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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 12, 2011 - 07:06pm PT
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Does anyone climb on the buildings at Stanford anymore?
I have many fond memories of climbing there in the 80's, doing long
traverses, swinging over the doors, and doing hairy highballs
where we marked our passage by a chalky handprint on the fascia.
Hard to imagine a more beautiful spot for buildering..
Jim Collins, Coz, Bruce Morris, Elliott and many others spent a lot of
time there...
But I just visited Stanford the other day and stopped by the old
haunts. There was very little chalk? Is it prohibited now?
Or just out of fashion now that there are so many nice gyms nearby?
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Aug 12, 2011 - 07:15pm PT
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Wayne, it's been prohibited in a lot of the areas, like the Quad and the two buildings that flank the Church, for a long time (20 years?). For a while after the general ban, there were two locations that were still "legal", the traverse on what we called "the art building" and another place, I've forgotten now. Bruce M and Clint will have more info. I never go there anymore since the gyms were built.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Aug 12, 2011 - 07:34pm PT
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Wayne, here's a nostalgic photos for you!
If you are still in town, do you want to join me and Michael at the gym tomorrow? We'll be at PGSF at 10 AM...
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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 12, 2011 - 07:43pm PT
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Thanks Phyl. I'm back in NY now.
Great photo! You look very strong...
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Aug 12, 2011 - 07:44pm PT
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freedom of the quad!
nice, tx
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Aug 12, 2011 - 07:56pm PT
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Great shot, Phyl! Building 90 (Philosophy)?
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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 12, 2011 - 08:02pm PT
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Murcy mentions that it is sandstone...
Any idea of the origin of the stone?
Haven't seen anything like it in Cali...
And then of course, all those classic concrete
problems as well. I remember going up and down
those cracks and liebacks on Business and Engineering
buildings trying to get ready for
Valley routes.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Aug 12, 2011 - 10:25pm PT
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Murcy, I don't know the name of the building. I'm pretty sure it's the first wall on the left as you enter the quad from Palm drive. Notice all the chalk in the photo? That is one of the reasons the admin finally banned the practice.
Wayne, We live right up the hill from SFO. You can bivy here anytime.
Phyl
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Aug 12, 2011 - 10:29pm PT
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Hoover Tower Direct
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Aug 13, 2011 - 12:16am PT
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We must have had the golden age of Stanford Buildering when I was there in the early 1980's. There were no restrictions on buildering, though we all agreed not to chalk the church. Funny to see that it was verboten in the 60's. Now I have heard that there is no buildering allowed--is that true?
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Aug 13, 2011 - 12:33am PT
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Even in the mid-90s we didn't use chalk (and removed chalk marks). Got booted once at night by a newer security guard, but the older ones didn't care, although one wanted to see student ID at least once. I buildered there a couple months ago with no issues (midday on a weekend), but it could be forbidden now I suppose. Never used chalk, you don't need it on that sandstone (maybe on the art building in really hot weather or for some enduro crimping if your fingers get sweaty).
In the mid-90s they did chase us off the old chem building since it was condemned after the '89 quake...
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Gagner
climber
Boulder
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Aug 13, 2011 - 12:35am PT
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Hey Wayne, and Deuce - Those were fun times, and there were some hard problems, and high balls BITD. I have a lot of fond memories, and quite a few photos somewhere on the Stanford walls. I think the trend of slapping chalked hand prints on the beams at the top of the highballs to signify an ascent probably didn't help ....
WOO HOO!!
Paul
PS How are you doing Wayne - it has been a few years!!
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Aug 13, 2011 - 12:46am PT
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As I commuted back and forth to Fujitsu in Campbell from Belmont around 1998-2001, I used to stop off at Stanford on the way back & do a mini-bouldering circuit there. I went to the old areas away from the Quad and found I could boulder there undisturbed. No one even looked at me cross-eyed. I think if you don't shove it in the faces of Stanford administration, you can probably walk around the outer perimeter of the campus and do a lot of problems without danger of being chased off. Just my general impression, but things did seem cooler there than they were earlier in the late 80s. No gym on earth is as good as Stanford sandstone for getting your fingers strong for micro-edging on granite. Swear by the place!
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 13, 2011 - 01:39am PT
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Bruce, I can remember a few sessions with you at Stanford. You were the one that showed me those stair problems that weren't sandstone. That shite was way pumpy. My left pinky is still stronger than ever. That dude that free climbed the regular route on Half dome used to go there a lot. He sure thought he was hot sh#t. I guess he was.
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Sheik aka JD
Trad climber
Los Angeles
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Aug 13, 2011 - 02:44am PT
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Wow. I just took a break from Craig's List surfing; moving to Stanford in September looking for a place to live...
...and I head to SuperTaco to find a Stanford buildering thread. Brilliant!
Can anyone please respond with preferred Stanford buildering circuits, security guard beta, or links with info?
Thanks much.
JD
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Aug 13, 2011 - 02:58am PT
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In the past, the legality varied in cycles - some administrator would notice the climbers, call the police, it would be enforced for awhile and the climbers would disappear. Some months or a year or two later, the police would have forgotten and the climbers would return. Brian bouldered there for decades until his recent injury.
It was always best done "low profile" (evenings or weekends, don't climb past windows w/ people in office, no chalk).
It was a good place to meet, check out, hang out with climbers before the days of gyms and the internet. And it was even lit at night and protected from the occasional rain. I met some good partners there, including John Lockhart and Phyl. And got to soak up some wisdom from the local experienced guys like Charlie Schreck.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Aug 13, 2011 - 03:10am PT
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yea, there were also some good problems on the concrete, too. Jim Collins of course had a circuit which I think was once published in a climbing mag--he linked many of his cutting edge climbs in Eldo with specific problems on Stanford campus (though he wasn't very friendly when I was there, I recall approaching him with a few friends on occasion, and he generally would just run off quickly).
I recall some wild roof problems over by the Science buildings...
Now that I think about it, I do recall some murmurings about the chalk we used back then, but I also recall campus security walking by as we bouldered never saying a word.
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Aug 13, 2011 - 01:20pm PT
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Yes, Coz, I remember Elliott doing a high-ball problem on the N. side of the Quad he called "Mr Popper" that was the evilest, nastiest ground-fall thing I ever saw done on rock, artificial or real. I think the high point hand print has never disappeared at the top. Double-compound fracture with life-threatening head injuries? The possibility was there! Cement landings with or without a crash pad are way serious.
Remember the problem up the outside that we TRed up the outside of the Math Tower? That was incredible too!
Or did you do "Mr Popper"? The memories begin to fade . . .
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