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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 7, 2011 - 04:09pm PT
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Camp 4 and it’s early am and I am wedged in the back seat of my 1948 Chevy trying to stay warm and attempting to sleep. Ever since Foott and BBA made an ascent in 1960, this climb had been on my list of must-do.
Somehow Kor had roped me into attempting a winter ascent of the classic Steck-Salathe route on Sentinel. Although in reality it was spring, the conditions suggested the depths of winter
There was to be little sleep that night. High school was a difficult period in my life. I hated it, especially after discovering from climbing the freedom and endless summers spent roaming the Sierras. But torn between the reality of life and the expectations of the era I was at a loss as far to what to do after high school.
Then again there was the anxiety of going up on a notorious climb in winter conditions with the forever amped and driven Kor. I had done shorter routes with Kor and always had a good time. As anyone who has ever climbed with him knows you have a good chance of success when you climb with Kor.
Perhaps it was to be my redemption. Two years earlier I had passed up an offer by Steck to do the climb in favor of a hot date with my high school squeeze. 13 years oId, of Portuguese descent, beautiful olive skin and a body to die for it seemed like a no brainer as we all know what rules the actions of a young lad. If Kor and I were successful I could waltz into the Ski Hut and tell Steck that Kor and I had just pulled off the first winter ascent. Heck, I might even get a raise. Dream on, Guido.
As anticipated, the approach was difficult and slow. We took one ice axe and little else in the way of winter climbing gear. No ice pins, ice hammers or crampons. Goldline was the “rope de jour.” Down jackets for bivouac but no sack for protection. It was cold. Once on the route the challenge became all too apparent. After 300 feet of difficult and ice- filled cracks, we bailed back to the warmth and sanctuary of the Valley.
I went off the college and Kor went off to the Eiger.
The rest is history.
Kudos to Peter Haan for his superb effort at restoring these slides. Thanks also to Andrew Kee for use of his recent, Feb 2011, dramatic photo of Sentinel.
http://www.andrewkee.com
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Yer fukkin Gweedometer was off that day!!
Thanks man.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Stylin'
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Good on you guys having a go at it.
the forever amped and driven Kor Kor doesn't look amped and driven in that first pic!
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nutjob
Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
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Wow, I remember the approach dry in hiking boots, and trying it covered in ice and snow would be spicy! Just getting to the base of the climb is itself a decent achievement.
Nice pictures!
Is there still a place to register prior to launching on climbs? I've heard about this before but never done it.
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Yous guys was hard dudes to even hike up there and give it a go at all.
Quite the contrast to the tales Steck tells of the FA, no water, July heat, etc.
"Oh Allen, if I could chust have a little water..."
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Levy
Big Wall climber
So Cal
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What a nice tale. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Kor was core! Hardcore that is!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Good effort, I'll bet the approach wasn't much fun in those conditions.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Is there still a place to register prior to launching on climbs? I believe it was a requirement in the '60s. When I started climbing in the early 70's it was optional and I did it a couple of times before big days out. Noob rationale being there weren't a lot of climbers around, didn't know anyone in C4 who'd notice if we didn't come back, no wife/steady gf at home to notice if we didn't come back. There was a sign out book and Ranger at the Visitor Center. I'm pretty sure there's no such formal arrangement now.
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Gene
climber
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Too freaking cool Guido. That was the year after LK did the Finger of Fate on the Titan. The man likes red caps, huh?
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Sheeeeeeet Yeah. Great adventure that has stuck with you and now you have photos.
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Ye Ha! Thanks Guido for posting this great tale daring do and didn't do.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Pretty wintry, for late May.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
My ready room
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I'd echo Nutjob. Just gettin' to the base would be kinda desperate.
Right on!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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NICE! And I thought my knickers were baggy BITD. Whoa!
Layton coulda carried a couple of extra ropes in those things, in each leg!
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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And you were hiding this until now because...
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 7, 2011 - 09:06pm PT
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Geeeeeze Simon give me a break. Have the boat hauled out right now and needed some distraction from my distraction. Should have our Coonyard posting up by 2061. Be patience.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Maybe this has something to do with guido's interest in the south seas, boats, and other warm things.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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I'm not sure when this took place, but Kor lost a lot of weight in the early 1960s from some crud he caught. It must have been while I was still in the Army? He was still on his lettuce diet when we climbed the Northcutt-Carter in 1961, but we were powered up by a load of food from Mickey D's, courtesy of Tex Bossier.
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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killer thread!
thank's Guido!
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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F*#king-A I love the way these pop up on Supertopo!!!!! Or as the young'ns say: OMG!!!!
Thanks Guido (and Peter). As far as the choice between the high school sweetie and climbing with Steck on the Steck-Salathe, I don't know. I think I would be second guessing myself to this day no matter what I chose.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Great stuff youse guys, so classic and worthy of our eyeballs. Thanks for sharing it! Woot!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Interesting to contemplate that I met and started climbing with Layton only six months later. I'm not sure why he was in the Valley that early when he could have stayed in Boulder and climbed in the snow?
My guess is that he had been working at Yvon's foundry down south and couldn't stand it anymore and had to bust out and try to go climbing.One of the great things about Layton is that he would climb with anyone who wanted to climb and loved the rock. There was not an ounce of elitism about him.
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Great Post, Guido! And why have I not heard of this epic adventure before? The Sentinel approach was ALWAYS somewhat freaky in dry, warm weather; I can only IMAGINE doing it with Kor under winter conditions. Reminds me of slugging thru the snow to help Kor and Lauria on their approach to their 3rd ascent of the Leaning Tower! Wild adventures! Thanks for the posting (and to Peter for his photo help)!!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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I'd heard that Kor tried the Steck-Salathe in winter, but I never heard with whom, any details, or saw any pictures. This is fantastic. I greatly appreciate all of your posts, but you and Peter were really outstanding on this one.
John
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DrDeeg
Mountain climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Notice the ages of the climbers on the signout sheet. I believe Guido added +2 so as to have enough credibility to the Rangers.
Indeed, as Jan writes, Kor would climb with all. One year a couple of Brits were in the Valley, when they were pretty rare. Kor asked someone what he was doing that day, and the reply was, "I'm going climbing with a couple of guys from England," to which Kor exclaimed, "Ah c'mon, you can't have 'em both."
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Bruce,
Denny has a couple of pictures of Harding on the West Side of Monday Morning Slab in his Yosemite in the 60's book. If I hadn't done the route I would have sworn they were on the north face of some famous alpine peak.
John
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Three cheers for Content! Thanks, man!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Apr 10, 2011 - 12:12am PT
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Guido,
we're going to need a pic of the gal to rightful understand the gravity of the situation here.
;)
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Apr 11, 2011 - 12:21pm PT
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Howd I miss this???? BUMP!
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Lasti
Trad climber
Budapest
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Apr 11, 2011 - 12:35pm PT
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Guido writes:
Down jackets for bivouac but no sack for protection.
To me it seems you had all the sack needed.
Another great bit of history, thanks.
Lasti
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o-man
Trad climber
Paia,Maui,HI
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Apr 11, 2011 - 01:01pm PT
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guido, This is a real piece of climbing history! Thanks for sharing the story and images!
BTW: I have enjoyed our recent correspondence and from that I feel that we are from the same planet cheers to you and your past and future adventures! Olaf
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Mad69Dog
Mountain climber
Superior, CO
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Apr 21, 2011 - 10:30am PT
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Dave Dornan tells great Kor stories. Kor was an up and coming newbie when Dave arrived in Boulder to attend CU. Dave took Kor under his wing and taught him rope management skills and pitoncraft, in Dave's words: "So he wouldn't kill himself". Dave said that within a few months, Kor had shot past him as a leader, adding: "If you went climbing with Kor, you were going to get up the route." Dave's description of Kor leading the crux of Yellow Spur is a hoot. Apparently, Layton felt a bit exposed out there all alone.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 13, 2011 - 08:50pm PT
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Try to get Dave to join in...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 12, 2011 - 12:18pm PT
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Icy Bump...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 08:24pm PT
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Dornan Bump...Enter and sign in please!
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 23, 2012 - 09:07pm PT
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I demand more stories.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 10:14pm PT
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Just been reading about Kor in Roper's Camp 4. Wild that so many protagonists of that era are on this forum, and in this thread (though it's hard to tell, given the cryptic avatar names).
The sense I get from Roper is that Kor's huge and golden heart is what made getting past the death of his partner on the Eiger so difficult. A colder dude would have shaken it off, but Kor was too good a person to be able to...
Ed to add from Nov '2011:
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Jan 24, 2012 - 03:26am PT
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Joe,
Thanks for the report. This is the kind of stuff we need to read,
the good stuff from the good days... So many climbs mentioned
in his bio, but every new one, such as this, is a welcome addition.
There is a never ending story, really, when it comes to Layton.
We should all gather our best stories about Kor....
I find it strange I never met you back when....
All the best,
Pat
{P.S. The Dornan entry. I thought Layton already was a phenomenal
climber by the time he met Dave Dornan. Those are interesting
stories, though. I'd like to hear more from Dave himself about
those time and from Layton, as to their friendship. They were, of
course, in that little group of climbers they called the Marmots.
Dave's little orange guide was the first real guide to Eldorado
and the Boulder area. Many other descriptions and such existed in
Trail and Timberlines, but his little book was magic....
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Johnny K.
climber
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Jan 24, 2012 - 11:09am PT
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I believe when people refer to "real climbing" these days,they are talking about things in this thread and such.
Respect.
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Clu
Social climber
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Jan 24, 2012 - 02:45pm PT
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Rick Sylvester has a hilarious Kor story, first told to me by Bruce Fessenden. Rick was retelling this story to Bruce and I one evening.
When Rick was guiding for Dougal Haston in Switzerland, Kor approached him about doing a climb in the Dolomites. Rick agreed, knowing Kor was interested in partnering primarily because Rick had a car. Despite being a noob at the time (last ice age?), Rick and Layton drove off to Italy. Rick became anxious as the rain steadily increased to a down pour, inquiring how they would be able to climb in such inclement weather. Kor, "Wet? Not where we are going!" The climb was 1000ft of 95 degree climbing. Rick recounted to us, "I couldn't do the first pitch" Bruce and I knew the whole story, however, and in unison said, "You couldn't get off the ground!" Rick, sheepishly, "Well, I didn't lie".
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 10, 2012 - 01:52pm PT
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Kor Bump...
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Texplorer
Trad climber
Sacramento
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Jun 10, 2013 - 07:49pm PT
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Surprised this didn't get bumped recently. Love live Kor!
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E Robinson
climber
Salinas, CA
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Jun 10, 2013 - 10:35pm PT
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What a great read!!!! Burliness to a tee, with goldline to boot. Now I now why Greg Murphy and I decided on the Kor-Beck for our first North Facing winter climb in the park - Presidents Day ~1986. (We briefly considered the Steck-Salathe, but decided that would be a bit much.) A few shots from that effort in memory of the incredible Layton Kor.
Heavy snow was forecast but hadn't started yet
P. 6, rain turning to slush...if I remember right
The u-shaped bowl, rapped from here, didn't get to the catwalk
The next morning
Glad we decided against the Steck-Salathe
Somewhere I think I have a story Greg wrote about this, if I ever find it I'll post it up...
A year or so later I tried the winter ascent of the Steck-Salathe with Bruce King (relatively mild winter conditions.) We got up the Flying Buttress but turned around...hauling our gear was a logistical nightmare.
Has the Steck-Salathe had a winter ascent????
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Jun 10, 2013 - 10:44pm PT
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Just got down after finishing up Kor's and Roper's classic 1963 West Buttress route on El Cap. Lots of wyde stuff - huge thanks to Kate for the loan of her Valley Giants. The Grand Traverse is a grand excursion for sure - at one point, instead of hauling, we simply lowered the bags across and right onto our bivi ledge, where we hung out for the next several nights, sleeping in, staying up late, drinking fine wines with an international assortment of cheese and crackers, and even climbing.
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Allen Hill
Social climber
CO.
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Jun 11, 2013 - 12:17am PT
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Layton loved fine cheese. He picked up the habit in Switzerland. Till just a year ago or so he'd bake a fine raclet with baby white potatoes. He'd love to know about your fine cheese and wine ascent of his route. Nice job!
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Camster (Rhymes with Hamster)
Social climber
CO
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Jun 11, 2013 - 01:15am PT
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Pat, just read this:
{P.S. The Dornan entry. I thought Layton already was a phenomenal
climber by the time he met Dave Dornan. Those are interesting
stories, though. I'd like to hear more from Dave himself about
those time and from Layton, as to their friendship. They were, of
course, in that little group of climbers they called the Marmots.
Dave's little orange guide was the first real guide to Eldorado
and the Boulder area. Many other descriptions and such existed in
Trail and Timberlines, but his little book was magic....
Hopefully this is useful:
Dave came to Boulder in '55 to study geology. He met Layton in 1957, and during one of those first meetings they looked at Dave's slides of mountains. Layton apparently got really excited. Dave was a big mentor. Layton mentions this (how Dave suggested he go beyond soloing the 3rd over and over) in BTV. They remained good friends for years. Their last climb together was the Powell-Reed in 1960 during Layton's first Yosemite visit.
Yes, be great if Dave were on this thread. I talk/email with him every few months, but I think he's got his hands full.
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