Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 03:53am PT
|
I grew up on the Navajo reservation, first near Four Corners, then in a box canyon, Shonto, with a boarding school my parents ran, then the big city lights of Tuba City. My family then moved to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Pretty much everything was outdoors. My Dad gave me 75' long rope to play with: he cut it into three sections so it would last longer. The first section was lost down a well. Best plaything I ever had.
At age 11 we moved to the Bay Area. My Mom took my sisters and me on camping trips to the Valley, and at 15 or so, I started climbing. My cousin, pictured below, and I climbed the Sunnyside Bench Route after looking at descriptions in a case at the Conte Lodge Museum. We used an old manila rope spliced in two places. I led and untied and ran the rope through old ring angles.
My sisters and cousin at the lake near Tuba City. Probably 1958. Me on the left.
My sisters and cousins. Me on the left.
|
|
Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 05:53am PT
|
^^^great photos Roger.
My dad was a fly fishermen and he took us on countless adventures outdoors in the pursuit of fish. Here I am at Hot Creek Ranch in the Eastern Sierra around 1955. Dad and a fishing buddy wanted to buy the HCR from Bill Lawence way back in those days. I always wonder how different things would have been if he pulled it off. He never did move to the mountains and spent most of his life in suburban LA, I learned from him not to do the same.
|
|
Adventurer
Mountain climber
Virginia
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 06:48am PT
|
I was born & raised in NYC so until I went into the Army after high school I thought "outdoorsy" meant walking to the bus stop or standing outside on the upper deck of the Staten Island ferry!!
After I left the Army and moved to Virginia, I taught myself fishing, camping, backpacking, and hunting. When I had my own children I was able to impart those skills to them as well. All the while I kept getting interested in many other outdoor activities culminating in my becoming a high altitude mountaineer 6 years ago at age 60!!
It's never too late.
|
|
EdwardT
Trad climber
Retired
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 09:15am PT
|
My parents weren't into hiking or camping. But we lived in the country. I had the run of about 100 acres. Mostly wooded. Spent a lot of time wandering around. Fished a little. Never took up hunting, but I was a fairly good marksman.
Went to a camp that was fairly rustic. Bunks were canvas. No mattress. Cabins were open. No lights. No plumbing.
We were taught how to start a fire with wet wood, flint and steel. Everyone knew how light a fire with one match.
On backpacking trips, we drank straight from the streams. Our tents were A-frames, made from 2 army ponchos.
Took tubing trips down class IV rapids.
This is where I first started climbing. The prerequisite for climbing was tie a bowline around your waste. Step under a very cold waterfall. Untie the knot and re-tie it. Good times. The camp property had a number of small cliffs. Lots of good little route. We all climbed in Vibram soled hiking boots. Great edging.
My family used to go camping a few times a year. But now my girls are in middle school. Camping? Uh! Such is life.
|
|
Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 10:03am PT
|
i learned to trap beaver when i was just 11,
|
|
skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 10:07am PT
|
That's about the same time I started thinking about beaver.
|
|
stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2015 - 11:49am PT
|
I was born in Boulder...does that automatically qualify me?
My Dad was a grad student and part time employee at NCAR. Some of my earliest memories are explorations around Colorado, and there are more than a few pics of 2 year old me in a backpack on my Dad's shoulders.
And while I later rebelled against some of the rules and rigidity in the Boy Scouts, they were responsible for a lot of fun outdoor trips too:
Surfing in Baja.
Canoeing on the Colorado.
Backpacking in the Sierra.
And several very fun summer camps at Camp Whitsett, up towards the Needles.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!