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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 24, 2006 - 12:56am PT
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Trees!
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er,
Tradition!
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shux- nothings happening.
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:04am PT
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Sorry Werner, I scared everyone off with that one
I could of sold thousands of those
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 24, 2006 - 01:05am PT
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It will sell .....
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Wonder
climber
WA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:07am PT
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now where was i. do you remember the rope swings at the pine cove house. Fred east & igor & many others lived there. we had platforms & many drugs to start your ride.
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 24, 2006 - 02:08am PT
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More history from down south San Diego way . . .
So where are they, what are they now doing (sadely I know some have passed away), and who among them was/is considered a Stonemaster either directly or at large?
I would really like to know. It would really help fill-in missing San Diego, and Stonemaster history. I know many who are very interesting in this information down here in SD. Thanks.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 24, 2006 - 09:48am PT
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Klimmer-
That's a great shot of Mike Paul on the right, when he had all that long red hair. Long Live the Watusi!
(BTW KL:saw YES at red rocks, Golden CO, last year, every bit as good as the first time I saw them, in '77, [-Just after I rolled my truck on I 99 heading North on first trip to the valley, w/LLoads. Larry crawled out of the wreckage in his japflaps, delerious, began gathering debris and loading it into the Kangaroo pocket of his Cagoule. First guys on the scene, with no hesitation said "man, looks bad, cops'l be here soon, better toss yer pipes and weed" The CHP helped us push my ride up onto the rubber side again- said "you boyz are going home right?" After all, we were now pointed South. The suspension was so tweaked, Larry now sat a full 6 inches below me to the right- every time I looked over(& down) at him, or even thought about the incident(for a full year), I'd laugh hysterically. We got to THE VALLEY, had an aborted attempt at the Harding Route on the Apron, after which Larry rolled endless oilers for us at a table in the Pines]).
Wonder,
Igor=Greg Thill and don't say that I#or thing too loud man! (hehe)
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Feb 24, 2006 - 09:59am PT
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Here is a memory prompted by mentions of Burton and Sutton. These guys were building houses in Idyllwild, around 77-78. A British climber who worked for them one summer described to me a letter he received from his mother back in merry old England. Here is a paraphrase of it:
“I notice from your recent letter that you are staying in a town called ‘Idyllwild.’
I must say that you seem to have found a place appropriate to your character.”
Rather sums it up nicely for all of us back then, doesn't it?
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Ed Bannister
Mountain climber
Victorville, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 10:40am PT
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Largo-
How bout Tobin doing The Green Arch with the cord tied to his neck, with a hangman's knot no less....?
Ed
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 24, 2006 - 10:46am PT
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I love how legends and myths spawn!
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Ed Bannister
Mountain climber
Victorville, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 10:54am PT
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Perhaps a lie, a myth, a legend, an exaggeration...
David, "Willie" Williams told me he "belayed" Tobin doing just that.
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Ed Bannister
Mountain climber
Victorville, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 10:56am PT
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Then how 'bout Largo tells on himself: one route, two first ascents, his own version has to be the best.
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Feb 24, 2006 - 11:56am PT
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Mr. Alpspitz--
I'm prone to that name since the first "mountain climber" boots I had were Lowa Alpspitz. I even climbed the Open Book with them. But friend, I can't really follow your questions.
There was never any need to rev up Tobin stories since they were in their most basic form the most out there events you could imagine. And Tobin following the Green Arch with a noose on is hooey. If fact, when we first did the Green Arch free (an amazing lead by Ricky), Tobin literally fell his way up it.
One of the things I've always been curious about is the generation before us (Charlie Raymond, Pat Callis, etc.) who did many first ascents at Suicide. I never met any of those guys and never heard their stories.
JL
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scuffy b
climber
S Cruz
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Feb 24, 2006 - 12:05pm PT
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Largo
A comparative old-timer told me, like thirty years ago,
that Charlie Raymond was the most natural crack climber he had
ever seen.
He said that when watching Pratt climb cracks, you could imagine
the wheels turning in his head, calculations being performed.
He said watching Raymond was like watching water flow.
sm
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Wonder
climber
WA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 12:24pm PT
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yeah Tar, i havent seen those bros in 15 years.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 12:49pm PT
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Gramicci said: I liked it (your logo) book says you’re the illustrator, you do it?
I was the guilty party on that bit of blatant hero worship and plagarism. Though I don't think I ever saw the Stonemaster logo, but the S and lightning bolt was described to me. I toyed with adding a lower case "b" made out of a lost arrow profile to lessen the copycat effect, but graphically it just didn't work.
In the seventies, it was clear that a tribal approach to climbing, like the Stonemasters or the Vulgarians or hippie communes, was the motif to emulate. You wound up with an interconnected pool of partners and developed a shared history, you could be a rugged individualist but not have to walk alone.
Scumbag was born at a late night session at the Tu-Vu drive-in, three bucks a carload for three movies. We were stoned as you could get on Columbian and watching the Groove Tube. One of the skits had a woman bellow "F*#k you, you Rumanian scumbag" and we were instantly enamored of the term.
The name of our loose association saw official life in the couple of vanity press publications I did, as well as the name of my first company, Scumbag Mountaineering, which produced cheap pile clothing back when the stuff was still new. I mostly sold locally (I had moved to Olympia, WA) and made periodic road trips to the valley with big duffle bags, selling out of the Lodge and C4 lots. When I started mail order sales, I decided to tone the name down and became Brand X, which lives on today albeit as my construction company.
So, there you go, a nutshell history of some wannabe spinoffs.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Feb 24, 2006 - 12:57pm PT
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I did witness the actual Tobin "noose incident," but you gotta save a few for the book!
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:05pm PT
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Tar-
YES is best. They still are. I believe they are even better today. I've gone to every YES concert in San Diego (except 3) and some even up in LA when they come through town. I'm a serious YEShead. Always will be. They have been very prolific these last 7 years. I was getting serious into climbing at the same time I got into YES. The "Fragile" album (we are talking records here) has a large art/credit insert with a watercolor painting by the other YES member Roger Dean, of a climber ascending a mythical pillar and you can see the lead-rope trailing. When I climb I often have YES music in my head. Maybe I'll try to scan in that image later when I get home. It's classic. "South Side of the Sky" is about Himalaya climbers getting lost in a storm and finding the warmth of death. John Anderson in San Diego told us so 2 years ago.
I'm trying to get up the courage to tell one of my Mike Paul stories that combines herb, and a moral remote story tie-in to Tobin S. although I never met Tobin. By the way, what is Paul doing these days? I know he was way into music, since also being a musician himself.
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:07pm PT
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I’m guessing Doug White? That was pretty cool to hear that story of evolution
Brand X is a good coin.
I’d like to hear Dave Goeddell come out of the woodwork among others
RA, I saw the hanging too, fortunately the trap door didn’t open that day.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:16pm PT
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Yep, Doug White it is.
Garment trade's tough, innit? Is there a Gramicci (the company) history hidden somewhere in one of these threads that you can point me to? I'd love to read one.
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cintune
climber
Penn's Woods
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:17pm PT
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Klimmer, yes YES. Awesome image, I cut it out of the insert and stuck it on my wall 20 years ago, it's still there.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:33pm PT
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JL-
How about a story or two about the early explorations of the faces of Middle Cathedral, routes you did in about 74-5 with guys like George Meyers, Chapman, Worral, etc.I didn't check the guidebook, but weren't you on FA's of routes like Mother Earth, Freewheelin, Quicksilver? Some wild routes on that rock.
Rick
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:33pm PT
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Cintune-- Thanks for that. Awesome. :-))
Check GM post below. In response . . .
Hey GM-
I could do it. I could go really ballistic and post it SUPERSIZE. Don't tempt me. I'm a very new and dangerous and unstable photobucketer now! LOL
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:37pm PT
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Doug, that’s exactly what it is, History since getting out of it in ’99. What a great biz though.
It’s a story for sure; probably take up half my book if I ever write one :-)
Hey, I was getting ready for Klimmer full screen version of that picture!
Edit: Werner, that logo is a little to political. Maybe the other is safer here. Since these guys sell topos and all!
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Ed Bannister
Mountain climber
Victorville, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 01:42pm PT
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John-
see, you always were large.. I only wore lowa scouts back then.
come on, fess up about the two first ascents, we know that won't be in the book.
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 24, 2006 - 01:50pm PT
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Gramicci
Aw comon man just having some fun, Chris understands, he'll laugh!
Remember! You guys are the "StoneMasters"
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 24, 2006 - 02:41pm PT
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Ricky Thanks:
Yes JL, the routes on Middle.
'Would be cool to hear something.
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 04:06pm PT
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Rick A (a.k.a, Ricky) said: "I did witness the actual Tobin "noose incident," but you gotta save a few for the book!
Actually, Rick, Bachar has already spilled the beans with the Tobin story back in Part II... A truly classic JT insanity, and a great telling!
All this clothing fashion talk (Brand X, Gramicci, Scouts and Alpspitzs, etc.) has got me thinking again about our fashion tastes (or lack thereof). Did anyone else notice from Part III that every picture of some lad in shorts was wearing SHORTS. Way short shorts. Not the saggin', knee-dragging short pants, but real SHORTS! (Was up in Bishop lately looking for some; there wasn't a single pair in East Side. Only knickerbockers that one could 'rebuckle below the knee.' For $80 a pair, too.) Such is the transitory nature of the world of fashion...
I know Graham is looking into the retro clothing thing, so maybe there's hope for us old farts. Me? I'm (at this very moment) wearing a brand-new pair of Onitsuka Tigers, my all time favorite shoe that many of us wore Back in the Day. And my 23 year-old son says they're quite fashionable now. Again.
So maybe committing run-outs, ground-up FAs, roping goats, climbing pants with cuffs, stupid pranks, and perlon nooses will be coming back, too.
One can hope...
"I think we ought to go out and work hard to restore the unsavory image that climbing and climbers had a few years ago."--Ed Leeper
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ladd
Trad climber
land of fruits, nuts and flakes
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Feb 24, 2006 - 04:13pm PT
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hey Kimmer, I'm still YESnnnn after all these years - "owner of a loney heart" ;) Curious to know, did you by chance happen to see Rick Wakeman pull off "The New Gospels" when he was out in Costa Mesa back in the mid 90's sometime? Wakeman's opereta was absolutely fantastic! Seeing ole Wakeman in flowing robes playing keys across from his Son no less - playing out that fine opereta in classical form was a "Journey To The Center Of The Earth".
Cintune, thanks for putting up that pic - realed in a flashback to some great memories. Probably some early trance along with pics the likes of Roger Dean, some ole Flash Gordon movie (somewhere), having what I thought was an enchanted forest for a back yard (repleat with a three story treehouse we built) coupled with being a gymnast in HS - somewhere in all that mix is what compelled me to wanna climb (ahhhhhhh, "thrill of adventure, the agony of defeat") - *shrugs*, could have also been the Sirens of Titan...
I've got a stonemaster story or two I could throw in. Actually, I posted one of them back before these Stonemaster threads kicked in - I told a story about a strange encounter of the close kind with Largo whilst A3 on Piasano Pinnicle no less - this was back before JL freed the motha... Not sure what thread, but I was motivated by a pic I saw of Paisano from "Cracko"?
The Valhalla finish on route of same - those jugs you pass through, where like the crowning gates of glory for us. With a loud and lowly Viking voice, resonating the word "valllllllhallllahhhhhhhh" - man, like blowing the resounding Viking horn. The legend of Stonemaster was passed on to me and my other Viking pards (Matson, Petersen) whilst down for an extended climb/surf weekend in San Diego. We happened to meet up with Eppie and DE at some bouldering spot - thinking it was Santee or Magnolia? Anyways, we climbed together for the rest of the day, and chased over to DE's place where we got into the must of Vahalla. So on the roundabout drive back to San Clemente, by way of Suicide - there we were climbing through the rites of passage on Vahalla. I'm trying to recollect - it must have been in the early 80's, seemed like every climber yah met was like having another brother or sister - hangin in humbler park.
cheers
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 24, 2006 - 04:16pm PT
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I wonder how many ascents of Space Babble have occured, with or without a noosed goat.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Feb 24, 2006 - 06:11pm PT
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One of the things I've always been curious about is the generation before us (Charlie Raymond, Pat Callis, etc.) who did many first ascents at Suicide. I never met any of those guys and never heard their stories.
I think Pat's still makin' stories (!). Took chemistry from him in...uhh...1980...at MSU. Still up there. Still doin' it. Ran into him climbing at the City of Rocks in Idaho last summer or summer before. Told him I'd done the Pulpit in Zion and clipped a few of his bolts (their warm up before he, Beckey and Rowell climbed the Great White Throne, as it was raining, er something). His wife said, "those things still in the rock?". Funny. Quite the mish mash of hardware, most seemed kinda still maybe bomber (sorta).
He penned a very funny story about ice climbing in Montana in the "Big Sky Ice" guidebooks. "Malted mooseballs". Hilarious. Involved experimenting with whiskey and ice climbing. Great read.
Anyhoo, more stuff on Pat below...Obie Wan to some of the Bozone lads...to be sure...
-Brian in SLC
http://www.chemistry.montana.edu/callis.html/
http://www.outsidebozeman.com/magazine.php?action=fullArticle&articleID=43
From Denali NPS 1993 summary report: Americans Terry Kennedy and Pat Callis climbed a new route on the SW Face of Kahiltna Peaks East summit.
http://www.trailrunnermag.com/features/feature%2018.html
"The 2002 Tour de Hyalite attracted more than 70 competitors -- the biggest turnout yet. Among the competitors was 64-year-old Pat Callis, a local climbing legend who has competed in all but one of the Tour de Hyalite events."
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Feb 24, 2006 - 07:22pm PT
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For starters, there's no book in the works about The Stonemasters. But there's some other stuff that Mike G. and I are fiddlig around with and we'll let you know once it rounds into shape. We definately need photos for anyone who has them. I'll post a thread to that effect soon.
Tarbuster wrote:
Ricky Thanks:
Yes JL, the routes on Middle.
'Would be cool to hear something.
I'm too tired to scribble anything out just now but give me a day or so. The really interesting story is the first ascent of Stoner's Highway. That's before any of us knew what the hell we were doing. After that (re: Quicksliver, Mother Earth, Black Primo, etc..) we were pretty dialed -- but not on Stoner's. We didn't have a clue.
JL
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 07:44pm PT
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Yeah, we don't really want to explore the "noosed goat" strand, do we? Mr. Harrison?
(Where the heck are you?) And, thinking about Richard and silly things like the Bridge Traverse up Baldy Canyon--how many people got injured flying off that bit of buildering? And, where is Terry Goodykuntz? (I've seen Dutzi around Clareville several times in the past 20 years.)
But for the complete record on the Goat, we must include this very recent oddity:
Hey, it's news.bbc.co.uk... Must be OK, right?.
(Duck and run.)
We now return you to your regular Stonemaster forum...
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pc
climber
Eastside
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Feb 24, 2006 - 07:50pm PT
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Was there a council of elders in the Stonemasters? Would you have "ruled" similarly? Too funny
;)
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 08:04pm PT
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Depends on the legal age of consent for goats... Plus, we'd also have to consider the kids.
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John Vawter
Social climber
San Diego
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Feb 24, 2006 - 11:18pm PT
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Part IV: Beneath the Planet of the Stonemasters.
Kidding! Come on, there must be a few dozen more good stories. I'm tapped out but I'll pass this memory along. My first climbing partner and I were descending Tahquitz along the South Face in 1972-3 (?). As we passed the Ski Tracks we saw a party high up on a traversing route we surmised was Sling Swing Traverse. The climber was a lanky guy with long hair that I've always assumed was Rob Muir. From below the route looked totally blank and dead vertical, but he was super smooth. Suddenly he exclaims: "This is really pleasant!" We cracked up. Wow! That guy must be really good! So for months afterward to break the tension whenever things started to look grim, we'd let out with a "This is really pleasant!"
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 24, 2006 - 11:20pm PT
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Stoners highway
By the StonedMasters .....
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Feb 24, 2006 - 11:38pm PT
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speaking of stoned....
"WHO'S HOLDING THE ROPE??!
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Wonder
climber
WA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 11:45pm PT
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the purple t shirt is the clue.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 24, 2006 - 11:52pm PT
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Not a Stonemaster story, but that's how Neal, the guy with the black bar across his eyes in that guidebook photo earned his stripe. My buddy Galen was leading the first pitch of Stoners Highway when a volley of stones came down Middle and the bunch at the base bolted for shelter. Galen frantically downclimbed to clutch a bolt and saw Neal, his housemate and belayer, drop the rope (hip belay) and run for the bushes too. That moment of bad faith and abandonment led to months of psychological torture that eventually caused Neal to crack, move to San Francisco, and study law, leaving his climbing days behind.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 25, 2006 - 12:26am PT
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hmmm
purple shirt
looks to me like gibblewis +20 years but i dont think he was into w##d
The nose belongs perhaps to, KP?
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 25, 2006 - 04:33am PT
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And Vawter said, "Suddenly he exclaims: 'This is really pleasant!'"
Jesus! I can't believe you were there there to witness that, John... (Or that anyone would even remember something so trivial! [grin])
It must have been later than that, John, since I think that route was The Unchaste, which "Vogel" says was the old Robbins/Sherrick route of 1957, that Tobin and Gib did as an FFA in 1974. Randy gives it a rating of 5.11a and two stars. But, damn, that puppy is worth at least *** in my book!
As a set of free moves, its gotta be one of the BEST set of sequences on that side of the rock. Several of us had just walked down from doing something else, and someone said,"Hey, ya done Unchaste?" (Now, in my head I'm hearing Largo's voice here, faintly, but it may have been Gibo too.) Was Ricky along? Can't remember... And, here I'm guessing again, this was probably an early repeat of the FFA.
At any rate, the line was pretty new and I, for one, hadn't done it--aided or free. So off we go... Absolutely killer day. Clear, cool skies. And, the rock over there is probably the best granite on the planet. Agreed? Somebody led the first pitch--in short order--so whoever it was had worked through the holds before. (Maybe it was Gib. Coulda been Tobin...)
I still remember how totally thrilled I was with the individual moves. A very sweet sequence, with EXACTLY the right little positive holds, in the ONLY places that these holds should be. A real chess game, with a great opening. It's pretty steep, and I could see how it might be easy to mess-up the sequence and make that first pitch quite hard. But, I sure hit it right! And every move just flowed into the next. Checkmate! And, damn, it WAS "really pleasant!" (Everybody else just waltzed it, too.)
...still think that's one of the best sections of rock on the entire South Face!
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 25, 2006 - 11:46am PT
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Off White (Doug White)- I have lots of questions for you, but I don't want to high-jack this thread. I now know the story behind Scumbag Publication (he-he). Thanks. But who if not you, knows better the obscure and almost soon to be lost San Diego climbing history? I posted your page of first ascents from Crags and Boulders of SD Co. in hopes of shaking the bush to see who comes out? Hey it worked! Now BVB, would you have something to do with that :-))? Do you still stay in touch with the gang? What is Mike Paul doing these days?
There are so many connections to San Diego climbers. I remember reading an essay by Galen Rowell, how during a Sierra Club outing when he was young it was Jerry Gallwas that inspired him in a new way - demonstrating and instructing him in the art of free-climbing.
Like BVB I'm sure we've met or at least seen each other on Woodson, or maybe even the bouldering contest at Magnolia Boulders in the late '70s. I believe it was sponsored by Stanley Andrews sporting goods store in San Diego? That was the very first bouldering contest I ever attended. It had a good turn-out. Were you the one to pull that contest together? I missed one of the first bouldering contests ever at Mt. Woodson in the early '70s. Would like to know more about that. Didn't some of these contests bring down any Stonemasters from the LA area since they were some of the first B. contests ever?
Me climbing, with Tim Umstead (my Poway HS bud and most often climbing partner) and Keith Brueckner watching. Tim represents the quintessential climber look of the '70s.
Man those were good times. We even camped/bivied on Woodson a few times bringing the Coleman lantern, Dungeon's and Dragons, and a special herbal tea (I swear I never inhaled honest. Scouts honor. Well there was that . . .) A thousand locks on the bottom gate could not keep us from driving to the top at night and hanging out. All you had to do was push the gate hard and the bar slid easily out. What the hell were all the locks for? Any Woodsonites remember that? But always remember to close the locked gate after you. Wouldn't want anyone to know the secret.
Vogel's description of your book and Mt. Woodson guides:
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 25, 2006 - 02:45pm PT
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Yeah, this isn't really the thread for that discussion, probably the closest any of us ever came to Stonemasterhood was a little reflected glory on our upturned faces. I think you overstate my importance vis-a-vis San Diego, I'm just the guy who had the chutzpah to write a guidebook. As that FA list will attest, I've never been any more than an average climber who just loves climbing, and any claim to fame is just by virute of showing up. Feel free to email me or start another topic.
btw, Werner Landry was the guy behind the bouldering contests, he'd be a great source if you're interested in SD climbing history.
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 25, 2006 - 11:27pm PT
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Rescue the Stonemaster IV!
We'll talk San Diego climbing history in another thread sometime hopefully soon. I'm really enjoying the Stonemaster thread . . .
In honor of the Stonemaster bouldering reunion at Rubidoux, this is what Google Earth is for (now everyone is doing remote sensing). If you zoom in really close you can see someone doing something with a goat. Hey, I always say - don't ask, don't tell.
Size OK?
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TC
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 25, 2006 - 11:49pm PT
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A Stonemaster and apprentice. Rubidoux, lower parking lot.
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Wonder
climber
WA
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Feb 25, 2006 - 11:53pm PT
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i dont see any empty swimming pools. sorry thats what i use goole earth for. yeah stonemasters step up. many more stories out there. lets jog our memory to the max some more.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 26, 2006 - 08:30am PT
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Middle Cathedral, High on Stoner's Highway 81'/82'
Stonemaster Disciple below is: Too Tall=Dave Nielsen
photo RCM
'Could be that JL will tell us a tale of the first ascent after a bit.
Dave Nielsen was part of the second wave, and hailed from an itinerant Idyllwild Crew, all pretty much present by 75'/76' or earlier, so they were a cultural factor and would have some good stories. Nielsen (Too Tall), Fed East, Greg Thill (Igor), Scateboard Roy, Kelly (Troll), Clark Jacobs, Kojac, Franky Lee, Jim Wood and more.
Hey Wonder,
(skateboard roy=punk roy)
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 26, 2006 - 08:42am PT
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Stonemaster Acolyte Mari Gingery, circa 81/'82:
Vampire, pulling into the crack after a thin traverse from the mantle.
photo RCM
We were still climbing in Eb's, but here it was already 6 years passed the time when the griddle was really hot at Taquitz.
I believe the first free ascent of The Vampire is chronicled in JL's "Three Little Fishes"?
All movements are followed by a period of consolidation, so in this picture, we were enjoying doing the standard routes freed or set by Stonemasters.
I climbed with Mike & Mari during this time from the end of the 70's through the early 80's and learned a lot about precision and boldness from them. Mike Lechlinski and Mari Gingery could often be seen together, nearly inseparable, swiftly walking toward their next route on their tick list at Suicide. Mari liked to sew; many of us used her chalkbags.
These 2 climbed quite a bit with Long and then Bachar. The day of the hangover going free, probably like so many FA's in Idyllwild in the last years of the Stonemaster push, was really witnessed by a lot of people who were nested in to the scene. You can often hear sounds of parties up on Taquitz really clearly. My first ear shot of Lechlinski was something like: "Hey Largo, you gotta come up here, you can do this thing!!". So some aerial bouldering took place and they freed The Hangover. The sense of a connected group of people, all on different routes, somewhat able to converse between lines, and attending to the final scour of FA's. This was something and you could often hang at lunch rock and give cheer or a watchfull eye on the happenin'.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 26, 2006 - 10:01am PT
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Upthread, Spencer mentioned Wet Dreams
E=Erick Erickson(thanks e)
So this is Erick Erickson on W Dreams.
late 70's photo by bullwinkle: who gave me a stack of extras for a college proj
Eric is a very well rounded and accomplished climber; still going strong. He was at the end of the 70's particularly helpful to some of us who came through in the wake of the Stonemasters, often getting us younger climbers out with him. E would frequently hand me the rack and cast me out on something good and challenging. I'm sure he still does that for younger climbers. What goes around comes around and I'm stoked to see E still at it.
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 26, 2006 - 10:40am PT
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Folks... Once the goods come off the scanner, yer not done! Use some graphic editing tool--commercial, shareware or freeware--and edit the file before you post it to the Web. Scale the size to something manageable and clean and adjust it. Take some time to identify the players and the route. Give a hint about the photographer, and when the shot was taken.
And how 'bout a new rule? Post a photo, tell a story. Photo of yore; story of yore. Pictures deserve a thousand words.
The Games Climbers Play...
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Feb 26, 2006 - 12:30pm PT
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Couple of loose ends to tie up on stories mentioned before:
The actual Tobin “noose incident” occurred around 1973-4, when a group, including Gramicci and Bachar, was doing a mass ascent of a climb called Damper, a 5.9 crack on Chimney Rock at Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree.. I had forgotten until Bachar’s post that Bachar was the one who led it (probably the last time he ever used a rope on a 5.9 at JT or anyplace else!). I am not sure, but it seems that JB was not well known to the others yet, and the genesis of this stunt may have been that Tobin was trying to have a little joke with the new kid, who was clearly a talent even way back then. Everyone was laughing and having a good time at the base of the route. The belay was set back so JB could not see the top-roped climber. Anyway, Tobin did, in fact, tie a noose around his neck and started climbing. Now this crack is pretty solid jamming and I am sure that Tobin had soloed it a few times before. I seem to recall no fear that Tobin might possibly fall on that crack and thinking to myself, “it’s really no different than soloing.” Tobin kept hamming it up for those on the ground, yelling up to JB, “up rope” and “ keep it tight”, etc, all the time with his trademark grin, from ear to ear. I have to think Tobin would be pleased to know that he got the reaction he wanted from JB, since this is a story still repeated 30+ years later.
Back to the Newport Beach Ski Mart stories in part one. It was also Tobin who won the rope for the first no-hands ascent of the boulder in the parking lot. He did it with a 20-yard sprint start so that he literally “ran” up the boulder to balance on the top.
Rob-I agree about the Unchaste at Tahquitz, a beautiful sequence of moves that Tobin and Gib did first in 1974.
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 26, 2006 - 08:22pm PT
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Seems like an appropriate time for this story. The photo is included for evidence, we’ll call it exhibit “A”
Upon closer examination you will see this climber appears to walking up the rock. Must be third or fourth class at the most you would think. Not so...this the first pitch of three of a classic route on the weeping wall at Suicide Rock. Surprise is its name and Surprise this is the first and maybe the only no hands ascent. The climber is Rick Accomazzo and the route is 5.8, at least on all four’s it is.
We spoke in an earlier thread of Rick’s three hands, in this case he used his head. A thick wool ski cap gave the added cushioning need to support himself as he pushed up one leg at a time. That day this was pretty funny to watch and some of us shook our heads in bewilderment but really this was quite a feat! Pun intended!
MG
PS: if you don’t believe it I can also offer exhibit “R” a photo of the crux.
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 26, 2006 - 08:25pm PT
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I don't believe it, he never went to the moon, whoops wrong thread.
Ok cool Mike show exibhit "R"
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Feb 26, 2006 - 09:48pm PT
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Hah, cool! We have classic no-hands route in SoIll called "The Full Moon Footdance". Hard start and with a desperate high step last move. No-hands is a little appreciated business and that's kind of surprising in this day and age of slacking...
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 26, 2006 - 09:59pm PT
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Graham,
I got yer' back man, but don't want to blow the sequence before we see exhibit "R"
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 26, 2006 - 10:01pm PT
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Quite an impressive Surprise ascent, RickA.
OK Gramicci, we're still waiting for exhibit "R"...
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 26, 2006 - 10:32pm PT
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How about all those EBs in the pictures? Pretty impressive, some of the things that were originally done in them. Remember how much Fire's revolutionized the scene? I went bouldering in EBs a couple of years after Fire's came out. Damn near broke my shin when I skated off a boulder problem with an undercut start.
Hey, I know... Let's get Powell to break out all those brand new pairs of EBs he still has and we'll go do some routes in them. I'm pretty sure that he has enough pairs for all of us.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 26, 2006 - 10:56pm PT
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BUT,
KP, to sign us out with those H'EBee Gebee gems, will make us pledge that we start wearin' em on opposite feet, after we blow through the inside edge...
'Dude is hip.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 27, 2006 - 01:38am PT
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Life was simpler when all you had to know was what size you wore.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 27, 2006 - 01:41am PT
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Yeah Babee!
'Look how snuggy cozy!
39
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 27, 2006 - 12:37pm PT
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DW- Hard climbs in EBs was truly a wonder. I really liked the price back then also - $40 bucks. I have one new prestine pair that has never been on rock, some day . . . (although that would drop it's value on the Antique Road Show).
Stonemasters-
Mt. Rubidoux has been undergoing renovation the last few years regarding historical markers, cribbing, bridge work etc. it is looking a lot better. The large chains are also fixed nice at the top parking lot and a lot of the rock walls.
Qs: Did the Stonemasters on Rubidoux ever participate in slack chaining at the top parking lot?
A normal size slack chain is easy to walk back and forth on and I can do that no problem, I have one in my backyard permanently set-up, and it has provided end-less entertainment for parties. A slack-line is harder, but the slack chain at the top of Rubidoux is a real challenge with spectacular fall potential on one side. What makes it so hard is the mass, the inertia of the chain. When you want it to move side to side to get your balance, it doesn't want to move. Damn hard if you ask me. I've only managed to walk a short section a few times without falling. So were you guys into slack chaining in the early '70s at Rubidoux? And if so, this may have pre-dated slack-lining at Camp 4.
Rob Muir- Since you have a very distant relationship to John Muir, I know that he signed in and stayed at the Mission Inn around the turn of the Century or so. And the large Sierra Alpine painting hanging in the Mission Inn is done by a close friend of his (the artist's name escapes me). Do you know if he ever went up Mt. Rubidoux? Perhaps he was the first true Mt. Rubidoux stonemaster? Maybe he cranked off a few boulder problems? You never know.
You might have to include JM as an possible honorary member of the Stonemasters. It would be fitting. Lord knows he did a lot of wild crazy things that would give many of us hesitation and the heebeegeebees today. And he was also into herbs!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
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Feb 27, 2006 - 01:09pm PT
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Rubidoux brings back memories of watching older experienced stronger climbers just power down problem after problem as I would finagle my TR set ups.
The Triangles, Borson's Block, the bridge, beehive wall (I hated that little bench under beehive wall) heel bruising fer sure.
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 27, 2006 - 01:26pm PT
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Tar, I wanted to comment that the shot of Mari is really good, what a great person and on such a great section of rock too.
Eb’s were great shoes. I traded a car I had in Briton for two pair just before I left.
This photo is my tribute to EB’s today. A still life taken in France showing the days required gear. The boots, silk scarf, light rack of nuts, 9MM, and the ice ax for who knows what?
You guys are skeptics on the no hands ascent of surprise? My slides are a mess so I am still looking. But I have no fear of failure because I saw it recently. Anyway it’s just a distance shot and I thought the other was better.
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 27, 2006 - 01:44pm PT
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Klimmer said, "EBs...$40 bucks...it's [sic] value on the Antique Road Show..."
But to get the highest valuation, it would be best to have the original packaging. ...got the white plastic bag with the cotton drawstring, that those boots came in? Plus, make sure you collect some provenance.
Did anyone notice the sweat "leaking" through the stitching on the left boot of the left-most climber in the (Off White) photo above? Remember the rubberized canvas of which EBs were made? Phew! With or without socks, it didn't matter.
Klimmer also said, "Mt. Rubidoux has been undergoing renovation...large chains are also fixed nice...were you guys into slack chaining in the early '70s at Rubidoux?"
Well, yeah... A few of us noticed, recently, that the candlesticks have been replaced. (And, they've now been "graced" with some plastic flowers.)
The slack chains were frequently walked Back in the Day. But, even more on the "circuit" though was the steel pipe used as a car-retainer that runs from the Bat Crack boulder, due South. Walking back-and-forth on that was a regular warmup. Usually done in EBs (or PAs), one of the usual tricks was a one-footed 180° or, better, a 360° piroette. Much more inertia than the chain! :o) And verra slippery!
I KNOW that I was walking a slack wire as early as 1972. Graham and I discovered that we could buy plastic-coated 1/4" rigging wire down at the nautical supply shops in Newport Beach, and I had one strung at my house on Balboa Island. (...still have one strung, at my current digs.) I think the slack wire/chain thing hit the Valley that Spring, maybe?
Was also remarked, "Perhaps [John Muir] was the first true Mt. Rubidoux stonemaster? Maybe he cranked off a few boulder problems?
If so, at the Turn of the Century (the one before last), he would have been sixty-two. And we know that no one can boulder after the age of 45! (Right, guys?) Besides, most knowledgable historians agree that he probably didn't do Valhalla...
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 27, 2006 - 02:21pm PT
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Skeptical, Gramicci? Not a chance. I'm long past being skeptical of anything that happened back then. Besides, none of us would ever consider "stretching" the truth, or perhaps spinning the tale a little...
Would we?
No, I can believe it, but I still wanna see it. Maybe it will help me decide just how many arms Ricky really did have.
I agree, great picture of Mari.
Tarbuster: Man, those EBs were painful outside-in, or inside-out, depending on your view. I think KP has a great photo from way back of exactly that at the base of Autopilot. Although unlike the highly organized Gramicci, we have no chance of KP ever finding said picture - much less remembering that he even took it. Too bad.
Speaking of Autopilot - There were more people than just Ricky and John trying to do the initial send. KP, TP, Bobby, and myself were all also trying to do the problem at the same time. We knew there were others working it, so it was pretty motivating. We did it about a week after them. Knew someone had snaked it because the chalk topped out. It was certainly a bit more of a proposition back then. No ropes, no pads, and even worse, if you managed to survive bouncing and ultimately ending up on the road you had to worry about some schmuck running over you in a car.
And the time a crew of us were at the Beach boulder, which is right on the road. Somebody was in the middle of thin moves up high and some knucklehead in a car stops immediately under them to gawk. Fortunately, Largo moved them along. "Hohoho Man, Keep driving... You want somebody coming through the roof of your car?" They drove. Never did figure out if it was because they listened to him, or because they were afraid he would pinch their head if they didn't.
Anybody remember driving up the down road at Rubidoux? For some reason they used to leave the down gate unlocked all the time. So, if the up gate was locked one simply drove up the down. Good fun. About halfway up you could switch back to the up road. Unless the halfway gate was locked. Then you did the entire down road, all the time hoping some idiot like yourself wasn't on his way down. And it was dicy, totally blind corners. And per Robs earlier comments, people got off on driving the road as fast as they could.
After the age of 45, Robs? Careful. Fortunately there are some out there older than me. Shall I name some names?
Yeah, the candlestick(less) seems to have rejuvinated new sticks. Oh well, doesn't really matter Robs, I still absolutely loath those problems.
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 27, 2006 - 02:30pm PT
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In case people are wondering, KP really does have a closet full of brand new pairs of EBs. Still. Wrapped in plastic and all. Seems that when EBs started getting molded they were useless. So KP hunted down 20, maybe 25 pairs of old style EBs and bought them all. Wasn't going to share them either. Then, a few weeks later Fire's hit the scene. KP instantly had a closet full of antiques. And he still has 'em. Hey, KP, got any other "skeletons in the closet"? Serves him right.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Feb 27, 2006 - 04:07pm PT
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TC and crew...
That photo up-thread of Rick The Artist is priceless. He was the only dude out there--in August no less--lurking around without shades. He claimed that they distorted his sense of color! The last time I saw him out there was just after Jerry Garcia died, and he was still too shaken to listen to the Dead. Instead he kept a steady stream of Roky Erikson (13 Floor Elevators) rolling instead.
Other great memories of Rubidoux:
* Watching Largo do the Quarter Pebble Arete one handed, then come down to sign autographs for dudes with REI-fresh copies of his book.
* Seeing Kevin Powel do the KP Arete in the lower lot...in Sportiva approach shoes.
* Having tips so blown that you couldn't undo your laces, let alone open the 100+ degree car door handle. Then it was down the hill to the "Theater of the Absurd" Del Taco. Cars would pull into the drive-thru, but never leave.
Anyhow, below is another great Largo story from an ealier thread, last year, all about the "El Cap of Cucamonga." Read on.
***
Wow, I hardly ever check into this site and it was by pure fluke that I caught that "El Cap of Cucumonga" thread. How the hell did anyone ever hear of that?
You're going back 30 years here (Richard Harrison and I were in high school) but I remember this big electrical tower, perhaps 250 feet high, out by Chaffey College, which is way up in the foothills off Haven Ave. We caught it before the power lines were strung -- which lasted about 2 months -- and climbed it many times. It was dead vertical with rungs about three and a half feet apart, so it was somewhat dicy given the mini dynos between rungs. Also, at about 200 feet, you had to do a long move around a corner onto another flank of the A frame structure, and this always scared the crap out of us because, naturally, we were soloing. That bastard was a gigantic rush, even thought the rungs were totally bomber. It's just with 3D exposure, the big reaches and no rope, you felt really out there.
After the cables were strung and the power went on there was always a high hum about the area and none of us wanted to touch the thing after that.
But for awhile, The El Cap of Cucumonga was quite an attraction.
JL
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 27, 2006 - 07:44pm PT
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So marty(r) said, "That photo up-thread of Rick The Artist is priceless."
Hmmm, as well as Rick The Artist, he was also The Artist Formerly Known As Lycra Rick. ...always wore the stuff along with the kneepads. Fun guy. And the sunglasses deal was true. He went out-of-his-way to eventually give me a 90-minute cassette tape of that Texas (!) psychedelic band, the 13th Floor Elevators. (Still have it somewhere. Rummage, rummage. Yep. Easter Everywhere and Fire Engine, circa 1965.)
Another story: One of the Ski Mart lads wanted to "practice" bigwall hauling techniques. So gear was grabbed, and we adjourned to the parking lot, out back. Climbed up one of the light standards, and the laden haulbag (probably a Karrimore) was winched-up using Forrest pulleys, etc. Of course, we all each had to climb (maybe 50' up), just because... We all agreed that 50' of exposure like that was FAR MORE SERIOUS than anything at the crags. (Three-dimensional exposure, and the gently-swaying pole and all...)
The El Cap of Cucamonga must have been truly gripping!
Say, anyone remember the Korean EB knockoff--those brown piles--that we all called "Gook Boots". Much more awful than the molded Joe Browns that KP was trying to avoid!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 27, 2006 - 07:54pm PT
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Addendum to Gramicci Exhibit "A"
(Rick A- no hand ascent of "Surprise" ,Weeping wall, Suicide)
(We're still waiting on exhibit "R")
foto bullwinkle (sorry dean, but timing is everything, I gotta do this till you get back)
So, this is the weeping wall, for folks who need reference to the steepness.
Surprise is in the blank face, leftish. 'Nice aerial-type shot in general.
Good shots of the Stonemaster Digs would be cool.
Anybody have more?- 'Helps tell the story.
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 27, 2006 - 07:58pm PT
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Wait! I don't see Ricky ANYWHERE in that photo! :o) (However, I don't doubt Accomazzo's ascent, 'cause I think I was there.) Nice pic, though...
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 27, 2006 - 10:02pm PT
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Sewellymon: I think you're correct with the timing of the release of Fire's to the general public. Your dates sound pretty much right on. I had one last new pair of EBs, and I was just finishing them off when I got my first Fire's. I was really gripped about what I was going to do for shoes. And if you think KP was going to help a buddy out, you're stark raving mad. After all, that would have reduced his stash to a mere 24 pairs! So it would actually have taken about the amount of time you speak of, not just weeks.
I had completely, and for good reason, forgotten about the Korean EBs. Now I have to try and forget about them again. Thanks a lot, Robs.
Tarbuster: Got any similar pics of the Sunshine or the South Face of Suicide?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Feb 27, 2006 - 10:13pm PT
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Darrel,
Pics of other faces. 'Nothing in my stash as good as that shot Dean gave to me. Any of us could scan something from a guide book, but that maybe has less character?
Dean shot the rock so well.
Think about that and get back to me.
All my "real" Idyllwild G books are long gone.
Meanwhile, I have a Harlin West Coast thing I can look at...
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 27, 2006 - 10:51pm PT
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No interest in guidebook pics. Same old, same old. But that weeping wall pic by Dean is good.
I have an old Idyllwild guidebook, but I seem to have lost the one I originally bought in 72 quite some time ago. The one with all the old aid ratings in it. Too bad.
I remember Tobin's guidebook being auctioned in JT in the early 90's (perhaps at the same AAC event the picture in thread one was taken at). With his notes and ratings in it. Man, I wanted that thing. In spite of Ricky's and KP's prodings I finally gave up as it went over $400. Hey, it wasn't their money... I don't remember exactly who it went to. I think some lady. We couldn't figure out why she would be so interested in it or Tobin. Who knows. But it sure felt like a crime letting it get away like that. Then again, the money did go to a good cause. But I wish we could see it again.
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Dimes
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Feb 27, 2006 - 11:27pm PT
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I got the EB's. They are real cool to look at but, took a pair out a few years ago and tried em' on. Bunk fit and was scared just walking across the floor! Anyone wants em' I'll sell em' cheap!! Got some pics I found recently and am getting ready to scan for the world to see. Get ready Chicken McNuggets!!!!
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Feb 27, 2006 - 11:47pm PT
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off white has a pic of suicide that he took from tahquitz with a telephoto in 1977. it shows the whole f*#king crag, and you can count like 22 or 23 climbers on various routes going from the smooth sole wall all the way over to the vicinity of hair lip.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 28, 2006 - 12:55am PT
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yeah, I was thinking of that pic. I've got a good print I can scan, I'll try and do that tomorrow.
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 28, 2006 - 01:02am PT
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So far 588 posts to the the John Long epic "StoneMaster Stories"
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Feb 28, 2006 - 01:04am PT
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enough for a book, movie and sequel
Peace
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Feb 28, 2006 - 01:11am PT
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"I KNOW that I was walking a slack wire as early as 1972. Graham and I discovered that we could buy plastic-coated 1/4" rigging wire down at the nautical supply shops in Newport Beach, and I had one strung at my house on Balboa Island. (...still have one strung, at my current digs.) I think the slack wire/chain thing hit the Valley that Spring, maybe?"
That would beat us in SoIll by 3 years. We were doing it on cranked down 11mm and webbing.
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Feb 28, 2006 - 01:24am PT
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RM-
You said . . .
"But to get the highest valuation, it would be best to have the original packaging. ...got the white plastic bag with the cotton drawstring, that those boots came in? Plus, make sure you collect some provenance."
Actually, after all the EB talk I think they are the molded EB (uh-oh). I’m keeping them anyway. Never intended to sell them. I’m pretty sure they are in the original bag. It has been some time since I’ve seen them, buried deep in the garage in a box somewhere. “Hey babe, have you seen my old climbing equipment box? You didn’t sell it in the garage sale did you? . . . You did what !!??”
You replied . . .
"The slack chains were frequently walked Back in the Day. But, even more on the 'circuit' though was the steel pipe used as a car-retainer that runs from the Bat Crack boulder, due South. Walking back-and-forth on that was a regular warmup. Usually done in EBs (or PAs), one of the usual tricks was a one-footed 180° or, better, a 360° piroette. Much more inertia than the chain! :o) And verra slippery!"
Very cool. Great history. I’ll have to try the steel pipe sometime soon. I still think that the heavy chains at the top are very challenging. Low mass chain, wire, webbing, little inertia - easy to walk. A fixed, somewhat in place steel pole, I would think is similar to walking a steel chain-link fence pole on top – not so bad. That high mass chain however, gives and swings more than a pole and has a mind of it’s own and yet because of it’s high mass (inertia) you can’t get it to move fast enough to recover, and there we go pitched into the void. Great fun though.
the "circuit" . . .
If you are inclined to write-up the classic or most often done Stonemaster circuit for Mt. Rubidoux plus any other games involved (slack chaining what-have-you) that would be awesome. It would work toward the primary purpose of ST, and I’m sure many would want to know besides myself. It would be great to work on it, experience it.
". . . he [John Muir] would have been sixty-two. And we know that no one can boulder after the age of 45! (Right, guys?)"
Great I’ve got just 2 years left (LOL).
Hey, I met Galen Rowell bouldering in Happy Boulders early in the a.m. in August a year before he left this earth way too soon. He was 61 then. He was pulling down 10s and 11s easily. And he ran all the way up the trail with a bouldering pad on his back. Man he was a fire plug. Broccoli, climbing and running were some of his secrets to youth.
A few summers ago my family was in Ouray, CO, and while soaking in the giant hot spring pools we watched Jim Donini putting up new sport climbs on the crags above. I didn’t find that out until later though when I went to the mountain shop and inquired about the rock climbing guidebook to Ouray. “There isn’t any. That was Jim Donini putting up new routes with a few friends.” Now how old is Jim these days (60 something)?
A close friend of mine Jerry Mahoney is 79 and he just flew 77 miles from Horseshoe Meadows to Round Valley NW of Bishop in his Hang Glider, 2 years ago. He said he had to at least fly his age. Flying Owens in the Spring and Summer is active, exciting air, and can be exhausting.
And of course there’s Becky . . .
And yet another inspiration Jack Lalanne . . .
http://www.jacklalanne.com/
Hey, I say NGU. These guys are all very inspirational. I hope I can maintain similar fitness when I’m their age. I sure have enjoyed all your stories. Keep them coming please.
To the Stonemasters --- NGU.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 28, 2006 - 01:28am PT
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Okay, here's a medium sized pic of Suicide circa 1977. Let me know if I need to downsize it further for folks here. It's not the whole print, I can't really scan an 11x17 on my scanner, but it's the main dish. If you want to see a large size version so you can play count the people, go here: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/1970suicide_large.jpg
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 28, 2006 - 02:46am PT
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I always wondered about the tree on log ledge. That would have been something to see fall!
The lines are real distinct or at least the features. Sundance dihedral, drain pipe. The bulge/headwall on Caliente. GoGo ledge, pirate, Sampson, Delia, David. The hook at the lip of piasano. The little grove in Serpentine. The last pitch of surprise just above that other picture you’re looking for. Let alone the all the south face.
Nice shot!
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 28, 2006 - 03:46am PT
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Indeed! Great shot. Makes me feel like I'm at home. Starts way left, just shy of the Great Pretender and goes all the way right to Hair Lip. Even has the My Obsession boulder below the Smooth Sole walls. Very cool.
Gramicci: Dude, I'm growing old here while I wait for exhibit "R"...
The Log Ledge tree. I've seen two climbers fall from the traverse on the second of Sundance, get dropped (pre device) and land on that tree. And they both left under their own power, although I believe one of them broke an ankle or something. Amazing that at a minimum they didn't get skewered by the branches. Ricky, I think I recall you being in the vicinity when one of the falls occured.
How about the fun sparring that used to occur between the Rubidoux/Woodson boys? A letter was once sent to Epperson that had two grains of sand taped to a piece of paper, and written below them something simple like "These are Rubidoux bivy holds". (bvb?) Oh yeah, and what was the name of that KP tennis shoe problem? 10b On the Outside, or something like that?
Good places, good people.
KP: Touch a sore spot did we? Are you actually threatening me? All I can say is, if you're going to jump in with the piranas you better be a shark.
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 28, 2006 - 10:38am PT
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Stonemaster Stories Part IV (a.k.a., The Planet Beneath the Stonemasters or something like that... [grin])
has turned nasty with all this shoe talk. Now, boys...
And since someone--uptread--mentioned the John Harlin (The Third) guidebook, this image from that book is noteworthy in only two respects, 1) the wearing of Gallenkamp Scats, and 2) the location, Power Pack on Joe Brown.
From The Climber's Guide to North America--West Coast Rock Climbs, John Harlin III ©1984. [ISBN 0-9609452-2-9] (Photo was probably taken in 1983.)
A favorite quote from that book: "In contrast to The Beach and Stoney Point, Rubidoux is clean and a pleasant place to hang out for the day." (Maybe that was because I took him there in the Spring, and he never saw it the other ninty percent of the time!)
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G_Gnome
Gym climber
The Big City
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Feb 28, 2006 - 12:28pm PT
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Dave Hauser wore and actually liked the Chinese Shoe fake EBs. We always assumed that his wife would no longer let him spend $40 for a pair of EBs. 'CS Special' at JT was put up in those things and while most people think it means 'Climbing Shoe Special' we really know if means 'Chink Shoe Special'. Dave quit climbing a long time ago but after about 5 years of retirement Waugh and I got him out to JT for a weekend. He shows up with the same shoes (we even offered him some Fire's to try) and proceeds to walk up Count Dracula out at Belle. I sure wish he still climbed!
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steelmnkey
climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Feb 28, 2006 - 02:01pm PT
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At least the 'CS' don't mean the same thing as the Concerto route on Manure Pile...that's what I would have assumed.
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 28, 2006 - 02:41pm PT
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Oooh. That's a bad mnkey. BAD mnkey!
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Feb 28, 2006 - 08:07pm PT
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I was quoted, in an old interview, about the Stonemaster thing:
Robs: Naw. It was never like that. If you had the moxie, you were a Stonemaster. No dues, no cards, no club. Just a wry poke at the mountaineering clubs of the past...
Then an old buddy of ours, Gunnar Swanson, reminded me by e-mail that there actually were some card-carrying Stonemasters. At the Chart House in Fern Valley, he had jokingly asked how--he too--could become a member. (...probably was as drunk as we were. Or, it might have been Baker in the Forest.):
Gunnar: Hey, you issued ME a card. It has the lightning bolt and "Stonemaster" in ball point pen plus "Where is the bathroom?" in at least a half dozen languages and an airline logo preprinted. It must have been from a deck of cards. Western Airlines (the only way to fly) I believe.
Largo, do you remember what was on the "calling cards" that Gramicci left on the bolts on New Gen? Gramicci?
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Feb 28, 2006 - 08:24pm PT
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henny, that KP problem is called "5.10a on the outside". it's more like V5//B1/woodson 5.11c/whatever. it's pretty hard. and i've got a picture oif you on it, 1987 or so.......with your mutton chops and handlebar stash...heh
my favorite story about that problem (being a soCal flyweight) was how christian griffith zeroed out on it during the 1986 great western bouldering championship...this during the height of the lycra boom when his mug was all over the mags doing 5.13 "sport routes..."
good thing for him that contest wasn't at roubidoux, it coulda got REALLY embarrasing for him....
{even though our hard woodson slabs make those training-wheel jug-hauls at roobeedoo look LIGHT.)
head first in the bushes
slipstream
top secret file
we got it ALL going on, babe!
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Feb 28, 2006 - 09:25pm PT
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I didn’t remember the cards in the bolts until JL mentioned it. What a flash back. They only had our names on them. Sorry, no official cards back then but the chart house thing sounds funny though.
Good idea I’ll make a card tomorrow that says Stonemaster and leave them on surprise when I do the next no hands ascent:-)
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Feb 28, 2006 - 10:46pm PT
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bvb. I stand corrected, though not humbled. There's a problem that Jonny Woodward bagged in the Rubidoux Wild West that KP had been working. To yank KP, Jonny named it 10b on the outside. Seems I got the two mixed up. 10a, 10b, whats the difference?
That is a great story about the 86 contest. There were probably several problems at Woodson that could have done same thing though. What am I saying. There ARE several problems down there that WOULD have done the same thing. 13a sport climber can't do 10a. Wow, dig that.
Dude, is that the best you can do?
head first: nope. slipstream: yeap (d#mn). top secret: don't know.
I won't even bother picking three problems at Rubidoux. Any three will serve the purpose.
I'm not too sure I would go around talking smack if I couldn't ride a bike that had training wheels...
roobeedoo, eh? Hey babe, I'm still ready to go into your house. You still ready to come into mine?
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Feb 28, 2006 - 10:54pm PT
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still got game, babe. did pinkbug last time i was there, winter before last. it'd be a hoot to get the slabaddicts out there one more time before we get old.......maybe kp wil break out his eb stash so we can all relearn how to edge.........
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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OK. The pinkbug will do. Truce for now.
Next time you show at Rubidoux you best be dialing some of us prior to the event. We'd have a guaranteed hoot. (Wouldn't it be cool to swing a day at Woodson also?)
We'll wear Powell's EBs no matter where we go. That way nobody gets an advantage.
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Sound’s like High noon to me!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Grammicci,
no lie, these guys play ruff!
I'm clearin' outa this thread!!
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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Gramicci said: ...leave them on surprise when I do the next no hands ascent:-)
You mean that Surprise has been DONE no hands? Really??
Come on, Mike. Deliver up Exhibit "R"! We're still waiting... [grin]
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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I'm beginning to wonder if exhibit "R" really exists...
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Gramicci
Social climber
Ventura
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Me too, i can't find it! YET
I don’t think I was hallucinating, although this thread has been quite a flash back
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Helen
Boulder climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Hi, Werner,
Greg MacGillivray (Wild California) gave us your name.
We are preparing a feature film that may require your expert climbing/rigging skills. Unfortunately, Greg's office didn't have contact information for you so we've just been searching...
Please contact us at (310) 453-9277.
Thank you!
Helen
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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So... Off White. The photo, upstream, with the three lads showing-off their EBs...
There's a conjecture among us that the legs on the right are those of CJ's. (Clark Jacobs.)
Can you confirm or deny? BTW, there are HUGE amounts of money riding on these bets, so make sure your answer is the correct one!
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Ed Bannister
Mountain climber
Victorville, CA
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Werner, Helen's inquiry sound legit. MacGillivary Freeman films was very fair and safety concious for Hoover, Yaniro, Maurer, and even paid me on time in production of "To The Limit.".. they even seemed to forgive mike for dropping an IMAX camera 1800 feet! : )
Ed
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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re: the three eb-shod feet:
left: bvb
center: off white
right: neil kunomi
location: belay ledge atop the last pitch of the mouth.
no clark, i'm afraid.
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Ouch!
climber
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Hey Werner! If you get a contract for that film, make sure #46 gets some no speaking parts too. :-))
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Depends, it could be Clark. What's my cut?
Neal Konami, Fullerton lad, he spent a little time at Rubidoux round about the time Largo and Ms. Hill were an item. Fact is, Neal always referred to her as Lynnie, struck me as a tad overly familiar. Seems to me I recall being at JT with Neal and rest of the pack, and he got all worked up when some guy whipped off EBGB's and Lynn took over to bat clean up.
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Robs: Since it's not Clark, did you win or lose money?
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rmuir
Social climber
Claremont, CA
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..lost the bet, but kept the money. (But, damn, don't they look like CJ's pins?)
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Hey could somebody please bust a move on Gramicci?
This is getting really annoying, man.
'Talkin exhibit R here.
I Mean, 'almost got into it with Robs, upthread "addendum to exhibit A" with my foto interjection.
'was light, backed down.
Screw it; I'm goin' down to Ricky's office in an hour or so and drag it out of him, confession, foto, wut ever.
I can do that and I will.
'Live just up the hill from him.
'Don't really know you Ricky, but I've seen you 'round town, at those climbing gym weenie places.
yours,
under the valley of the stonemasters.
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G_Gnome
Gym climber
The Big City
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Offwhite, lots of people called her Lynnie. Heck, I still do. And you should have seen her whip off EBGB's. When she got back on and finished we all knew she was for real. She must have been about 16 then.
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Yes, a lot people called her Lynnie.
Tim Powell and I did what we thought was the second ascent of Tresspassers Will be Violated in JT way back when. We were in the HV campgound later in the day and mentioned it to a couple of people. They told us that some girl had done it just a week prior to us. We both said, nope, don't think a girl could have done it (remember the time frame). Come to find out it was Lynn. And of course, she had done it. Ouch.
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de eee
Mountain climber
Tustin
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For the record. The "cheater stick" I used on Flying Circus was two normal etriers long, about 12 feet. Also Margy Floyd (Evans) was with us on "The Edge." Thank god we had Hensel along as we were all too gripped to lead the critical pitch, even after following it and finding the moves were semi-reasonable, I never went back.
Henny, I remember we shared the goal of doing all the routes at Tahquitz and Suicide and we had many fun times doing the most obscure of the obscure. I never quite did them all but I bet you did! Then Bobby Gaines came along and those ("climbed out")crags gave up a surprising number of new lines!
By the way, I think Ericcson has been off bagging 8000 meter peaks with the good Dr. Fred Zeal!
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Fred Zeal...now there's a name outa the past, haven't seen Fred since early eighties or sometime, anyone know what he's up to? Peace
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rmuir
Social climber
the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Now, a story that hasn't been told is of the Stonemaster's low-budget bouldering haunt...
As teenagers, the Uplandish Lads (Harrison, Long, Accomazzo, et al.) couldn't easily afford to drive all the way out to Rubidoux. So in their quest for more local rock, forays into Baldy Canyon were made... Now, if you haven't been into the San Gabriel mountains below Mt. Baldy, you may not know just how SHATTERED is all that granite. We're talking giant sandpiles here. Gneiss. Too few decent-sized rocks.
I was out in Riverside, and Phil Gleason had just moved Westward to Claremont to give up the life of retail sales and go back to school to study (of all things) mathematics at one of the Claremont Colleges. This was probably in 1972.
During a Rubidoux session, Gleason tells us of this new bouldering area he found out about that was 15 minutes from his house--down in the streambed, up Baldy Canyon. Seems there were a few problems worth checking out...
So, check it out we did. Drove over to Phil's house, and then got the full tour of this very smooth, water polished area. Certainly no Rubidoux, but a few good problems! And, of course, Phil probably found out about this from Largo or Richard...
We used to work that area VERY heavily throughout the Seventies and Eighties. Indeed, Baldy Bouldering remains a fairly well-kept secret. No write-ups in the guides, no articles in the mags. Over the years, it gets rediscovered by the next crop of locals. And as Richard and I can attest, it sometimes gets rediscovered by the Old Dads! Quite a few times, we'd worked out so new eliminate only to discover that, naw, that's an old problem that Goodykuntz did back in '73.
Great doings up there. The Gibo Mantle, "Sole on Ice", The Cuco Boulder, "Fool on the Hill", "Hustle Patterns". The backside of B Boulder. Now there's a story!
Every once in a while, someone would drag a non-local up Baldy Canyon... Now Graham was doing some pretty hairballed, highballs up in the Valley in the mid-Seventies. (What Mike, like "Shiver Me Timbers" maybe?) So he goes up to Baldy and cranks off the backside, rightside of B Boulder! (B Bolder.) Solo. Without a rope, of course. On sight. Damn!
Stuff of legend. Go crank that sucker! Dicey, thin, horrific landing. Even in new boots, that thing is way-stupid!
Lads... Let's hear about how Baldy was discovered.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Report from Boulder:
'K. I ponied up, marched into what I thought was Rockamazzo's office started blurting out, Solo, Surprise, Weeping Wall, Exhibit R, etc.
'Guy wasn't hearing any of it.
'Did a no hands ascent of my nose in his wing tips, polished my thumb, deposited my sadass curbside.
Henny, et al- please advise
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rmuir
Social climber
the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Sounds like it'll be billable hours, too. Pay that invoice promptly, or expect a visit from Guido! (Don't mess with land sharks...)
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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hahahha
So true too.
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scuffy b
climber
S Cruz
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What happened to Big Robb Dellinger (RIP)?
Also, was there much overlap with the Buff climbers,
aside from Big Al?
sm
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Oh, sure, you were so poor your couldn't drive to Rubidoux. Well let me tell you, you had it good. We were so poor we couldn't leave Pacific Beach. At least you had rock, we had to climb concrete. Why, we were so poor that when we were done we had to go back home to our cardboard box in the middle of the street and drink rat poison just so it wouldn't hurt so much when our dads came home and killed us again.
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rmuir
Social climber
the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Off White said, "Why, we were so poor that..."
Yeah, yeah... Heard it before. Uphill in the snow, both ways! :o)
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de eee
Mountain climber
Tustin
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Robb Dellinger was killed in a car accident along 395 in the late 80's (?). There were rumours that it wasn't an accident, but I really don't know anything about that.
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2006 - 02:25pm PT
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READ THE SECOND POST ABOVE BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING MORE HERE
"In the small print that means; "read the gdmn mofken instructions"
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indolegaines
Social climber
goddamn, nj
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This is a fairly amazing historical thread...enjoyed it.
To Largo: Pre- StoneMaster Pat Callis is alive and well in Bozeman...publishing & climbing better than ever. There's a photo of him from his Suicide Rock days in his home office...swami belt, crummy shoes, and grace under pressure. I'm sure he'd be happy to talk with you about some of the early days of Suicide.
Cheers,
James "5.3" Vivian
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Mar 16, 2013 - 01:13am PT
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bump
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