Joe Brown honored

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List

This thread has been locked

Messages 21 - 26 of total 26 in this topic

<< First | < Previous | Show All | Next > | Last >>

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Jan 21, 2011 - 01:54pm PT

I spent more time with Whillans, with whom I got along well,
but Joe Brown indeed is that quality of human being that is
only found in the rarest individual. He and Whillans were doing
hard free climbs in tennis shoes before anyone in this country,
and they'd put a few stones in their pocket, to wedge in a crack,
the way we wedge a nut now, and they'd drape the stone with a sling
or run the rope behind it... those rare times they did put in
protection... I was given a small "Joe Brown" bag when I visited
Llanberis, and it says on it, "Don't look down, contact Joe Brown."
Indeed. I still have that bag...

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Oct 12, 2017 - 12:11pm PT

TomCochrane

Trad climber

Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay

Oct 12, 2017 - 12:55pm PT

I was in contact with Joe Brown by mail from my home in Boise Idaho in the early 60s when I was still a teenager. He mailed me two sets of threaded machine nuts, and I gave one set to Royal when I got to Yosemite for the summer. We used them for the first time on the Chouinard-Herbert route on Sentinel and only used our pitons for belay anchors. Sacherer and I checked out the crossed-thumb technique on cracks around the Camp 4 boulders and started going up to the Iota and Reeds Pinnacle area trying to figure out how to climb cracks.

jgill

Boulder climber

The high prairie of southern Colorado

Oct 12, 2017 - 04:21pm PT

Seemed to have missed this thread. I talked with Joe on the phone for an hour a number of years ago. Truly an outstanding climber, individual and role model.

mouse from merced

Trad climber

The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.

Oct 12, 2017 - 05:01pm PT

Two nuts in search of a good rack. In the early seventies Randy Hamm and Gypsy took some time to "Go Continental" and here is one spot they landed during their journey.

Neither look happy to be there, do they?