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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 9, 2009 - 01:27pm PT
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As a 1980’s style follow up to these two terrific tells:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1030477/The_day_I_could_have_killed_Royal_Robbins
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1030649/The_Day_I_Almost_Drowned_Royal_Robbins
At the foot of the Planet of the Apes Wall, adjacent to Malibu Creek, a river runs neat. About 1986, The Gargoyle, E, Mike and Mari, perhaps Mike Ayon, Matt Dancy, a couple others and I were top roping this dirt clod cliff. From the Bubba Deck, Guns and Roses blazed above our pipes and catcalls……
Boom-Bounce-Bang!!!
We all turned necks aside the climbing action, ears now stolen uphill along the wall by the hollow thud of a trundling kayak. Two steps behind and attending this curious portage was none other than Royal: the man, myth, scholar…no…make that, Professor, of the steep.
The waterman caught us in his eye, smartly gathered his boat in hand, shuttled it down the slope, plainly dropping the plastic porpoise square within our little circle. Shod in primate-toed neoprene boating booties, the man neatly snatched a string of handy solution pockets dotting the base of the wall and performed a dandy left to right climber-style traverse for us: one part dance, two parts monkey bar routine, three parts Royal!
Without any further ado, and with no break in motion he stepped off the rock, grabbed up his boat, plopped it in the stream, wriggled back into the flow and while Mari sat astride the current with her camera clicking, Royal, resuming his descent and in regal declarative, hollered out to our motley crew:
“Tell all your friends you saw Royal Robbins in a kayak!”
And that we did.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Great story, Roy.
He may have shifted into kayaking at that time, but the lure of the rock was still strong!
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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WOW!!!!
That guy just seems to show up everywhere... BITD!!!
Cool story Tar....
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Tarfather,
Tell me true.... was that the time the lights went out in Georgia?
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Where did this happen? Malibu Creek? Back in the late 80's to mid 90's I was heavily involved in kayaking local southern California Creeks. I had heard rumor that Robbins was doing some of the same but we never crossed paths. I did a early descent of Sespe Creek after Chouinardm Wasson and Thompson did the FD. We also did all forks of the San Gabriel from the headwaters as well as Big Tujunga Narrows and 30 plus miles of Piru Creek. It was the only sport I was ever on the ground floor of exploration in.
Robbins was quite an accomplished boater or rather is. His FD of the Devils Postpile run on the Middle San Juaquin and Middle Kings were way ahead of there time.
Sewellymon, flash boating never caught on and later became known as simply creeking. I still get on sections of Piru, Sespe and the San Gabriel from time to time if the flow is right.
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Great stuff Roy!
Thanks for writing that up!
Cheers!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Has anyone floated the upper middle fork of the Stan?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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> In 1978, Robbins developed psoriatic arthritis
psoriatic arthritis, an autoimmune disorder related to psoriasis.
My climbing buddy Bob has this.
It can be handled very well with some new (though expensive) drugs which suppress the immune reaction.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2009 - 06:25pm PT
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Batrock: yes, Malibu Creek State Park.
Just spoke about this with the 'Goyle to confirm.
(Nevermind the LA Zoo, correction/edit made)
Mebbe M&M will de-lurk and post some photos?
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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I remember Mari telling me about that one Roy!!
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Munge, I am sure the upper middle Stan has been run. It is amazing what is being run these days and the ballsy drops these guys are running. All major drainages have been run and most tributaries have been run. Check out www.boof.com it's a kind of ST for California boaters.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2009 - 08:18pm PT
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Peter Haan asked:
Tell me true.... was that the time the lights went out in Georgia?
Truth be told: no.
Yet strange events ‘n various doppelgangers coincided…
Fer’instance, just as Royal was demonstrating his natty traversin' skills to all us agog, simultaneously, at the Fish Products Lab, while test piloting an early version of the Taint Abrader … the confabulator blue a rod, the main bearings went AWOL and all production ceased, at the same time Russ’s espresso maker kicked into a 13 Hour rogue spree of double Café Macchiato and the World Wrestling Federation preset on the TV tuner stuck full on in the Dr. Ruth position.
Whew!
……Per the usual lightspeed response curve,
Fish got on the blower to clean things up..........
Then, just as I got back from Malibu State Park,
We clipped the main leads to the compound, went all analog on it and retired to barbecue exactly as shown below:
Likewise, in an unprecedented time inversion of the Turbo Flange Matrix, three blocks south of the event horizon, Prod & I experienced other problems with reception, attempting to fix the problem with various corks:
And in a similar quirk relating to an anomalous H pattern gin shift of the cosmic gear selector,
BVB, employing much in the way of gallantry, panache, & alacrity, set himself to sort it all out:
So,
Containment was achieved,
Royal completed his engagement with the watercourse,
And generally there were hugs and slaps on the back all ‘round …notably between myself and Yerian:
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2009 - 08:53pm PT
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Yes Coz that was very nice!
Now, while we wait all forlorn in hopes that Mari might toss us a picture or two from said day.......
Let's open this up for anyone else's "Royal encounters back in du jour".
Shall we?
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Flash boating! A fine tale to share, and no better place to share it. Thanks!
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hooblie
climber
sounding out stuff , in the manner of crickets
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good to see you back in form mr. buster.
royal and tm were at the cookie one day and my partner and i stolled up, i had a pair of those orange rr varape dangling in plain view. "where you guys headed?"
i told them i had gotten a nut stuck in butterballs the day before, we were headed up something else (waverly?) with a plan to retrieve it on rappel.
"did you climb butterballs in those shoes?" royal asked, a little animated. "these? no way man, i used my eb's," i responded.
that pretty much killed it. royal looked a little... well it was clear we were free to move along.
i should have been a little more diplomatic
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cleo
Social climber
Berkeley, CA
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Dec 10, 2009 - 02:48pm PT
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way cool to hear about these climbers boating :)
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 10, 2009 - 03:41pm PT
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Here are a few shots of creeking in So Cal and even a raft descent of Sespe.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Dec 10, 2009 - 05:18pm PT
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Boy, what great History, mr tarbaby.
I'd love to have seen a pic. . .
Same to you Coz, what a great scene that
must have been.
My hat's off to you both!!!!
(Roy, that's the one I left on the Piz Badile). . .
har har har!!!!
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