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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 24, 2005 - 02:48am PT
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Lucille
Jay Anderson
-"Lucille has messed my mind up, but I still love her." Frank Zappa, from Joe's Garage.
In Vedauwoo I found the ultimate Wide Crack challenge. It seemed like the place to look. The words Vedauwoo and offwidth go together like coffee and climbing. Even some of the face climbs there have token offwidth sections. It's not true that all the climbs at Vedauwoo are wide and mean. Dogmatic wide crack avoiders see the large fissures that lurk there and imagine "Jaws"-like scenarios of being trapped inside. Scenarios become rumors, rumors become stories and the tale they tell is of nasty five inch cracks with pointy teeth and caustic venom. Most Vedauwoo climbers don't even like offwidth. They just have to do it more often to get up various lines. They don't search it out. But I do.
Ever since I learned that you could get inside 'em ( a back to the womb thing) I've been afflicted with a gluttonous offwidth Jones. At a certain point I realized that although Vedauwoo may have the most offwidths per acre, it didn't, until recently at least, have the hardest ones.
In the Eighties, Bob Scarpelli uped the ante as far as hard Vedawide climbs are concerned. His climbs Squat, Pretzel Factor, Bad Girl's Dream, Muscle & Fitness and others represent probably the largest concentration of modern wide climbs in a single area. These, as well as some of the older easier classics, pioneered by Gary Issacs, John Garson, Doug Cairns, Layne Kopischka and others in the seventies, have made Vedauwoo a necessary destination for the aspiring offwidth hardperson. But, there are harder wide cracks in California, Arizona and Colorado, respectively; The Owl roof, Paisano Overhang, Improbability Drive, and Animal Magnetism, others as well.
Still, there was this one crack in Vedauwoo that I imagined would prove to be harder than any of those... The first time I saw the roof that would become known as Lucille, was in August of 1979. I couldn't believe it. How could a line so beautiful have remained unclimbed? A magnificent forty foot roof with a squeeze chimney running through it in the corner where it meets a vertical wall. With the bulging, smoothly rounded lines of a Henry Moore sculpture, the chimney turns the roof and the offset slides from the North side to the South side, from a vertical to a horizontal orientation, while the the crack goes from horizontal to vertical. We looked up at it and tried to imagine what it would be like. It looked like you'd be tunneling sideways through a chimney with one foot low on a foot rail. Hard five ten or so, we guessed, easier if hidden holds turned up. Little did we know.
First we had to put up a pitch to access the cave beneath the roof. Even this got us in trouble. Bill Roberts and I attempted the crack directly beneath the big roof. It sported it's own four foot fist crack roof. Our first attempt was brought to an end when we had to do a lichenectomy on Bill's eye. That night we watched TV and drank beers. A commercial for a record collection of Blues came on and we had a name for the first pitch "Best of The Blues".
The next day we went back up joined by Bob Scarpelli. Bill lead the pitch and Bob and I followed. Being either ignorant or insecure, we underrated (if inflammatory letters to international climbing magazines can be believed) it at 5.10a. Finally we were in the cave looking at the big roof. To say it was intimidating, especially in those days of E.B.'s and tube chocks, is like saying El Cap goes up for a ways. Here we were, isolated in the bowels of a dark, dank, chill belay cave, the uneven floor paved with vermin poop, while before us, the roof swept out above and off into the blazing sunlight. The crack flared downward like an elongated cross section of an inverted funnel, threatening to disgorge would-be ascentionists. We worked on the roof for the rest of the day. Over a period of several hours each of the three of us tried it several times. After the exhaustive effort of trying to tunnel sideways, we discovered that we could use the foot rail and do a sort of a five ten 'walk' out to near the end of the roof.
I finally made it most of the way out the roof, with the psychological protection provided by tipped out tubes. That got me out to the hard part. Where you have to move up, after going sideways, is where the puzzle starts. Your toes are on a sloping edge that you can't see. Your shoulders are in a bomb bay chimney that starts at mid chest height and is offset from the the foot-rail by almost two feet. You lean back over the abyss. Somehow you have to move your body into a chimney that is so flaring that you have to hoist yourself up to a horizontal orientation to get your lower leg to a point narrow enough to jam the flare knee to heel, and yet two feet higher, it's too narrow to turn your head. You could either look back at the tube chalk, rocking on it's tips, or alternatively, out through blinders, into the abyss. In either case, you can't see the part of the crack where your arms, legs and body are trying to make unlikely jams. You have to do them blind, looking ahead at how far you have to go. After a few feeble attempts we ran away and tried to plan a better protection system.
Late that summer my Father died and I went to California. When I got back to Wyoming it was winter and nobody was climbing cracks, wide or thin.
-"Any Girl that looks that innocent just got to be called Lucille"-George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke, as recalled to by Paul Piana after last call on 25¢ beer night in "The Operating Room.".
The spring of nineteen eighty I spent in Yosemite, riding earthquakes and big walls. I didn't get back into offwidth shape till the fall. I placed a bolt at the end of the foot-rail and it began to snow. I tried the moves a few times before lowering off. Winter came and I called it a year. Eighty one was like eighty with the difference being that when I finally got to the climb and clipped the bolt, it broke off in my hand. Remember the defective bolt episode of the late seventies/early eighties?
In eighty two I moved four hundred miles away, to Utah, commuting was getting impractical. I didn't return to Vedauwoo until the Fall of eighty four. Mike (Fred) Freidreichs and Greg Waterman and I went out and tried the climb this time armed with big camming units. ("Friend" is a registered trademark that I wouldn't want to compromise). The BCU's worked perfectly. I was able to safely fall more times than I really wanted to. Cold reality hit me in the face like an old diaper, a realization came over me, I knew then that it would never go.
"That's it, I'm tired of this damn thing, I don't ever want to see it again! I'm never coming back here!"
A few months later I was in Laramie for a wedding. I visited Bob Scarpelli. "Are you going back on that climb? Because if you're not, I want it."
"It's all yours Bob." I said.
It was three years before I came back. I climbed in Vedauwoo for three weeks before even thinking about the big roof. Even though I'd abandoned it, we'd named it. It was now known as Lucille, after B.B. King's guitar, continuing the Blues motif started with best of the Blues.
Somehow word of this route got out. People I'd never met before in Yosemite, Paradise Forks, Joshua Tree,even far flung gravel piles in the Desert were asking me how Lucille was going. With all this commotion we decided to give it another shot, just for laughs.
We set out armed with tunes. We soloed up Walt's Wall, the blaster in Fred's pack sending out a sonic wall infringing on some nearby, athletic slabin' greenies' wilderness experience. For the nth time Fred lead best of the Blues. We left the booming boom box at the base of the Crag. I tried a few times and at my high point came within less then a body length from the summit. This was real progress! It changed my whole view of things. Fred was still skeptical, but hopeful. Just then Little Richard's memorexed voice wailed from below, "Lucille!"
"That's the first time I ever thought this thing could go." Fred said when we got down. We decided to take a break and get rested before the next attempt. We rapped down to get into the sun; did I mention that this thing is always in the shade and it's always cold, no matter what? Even on ninety degree days in August? Unfortunately we found the University of Wyoming Norwegian exchange students having a many keg, generator-run-stereo-party. We stayed for "a beer" but after a few beer relays, keg spout sucking marathons, etc it was late. The next day was the last chance to try the route before I had to take off to Arizona (I'd moved again).
When I tried the climb, the efforts of the previous day appeared to have created more Lactic acid then I could push through. We'd also climbed pretty hard for the previous weeks with too few rest days (At least for an old guy like me.) I got into the hard section and just hurt too bad. I needed everything and could muster nothing. Rats! For over a year an armbarring wound on my left elbow would make it too painful to rest that elbow on the armrest of the car. [as we approach the millenium, twelve years later, that pain is still with me]
Nineteen Eighty Eight. This thing had clearly gone on way too long. Visions of it were invading my dreams at night, I was dating events in my life relative to attempts on this climb. I was going to be in Wyoming for other reasons and decided that my only goal in Vedauwoo this time was Lucille. I was completely invested, I wanted nothing more than to do that climb. I talked to Fred and he was psyched too, he wanted this thing over with as much as I did. He spent $150 on wide pro.
After a day of warmups Fred and I went up to the Hatbox, I'm not sure if that's the day he lead Best of the Blues blindfolded or with one hand tied behind his back. I lead out the roof and toped my previous high point, but still didn't make it. Then Fred tried it (The first time in all these years anybody else had, after the very first attempt!). Ten years of climbing fierce offwidths had honed him more than he'd thought. He made it into the hard moves before being launched into space. All of a sudden this was something within his sphere. We decided to rest and do some easier climbs and come back in a week.
That week we got some rest and did some early ascents; Pretzel Factor- 3rd ascent, Muscle & Fitness-2nd? (5.11? Bob? really?) in an effort to "Think Wide." The drive built. When the bolt broke in '81 Will Gilmer, my comrade on that attempt, and I considered toproping it. I wasn't completely sure why we didn't. I was so frustrated at not being able to continue right then that it seemed like the only thing to do. But for some reason we held back. Likewise, as this project dragged on into the more conservative era of Reagan, Thatcher and top to bottom climbing, somewhere along the line we realized that we could have saved a lot of time (years) in the long run by employing the hangdog rehearsal strategy. A strategy that by 1988 was hardly controversial. But we didn't. It wasn't so much that we felt as strongly against these styles as in "the old days", But that I'd started this climb in one style and it seemed important enough to finish it that way. Another compromise presented itself. When I almost had it, on the last few attempts, slimy lichens caused falls. It seemed almost stupid not to wire brush these on rappel, I've certainly done this on other climbs.. This time a war council with Fred decided against it. This climb had already turned into a nine year epic, since we'd already gone so far doing it , we figured we might as well persevere and go the full, classic, yo-yo, ground up, traditional style. We weren't making an effort to sway anybody else's views of how to climb. It was more that we were going to get the full value, for ourselves. It could at least be a lasting footnote to a passing style and a tribute to the climbers who thought enough about style to climb that way.
I remember thinking; "Today it has to go. This is the the third day on the route." The third day on the current trip, that is, I didn't even know how many times I'd tried this climb in the last nine years. " It has to go today. " I had put back my travel plans a day for not getting the day before. "I've got to climb this climb get in my car and drive a thousand miles." "Yesterday was so close, my chalk marked hand had marked a spot I'd once put my foot on when downclimbing from the summit. It had to go. I couldn't be that close and not do it. "
Fred tells me the belay's ready and I go. The five ten lieback seems shaky in the cool morning eight thousand foot air. After ten feet of lieback I'm at the start of the forty foot roof. I reclip the #4 Camalot ( in 84 it was a #4 friend, in 1979 an #11 Hex) left from yesterday. Now I'm squeezing through the first constriction, my feet below me on a toe-rail, my upper body jammed over space in a downflaring bombay chimney. I rest and get my breathing under control before I continue out sideways, clipping the next two pieces, bigbros. Now I'm in a position that seems like a rest only because it's easier than where I've been and what's to come. I clip the last piece accessible from the dwindling toe-rail, a six inch big dude. Lichens grind into my scalp, I blink chalk out of my eyes. I'm losing strength here.
Fred reminds me that the pump meter is going.
I start the first five twelve sequence. I went up and almost got it.
Fred went up and I expected him to get it. "I'll be so glad to have it over that I won't go psychotic by the thought that I worked on it all these years and then still didn't lead it first," I though/believed/rationalized. Fortunately I didn't have to test this rationalization. Fred came close, but not close enough. Lucille squished him out into space in the middle of a particularly difficult and insecure sequence.
We took an hour off for stretching and meditating and pre-visualisation after the first attempt. As it turned out I pre-visualised it all wrong, but I hung on long enough to be at the top finally, screaming and crying with Fred screaming at the belay below me, and Alobar the Dog barking at the base of the crag. After all those years, all the changes in techniques and equipment, finally I knew where the hardest wide crack was.
On my second attempt I lead the crack and it became a climb. To my knowledge it is the very first 5.13 Squeeze Chimney, one of a small number of five thirteens put up in traditional style.
When it was Fred's turn to follow he got going and climbed the hardest squeeze chimney in the World in perfect form.
The next day Alobar and I drove home to Arizona. We took the long way, East through Cheyenne before heading South, so that I could see the climb one last time from interstate eighty. Appropriately enough, just as we saw it, KTCL played Stone Free by Jimi Hendrix. -"Play it, Lucille." B.B. King.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 24, 2005 - 02:50am PT
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pulled this from : http://www.vedauwoo.org/hassler's1.htm which is a very cool site... in the end it was easier to extract the text and paste it back in here.
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Mei
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Oct 24, 2005 - 06:21am PT
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Wow! It is almost the most inspiring climbing article I've ever read! Ed, thanks for posting.
And I just realized who Jaybro was.
Jaybro, it took you nine years to send Lucille, but it in my view is the proudest send ever -- a send in the full, classic, yo-yo, ground up, traditional style that happened in the hangdogging era.
That being said, I, being a pussy, will make sure to be equiped with a ropegun and a wire brush if I ever go near it :) Just out of curiosity, do you think the climb might be easier for a smaller person? I was just wondering about that today while looking at (the 108th time) the picture of Andy Johnson having fun on it in that Climbing mag article.
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426
Sport climber
Nada (yeah. it is), KY
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Oct 24, 2005 - 09:44am PT
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Sweet! One of my all time faves.
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LittlePinkTricam
Trad climber
Providence, RI
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Oct 24, 2005 - 12:38pm PT
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(happy sigh)
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 24, 2005 - 01:08pm PT
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Lucille is a real beauty, that can strike both fear and attraction at the same time, you can't escape.
I've never tried it but I totally understand what you're saying jaybro.
A proud send and a testimonial to your great mastery of one of the most difficult disciplines in rock climbing.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
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Oct 24, 2005 - 01:42pm PT
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An homage to JayBro out on the Tablelands in Bishop.
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steelmnkey
climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Oct 24, 2005 - 04:20pm PT
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Hey J, I've been meaning to ask you... is Improbability Drive that sort of roofy slot lookin' deal down below the big face that you can see from the Front Porch at GM?
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vegastradguy
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV
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Oct 24, 2005 - 04:29pm PT
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proud.
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Leroy
climber
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Oct 24, 2005 - 04:43pm PT
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Its a big roof on a boulder Below Granite Mountain .Dont remember if u can see it from the Front Porch.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Oct 24, 2005 - 06:03pm PT
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'blush'
thanks all.
That photo on Climbing sez it all, I saw that and it took me back there , across the years and the miles. You can't imagine how I identify with that pic, I got that close so many times ... That picture shows Andy right at what I found to be the crux, and it looked to me, when I first viewed it, that he was just below where he needed to be. He told me in an e-mail that he fell on that attempt, but got it on the next one. Today's kids are untoppable.
Ed- I'll have to see what else lurks on that site, spasibo
Werner, Fish, when I climbed that I envisioned you guys on a road trip, with Schneider tagging along, as the next ascent party. Oh well, it's still there. You'll like it, I promise.
The size thing, again. Hard to say, Mei, It could be easier, once your'e inside it, if you're smaller. However, lack of vertical extent is going to be a factor against you when working out the footrail. I'm just under 5'11." When doing that section I had my toes on the rail, and the tops of my shoulders on the other side cantilevered back well over a foot- if that makes any sense. Mr Scarbelly, infinitelly stronger but almost five inches shorter than I, found that section even more problematic. But from your posts, I know you've dealt with being the 'odd 'size, maybe you'll do it with you arms straight overhead, or just tunnel up sooner. There's other ways to do this (or any) thing.
Not in touch with Fred anymore, but he has ties in Laramie, owns the Swell, is a go to guy for the desert, and a good scource for newer, related, climbs.
s-monk , probably not, you can see the rock it's on from there, but you gotta know where to look.
Leroy discovere of I-drive, it's is waiting for a tape free ascent, I think.
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wildone
climber
right near the beach, boyeee (lord have mercy)
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Oct 24, 2005 - 06:31pm PT
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Awesome. When I try to grovel up o dubs like Galen's crack and generator (still haven't sent either but came close on Galen's) I always look to the future with anticipation, when I'm a wide master, and that stuff doesn't make me puke. I respect that you did the fa in an awesome style, Jaybro. I bet Chuck Pratt ever go out there?
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matty
Trad climber
los arbor
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Dec 26, 2010 - 12:50pm PT
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Noticed the original text has gone missing, but I found it over at widefetish
http://www.widefetish.com/features/jays_lucille/jays_lucille.html
Hope you don't mind my reposting it here Jay, if so lemme know:
Lucille, By Jay Anderson
"Lucille has messed my mind up, but I still love her."
Frank Zappa, from Joe's Garage.
In Vedauwoo I found the ultimate Wide Crack challenge. It seemed like the place to look. The words Vedauwoo and offwidth go together like coffee and climbing. Even some of the face climbs there have token offwidth sections. It's not true that all the climbs at Vedauwoo are wide and mean. Dogmatic wide crack avoiders see the large fissures that lurk there and imagine "Jaws"-like scenarios of being trapped inside. Scenarios become rumors, rumors become stories and the tale they tell is of nasty five inch cracks with pointy teeth and caustic venom. Most Vedauwoo climbers don't even like offwidth. They just have to do it more often to get up various lines. They don't search it out. But I do.
Ever since I learned that you could get inside 'em ( a back to the womb thing) I've been afflicted with a gluttonous offwidth Jones. At a certain point I realized that although Vedauwoo may have the most offwidths per acre, it didn't, until recently at least, have the hardest ones.
In the Eighties, Bob Scarpelli upped the ante as far as hard Vedawide climbs are concerned. His climbs Squat, Pretzel Factor, Bad Girl's Dream, Muscle & Fitness and others represent probably the largest concentration of modern wide climbs in a single area. These, as well as some of the older easier classics, pioneered by Gary Issacs, John Garson, Doug Cairns, Layne Kopischka and others in the seventies, have made Vedauwoo a necessary destination for the aspiring offwidth hardperson. But, there are harder wide cracks in California, Arizona and Colorado, respectively; The Owl roof, Paisano Overhang, Improbability Drive, and Animal Magnetism, others as well.
Still, there was this one crack in Vedauwoo that I imagined would prove to be harder than any of those... The first time I saw the roof that would become known as Lucille, was in August of 1979. I couldn't believe it. How could a line so beautiful have remained unclimbed? A magnificent forty foot roof with a squeeze chimney running through it in the corner where it meets a vertical wall. With the bulging, smoothly rounded lines of a Henry Moore sculpture, the chimney turns the roof and the offset slides from the North side to the South side, from a vertical to a horizontal orientation, while the the crack goes from horizontal to vertical. We looked up at it and tried to imagine what it would be like. It looked like you'd be tunneling sideways through a chimney with one foot low on a foot rail.
Hard five ten or so, we guessed, easier if hidden holds turned up. Little did we know.
First we had to put up a pitch to access the cave beneath the roof. Even this got us in trouble. Bill Roberts and I attempted the crack directly beneath the big roof. It sported it's own four foot fist crack roof. Our first attempt was brought to an end when we had to do a lichenectomy on Bill's eye. That night we watched TV and drank beers. A commercial for a record collection of Blues came on and we had a name for the first pitch "Best of The Blues".
The next day we went back up joined by Bob Scarpelli. Bill lead the pitch and Bob and I followed. Being either ignorant or insecure, we underrated (if inflammatory letters to international climbing magazines can be believed) it at 5.10a. Finally we were in the cave looking at the big roof. To say it was intimidating, especially in those days of E.B.'s and tube chocks, is like saying El Cap goes up for a ways. Here we were, isolated in the bowels of a dark, dank, chill belay cave, the uneven floor paved with vermin poop, while before us, the roof swept out above and off into the blazing sunlight. The crack flared downward like an elongated cross section of an inverted funnel, threatening to disgorge would-be ascentionists. We worked on the roof for the rest of the day. Over a period of several hours each of the three of us tried it several times. After the exhaustive effort of trying to tunnel sideways, we discovered that we could use the foot rail and do a sort of a five ten 'walk' out to near the end of the roof.
I finally made it most of the way out the roof, with the psychological protection provided by tipped out tubes. That got me out to the hard part. Where you have to move up, after going sideways, is where the puzzle starts. Your toes are on a sloping edge that you can't see. Your shoulders are in a bomb bay chimney that starts at mid chest height and is offset from the the foot-rail by almost two feet. You lean back over the abyss. Somehow you have to move your body into a chimney that is so flaring that you have to hoist yourself up to a horizontal orientation to get your lower leg to a point narrow enough to jam the flare knee to heel, and yet two feet higher, it's too narrow to turn your head. You could either look back at the tube chalk, rocking on it's tips, or alternatively, out through blinders, into the abyss. In either case, you can't see the part of the crack where your arms, legs and body are trying to make unlikely jams. You have to do them blind, looking ahead at how far you have to go. After a few feeble attempts we ran away and tried to plan a better protection system.
Late that summer my Father died and I went to California. When I got back to Wyoming it was winter and nobody was climbing cracks, wide or thin.
"Any Girl that looks that innocent just got to be called Lucille" -George
Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke, as recalled to by Paul Piana after last call on 25¢ beernight in "The Operating Room.".
The spring of nineteen eighty I spent in Yosemite, riding earthquakes and big walls. I didn't get back into offwidth shape till the fall. I placed a bolt at the end of the foot-rail and it began to snow. I tried the moves a few times before lowering off. Winter came and I called it a year. Eighty one was like eighty with the difference being that when I finally got to the climb and clipped the bolt, it broke off in my hand. Remember the defective bolt episode of the late seventies/early eighties?
In eighty two I moved four hundred miles away, to Utah, commuting was getting impractical. I didn't return to Vedauwoo until the Fall of eighty four. Mike (Fred) Freidreichs and Greg Waterman and I went out and tried the climb this time armed with big camming units. ("Friend" is a registered trademark that I wouldn't want to compromise). The BCU's worked perfectly. I was able to safely fall more times than I really wanted to. Cold reality hit me in the face like an old diaper, a realization came over me, I knew then that it would never go.
"That's it, I'm tired of this damn thing, I don't ever want to see it again! I'm never coming back here!"
A few months later I was in Laramie for a wedding. I visited Bob Scarpelli. "Are you going back on that climb? Because if you're not, I want it." "It's all yours Bob." I said.
It was three years before I came back. I climbed in Vedauwoo for three weeks before even thinking about the big roof. Even though I'd abandoned it, we'd named it. It was now known as Lucille, after B.B. King's guitar, continuing the Blues motif started with best of the Blues.
Somehow word of this route got out. People I'd never met before in Yosemite, Paradise Forks, Joshua Tree,even far flung gravel piles in the Desert were asking me how Lucille was going. With all this commotion we decided to give it another shot, just for laughs.
We set out armed with tunes. We soloed up Walt's Wall, the blaster in Fred's pack sending out a sonic wall infringing on some nearby, athletic slabin' greenies' wilderness experience. For the nth time Fred lead best of the Blues. We left the booming boom box at the base of the Crag. I tried a few times and at my high point came within less then a body length from the summit. This was real progress! It changed my whole view of things. Fred was still skeptical, but hopeful. Just then Little Richard's memorexed voice wailed from below, "Lucille!"
"That's the first time I ever thought this thing could go." Fred said
when we got down. We decided to take a break and get rested before the next
attempt. We rapped down to get into the sun; did I mention that this thing is always in the shade and it's always cold, no matter what? Even on ninety degree days in August? Unfortunately we found the University of Wyoming Norwegian exchange students having a many keg, generator-run-stereo-party. We stayed for "a beer" but after a few beer relays, keg spout sucking marathons, etc it was late. The next day was the last chance to try the route before I had to take off to Arizona (I'd moved again).
When I tried the climb, the efforts of the previous day appeared to have created more Lactic acid then I could push through. We'd also climbed pretty hard for the previous weeks with too few rest days (At least for an old guy like me.) I got into the hard section and just hurt too bad. I needed everything and could muster nothing. Rats! For over a year an armbarring wound on my left elbow would make it too painful to rest that elbow on the armrest of the car. [as we approach the millennium, twelve years later, that pain is still with me]
Nineteen Eighty Eight. This thing had clearly gone on way too long. Visions of it were invading my dreams at night, I was dating events in my life relative to attempts on this climb. I was going to be in Wyoming for other reasons and decided that my only goal in Vedauwoo this time was Lucille. I was completely invested, I wanted nothing more than to do that climb. I I talked to Fred and he was psyched too, he wanted this thing over with as much as I did. He spent $150 on wide pro. After a day of warmups Fred and I went up to the Hatbox, I'm not sure if that's
the day he lead Best of the Blues blindfolded or with one hand tied behind his back. I lead out the roof and toped my previous high point, but still didn't make it. Then Fred tried it (The first time in all these years anybody else had, after the very first attempt!). Ten years of climbing fierce offwidths had honed him more than he'd thought. He made it into the hard moves before being launched into space. All of a sudden this was something within his sphere. We decided to rest and do some easier climbs and come back in a week.
That week we got some rest and did some early ascents; pretzel Factor- 3rd ascent, Muscle & Fitness-2nd? (5.11? Bob? really?) in an effort to "Think Wide." The drive built. When the bolt broke in '81 Will Gilmer, my comrade on that attempt, and I considered toproping it. I wasn't completely sure why we didn't.; I was so frustrated at not being able to continue right then that it seemed like the only thing to do. But for some reason we held back. Likewise, as this project dragged on into the more conservative era of Reagan, Thatcher and top to bottom climbing, somewhere along the line we realized that we could have saved a lot of time (years) in the long run by employing the hangdog rehearsal strategy. A strategy
that by 1988 was hardly controversial. But we didn't. It wasn't so much that we felt as strongly against these styles as in " the old days", But that I'd started this climb in one style and it seemed important enough to finish it that way.
Another compromise presented itself. When I almost had it, on the last few attempts, slimy lichens caused falls. It seemed almost stupid not to wire brush these on rappel, I've certainly done this on other climbs.. This time a war council with Fred decided against it. This climb had already turned into a nine year epic, since we'd already gone so far doing it , we figured we might as well persevere and go the full, classic, yo-yo, ground up, traditional style. We weren't making an effort to sway anybody else's views of how to climb. It was more that we were going to get the full value, for ourselves. It could at least be a lasting footnote to a passing style and a tribute to the climbers who thought
enough about style to climb that way.
I remember thinking; "Today it has to go. This is the the third day on the route." The third day on the current trip, that is, I didn't even know how many times I'd tried this climb in the last nine years. " It has to go today. " I had put back my travel plans a day for not getting the day before. "I've got to climb this climb get in my car and drive a thousand miles." "Yesterday was so close, my chalk marked hand had marked a spot I'd once put my foot on when downclimbing from the summit. It had to go. I couldn't be that close and not do it. "
Fred tells me the belay's ready and I go. The five ten lieback seems shaky in the cool morning eight thousand foot air. After ten feet of lieback I'm at the start of the forty foot roof. I reclip the #4 Camalot ( in 84 it was a #4 friend, in 1979 an #11 Hex) left from yesterday. Now I'm squeezing through the first constriction, my feet below me on a toe-rail, my upper body jammed over space in a downflaring bombay chimney. I rest and get my breathing under control before I continue out sideways, clipping the next two pieces, bigbros. Now I'm in a position that seems like a rest only because it's easier than where I've been and what's to come. I clip the last piece accessible from the dwindling toe-rail, a
six inch big dude. Lichens grind into my scalp, I blink chalk out of my eyes. I'm losing strength here.
Fred reminds me that the pump meter is going.
I start the first five twelve sequence. " I went up and almost got it.
Fred went up and I expected him to get it. "I'll be so glad to have it over that I won't go psychotic by the thought that I worked on it all these years and then still didn't lead it first," I though/believed/rationalized. Fortunately I didn't have to test this rationalization. Fred came close, but not close enough. Lucille squished him out into space in the middle of a particularly difficult and insecure sequence.
We took an hour off for stretching and meditating and previsualisation after the first attempt. As it turned out I previsualised it all wrong, but I hung on long enough to be at the top finally, screaming and crying with Fred screaming at the belay below me, and Alobar the Dog barking at the base of the crag. After all those years, all the changes in techniques and equipment, finally I knew where the hardest wide crack was.
On my second attempt I lead the crack and it became a climb. To my knowledge it is the very first 5.13 Squeeze Chimney, one of a small number of five thirteens put up in traditional style.
When it was Fred's turn to follow he got going and climbed the hardest squeeze chimney in the World in perfect form.
The next day Alobar and I drove home to Arizona. We took the long way, East through Cheyenne before heading South, so that I could see the climb one last time from interstate eighty. Appropriately enough, just as we saw it, KTCL played Stone Free by Jimi Hendrix. -"Play it, Lucille." B.B. King.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 26, 2010 - 12:58pm PT
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matty
Trad climber
los arbor
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Dec 26, 2010 - 01:09pm PT
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So how many ascents has this thing seen and what's the timeline?
1st- Jay Anderson 1988
2nd - Craig Luebben 1996???
3rd an onward???
Andy Johnson did it in ???
Pamela Pack Varco (Shanti) got an on site in 2008
Steve Su - onsight??? 2008 shortly after Pamela
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 26, 2010 - 01:50pm PT
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I think there are couple others I can't think of right now.
Also, Craig did it at least twice, as has Pamela, and I've done it three times.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Dec 26, 2010 - 01:53pm PT
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Edl?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Dec 26, 2010 - 02:04pm PT
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That's unholy.
Props, Jaybro!
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland
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Dec 26, 2010 - 02:07pm PT
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Elcap, I asked Jason in August if he has and he said not yet.
Is it still an ow if you can get your hips in?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 26, 2010 - 02:11pm PT
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It is what it is...
Though most of us don't get our hips in as far as Shanti does.
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Brian
climber
California
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Dec 26, 2010 - 02:21pm PT
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Someone's got to post a video of someone leading this thing. Seriously. So amazing.
Brian
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Dec 26, 2010 - 03:03pm PT
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Nice write up Jaybro!
FILTH!
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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Dec 26, 2010 - 03:09pm PT
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That first pic of Pamela looks like she's using her forehead for upward progress. Savage work Jay, and all others who have wriggled up that beast.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Dec 26, 2010 - 03:38pm PT
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Goatboy? you mean Justin? Don't know of any Jasons.
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dogtown
Trad climber
JackAssVille, Wyoming
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Dec 26, 2010 - 04:36pm PT
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With EVERY drop of blood rushing to head!! I bailed. Now I just look at it shaking head and walk on by.
Way to go Jaybro.
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland
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Dec 26, 2010 - 05:01pm PT
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yes I meant Justin.
Has scuffy b checked it out yet?
I bet he would float right up it, bony hips and all.
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426
climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Dec 26, 2010 - 05:57pm PT
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Always a classic!...as one project went down last week, this lifetimer moved up 1 notch...the 'woo has always seemed "just out of reach" on the way to rifle with no +++BCUs in the car
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Gene
Social climber
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Dec 26, 2010 - 06:06pm PT
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Jaybro,
Flat out bitchen!!! PrOWd!
g
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MH2
climber
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Dec 26, 2010 - 09:09pm PT
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"...it was certainly the most physically demanding offwidth I have ever climbed.”
Unlike those cerebral technical touchy-feely OWs.
Awesome climb and story.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Dec 26, 2010 - 10:22pm PT
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My fingertips slimed the mouse reading the story...
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murcy
climber
sanfrancisco
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Dec 26, 2010 - 10:58pm PT
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Now that is climbing literature. Awesome! What a capstone moment.
And the photos of Shanti are incredible.
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blackbird
Trad climber
the flat water trails...
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Dec 26, 2010 - 11:14pm PT
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Kudos, Jay!!! The writeup's fantastic!! Any more pics?????
426: !...as one project went down last week, You guys said you bailed on that one?! Did you go back and get it after we saw you or did you get something further down in the new section?!?!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 27, 2010 - 01:07am PT
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Yeah James, I think we need more details.
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susu
Trad climber
East Bay, CA
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Dec 27, 2010 - 02:06am PT
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Wow! Fully enjoying this thread! Love the write-up Jay! Photos of Shanti are the greatest too! Wanting some more, found them on Widefetish. Very cool!
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Dec 30, 2010 - 12:34am PT
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Bump for a cool area and an inspiring climb.
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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Dec 30, 2010 - 01:15am PT
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If when/ we meet in the 'Woo, Jay, you have permission to bring me to her and get my Wyde azz kicked (by Lucille)--3 solid tries through.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 30, 2010 - 01:20am PT
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You're on! It's a party! I got three good belays in me!
Then we can watch Pamela do it three times in a row...
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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Dec 30, 2010 - 02:04am PT
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She's a good motivator on climbing routes like the 'Cille for me--I'd take notes and pointers:-)
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Dec 30, 2010 - 04:12pm PT
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Proud Jaybro!
And really evocative writing. Hard to get across the feeling of a position where it takes 80% full effort just to maintain, just to keep from falling out. Then you gotta move, and half an inch progress can feel like major victory.
Interesting to compare your description of subtle features in that bombay, against the photos where it's way too easy for the eye to just sweep on by.
Thanks to your description I finally went to check out widefetish. Got lost there for an hour, maybe two. Pamela's photos are mighty impressive! Yours too!
I used to call myself an OW climber, but this is pretty humbling...
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TwistedCrank
climber
Ideeho-dee-do-dah-day boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom
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Dec 30, 2010 - 05:10pm PT
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The corporate IT policy of this soul-sucking cubicle hell of way to make a living won't allow me to point my browser at anything with the word "fetish" in it. Drolling at the porn in widefetish is not in the cards for me today. Suck.
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scuffy b
climber
Three feet higher
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Dec 30, 2010 - 05:20pm PT
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Twisted Crank, here's a back door approach which might work.
type "drank wine and hit on my wife" into the Forum search.
That will lead to a thread titled (I think)"Donini's Back" with a post
by Prod. He has a link in his post to the widefetish forum.
Give it a try.
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dogtown
Trad climber
JackAssVille, Wyoming
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Dec 30, 2010 - 05:37pm PT
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Doug wrote;
I used to call myself an OW climber, but this is pretty humbling...
#
You are, you started me down that road. You would love the climbing out here! It’s like JT in the forest.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 23, 2011 - 10:18pm PT
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oh ya! bump
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Jan 23, 2011 - 10:32pm PT
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"She ain't got nothin' but, nothin' but one safety pin holdin' that thing on. Come on safety pin, POP. Come on baby, POP."
"Hey Lord, whatever I done, don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes. My Lucille!...That's Lucille, you mother-head. Anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille."
Oh...yeah...this is about climbing. Bump for the Wide.
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jan 23, 2011 - 10:36pm PT
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So, what's up with the climber (Shanti?) doing this thing upside down? I suppose it isn't hard enough the conventional OW method? Anyways, it looks HARD! I may go out and look at it the next time I'm at the Voo, but I'll never get on that thang!!!
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scuffy b
climber
Three feet higher
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Jan 24, 2011 - 12:00am PT
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That works for me, Jay.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 24, 2011 - 01:08am PT
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It's a height thing, Frank, you need to be maybe 5.7? To do the toe- shoulderblade bridge. Other wise it's apparenty, invert time.
Shanti is sub gargantuan. Below is an action photo from Friday of her with small but mightyBethbRodden , for scale.
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jan 24, 2011 - 07:25am PT
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Thx. Jay for the explanation, very inspirational indeed. I really enjoyed your write-up of "Lucille". I always wondered what a 5.13 OW would be like, and since I'll never experience one, it's fun to hear about it from the FA-er!
Frank
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jan 26, 2011 - 11:00am PT
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Wait a minute...I thought I saw somewhere that "Lucille" was a 5.13, but when I clicked on the Hattlers Hatbox link, it only gives it a 5.12d rating...well, this changes everything!!! I'm going to have to add this my list of "Jaybro climbs I must do before I die" list. A few push-ups and isometrics and I'm going to fire this thing up Jaybro...
I just sent this climbing link to one of my old climbing buddies you used to love OW's at the Voo. He pulled me up a 5.10 OW one time and I was crying like a baby. He's gonna love reading about this one!
BTW Jaybro, it's in the making that we may move back West to either CO or WY this Spring if all goes as planned. If so, hopefully I can get out to the "Bugaloo" this summer and meet up with you. Not sure if I'll be in type of climbing shape by then, but one can dream...cheers.
Frank
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 26, 2011 - 11:12am PT
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keep in touch about that, Frank.
Ratings are ratings, this was a topic of conversation this weekend. Though you gotta wonder if that .d rating is from a living climber who actually climbed it. I'd ask the last climber to up it and see what she thinks.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Jan 26, 2011 - 11:34am PT
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Jaybro-
My compliments on a stupendous climbing effort, but even more on your compelling and intimate writing! Woo Hoo!!
The 'woo is hot!!
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jan 26, 2011 - 11:40am PT
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Will do Jabybro, will do.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 26, 2011 - 11:58am PT
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Indiana? Not to be rude, but any particular reason? It always seems so far afield (and I'm from SoIll).
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jan 26, 2011 - 12:51pm PT
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Oh yes Healy...a very particular reason: My wife is finishing up her PhD in Comparative Literature. She took her orals last Nov., now she just has to write her dissertation, which in theory, she can do from anywhere she has access to a univ. Library. We've been here since 2006, and the time before that from 2000-2002 for her Master's.
I tried climbing here the first time we lived here on the 15-20ft. "road cuts" on the highway just south of town. It was, to say the least, a little dissapointing. Other than that, the nearest climbing is Red River Gorge...3 or 4 hours away. After living in Wyoming and being literally minutes away from excellent climbing, driving 3-4 hours every other weekend or so just seemed too excessive. So, I took up golfing to get me outdoors, had a little girl who is now 3 yrs. old. I'm looking forward to returning out West and getting her out camping, hiking and someday climbing.
On a sidenote, I've climbed twice in the last 4 years or so. Last summer on our trip back to Casper, Wy I dragged my climbing gear back with us, took my bro-in-law up on the mountain and did an "easy" 5.4 to 5.6-ish looking fingers to OW climb and nearly shat my pants on the crux. After staring at the crux move for it seemed like 15 mins, I had to get moving before I lost my nerve. I had two questionable .5 and .75 cams at my feet and no gear big enough to place above me in the last 10 ft of the climb. As I made the move, my right buttox cramped on the crux move (if there is such a thing on a 5.4 climb)...but adrenalin allowed me to ignore the pain and push through the move. That was the one and only climb of the trip! Anwyays, sorry for the novel. It's a slow day here at home on a cold day with the little one as she watches "Shrek" while I make lunch..
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 26, 2011 - 12:55pm PT
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Well, that's a good reason (my daughter is doing the English/CompLit thing at UW/Seattle). Not sure where in IN you are (Bloomington?), but there's also SoIll spots like Jackson Falls and W.Ky spots like Pennyrile that are probably closer than the Red.
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Dick_Lugar
Trad climber
Indiana (the other Mideast)
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Jan 26, 2011 - 01:02pm PT
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Yep Bloomington, thx. for the info on SoIll, maybe we'll check it out on our way back this spring. Good luck to your daughter, you might mention IU to her, they have a great comp. lit. department for master's and PhD work.
Edit: And, B-town is a GREAT college town. Great food, music, excellent theatre and opera and music departments-world renowned for it's music school and opera.
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pk_davidson
Trad climber
Albuquerque, NM
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Jan 28, 2011 - 03:27pm PT
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Bump for a bro and actual climbing talk.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jan 28, 2011 - 05:50pm PT
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wow, just found this thread. nice. looks like it started before i came to st.
probably be here long after im gone.
heh
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Jan 28, 2011 - 06:27pm PT
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Great route and great write-up. Jaybro, I'm telling you that THIS YEAR, I am going to give this thing a go. Now, to work on getting a partner...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 28, 2011 - 06:36pm PT
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I'll take pictures Grug. Then we can go do the first over 100+ yr old ascent of Tripmaster Monkey!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Jan 28, 2011 - 06:59pm PT
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You don't have to climb upside down, do you? I only do right-side-up routes.
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dogtown
Trad climber
JackAssVille, Wyoming
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Jan 28, 2011 - 07:26pm PT
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FEET, FEET, FEET. How many sit-ups can you do? This will help. Not Falling out of it was the hardest thing for me. Which I did. Doug mentions bomb-bay, not really but it has that feel.
DT.
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dogtown
Trad climber
JackAssVille, Wyoming
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Jan 28, 2011 - 07:40pm PT
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Oh, One more thing. In my prime I don’t think I could climb this route.
It takes a special talent for sure! Way to go Jay.
Hope to see you, ED, Suff and maybe Robinson this year?
Bruce.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 28, 2011 - 07:44pm PT
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Doug?
edit;Oh I get it, I thought you were talking about tripmaster.
...seemed kinda bombay to me...
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dogtown
Trad climber
JackAssVille, Wyoming
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Jan 28, 2011 - 08:56pm PT
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Yes, Doug Robinson
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Gal
Trad climber
a semi lucid consciousness
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Feb 21, 2011 - 12:51pm PT
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amazing write up, nice determination and patience, Jaybro!!! & I like seeing the pics of Pamela, it's very inspiring! Much respect to this whole thread and all who battled Lucille!!!!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Feb 21, 2011 - 01:06pm PT
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Thanks! Though one does not battle, Lucille. One arrives in an appropriate frame of mind and body and she accepts or rejects her suitors... ;-)
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Gal
Trad climber
a semi lucid consciousness
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Feb 21, 2011 - 01:56pm PT
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Ahh ha, I see... are you saying that attempts at seduction and sweet talk are futile... a battling mentality does not play to her sensibilities...? she sees through to your soul and her decision is exacting... Either a cold hearted potentially violent rebuff, or a warm hugging embrace with passage through to the sun... She knows she is desired, and plays a little hard-to-get, so it seems... I can tell it takes a lot to earn her respect. ;)
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Feb 21, 2011 - 02:31pm PT
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You got it!
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Feb 27, 2011 - 03:53pm PT
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Bump for Lucille!
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Feb 27, 2011 - 06:08pm PT
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Bump with thanks for the perennial invitation, Dogtown.
Won't be strong enough for more than a spectator at the feet of Lucille. On the other hand I'm pushing the XC track skiing already, and getting noticeably stronger background fitness, and have Sierra rock projects to hone that later. So I am hoping to try some of the other stout challenges nearby.
What a paradise of stone Vedauwoo is! I've been out in the Buttermilk lately, working on Smoke Blanchard's rock course (Jaybro too!), and I like to sort of squint my eyes and peer over the horizon and think of Vedauwoo a thousand miles away, so like a sister outcrop clear on the other edge of the Great Basin.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 22, 2011 - 12:15am PT
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bump a classic
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 18, 2012 - 07:27am PT
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Vedauwoo is calling you, товарищ, I'll be there this summer. Love to hive you the tour. When it's 100° in San Jose remember its never hot in the Lucille cave!
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Dec 18, 2012 - 08:38am PT
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Knott only that, but Nature's bringin' sushi again!!!!!
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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Dec 18, 2012 - 12:06pm PT
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you kidding me droog about Lucille.. It is not real target for me. You can understand me since be both from 1957
But I 'd like to visit Vedawoo this summer (never been) and be happy to meet meet you there
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Dec 18, 2012 - 12:25pm PT
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Aha! It's the berries of Gingko that smell just like dog-doo. Not the nuts. You read that exchange about eating G-B nuts in the Road to L thread? Had me wondering!
You must avoid stepping on the berries, kids.
If you really want to f*#k with someone, put the berries in their climbing shoes. If you can take the stink. It's fierce! Bag it! Send it to someone far away you dislike.
Theworld is packed with radness and danger. And there's only one gingko.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 18, 2012 - 01:01pm PT
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Awesome thread, awesome story! Jaybro, great dedication to get this thing done. What a proud send. Was it a known project or did someone tell you about it originally? Or did you just find it while out wandering around?? Either way what a prize!
Thanks again very inspirational story.
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P.Kingsbury
Trad climber
the jeep
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Mar 27, 2013 - 12:06am PT
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Good route, .12b max. The Belly is the first 5.13 offwidth.
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skywalker
climber
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Mar 27, 2013 - 12:59am PT
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King...good job? If so nice! 12b max??? I don't even know how you get to a letter grade with these. Its 5.stupid hard. Just say Lucille with a smile and everyone in the know gets it.
Just looking at is exhausting...
S...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 29, 2013 - 09:56am PT
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Sometimes I get tired just smiling
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but wouldn't you have to do at least one or the other of those routes without pulling on cams, to make that comparison?
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Jun 28, 2013 - 05:49pm PT
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P.Kingsbury
Trad climber
the jeep
Mar 26, 2013 - 09:06pm PT
Good route, .12b max. The Belly is the first 5.13 offwidth.
That's quite the downgrade, Squat is 1/3 the length and comes in at 12b.
Care to elaborate or is this just some more vindictive spray?
Squat 12b!
photo by Bart Paull
Lucille 12b?
Wideboyz called it 13-, whatcha gonna do?
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weezy
climber
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Jun 28, 2013 - 06:53pm PT
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ratings are f*#king stupid.
easy
fun
hard
all the numbers you need right there. the rest is just a dong ruler.
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beefcake of wide
climber
Nederland/GulfBreeze
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Jun 28, 2013 - 08:42pm PT
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No way 12b, I'm so there.
Does it count if my girlfriend belays and leads the first pitch?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jun 29, 2013 - 07:01pm PT
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He told me it was 5.10c goat....
He must be bad ass (berger?)
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 29, 2013 - 07:26pm PT
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Weezy has it right.
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Jun 29, 2013 - 09:33pm PT
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Well weezy & Jim they are kind of nice to have around
so we don't end up a black stain on the talus field.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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Jun 29, 2013 - 09:52pm PT
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From Ed's second post 8 years ago...
http://www.vedauwoo.org/hassler's1.htm
Luebben and Laird are pictured with the climb rating of 12c attached to it--HARDLY a dramatic downgrade by PKings.
Seems in line with the new wave wyde revolution that's been eminating and leaving us with ratings in the .13s and up--either Lucille is solid 5.13; OR the new climbs are artificially higher rated due to the steepness and extreme angle of the cracks.
I'm in training to get the second ascent of a 12b OW put up by Sir Pat in the Bozeman area, looking forward to repeat some of his invert lines around here :-)
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Jun 29, 2013 - 10:37pm PT
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Montana ratings are a bit soft.
Maybe if the Montana creepers climbed more they would stalk chicks less.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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C'mon Goat--for real??
You're welcome for having me drag you up that 5.7 crack FA (that you declined to lead). Unbelievable that you would post that shite above...
Answer my question above; without the typical child-wide retoric that prevails here--you are the one stirring up the controversy it seems.
You seemed like a decent guy when you visited out here twice, what happened since then?
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Just stirring the pot mojede, it's your buddy that needs to explain himself, but he seems lacking in communication skills unless its harassing girls.
The wide boyz called Lucille 13-, but what what do they know, they never climbed in Montana.
That 5.7 crack (5.6b max),was all yours man, you found it,
I didn't want to steal away any of your glory.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Nice!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 1, 2013 - 11:10pm PT
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2005 was already a bit of time ago...
the thread was started because Lucille was cited by some climber as an important article from back in the day... and I was interested in finding those articles and putting them up on SuperTopoForum for more to read. Many of the journals and anthologies, etc, had gone out of print, great writing is a part of the climbing.... and the importance of passing our history along seemed to out weigh the slight violation of a copyright...
I took down a number of the articles after many complaints from authors (not the authors of the pieces) that I was "stealing bread from their table." With time the articles were found again and posted by others...
...2005 may also have been before I met Jaybro and embarked on the quest of learning how to climb OW with what became known as the the Bay Area Wide Crew (BAWC). I met many characters from these stories, and quite a bit more... WideFetish was inaugurated and the many stories of contemporary hijinks seemed to have sparked the collective imagination of the climbing community. Enough to launch a wave of activity with interest... not that many of the long term participants hadn't been grinding out more test pieces... but that these were topical.
It was really fun to watch it all happen, we went from buying slightly used high top shoes on eBay to having the shoe companies compete with each other to offer their own models...
and then to have Century Crack come alive, and actually make it into a Reel Rock Tour.
Anyway, it seems pretty petty to debate the ratings of climbs, but it is a constant of climber banter...
Jaybro's story Lucille stands as a chronicle of how a vision is morphed through obsession, and with dedication finally becomes something real.
The rating is really beside the point. It was a climb that came to us from the future... few climbs are like that, and fewer climbers are blessed with that opportunity and even fewer pull it off.
Thanks again Jaybro.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Thank you, Ed!
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Aww man if we can't argue about ratings all we are left with is politics, climate change, and religion. Booo....
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Alexey
climber
San Jose, CA
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If my English would be fluent I would independently say same words as Ed did:
Jaybro's story Lucille stands as a chronicle of how a vision is morphed through obsession, and with dedication finally becomes something real.
The rating is really beside the point. It was a climb that came to us from the future..
And the words of P Kingsbury is not about rating discussion -with the intonation and place it looks like his intent was to put Jaybro's achievement down and nothing more
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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You haven't see me in awhile Mojede, are you going to make it to Vedauwoo for Sushifest?
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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"Soft" Montana OW...
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Hey Jay when did you get all that hair? rating PFDH...if anyone has any doubts..
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Kinda hard to trust the ratings from a dude that stalks and harass women.
I've got some stories to tell if you want to keep pushing the issue.
You should chose your friends more carefully Mojede.
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gonzo chemist
climber
Fort Collins, CO
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so what poor soul is gettin' on (or IN) Lucille this year at the sushifest?
wish I could be there...
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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I'll probably give it a go.
I mean it's only 12- now but I want Jaybro to belay so I have someone to cry too.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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" probably give it a go.", right....Jaybro was an unique individual when he established this route, this is knott a phun Sunday afternoon outing.
This is an example of what someone dedicated to claustrophobic suffering and pain can establish.
Congrats Jaybro on such visionary efforts,...But these are knott to be practiced by the ordinary individual.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Ha ha, thx Mark!
Though I have seen the result of what you suggest and in some cases it just ain't pretty! But wtf? With modern pro its safe,sometimes excessively, if you get my drift....
Now this guy was pretty on it!!
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P.Kingsbury
Trad climber
the jeep
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I mispoke when I said .12b, and appologize. It suited my stlye well and I think being smaller helped ease the difficulties quite a bit, allowing me to chicken wing much sooner rather than armbarring. (I also had good invert and gear beta courtesy of my awesome partner.) Lucille is an amazing line and a very proud fa, congrats on that one jay, it certainly a masterpiece.
Goatboy, congrats on becoming such a good climber, getting into the best shape of your life and onsighting squat, that is sick; your girlfriend must have been proud holding the rope. Regarding your public slander about me, im afraid you're wrong. I've been working a ton since ive last seen you 3 years ago and have had the same consistant climbing partner for about 5 years now. No time for "stalking" or wharever. I'd appreciate you stopping with the lies as im not here talking sh#t about you and you are obviously trying to start something out of nothing. I wouldnt expect less of you unfortunatley. According to your posts, Florida must suck as your stuck on a climbing site slandering, while im packing to go climbing in vedauwoo (with the partner i ALWAYS make plans to climb with) for the next four days.
Hutch, I appreciate the "backing up", but I can speak for myself. I dont spend time on these sites much anymore due mostly to the negativity associated with it; simply put there is too much hate on something built for fun and sharing. I try to "climb more and post less". It seems to work for me and certainly is alot more fun.
Cheers,
Patrick
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Apology accepted, though it's kind of a smokescreen. As you know,it's not me you owe an apology, and so much more to,Patrick. You know about whom I'm speaking, and for what.
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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P.Kingsbury
Trad climber
the jeep
Jul 2, 2013 - 08:06pm PT
Regarding your public slander about me, im afraid you're wrong.
It's not slander if we can show the evidence involving the stalking and harassing.
Maybe Mojede can show you his Cease and Desist letter.
But hey if you think I'm wrong, take me to court.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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What are they up to this time? I wonder.....
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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I see the pot is boiling nicely here. I just got back from re-reading jaybro's write-up, http://widefetish.com/features/jays_lucille/jays_lucille.html A great story. I never climb awful-width, myself, but any route from 1988 has to be a least 2 or 3 letter grades harder now, right? Or that only applies to face and thin cracks?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2013 - 11:29am PT
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If the younger generation of climbers are not climbing harder than we did, BITD, then that would be the larger failure of our generation that we did not convey the possibility that what seemed impossible to us was within the reach of youth.
To have failed to fire their imagination, through our stories and our unmet aspirations and the wonder and joy of the adventure, and our encouragement (though crusty at times) would have been a greater defeat then to see the zenith of our accomplishments reduced to mere warmups.
I hope that if there is one constant in climbing, one invariant, that it will be the opportunity to push it forward into the realm of the impossible. The younger generation leading out from the paths we had made to that frontier.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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While a Bunch of them kids is pushing the limits in all directions there exist a certain vocal minority, not generally in their very first blush of youth, who see the world catching up to them faster than they had guessed it would and would rather count their excuses in public, live in the glory shadow of others, drag others down, etc, rather than actually go put something up themselves! Same as it ever was!
This old man though, I'm in the best shape of my life, a set of forty pull-ups yesterday. An eight mile trairun before dawn today..I can't keep up with killer elite but I'm pushing my own standards. That sagging middle-age of young climbers better wallow out of their self pity Post haste, lest they find their plums picked!
Thx Mccreel!
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Jaybro, I can't tell from your description. Do you actually get inverted as shown in the female climbing it on this thread? Is that the crux section?
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Les
Trad climber
Bahston
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Damn, REALLY enjoyed reading Jaybro's account of the FA journey. The realization of any longstanding goal, hard fought and won, is a beautiful thing, especially when so eloquently documented.
And this right here, from Mr. Hartouni, is one of the finest comments ever posted in this or any other climbing forum:
"Jaybro's story Lucille stands as a chronicle of how a vision is morphed through obsession, and with dedication finally becomes something real.
The rating is really beside the point. It was a climb that came to us from the future... few climbs are like that, and fewer climbers are blessed with that opportunity and even fewer pull it off.
Thanks again Jaybro."
Leaving aside the stones being cast in this thread, stories like this are what forums like SuperTopo should aspire to.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Marty, I've done a lot of inverts but did not get upside down for this one. For average sized males this is not an invert, with one alleged exception. The woman in the photo, My good friend Pamela Shanti Pack, though probably the most accomplished Offwidth climber in the world bar none (sorry britts) is only five foot three and has to do it that way, because she doesn't fit across the the toe rail shoulder bridge that the rest (5?) of us have used. Anyone smaller than perhaps five seven may have to do it that way.
Well put Les, thnx! That, I think, is what climbing should all be about!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Sheesh, Jaybro...40 pull-ups? Last time I did 40 pull-ups must've been 30 years ago...and it was in a dream.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Were you played by Dick Cilley? Richard Gere?
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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Goat--that Cease letter was taken as seriously as The Two Stooges and Stoogette...
C'mon, anyone can send one and expect nothing to happen--which is what transpires the majority of the time. Pre-Poli Sci freshmen are taught that.
I don't need to associate myself with certain people--period, and easy to do.
The narcissists in the crowd will know what I'm talking about, right guys and gals?
Feeding the Beast here, but it's all for laughs, right Goat?
edit: MY lawyer reads these posts, as well--nothing but laughs for us.
Yeah, get on Lucille--THAT would be fookin' hilarious...
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Phantom X
Trad climber
Honeycomb Hideout
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Forty pull-ups Jaybro!!? Montana pull-ups or real pull-ups?
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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how about a repeat performance at SushiFest. You know... just for the novelty of it all?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jul 22, 2013 - 02:20pm PT
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"Montana pull-ups" ha!
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Trashman
Trad climber
SLC
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May 15, 2015 - 07:10am PT
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Bump for the King.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 15, 2015 - 11:10am PT
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BB King
9/16/1925 - 5/14/2015
RIP
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the museum
climber
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May 16, 2015 - 04:41pm PT
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Ed, that's good stuff and thanks for finding that article and posting it. We were there one time way back when in 89 or 90 - someone was over there working Lucille. Had to have been those guys or some combo of those guys..
Awesome!
the museum
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 16, 2015 - 05:00pm PT
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They look like a bunch of Legos.
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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May 16, 2015 - 05:39pm PT
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nothing but blue camalots. get on it!
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the museum
climber
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May 16, 2015 - 07:57pm PT
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Of course it's the little things in life that are super fun. I have all the notes that Jaybro put on our vehicles in parking areas....
He put this one on the old Focus at the glen...
the museum
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 16, 2015 - 08:26pm PT
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Ha ha! Amazing you still have that!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 23, 2018 - 09:57am PT
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best bump
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the museum
Trad climber
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Jul 23, 2018 - 11:56am PT
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Yes Jaybro you left several notes on the vehicles and I believe I have them all. We haven't been out enough in recent times but we hope to see you soon.
mrs. museum says hello, too.
the museum
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John M
climber
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Jul 23, 2018 - 12:23pm PT
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Ain't no way a snowflake climbed that. ;-)
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L
climber
Just livin' the dream
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Jul 23, 2018 - 08:43pm PT
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Just reading this thread makes me very happy.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jul 24, 2018 - 05:17am PT
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Headed that way tomorrow, museums! Deto is on the itinerary as well. Maybe Needles, too
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the museum
Trad climber
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Jul 24, 2018 - 08:07am PT
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Jaybro stay in touch maybe we can meet and do a pitch or 2. Rushmore?
the museum
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jul 24, 2018 - 09:01am PT
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Will do!
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| Messages 1 - 140 of total 140 in this topic |
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