Hardest Woodson Offwidths

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Grug

Trad climber
Golden, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 8, 2006 - 02:17pm PT
Hey, thanks ground_up. It seems to me that someone else from this era, my friend and fellow Poway Mountain Boy, Tom Gibson, rarely sees any press or credit. Whenever I have read anything about Woodson, he is never mentioned. Tom was and is still a great climber (he actually lives here, near Boulder).

In the second (or third) Woodson contest, Tom and I actually tied for first, but we flipped a coin and I got the rope.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Mar 8, 2006 - 03:27pm PT
greg, trust me, the poway mountain boys were and continue to be the stuff of legend. you, tom, george, piggot, et. al. are quite possibly the most talented yet unsung bouldering heros in the u.s.

yeah, sherman really missed the boat in "stone crusade" when he failed to tell the story of the poway mt. boys. but then, you guys kept the lowest profile of any a-list climbers i've ever met.

i mean, look at piggot. free solos the fourth or fifth ascent of lie detector in '84 or '85, and never says a word about it to anybody. and when you free-soloed the arrow chimmney, all i can recall is a one-liner buried in the fine print of mt. magazine, like, six months later. what? no teams of photographers in tow??? jesus man, you'll NEVER get sponsored with that kind of attitude! ;-}
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Mar 8, 2006 - 08:50pm PT
"Oh yeah, no ones mentioned Right Longs Crack, right up there with 13, Greg's and, Mother Superior, and probabally requires more technique then the others."

Jezzz, I totally forgot about those cracks. That was sketchy at the time because we didn't have a rope and had to climb up and down the righ one a few times before mounting the sac to do it. But I don't believe that crack is anywhere near as hard as the other stuff that RP and other locals did there.

JL
mtwoodsonguide

Big Wall climber
San Diego
Mar 8, 2006 - 09:18pm PT
a come-along was used to pull a big flake out of the bottom of right longs in the 80's, making it 11+ and as hard those others.
Starts with a hand stack, go inverted, walk the feet up about 5 feet, and turn back around. way physical way technical.
bones

Trad climber
San Diego
Mar 9, 2006 - 05:55pm PT
So I gave Mother Superior a shot yesterday and found out that my knee doesn't fit in the whole upper half of the offwidth section. I tried each knee several times in several places (after eventually stemming off the behind boulder)and it just won't go. Has anyone here climbed it without using leavitation that could offer up some advice? I'm going to assume that it's substantially harder to climb it this way. I did manage to flash the top section though (right side on TR).
Grug

Trad climber
Golden, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2006 - 06:48pm PT
Right side in - armbars and maybe the occasional chicken-wing. It's quite hard this way.
Klimmer

Mountain climber
San Diego
Mar 9, 2006 - 07:40pm PT
bvb --

Hope you don't mind, I can't resist posting your cartoon from Cs & Bs of SD Co. (Editor - Doug White). Absolutely hilarious, and evidently ahead of it's time. Art by bvb, and a bit of the end of the essay "Climbing Ethics: Travesty of a Farce" by Frank Noble . . .

So, what does ". . . hanging 4 by five . . ." mean anyway???
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Mar 9, 2006 - 07:42pm PT
Hey, where is Frank Noble these days. He was a pull up machine in his day, and a great kid.

JL
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Mar 9, 2006 - 07:53pm PT
JL....law degree, then he disappeared from sight. miss the guy. wish he'd resurface....
Off White

climber
Tenino, WA
Mar 9, 2006 - 07:55pm PT
Frank got swallowed by the legal profession. Someone ran into him a decade ago or so and he didn't seem all that eager to link his past to his current situation, more's the pity. He worked hard to cultivate a very Largoesque Hhhhooohh Maaan. He was unhappy with the amount of editing I did on his essay in that guide, it was something like 12 pages single spaced and a tough row to hoe. Here's Frank at Boomer Beach on some formation that no doubt no longer exists.

bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Mar 9, 2006 - 07:59pm PT
that "someone" was me, and it was 1985. he was hiking to hot rocks with some people...well, let's just say the girls obviously did not climb and they were slavered in makeup. he tried to pretend he hardly knew us. like you say, more's the pity. i celebrate my depraved past. i don't run from it.
John Vawter

Social climber
San Diego
Mar 9, 2006 - 08:32pm PT
Whadya mean past?

Frank has an office Downtown, on Beech Street, a few blocks from mine.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Mar 9, 2006 - 08:35pm PT
no sh#t? so is he still climbing or what? good to hear he's still in san diego.
Off White

climber
Tenino, WA
Mar 9, 2006 - 08:42pm PT
Double no sh#t? Is he still climbing? Heh, you gotta love the small world. Say hey for me, okay?
John Vawter

Social climber
San Diego
Mar 9, 2006 - 08:46pm PT
I don't think Frank is climbing. If you want to give him a call, email me and I'll pass along his office number. No email listed in atty directory.
Klimmer

Mountain climber
San Diego
Mar 9, 2006 - 09:57pm PT
Ok, so we have heard a little on their whereabouts and have tabs on the following SD climbers: Werner L., Doug W., bvb, Galen K., Greg C., Frank N., Rick P., Tom G., the Linders, who else should be mentioned? How about Keith Brueckner? When was the last someone saw Keith? The last time I saw Keith was in JT about 1990? top-rope solo belaying with ascenders, one climb after the next, right down the line. He was getting in more climbing than I was that day with friends. Sometimes it is nice just to go it alone for the day.

Now I know I've asked this before (another thread), but since no response, I'll try to ask it again here. What is Mike Paul doing these days? When was the last someone saw Mike? Next to Rick P., and Keith B., Mike P. was the one I would most often bump into up at Woodson in the mid to late 70s. I knew Mike when he had long hair. Even gave him a belay now and then. As a result, I always think of him with long hair even though I have seen countless images of Mike with short hair afterwards. He is one gifted, smooth, very powerful climber. He solo floated so many desperate test-pieces at Woodson while I watched in awe. He was a true inspiration for me. Damn he could even float them while high. Perhaps it was a performance drug after all?

I would really like to know if anyone knows.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Mar 9, 2006 - 10:27pm PT
married, house in josh, living the dream.
Klimmer

Mountain climber
San Diego
Mar 9, 2006 - 10:51pm PT
bvb--

Thanks. It's nice to know. I'll assume he still pulls down hard and is still into playing music? Safe to assume?

How about Keith? I would like to think he is still going strong, but age eventually catches up to everyone. Does anyone know?
Grug

Trad climber
Golden, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 10, 2006 - 11:33am PT
I feel like I must mention a couple of the original poway mountain boys, Dave Goeddel and Bruce Adams. They, along with Piggot, were climbing 5.10 as early as 1970/1971 in RRs. Others in that group: Denny Adams (Bruce’s older brother), Kinley Adams (my first climbing partner), Colin Piggot (Rick’s younger brother, who had lots of natural talent, but decided to quit climbing and do motocross instead), Jim Cameron (my older brother, who was better than me in every sport except climbing), and “Big Duke” Dan Heiser.

Bouldering at Woodson in preparation for the real deal at Tahquitz/Suicide is what we lived for. By 1972, most of the group had cracked the 5.10 level. Those were the days of pitons and RRs and lot’s of good time adventuring…
Klimmer

Mountain climber
San Diego
Mar 10, 2006 - 12:10pm PT
Grug--

Good stuff. Finally we are getting some San Diego history on the Poway Mtn. Boys. I'm glad you can do it.

Sounds like just about all the Stonemasters made it down to San Diego to climb Woodson, Santee and perhaps other locals at some time or another, according to SM V thread. This is all really very interesting. It really is important to know. And like bvb said, the Poway Mtn. Boys need their due -- that chapter was left out of Stone Crusade sadly. You guys were way ahead in so many ways. Sounds like there are a lot of stories to tell from that early period.

Greg, you wouldn't know who the local Woodson sandbaggers were that got in turn bagged by Royal Robbins when he did the 1st free ascent of "Robbins" hand crack would you?
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