4 of my heroes, stories, anyone?

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426

Sport climber

The Clear, Obed

Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 24, 2005 - 12:54pm PT

Eric Beck-iirc said, "At either end of the social spectrum lies a leisure class." Never met him, always an idol from 3rd hands stories and the "Green" Tahoe guide I had for a while until it was "borrowed"....

Peter Haan-dug up one story(link). When I was moaning and slipping out on the Salathe and N. Face of the Leap (Haan var.), I thought about his efforts as my energy dwindled, trying to remember Largo's video admonishments of "never thrash"....

http://www.terragalleria.com/mountain/info/yosemite/hourglass.html

Speaking of "never thrash"....-Jaybro- his 12+ forays and FA's on wide territory are inspiring, even though I'll never (bawk) try any of his testpieces.

Walt Shipley- After huffing (aka aiding) the dirt filled flare I still can't envision a free solo of Keeler....'nuf said.

Hootervillian

climber

south of Petty Coat Junction

Sep 24, 2005 - 02:06pm PT

Now that I reflect, it seems like Mr. Paul is my emulateeee. Murray, Woodward, Holloway......

marky

climber

Sep 24, 2005 - 04:34pm PT

I'm 90% sure that is was the sociologist Thorstein Veblen who made the statement you attribute to FSF.

426

Sport climber

BALCO wall, Obed

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2005 - 09:03pm PT

Ah, so many heroes~

"In hard bouldering, though, it pays to be really limber...."

H'Villian--- Duly noted, Paul added to the list. Call me a capitulator...maybe if we repeat "we're not worthy" enough, he'll tell us about "Death Vomit" or some other tenuous nightmare....

Watusi

Social climber

Joshua Tree, CA

Sep 25, 2005 - 05:43am PT

Golly Folks the praise is nice! But if my memory doesn't fail me "Death Vomit" was put up by one of my closest old climbing brothers, Ron Amick.

Karl Baba

Trad climber

Yosemite, Ca

Sep 25, 2005 - 11:11pm PT

Walt Shipley was a very quiet and mild mannered soul. I doubt anybody knows any special stories about him.

His pastimes included giving puppet shows and greeting tourists at the Deli.

Peace

Karl

John Vawter

Social climber

San Diego

Sep 26, 2005 - 01:39am PT

From Peter Haan himself a few years back.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.climbing/browse_frm/thread/b774a41cb76aa301/848b42f500a288a6?q=left+side+of+the+hourglass&rnum=2&hl=en#848b42f500a288a6

Click on the first post at the top of the list.

Karl Baba

Trad climber

Yosemite, Ca

Sep 26, 2005 - 02:27am PT

TM

Walt was a great guy, but lots of great things will destroy you. The last thing you need blowing through your life is a hurricane.

Peace

Karl

arete

Trad climber

Estes Park, Colorado

Sep 26, 2005 - 03:13pm PT

"Walt Shipley was a very quiet and mild mannered soul"

mostly true for sure. A good person and a good friend. But after a few six packs, the "Walt Show" could become quite spectacular.

James

Social climber

The Climber's Subconcious

Sep 26, 2005 - 04:40pm PT

t*r

No wonder our relationship ended at the beginning.

Leroy

climber

Sep 26, 2005 - 04:52pm PT

Nice honest sincere?Those are the Guys that always go home alone,have blueballs, and haven't even discovered porn to relieve themselves.By the way ,I've got stories on all those guys,and pretty much anybody thats been somebody in the world of climbing in the last 30 years.But you'll just have to wait for my postumous autobiography.Taking bids now on the publishig rights.

426

Sport climber

Stephen King Library, Obed

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2005 - 05:02pm PT

Leroy

climber

Sep 26, 2005 - 05:08pm PT

Thats the idea. Send money NOW.

James

Social climber

The Climber's Subconcious

Sep 26, 2005 - 05:11pm PT

t*r

Hasn't the good word of Joseph Smith reached you? We can go to Indian Creek and swing by the temple in Monticello.

Leroy

climber

Sep 26, 2005 - 05:11pm PT

Send me the kitten too.Anyone remember when I had a Himalayan kitten livin in my caddie in the Meadows?

Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Sep 26, 2005 - 05:42pm PT

Karl- "The last thing you need blowing through your life is a hurricane." Yeah, but wouldn't a bunch of us have lead poorer lives without that particular huuricane?
Walt once warned me off a certain, female, hurricane and I, alass, was too smitten to listen.

Leroy- you asked me once if your own adventures were going to be retold in my writing, and to date only a couple have, watch the skeletons of your own closet before you blackmail the rest of us, ;-)
(Nice honest sincere?-that was part of Walt too)

Leroy

climber

Sep 26, 2005 - 06:28pm PT

What skeletons? Bring em out.It's almost halloween!Anyways this threads about u.Our Hero.Nobody wants to hear anything about me.I'm not dead yet either.But I cant wait.Then people will say things like [He was too good for this World]Boo hooo.By the way I'm pretty dissapointed in the media coverage of Dannys death.Was there an Obit in the Mags.Didnt see one.Danny's alegend in his own way.Certainly deserved one.

Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Sep 26, 2005 - 06:41pm PT

Don't see the mags much, but there was some Danny stuff here.

Hootervillian

climber

south of Petty Coat Junction

Sep 26, 2005 - 07:17pm PT

There is no one down this way than can forget him. anything i climb around here, he soloed in the 80', or JS put up. It's about the danny hour....

James

Social climber

The Climber's Subconcious

Sep 26, 2005 - 07:37pm PT

t*r

What if you are handicapped, then can you make fun of cripples?

426

Sport climber

Tobacco Spit, Obed

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2005 - 10:51am PT

Jaybro-

Do you have any old stories on gnarl wide you could cntl V w/o infringing copyrights?

All my old R+I's are gone....

Last time I saw Dan I had just stumbled down from Mescalito alone(had to go to work next day, partners bivied up top) at 9:50 pm and raced around the loop to get to the store before it closed. I still had on my kneepads and was "wallified". He was right in front of me in line-after seeing me, he totally chuckled, telling me, "you stink, mang, what did you just do?"

He invited me to come back for his "rad jump" but ultimately I was too chickenshit after a Forresthill jump with him one time.

...

Got the call a couple weeks later.

He was a helluva bassist, among other things.

Fresno Days

climber

Las Vegas

Jul 28, 2006 - 12:56am PT

I attended college with Walt Shipley, we stayed in the same campus dormitory in my last semester, Fall 1976, at California State University, Fresno. He lived down the hall from me on the same floor.
Walt was subdued at time. He could also be intense, and sometimes zany, too. And even in his college days he was obsessed with rock climbing. He even tried to find ways to scale the outside of the three-floor dorm to get to the roof.
He also demonstrated his flexibility and rock climbing movements he had in the dorm's hallways . . . stretching and contorting himself in positions where he was able to scale a wall in the dormitory hallway.
Walt was very intelligent and would get angry about "f**king up" a test [his words, not mind] by getting a "B" grade on it. If I am not mistaken, he was studying in the field of engineering at Fresno State.
I recall his roommate, an Asian-American whose name escapes me right now, would get fearful of Walt when he got bent out of shape about his academics. One time Walt came into the room and the roommate heard Walt's angry tone, so he hid under his blankets. I was told that Walt spoke out loud, saying how pissed he was, for blowing a test, then pick up a rock climbing hammer and threw it on the roommate's bed. The roommate let out a yell when that happened.
His dorm room was arranged with all sorts of rock climbing gear. He would set up a hanging sling in the middle of his room, with some cross-beam supports on the celing, and suspend himself off the floor of his room to take an occasional snooze, or to relax.
I recall one time he wanted to cook something in his room, so he used the portable stove he used for his overnight outings. He had some problems when he spilled the fuel, not only burning a hole in the carpet, but also burning his hand, too.
But his love for rock climbing overcame the handicap he had with his bandaged fingers; he was rock climbing less than two weeks after burning his hand. I remember some of my friends commenting about the danger he was putting himself in with getting his hand infected by subjecting it to that kind of abuse.
Walt also liked to socialize with others on the dorm floor when it came to smoking a Turkish Water Pipe, better known as a "Bong" back then. But he substituted Pot for tobacco. I recall getting into a discussion with him how he should use warm water in the Bong to add moisture for a smoother smoke. He told me that was wrong, that using cold water was better to cool the heat of the smoke.
The last I heard of a "Walt Shipley" was back in the 1980's when the Soviet Army was occupying Afghanistan. The CBS Evening News ran a filmed piece of the Jihad resistance fighters taking on the Soviet forces. Dan Rather, at the end of the film piece, said the film was provided by a freelancer by the name of Walt Shipley. Could it have been the one and the same? Probably.
I realize I rambled on quite a bit about Walt, but he certainly left a indellible impression on me for the 16 week semester. I will also remember the baggy trousers he wore, with lots of pockets in them, that he also used when rock climbing. Thanks for your time and forum to allow me to share some reminisces of a very unforgettable character in my life. And to think that was 30 years ago!

telemama

Trad climber

midpines

Jul 28, 2006 - 02:41am PT

TR, I know what you mean, Walt had that charm thing goin on. But he broke many hearts. I think his women thought they could tame him. But I also think the fact that they couldn't was what they loved about him. I was a young, very innocent, 19yr old when I first met Walt. Over the years, I heard all the crazy (and some crude) stories about him, but to me he was always polite and sincere.
From my perspective as a climber... He was rad! The last time I saw him at the campfire in Tuolumne he had just soloed some crazy gulley... I think around Conness??. I remember thinking, "Wow, he's still up to that stuff." Somehow, I guess I thought he would have been settling down. (Hmm. "I think his women thought they could tame him.") Needless to say, I was impressed and glad he was the same old Walt...But eventhough his climbing was over the top, he could still get that gleam in his eye when I told him about some 5.9 I had lead...He was a special spirit...love to you, Walt.
Thanks for reminding me of a friend.
Marci
P.S. I know there are many heartwarming, belly rolling stories about this man!!