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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 15, 2011 - 11:30pm PT
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This is John Bragg. Taken July 5, 1975 (with a Nikon F, Kodachrome II) on the first ascent of Call of the Wild at the top of the last pitch. It’s on the back of Half Dome. We had a strange experience on the route in that at times we were baking in the uninterrupted alpine sun and nearly suffocating summer heat but then nearly hypothermic immersed in ice-melt from a snowbank up top, as we worked through chimneys and cracks in the upper section of the new route.
In a few months John would be in Patagonia on his first trip down there, accompanied by our very own Jim Donini. J-Do, to some. John being an East Coaster, had his challenges arriving in the Valley in the very early seventies but by ‘75 had really developed. Transformed into a Valley hardman he had done many awesome FA’s and notable ascents with his interest mainly in free climbing. He was bright, private and the bastard was an awesome and limber 6ft 5inches, about; he could stem like no other. I sensed he felt large differences between himself and all others around him in slithery Camp Four but still socialized as best he could as time went by. He knew how to strike a social balance of sorts but I saw that Donini was helpful in bringing him to the fire too; Jim is so skilled with people. John and I both lived solo lives in VW buses. John was or became a devout vegetarian, today lives in New Hampshire I think and still climbs some.
A mid-Summer Camp Four and Fourth of July Weekend was arriving as if it were a dangerous storm. Everyone knew how unpleasant and disgustingly hot the approaching days would be too. I had this plan to escape, running off to do one of my many prospects I had scoped out on the remote back of Half Dome some years earlier and though John and I had never climbed together, he liked the idea as well.
We would be completely untroubled by the 50,000-car per day madness of our national holiday thousands of feet lower and around the corner. In our own Range of Light we put up this interesting free climb with references to Jack London and his actually very dark tale meditating on human nature with its many follies in contrast to the rightness of Nature. While up there, we also tested a few other things and scoped quite a bit of the immense central wall, knowing that someday, there would be routes in many of its regions if parties could organize sufficiently all the natural details that were up there and paths through them.
Fooling around at the bottom of what became Laid to Rest thirtysome years later:
Camp Four Parking Lot early seventies: an early Jardine, Donini and Bragg:
later on in Eldorado, photo by others here:
Wunsch, Bragg, Perch a few years back on the east coast, by other STer:
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marv
Mountain climber
Bay Area
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Mar 15, 2011 - 11:38pm PT
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I have always dug the first ascent of the Egger, and especially the 'Merican ascent of Cerro Torre's west face, a route that I fantasize about climbing yet.
Seriously, the West Face is the route that I most want to do. I would happily retire after climbing it -- anything subsequent would be anticlimactic.
But 2011 isn't 1977. Major respect to Bragg/Wilson/Carman.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Mar 15, 2011 - 11:44pm PT
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Peter
Is Rich Perch still a ranger out at Canyonlands or Grand Canyon NP?
I was lucky to climb with Rich in my early days at Seneca. . .
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 15, 2011 - 11:46pm PT
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Stevie I don't know but I bet people like Piton and others like Crusher know. Ask them in case they don't chime in here eventually.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Mar 16, 2011 - 12:52am PT
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Rich Perch is retired and lives near Estes Park. Bragg is still climbing.
(Yours truly belaying)
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Mar 16, 2011 - 12:59am PT
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John and I climbed Northwest Corner one day with Stannard, and the
two easterners were in good form, no trouble on a steep 5.11. The
Gunks are steep too. I remember a great day and good spirits...
Seems like we did some other routes too, but I'm having trouble
remembering...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 16, 2011 - 02:46am PT
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Wasn't Perch a ranger @ RMNP?
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Ropeboy
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Mar 16, 2011 - 10:46am PT
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In 1971 on the N. W. Face of Half Dome, John Bragg and Dick DuMais reached the bivy on pitch eight at ten O'clock on a moonless night, climbing without a headlamp. My partner Tom Hurley and I were a few hours ahead of them and were comfortably settled into our sleeping bags. Dick was stemming 5.7 in the dark twenty feet below our ledge, and had just run out of rope. "Oh God, throw me a rope! I'm forty feet above my last pin and I'm about to peel!" So we dropped him a rope. After much grunting and effort they got their haul bag up to the ledge and got some food out. They had not eaten since breakfast. One of the last things I heard John say to Dick before I fell asleep was "Guess what, the boiled eggs aren't done."
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Mar 16, 2011 - 11:25am PT
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Wasn't Perch a ranger @ RMNP?
Tetons, at least.
I've done the route, "No Perches Necessary"...fun!
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DanaB
climber
Philadelphia
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Mar 16, 2011 - 12:24pm PT
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Perch is retired? Doesn't retiring imply that someone had previously worked?
Joking . . .
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richross
Trad climber
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Mar 16, 2011 - 01:59pm PT
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Gunks circa 1979.
Gunks 2010.
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the idle rich
climber
Estes Park, CO
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Mar 17, 2011 - 01:46pm PT
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Hey Steve...its been a few years (decades) since climbing at Seneca. The rumors are true. I was told that I was old and made to retire a few years ago. I settled in Estes Park...give a call if you're out this way.
Dana...this is thread about John Bragg so you shouldn't be abusing me here...start your own post if you want.
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the idle rich
climber
Estes Park, CO
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Mar 17, 2011 - 01:49pm PT
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Dana...thought you might like this photo of you on Fillipina. I always liked it because it looks as if you're smoking a fatty while on lead.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Nov 12, 2011 - 06:16pm PT
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Fun thread, great photos!
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Nov 12, 2011 - 06:23pm PT
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"The idle Rich" is the best handle ever on ST
Good Job!!
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Nov 12, 2011 - 07:57pm PT
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the idle rich
Must of been getting insider data from Steve all these years...
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Nov 12, 2011 - 08:13pm PT
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Bragg's in town now, no? Think so.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 12, 2011 - 08:34pm PT
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Crimpie, J-Do told me John moved to Colorado to work for the AAC.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Nov 12, 2011 - 08:42pm PT
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The rumors are true. J-Bragg has a condo in Broomfield and works for the AAC. We'll be seeing a lot of him in B-Town now.
Mal
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Nov 12, 2011 - 09:10pm PT
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And though I didn't get to talk with him, Rich Perch was working
at Neptune's this summer--what a day, the first time I saw Kent Lugbill,
one of my climbing mentors in years, and met Bob Horan too!
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Gagner
climber
Boulder
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Nov 12, 2011 - 09:37pm PT
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John is the AAC's new Community Programs Director, and has relocated here to CO. In his new role he's spearheading the AAC's new grassroots / community initiatives.
Rich Perch is indeed retired and living in Estes Park - I climbed with him a few weeks back. He was a ranger in the Tetons (we worked together there in the 80's), Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Rocky Mountain NP, where he retired from several years back.
Even with some health issues Rich has been very active new routing around Estes.
Paul
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Nov 12, 2011 - 11:45pm PT
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Another shot of Bragg at work:
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Jim Pettigrew
Social climber
Crowley Lake, CA
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Nov 12, 2011 - 11:55pm PT
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Hey Peter!
Great post, my friend! I have often wandered about John after the days. Great picks too!
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Nov 13, 2011 - 08:55am PT
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A few years I was hiking up to do an Ed Webster route, with my son, on Mt.Washington. This guy, was coming up behind us, on the trail, with a partner. He was in good shape and looked a little familiar, and I started to put things together.
I'm not usually too out going, but I yelled to him, "hey, by any chance are you John Bragg".
He sort of smiled and asked who I was. We hadn't seen each other in probably 35 years.
I think John did one of his 1st climbs in the Gunks with me--Yellow Ridge.
We both hung out with the Harvard Mountaineering club-BITD. He graduated from Harvard. I never went there.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Nov 13, 2011 - 09:13am PT
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BrassNuts ran into him in Eldo yesterday. An invite has been extended to the happy hour tomorrow night. Hoping he - and the rest of you here - make it.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Sep 23, 2012 - 03:12pm PT
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For historical reference, John Bragg's account of the 'merican ascent of Torre Egger. (download the pdf on the second line)
While you're lurking at the AAJ index, consider dropping in on the latest issue. It's a doozie!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Sep 23, 2012 - 03:32pm PT
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John and I had a nice trip to IC last Spring....more plans in the offing. Torre Egger was 36 years ago and here we are climbing together again. Climbing truly is a lifelong passion, who is that dude in some other thread who calls climbing a hobby?
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2012 - 06:25pm PT
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Thanks Marty for the link. I had not read Bragg's wonderful article until now, shame on me. It is excellent, impressionistic and pretty close at hand. A really worthy piece for one of the great ascents, certainly, and really is a credit to John.
Here is a great photo of a very young Bragg (and Mike Peloquin) prior to the ascent of The Ghost on Cannon Cliff, 1971, a little bit before he got quite a bit more serious with his climbing and probably even had begun to suspect it would be his life's work:
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 23, 2012 - 07:57pm PT
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Just looky here ^^^^ 2 guys with a hobby collecting stuff .....
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Sep 23, 2012 - 08:14pm PT
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John is one of the host climbers at the upcoming AAC gig in the Valley, the second week in Oct.
It would be fun to share a rope with him, 45 years later. I'll be there and looking forward to it!! Had a great day climbing today too!
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Sep 24, 2012 - 12:47am PT
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Great photo! Were shuttlecocks optional? Did you catch the piece he wrote in Alpinist 1? Cool stuff.
More 'Call of the Wild' and Torre Egger stories, please!
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Sep 24, 2012 - 01:58am PT
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Sep 24, 2012 - 02:00am PT
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 18, 2013 - 11:59am PT
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bumpity bump
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Apr 18, 2013 - 01:07pm PT
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John and i just spent five days in Cochise Stronghold.....great weather and climbing and got to meet Jefe.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 18, 2013 - 01:54pm PT
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Wow, J-Do. How fun.
John Bragg is now the national chapter coordinator for the American Alpine Club and now lives in the greater Denver Area, I gather. Saw him in Berkeley last year, just after he joined on and moved out from the east coast. He was very fit and still full of great energy. And still quite tall!
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Carrbro2
Mountain climber
Lakewood, Colorado
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Apr 18, 2013 - 03:53pm PT
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John still ice climbs hard too. Spent a few days in Cody last year with John and George Lowe.
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