divine 5.12c (guide book description: thin gear, complex sequences, and a wide crack exit). The odd thing about that route is that it actually gets closer to the ground as you exit the cave and the crux is right at the lip of the cave.
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Phantom Fugitive
Trad climber
Misery
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Feb 10, 2009 - 02:30pm PT
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DOUBLE D!!!
Dude, I am floored. Thanks so much. This lifted my spirits. The weather forecast has a lot of climbers here drinking, and GASP- bouldering!!
Instead, Renan Ozturk and I spent the afternoon on a hillside painting a landscape together of the whole valley- The wind was so intense, it about flew the canvas halfway to chile!
I have a gear stash up in torre valley, so IF it clears up I am ready to go play. Until then...
an afternoon below Torres Del Paine...
Thank you all for your kind comments. I am laughing, crying, and a little embarrased. Ben- your stories make me happy and sad at the same time.
and stich- thanks for the heads up, and WE DID meet once- at table rock in golden. do you remember how?
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PaulC
Social climber
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Feb 10, 2009 - 02:57pm PT
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A Collins 'toon:
Gotta enjoy the details: the facial expressions and the bad condition of the cam.
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beny
climber
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Feb 10, 2009 - 03:00pm PT
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embarrassed? hopefully not from my stories. all in good fun i think. i thought the rc.com thing was a riot. i wish i'd thought of it first. maybe this one will give you a good laugh, jer. for everyone else:
jer was looking for challenges in missouri climbing that didn't include snakes or poison ivy. so he decided he'd do a fifty pitch day at a local crag. since no one else was stupid enough to join in his crazy plans, he took me along for the day. everything went swimingly until about pitch 20. we headed up a route that leaned out over the river running next to the crag. jer belayed from the top but didn't feel like keeping his shoes on. so when i was about half way up the route, he flipped his shoes off and watched one of them bounce down the wall and into the river. amazingly, it landed right side up and just began floating down the river like a tiny boat. neither of us said anything, just stared with our mouths open at this turn of events. by the time we got to the ground, the shoe had moved quite aways downstream and was out of sight. since the river butted right next to the cliff just a bit downstream, the shoe was gone unless someone was willing to do a long swim in cold, disgusting water. it wasn't going to be me, and i even thought i was off the hook for what would be a tiring day. but darn it, not 10 mins later a fisherman comes trolling up the river, shoe in hand, and asks us if we lost some kind of funny scrambling slipper.
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beny
climber
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Feb 10, 2009 - 03:03pm PT
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i heard that jer once spent an entire day watching a 3 season marathon of 'the office' episodes. i had nothing to do with it....
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Feb 10, 2009 - 04:30pm PT
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I'm way late to this thread. What an appropriate thread at that. I've only met JC once in the flesh at the Dogfather's house. He is as cool as his artwork.
Though we only met once, I have to convey this trivia about him I learned while bouldering with him and others in the Dogfather's bouldering cave. Everytime JC would start off, he'd twist both of his nipple piercings *really hard* for good luck. The rest of us would really yelp and cringe, but he wouldn't stop. The more we protested, the harder he twisted. I thought we'd surely see blood. Jeremy swore it enabled him to develop laser like focus needed to send the hard stuff. It was totally crazy!
Okay. I totally made that up. :) Heh heh. Jeremy is just a sweet, strong and talented guy. He is much deserving for this appreciation thread - I'm so happy to have made his acquaintance!
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2009 - 08:06pm PT
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Short personal story about me and Jer. As many of you know, a few years ago I distributed a DVD I put together of stuff I recorded off of TV back in the 80's. It became know as the dogfather dvd (Henry Barber and Pete Livsey in Britain, first free attempt on the Nose with Kauk, Werner, Bev Johnson, and various soloing clips of Bachar). I was selective about who I burned copies for since it was a bit labor intensive. So, about two months after I started sending them out, I run into jer at a Kansas City Climbing Club meeting. I pull him aside and say "hey jer, you know about the dogfather dvd? You want a copy?" He got all excited and says "DUDE do you have one? How did you get one?" I reach inside my jacket and hand him one and tell him "I'm the dogfather" He was dumbfounded.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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Feb 10, 2009 - 08:14pm PT
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hahaha Nice story, dogfather.
I feel very lucky to have been the proud recipient of a dogfather DVD!
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Feb 10, 2009 - 08:17pm PT
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That is a great story Dogfather! Have any more?
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2009 - 08:57pm PT
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Wow, brassnuts, I can't believe I didn't get Callie one! I'll get you two one for sure!
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Feb 10, 2009 - 09:00pm PT
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Dogfather, I do have one (and made some copies and shipped them out to other tacos). The previous post referred to your good story! Any more of those good stories?
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FeelioBabar
climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Feb 10, 2009 - 09:11pm PT
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Jer does great work, along with all the other "climbing" artists.
"Ars longa, Vita Brevis" my friend.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Feb 10, 2009 - 09:51pm PT
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Jeremy,
Out of curiosity, what influence did Nick Bantok ("Griffin and Sabine"), Neil Gaiman ("Sandman", etc.), and/or Peter Greenaway ("Pillow Book" and "Prosperos Books") have on your art? The animated work in "The Aerialist" really seemed to draw on or continue threads that those artists began in the past.
Stay dry down there!
Marty
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Feb 10, 2009 - 09:57pm PT
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"thin gear, complex sequences, and a wide crack exit" - does it get an better than that?
Maybe I would have been a more successful climber, even possibly been able to actually draw, had I become one with the Nipple twist pain?
-Jay,virginnipples,bro.
-I had to quit teaching Geology, because I couldn't draw convincing block diagrams....
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Feb 11, 2009 - 02:10am PT
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"POURING PAIN" always moves me.
I hear he's a good christian guy.
Hope Patagonia gives him a weather window to get on something for a spell.
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 11, 2009 - 02:41pm PT
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Very late in the very first 24 hours of Horseshoe Hell competition, I came upon Jer on his way to team victory. I really got a kick out of his outfit.
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miller.545
Sport climber
Overland Park, KS
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Feb 11, 2009 - 04:54pm PT
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Jer is the Man.
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2009 - 08:12pm PT
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Was going to try to keep this up high until Jer finished his Patagonia trip but I will end my participation with a phantomfugitive, crimpergirl picture at last year's Superbowl bouldering bash at my house..
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Sickler
Trad climber
Missouri
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Feb 13, 2009 - 04:45pm PT
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At 3:45p.m. one day I received a call from Collins. "Here's today's challenge," he says. "See how fast you can coil a rope 100 times." Always up for a bit of suffering, all in the name of "training" of course, we set the parameters to the competition and hung up the phone.
58 minutes and 37 seconds later I stopped the clock, barely able to lift my arms above my shoulders to take off my shirt. I was sweating, and had a couple blisters forming on my hands already in places that don't easily calous.
I assumed I had beaten Jeremy because I hadn't received a call from him. I call him, only to hear the sound of him laughing on the other end. He said, "I got to 30 and realized it wasn't as good of a workout as I thought it would be, and I was bored so I quit. But I wanted to see if you'd finish, so I didn't call you."
I still think I'm the bigger man for finishing the challenge...
This is a story all too typical of Jeremy Collins.
See you soon, buddy.
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PaulC
Social climber
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When I mentioned my wacky idea of raising money for Habitat for Humanity via climbing to Jeremy, he said, “Let’s do it.” As a board member of the local affiliate, I was able to ensure the details were in order, 501(c) tax status etc. We put up a website & did some presentations and the money slowly flowed in (100% of the donations going to Habitat.)
Since I have spent some time with my family in Costa Rica over the past years, we decided raise funds to build a Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica (also, meets the local affiliate’s requirement for international involvement). What climb? Epinephrine. Jeremy suggested something that would be interesting for me. Contrasting with Jeremy, I’m a weekend guy (plus time on moderates at Seneca during the summer). Needless to say, we’re in different leagues.
We get to the base of Epinephrine and Jeremy asked about his climbing shoes. As in, “where are my shoes?” Crap. After realizing that his shoes were back in the vehicle (45 mins away), Jeremy tied his running shoe (a little tighter) and off we went.
Jeremy tying into the sharp end with his running shoes:
6 hours later with one liter of water each, we top out. Dang, it was hot. 100 degrees in Las Vegas that day.
On a serious note, there is a family in Santa Elena/Monetverde area or on the Nicoya Peninsula* who has a house because Jeremy tightened his shoelaces.
*The funds were transferred via the international office to the Costa Rican affiliate with our geographic preferences but we allowed the Costa Rican affiliate to use its discretion depending on greatest need.
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Phantom Fugitive
Trad climber
Misery
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Mar 15, 2009 - 03:50pm PT
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marty(r)-
not influenced by those, artists however- Neil Gaiman, as a writer, worked in tandem with Dave McKean, who I definitely looked to often, as early as high school(early nineties), and still do today. Good eye.
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Phantom Fugitive
Trad climber
Misery
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Mar 16, 2009 - 11:24am PT
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Yeah, table mtn... You were singing the praises of the cartoonists in Alpinist, and Luebben said "well it's your lucky day". Heh.
Trip was killer, man.
Trying to write small reports on the blog...check it out.
http://jercollins.com/writing
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