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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 1, 2011 - 05:10pm PT
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This excellent Wills Young profile of climber extraordinaire, Bob Murray, appeared in the August-September 1995 issue of Climbing.
Few climbers of Bob's extraordinary ability manage to fly under the radar nearly as well as he has. A longtime Arizona and New Mexico resident, Bob has quietly established hundreds of problems in relative isolation. He has been largely unheralded by choice but I count him a friend and would like to hold his brilliant climbing up for all to appreciate.
To watch him float up ultra difficult terrain with style and grace is to witness the essence of climbing unfolding before your eyes. Truly mindblowing contact power!
Welcome Bob, should you choose to pull up a chair. Gill is here already!
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Bob is by far one of the most amazing climbers I have ever had the pleasure to climb with. Witty, strong and a wonderful human being.
I was glad that the article used three of my photos of the elusive BM.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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What Bob D' said. I only met Bob Murray a handful of times, mostly in Northern Az. Especially memorable was a day in Walnut Canyon with him and Dick Cilley. Solos and Tr's, we were all climbing pretty well, but Bob kept going leaving us in the dust largely climbing barefoot! He didn't leave us behind though, friendly supportive and conversant. one of the best.
Good times!
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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This is all quite amazing. Never heard of elusive Bob before.
Maybe coincidence Steve, but you're the Tucson connection: Mike Strassman used to address some of his trademark rants to an unseen "Murray." Could it be?...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 1, 2011 - 08:23pm PT
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Bob Murray isn't one of the many Murrys of Strassmanworld...
Phenomenal climber and athlete, Bob would climb a dozen moves into some heinous traversing problem and then stall and flit off without wasting a breath. Those of us that were roped climbing were into staying power but there was no hanging out on a BM problem! He would look on in mild disbelief as we clung and battled away, in vain! LOL
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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You know, this is doubly interestng. Wills Young, a very hot boulderer himself, clearly sought out Bob Murray from hearing the legend. His writing tells Bob's story really well, and does it the way Bob climbs: without calling attention to itself at all.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Without him, what would the "El Murrays" in Hueco be called?
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Rankin
climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
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I remember reading this article when it came out, and I really liked it. Great job Wills!
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Bob is an American climbing icon...never wanting any attention just pushing harder and bouldering better than almost anyone in the world in his prime.
My wife would leave for PA in June to stay with her mom just after her father died. Bob would show up the day after she left with the kids and basically spend a few months with me in Colorado Springs in the summer. Looking back they were some of the best times I ever had climbing.
Armed with USGS map he would explore areas remotely with the possibility of holding boulders/boulder.
It was depressing at times to climb with such a talent but he really opened my eyes to what was really possible on rock and what I would have to do to make it happen.
I remember him firing the Williams Lunge first tried on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder and then quietly saying that is it was really hard...he made it look 5.6..I had to do the static way (middle b1) as the lunge was a good five feet and even with my basketball background out of my league.
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Funny how a photo can bring you right back to day and time in a heartbeat. The photo of Bob at Nathrop was taken on our way back from the San Luis Valley after climbing and bouldering there. A storm was rolling in and Bob fired several hard problems in the matter of minutes and after our session a beautiful rainbow set over the valley...the sight is still fresh in my mind-eye just like it was yesterday.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 2, 2011 - 12:41am PT
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Any photos?
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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never met murray, but climbed with george and john gault during my year in tucson. spent a lot of time on murray problems, listening to the stories.
bob murray and jim holloway were the only boulderers in the seventies and eighties to really bring something new to the table. all the rest of us were just trying to assimilate what gill had done.
murray went much further than anyone had in developing elimination bouldering-- several of his routes in Tucson were well into double digits. But more impressive was the way that he seemed to devise sequences specifically to make the routes harder still.
if you look at that photo of barefoot overhang, up above, he's crossing with his left hand to the worst hold on the route. When I did that thing, I used that hold as a right intermediate and then bumped to the exit bucket. Done that way, the problem is maybe easy 5. The sequence Murray's using in that photo is designed to make the route look cooler and be a lot harder.
wasn't there an older article by frank abell with a pic of Murray on his backyard woody? is george still around and climbing? gault?
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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BUMP!
Thanks for the scan SG!
Legend.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2011 - 10:07pm PT
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Bob would you post that shot of Frank Abell's backyard woodie?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2011 - 01:25pm PT
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Aerial Dynamic Bump!
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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awesome thread. Thanks SG.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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shortly after i started climbing -- maybe three years -- i'd heard of murray. dick cilley told me about him while we were standing at the base of swan slab in '76
although they each had their own personal focus and style, to me they (gill and murray) remain the two preminant icons in american bouldering.
sorry verm, you are absolutely and most definately on the list, in the pantheon, but you're a not-too-distant third. which ain't that bad, now that I think about it..!
edit: oh damn, kerwin just reminded me of holloway. settle for #4, john??
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 8, 2011 - 05:12pm PT
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Too bad the Queen Creek haters keep the Verm off this forum...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 15, 2011 - 03:16pm PT
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Bump for Bob!
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Jan 15, 2011 - 04:18pm PT
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What has become of Bob? Anyone know? I had tremendous admiration for both Bob and Jim Holloway. They certainly took bouldering up the next big step.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 15, 2011 - 04:59pm PT
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I suspect that he is still in Albuquerque.
My friend Paul Davidson will hopefully chime in at some point. He and Bob worked together for many years.
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Jingy
climber
Somewhere out there
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Jan 15, 2011 - 11:16pm PT
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bump for climbing
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pk_davidson
Trad climber
Albuquerque, NM
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Jan 27, 2011 - 07:34pm PT
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Bada bump
Yes Bob is still in Albuquerque.
These days he paints oils(very well), sometimes en plein
but generally from pics he's taken.
I don't think he boulders much anymore.
As he told me once, why bother. He can't do the hard like he once did so anything less is not worthwhile.
He spends a lot of time thrashing up very steep and nasty Sandia gullies and third classing some of the big easy faces.
He's been known to spend time over the past 10 yrs or so up in the Tetons doing similar adventures.
On a rare occasion he'll meet us in the rock gym but he's never liked the crowds or the scene.
When the Wills article had just come out, I was talking to his sister on the phone (family lives back east & Bob had just come back from a visit.)
I asked her what she thought of the article, and she said what article ?
I told her what it was about and she was dumbfounded.
Had no idea her brother had a national reputation.
Shows just how quiet he really is.
I mentioned this thread & another bouldering one to him and I suppose he might have lurked pass it but the odds of a comment are slim, and that's just his way.
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jan 29, 2011 - 02:42pm PT
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Beth Wald, Bob Murray, Mike Kennedy and John Buchard at Frank Abel house...1985
BD &BM in the San Luis Valley...1984
BM at Ute Pass...1985
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jan 29, 2011 - 02:49pm PT
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The "wall" at Frank's house.
Beth Wald and Mike Kennedy shooting Frank.
Bob was by far one of the most talented climbers I have ever been around. He was also one of the most intelligent ones with an amazing sense of humor. I really miss the great times I spent with him.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 29, 2011 - 04:59pm PT
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The mere thought of Bob Murray in a crowded climbing gym cracks me up.
Lemme outa here!
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Jan 29, 2011 - 07:06pm PT
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low key and under the radar is ALWAYS the best style
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Jan 29, 2011 - 11:11pm PT
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In the above picture with Bob and me bouldering I was in what I thought pretty good shape. I was running maybe 50-70 miles a week and bouldering a lot. Next to Murray I always felt overweight and out of shape.
He was just sooooo fit.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 2, 2011 - 01:11pm PT
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The lean picture of power...Bump!
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Apr 24, 2011 - 12:56pm PT
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Bump!
Climbed some Murray problems yesterday on Mt Lemmon.
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Joe Kreidel
climber
Tucson, AZ
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Sep 22, 2011 - 02:08pm PT
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Hey there!
My name is Joe Kreidel and I am a climber in good ol Tucson, AZ. Being primarily a boulderer, and curious about the history of our odd sport, I've been pretty intrigued by the legacy of Bob Murray in the Southwest. A couple friends and I started off with the idea of trying to climb and document as many Murray problems as we could in SoAZ. This idea slowly evolved into the idea to do a full blown documentary film on the era of Bob Murray in Tucson, his legacy of exploration and development in the Southwest, and maybe see what influence his bouldering and style had on the evolution of bouldering in America. And of course, lots of climbing sequences of people on classic Murray problems, trying to walk that fine line in adventure/climbing films between all action with no depth, and a boring talking head movie.
I have been in contact with a few of your from this thread already, but I was hoping to throw this idea out to the SuperTopo community, and see if anyone with with some insight or knowledge about Bob Murray would be interested in answering some questions or sharing some stories, photos, etc. Some of you guys have posted some great stuff, and I'd love to hear more.
I'm currently trying to put together a website with more info on the project, but in the meantime, feel free to contact me at jkreidel@hotmail dot com.
Thanks,
Joe
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Sep 22, 2011 - 03:52pm PT
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Great thread.
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pk_davidson
Trad climber
Albuquerque, NM
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Sep 22, 2011 - 08:14pm PT
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The mere thought of Bob Murray in a crowded climbing gym cracks me up.
I think it was the refusing to let him climb barefoot that really turned him off to the gym... The gym rats were complaining to management. Clueless as to whose footjam they were treading in. I tried to point out that Bob didn't wipe with his feet and he did wash them which is more than can be said for a lot of the rats.
Here's an image I've never been able to get out of my head.
For those of you that remember that old car of his that he had setup for quasi-camping... He would slide the seat way back and then tool down the road on his jaunts, steering with his toes wrapped around wheel while playing a wooden flute. This includes taking the sweeping arc of I-25 S into I-40 E at about 55mph.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Sep 22, 2011 - 08:21pm PT
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Wow, I do that ramp all the time.
Not sure I'd want to be a passenger for that little event!
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Joe Kreidel
climber
Tucson, AZ
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Bump...I'm sure someone will wanna share some stories and insight...
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Murray was here.
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Joe Kreidel
climber
Tucson, AZ
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Nice pic. That razor sharp crimper with your right hands looks sooo much better than it is though.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Apr 29, 2012 - 11:01pm PT
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ĦBump!
Had a nice little solo szechuan of BM problems today.
Easy ones!
Dude's a legend.
Sniffed out all the gems around here.
Cranked HARD bitd.
Always cool to climb in the footsteps of masters.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2012 - 11:05am PT
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"YOU are one of the followers of BM" as Karl Rickson loved to say...
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ericz
climber
Ogden, UT
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Sep 18, 2012 - 06:55pm PT
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Yesssss !! Skippin' through the electronic world,... old acquaintances,... and, came upon this fine thread. Simply put, one of the wonderful climbing ( bouldering ) individuals to traipse upon the scene. In a world of soooo much posturing & noise,.... To be soooo strong,... and yet, soooo quiet and unassuming is a rarity. Happy trails to you, Bob !
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pk_davidson
Trad climber
Albuquerque, NM
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Feb 13, 2013 - 08:29pm PT
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Bump for a EZ & Murray sighting...
Two things about these images, Bob on a rope, Bob in a Picture !
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2014 - 04:47pm PT
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Murray Bump...
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Murray and Jefe bump . . . nice!
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Scott McNamara
climber
Tucson, Arizona
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Walking down Hugh Norris trial in the Tucson Mountains this morning.
Admiring the beautiful boulders. What the hell?
Is that a bolt? On top of that nice face? How the hell did they....
Get out the binocs. Sure enough. A quarter incher on a Leeper.
Bob was here!
Rinse and repeat.
All over the Tucson mountains in fact.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2016 - 04:38pm PT
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Bump for Bob...
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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I spent a Christmas school break in Tucson once. We would go to a little cliff in town. I think it was called "Campbell Cliff."
I saw Murray there. I hadn't heard of him until then. He had a tremendous reach, and was hands down so gifted that I knew I was seeing something special as he bouldered.
He also seemed to be very quiet. He did moves that I couldn't get my feet off of the ground on, though.
I see this thread is old. I've probably already said just as much already, somewhere back thread.
Anyway, he was good. Really good, and that was in 1980. He was pretty young.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 27, 2017 - 04:39pm PT
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Bob was always an amazing talent and I was a bit surprised that he didn't step into sport climbing but he is also not someone who seemed top crave attention preferring to pursue a more contemplative path in bouldering.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2018 - 08:49am PT
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Bump for catlike grace on the stone...
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