Bonnie Prudden - RIP

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 57 of total 57 in this topic
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 14, 2011 - 07:38pm PT
I just found a post on my Facebook that said she passed away on December 11th, at the age of 97.
Fritz

Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
Dec 14, 2011 - 07:51pm PT
Since her name "barely rang a bell" I did a search.

Quite a climber, and a great roll-model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Prudden


Bonnie Prudden (Born January 29, 1914-December 11, 2011) was a leading American rock climber in the 1940s and 1950s, with 30 documented first ascents to her credit in New York's Shawangunks mountains. Along with Hans Kraus, she was a pioneering advocate of physical fitness and later developed a form of trigger point therapy called Myotherapy.

Prudden was a tomboy as a child. Her father had lost the family money in the Great Depression. Her mother was an alcoholic, prone to going on weekend-long binges. Growing up, her escape was in physical adventure. She was a natural climber, and delighted in climbing trees, walls, houses. A favorite escapade was escaping the house by climbing out of her second story bedroom window and traversing a six inch ledge. The nuns at her parochial school disapproved of Prudden's activities, believing strenuous physical exercise and muscles to be inappropriate for a young lady.

Prudden was a professional dancer starting at age 10 (including a stint as a concert dancer on Broadway), as well as a gymnast, a competitive swimmer, diver, and horseback rider.

She married Dick Hirschland, a mountaineer, in 1935. Their honeymoon ascent of the Matterhorn in Switzerland was her first introduction to climbing. She first climbed in the Gunks in 1936 with her husband along with Fritz Wiessner and Hans Kraus. In the winter of 1937, however, she badly fractured her pelvis in a skiing accident, which was followed by three months in traction and a doctors' prediction: "You will always limp; no more skiing, climbing, dancing. And no children." Seven years and two children later, Prudden returned to the Gunks, partnering with good friend Hans Kraus.

In 1952, the pair were attempting a new climbing route on the cliff known as The Trapps. After attempting the crux overhang, Kraus backed off, handing the lead to Prudden. She was able to find a piton placement that had eluded Hans at the crux, and went on to claim the first ascent of "Bonnie's Roof". Since then, she has stated that she and Kraus always climbed as equal partners, always swapping leads. Bonnie Prudden would stop climbing in 1959 in the wake of her breakup with Hans Kraus.

Prudden began giving daily afternoon "conditioning" exercise classes for her two daughters and their friends in 1945 when she first realized how little physical activity the public schools were providing. Along with Kraus, she launched the first of many campaigns to improve the public’s awareness about good health.

Using a test devised by Drs. Hans Kraus and Sonja Weber of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Bonnie began testing children in Europe, Central America and the United States. The Kraus-Weber test involved six simple movements and took 90 seconds to administer. In Italy, Austria and Switzerland, the children tested exhibited an 8 percent failure rate. In Guatemala, the failure rate rose to 21 percent. But it was in the United States, the richest country in the world, the failure rate was 58 percent.

Bonnie personally carried her test results to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, D.C. Prudden’s report was not only responsible for the President’s Council on Youth Fitness (now the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, it also was the beginning of a radical change in American attitudes toward physical fitness.

Prudden has written 19 books on physical fitness, recorded six exercise albums, hosted the first regular exercise spots on national television, had a syndicated television show, and set up many exercise and fitness programs in schools, hospitals, camps, factories, prisons, mental institutions and social clubs.

In 1992, she moved to Tucson Arizona, where she currently resides and runs the Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy Institute.
Gene

climber
Dec 14, 2011 - 07:55pm PT
Is Bonnie Prudden the 'namesake' of the Gunks' route Boston?

RIP.

g


EDIT: I'll let someone who knows more tell about how 'Boston' got its name.
treeman

climber
mule city
Dec 14, 2011 - 07:57pm PT
^^^ bonnie's roof
MH2

climber
Dec 14, 2011 - 08:00pm PT
^^^ And Boston


Quite a person
divad

Trad climber
wmass
Dec 14, 2011 - 08:02pm PT
she sorta put Boston on the map...
BurnRockBurn

climber
South of Black Rock City (CC,NV)
Dec 14, 2011 - 08:13pm PT
quite the resume. One person can make on hell of a difference

Shawn
reddirt

climber
PNW
Dec 14, 2011 - 08:22pm PT

http://www.bonnieprudden.com/
BONNIE PRUDDEN
1914 - 2011

Bonnie Prudden, fitness pioneer and founder of Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, passed away at her home in Tucson on December 11, 2011. She was 97. “You can’t turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again,” she told her students and patients, and that is how she lived her life. She was born on January 29, 1914, in New York City.

When she was three years old, the curious and energetic Bonnie would climb out of her bedroom window and wander the neighborhood at night. A wise doctor gave her frantic mother some advice. “There is nothing the matter with this child that discipline and exhaustion won’t cure. Put her in the Russian Ballet School.” It worked, and by the time she was 10, Bonnie was a professional dancer and eventually performed on Broadway with the Weidman/Humphrey concert dancers. Bonnie equated exercising to music with happiness, and said, "body movement has a language all its own."

She became an avid rock climber, skier and fitness enthusiast. At age 23 she fractured her pelvis in four places during a skiing accident but wouldn’t take no for an answer when told she would never be able to climb or ski again and could never have children. Bonnie had two children and in 1943 was the first woman awarded the National Ski Patrol Badge. She has 30 first ascents to her credit in the “Gunks.” “Bonnie holds a place in the climbing history of the Shawangunks that has yet to be superseded by any other woman. Bonnie was a luminary in the climbing scene for more than a decade” said Laura Waterman, author of Rocks and Roses, a book about women climbers.

After watching her daughter’s dismal gym class in the 1940's, Bonnie decided to use her background in dance and athletics to give neighborhood children “conditioning” classes. As the classes grew she used the Kraus-Weber test for minimum muscular fitness to chart student progress and noticed that new students failed the test and returning students passed. Bonnie and Dr. Hans Kraus, Kennedy’s White House doctor, worked together to test thousands of children across American and in Europe and found that Americans were the least fit. The results, presented to President Eisenhower at a White House luncheon in 1955 and known as the “report that shocked the President,” led Eisenhower to establish the President’s Council on Youth Fitness, now the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Bonnie was a columnist and advisor for Sports Illustrated. In 1957, in a full length leotard of her own design, she launched a line of fitness fashions on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She had her on TV show in the 60's, appeared on countless radio talk shows and wrote 15 books and numerous articles. She also invented exercise equipment.

Bonnie always felt that if individuals had the correct information and tools that they could, for the most part, take care of themselves. In 1976, she developed Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, a non-invasive, remarkably simple method of relieving muscle pain. She went on to write Myotherapy: Bonnie Prudden’s Complete Guide to Pain-Free Living in which she shows step by step through photographs, charts and drawings how to erase and recover from muscle pain and how to maintain, repair, tune up and take charge of your body. In 1980 she opened a school to train myotherapists to erase pain from muscles by pressing on the trigger points and then using appropriate exercises to keep the muscles free of pain.

In 2006 Bonnie was inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame and the Massage Hall of Fame. In November of 2007, at age 93, she received the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the council which she co-founded. She was chosen “based on the span and scope of an individual’s career, the estimated number of lives the individual has touched through his or her work, the legacy of the individual’s work, and additional awards or honors received over the course of his or her career.”

Bonnie brought hope and inspiration, laughter and play to thousands of people. She made this world a better place and the impact of her wonderful accomplishments will live on and continue to benefit us all through her teachings. “Very seldom do wonderful things happen while we wait,” she said, as she marched to the beat of her own drum.

In celebration of Bonnie’s life, memorial donations can be made to: Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, Inc. 4330 East Havasu Road, Tucson, AZ 85718, or by clicking here.

rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 14, 2011 - 08:43pm PT
A wonderful woman, light years ahead of her time, she was the last of the Shawnangunk pioneer triumvirate of Prudden, Kraus, and Wiessner. A historical era of discovery and adventure has finally come to a close. RIP Bonnie.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Dec 14, 2011 - 08:55pm PT
I had the pleasure of doing a biographical interview of Bonnie Prudden in the last year or so with the help of Dick Williams for the Gunks climbing section in the middle of three sessions. I will be doing a memorial piece for Alpinist if anyone reading this thread has a story to contribute, write me.

I have purposefully been repeating Prudden-Kraus-Weissner routes in the Gunks and am usually blown back by how boldly these three were climbing. Bonnie led her share and understood the importance of pioneering a good line.

The story of Bonnie pushing through on Bonnie's Roof can be found on the Norton Smithe First Modern Standard Angle thread.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1458145&msg=1541370#msg1541370
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:02pm PT
Bonnie's Roof is a kickass climb and utterly amazing for it's boldness...

imagining going up there, very intimidating the first time you go up there, even as you know the rating and "the trick"

but to do it on FA at that time, wow!

while the news is sad, let's make this a time to celebrate an amazing climbing pioneer!
richross

Trad climber
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:04pm PT
Bonnie's Roof

Gene

climber
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:05pm PT
Alpinist 14 has a piece on Bonnie's Roof, but alas, the online version is only available to subscribers.

g
jogill

climber
Colorado
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:26pm PT
Sleep well, Bonnie.

She was well known when I was climbing in the 1950s. A tireless advocate for physical education and exercise in a nation just beginning to go into a long decline of physical prowess. E.g., back in the 50s and 60s the average young man could do 9 pullups in a row. I did 20 to get an A in that part of a gymnastics course at Ga Tech. How many do you suspect could do 9 these days?
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:47pm PT
When I was in high school I could do 8 pullups. Damn---below average!

(Wait---are we speaking of the number of pullups down by the "average" young man or the average number of pullups done by young men?)
survival

Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:52pm PT
RIP Bonnie.

Thanks for showing us the way.
richross

Trad climber
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:56pm PT
Rgold on Bonnie's Roof second pitch.

Norwegian

Trad climber
Placerville, California
Dec 14, 2011 - 09:58pm PT
love is a salt wave
upon stone knowledge.

errosion thru incessence,
until understanding is fragmented
into its component thoughts,

become lonely as they.
they join love's dynamic wandering.

and then some child
builds a friable
castle upon and of your shattered wisdoms.

comes rest sweetly.
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Dec 14, 2011 - 10:01pm PT
(mouth open) AWESOME! JUST AWESOME!
jogill

climber
Colorado
Dec 14, 2011 - 10:10pm PT
(Wait---are we speaking of the number of pullups down by the "average" young man or the average number of pullups done by young men?)

I just finished reading the latest entries on WisM, and I can't even process your question.
Mike Bolte

Trad climber
Planet Earth
Dec 14, 2011 - 10:15pm PT
"I wish I was in Boston"

Hats off to a very accomplished woman and life well lived.
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 14, 2011 - 10:23pm PT
For most of my time in the Gunks, Bonnie Prudden was a legend but not a presence. I finally met her in 2002 at a She Climbs event in the Gunks. She gave a little talk and answered questions, and multiple generations of guys fell in love (mind you, she was 88 at the time). She had a twinkle in her eye, was quick and funny at repartee, had an intelligence that cut to the quick of the questions, and was not at all phased by a little innuendo (some of her exploits involved ledge activities not covered in Mountaineering---Freedom of the Hills).

It is basically impossible for climbers now, armed with extensive beta, grades for the climbing and protection, sticky rubber, harnesses, belay devices, chalk, nuts, cams, aluminum biners, and kernmantle ropes, to imagine what the scene was like when very little had been done, ropes were laid hemp (laid nylon after WWII) and tied around the waist, carabiners were steel, shoes were tennis sneakers, and pitons fit two sizes of cracks. Yes, Bonnie's roof was done with some aid, but ground up with no idea of what was ahead, with gear that made the aiding by no means a gimme.

At 88 and a tad frail physically that October evening in 2002, her indominitable pioneer spirit and the joy she took in adventures of all sorts still shone through, illuminating the gathering of people who had come to hear the legend. We went away inspired, thinking, what a woman!

Truly, she was one for the ages. Here's to you Bonnie.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Dec 14, 2011 - 10:29pm PT
Just shows that although the grades move up, the attitude does not change.

Never met ya Bonnie, but you seem to be quite a woman.
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 14, 2011 - 10:59pm PT
I just finished reading the latest entries on WisM, and I can't even process your question.

Yeah, pretty vague, sorry about that. Grading a stack of exams will do that. I was wondering whether 8 was the median number of pullups (and so characteristic of the "average student,") or the mean number of pullups, (and so characteristic of "the average number of pullups.")

Among other things, I ought to have realized that you would have used the term "median" if that's what it was.
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Dec 14, 2011 - 11:01pm PT

RIP, Bonnie.

Bonnie's Roof is a classic!!!
Mtnmun

Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
Dec 14, 2011 - 11:24pm PT
TFPU Happy Trails Bonnie.
Lynne Leichtfuss

Trad climber
Will know soon
Dec 14, 2011 - 11:34pm PT
happiegrrrl, thanks for this Thread. What an awesome role model for women of any age. Bonnie's family must be proud...what a life. My best wishes and condolences to all who loved this very inspiring woman. lynne
A5scott

Trad climber
Chicago
Dec 15, 2011 - 12:10am PT
RIP Bonnie,

what an amazing life she had...

sorry to see her go

scott
SCseagoat

Trad climber
Santa Cruz
Dec 15, 2011 - 12:50am PT
So sorry to hear of her passing. What a wonderful person. Rockin' Bonnie


Susan
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Dec 15, 2011 - 01:03am PT
hey there say, happygrrl, fritz... and all of you!

thanks for this wonderful share... i'd never have known of her, if not...

thank you...

her life sure was special and she really had an agenda all her own...
i love the team work she had, too, with her husband, and her love of the rocks...

thanks again...

*thanks to you bonnie, too, for being who you were supposed to be...
:)
Seamstress

Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
Dec 15, 2011 - 01:13am PT
Bonnie has been an inspiration for me since I started climbing. There were so few female names in the guidebooks. These bios add more context to her achievements. More importantly, her love for moving for the simple joy of moving and her desire to impart that joy to the next generation....thank-you, Bonnie.
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Dec 15, 2011 - 02:45am PT
from Yankee Rock & Ice by Laura & Guy Waterman
1993 ISBN 0-8117-1633-3
pp 141-142

Ken Prestrud may have been the ablest leader of Kraus's new circle, but by far the most interesting personality was Bonnie Prudden. Ex-chorus girl on Broadway and budding television star as physical fitness and exercise proponent, Bonnie and husband Dick Hirschland joined the Kraus circle in the late 1940s. During the early 1950s Dick dropped out, Bonnie got a divorce, and under Kraus's tutelage she blossomed into a top-notch climber, leading routes at the top of the standard of the day. In the postwar years it was rare indeed for a woman to rank right at the forefront of the prevailing standard. Though prewar predecessors like Betty Woolsey and Maria Millar and postwar leaders like Ruth Tallan and Krist Raubenheimer were immensely respected, they were not in a class with the best men leaders at the time. Bonnie Prudden was the only woman who climbed at the same level of difficulty as the best male climbers of her day until the 1980s.

In the early 1950s, Hans's circle climbed at a solid 5.7 standard. Because of Kraus's tolerant views on the use of aid, it is always difficult to sort out which of their harder climbs involved aid, and how much aid. Nevertheless, Kraus and his partners, especially Prestrud and Prudden, were (with Wiessner) unquestionably the top free-climbers of the early 1950s as well.
Some of their more difficult Shawangunk routes of those years included:
 Ken's Crack, a short 5.7 test piece near the Uberfall, first done by Prestrud in 1951
 Hans's Puss, a long and intricate 5.7 characterized by wild exposure and airy belays, led by Kraus with Prudden as second, also in 1951
 Bonnie's Roof, a spectacular giant ceiling led by Prudden with one point of aid, Kraus seconding, in 1950-solid 5.7 free moves both below and above the roof, which was finally freed nine years later to make the climb a classic 5.8+
 Gaston, a very hard 5.7-some say a very solid 5.8-led by Prestrud with Lucien Warner as second in 1952
 V-3, a tricky 5.7, a collaboration of Kraus, Prudden, and Prestrud in 1954
 Dry Martini (originally Drei Martini, an indication of the condition of the first ascent party), moderate enough except for one desperate 5.7 move led by Kraus, with Warner and Prudden in uproarious attendance, in 1955.

The martini-loaded first ascent of the last-named climb, along with the complex marital patterns of some of the principals, suggested earlier, hint at the limited historical vision of some of the sketches of the Gunks scene which maintain that, prior to the coming of the Vulgarians in the late 1950s, rock climbing "had hitherto been as chaste and proper as lawn tennis" (to quote one 1983 article). Not so in Kraus's circle!
schwortz

Social climber
"close to everything = not at anything", ca
Dec 15, 2011 - 04:44am PT
excellent stuff
RIP
hooblie

climber
from where the anecdotes roam
Dec 15, 2011 - 06:09am PT
OMG, she totally had me till the ABBA bit. thank you bonnie for the much needed cultural guidance. rest in peace indeed. or ring-up jack lalanne
mrtropy

Trad climber
Nor Cal
Dec 15, 2011 - 09:13am PT
Quite a person,
Thanks for posting this

RIP
Alan Rubin

climber
Amherst,MA.
Dec 15, 2011 - 09:25am PT
Sad news. Bonnie was an inspiration to us all. I never had the pleasure of meeting her in person, but she was a television personality with her exercise programs in my childhood and I have been aware of her legendary status in the Gunks from my first days there. She was definitely a woman ahead of her time in many spheres. RIP Bonnie.
Tony Bird

climber
Northridge, CA
Dec 15, 2011 - 09:36am PT
wow--impressive. where's the wayback machine?
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 15, 2011 - 10:16am PT
I forgot the part about one point of aid on Bonnie's Roof. If true, I think most modern climbers would agree that even if you used a point of aid on the roof itself, the route would still be 5.8, not the 5.7 Guy and Laura report in Yankee Rock and Ice.

With one point of aid, this had to be one of the more impressive leads in the Gunks in 1952, the same year Robbins freed the slightly less steep Open Book at Tahquitz at only a very slightly higher level of difficulty.
Brian in SLC

Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 15, 2011 - 10:49am PT
What an icon.

http://vimeo.com/33698728

Not really as a climber, per se, but, on the cover of SI. Rare air.
Alan Rubin

climber
Amherst,MA.
Dec 15, 2011 - 11:06am PT
Having climbed both routes I'd say that the intimidation/boldness factor on Bonnie's and The Open Book is pretty similar, as would have been the strenuousness of pounding in pitons on both. The less than "modern" footwear then in use would likely have been more of a hindrance on the smooth rock of Tahquitz than at the Gunks, but both climbs were outstanding leads for the era, and there were few, if any, other women at that time leading routes of that standard, let alone on an FA. As for the use of a point of aid on Bonnie's, it is worth noting that Joe Brown, probably the leading free climber of the period, was often using some points of aid on his top climbs in Wales. He used two, for instance, on his iconic climb of Cenotaph Corner, also first done in 1952.
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 15, 2011 - 11:39am PT
I've done both routes too and I'd give the edge to Bonnies, even with the aid point.
Powder

Trad climber
SF Bay Area
Dec 15, 2011 - 11:45am PT
Thanks for sharing! This is my first time hearing anything about her.

Bonnie's Roof - looks so impressive and FUN!! Imagine doing the FA... whoa...
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 15, 2011 - 12:17pm PT
A nice shot of Bonnie's Roof by Ivan Rezucha. I'm just about to reach the spot where Bonnie used a point of aid, and as I said earlier, I think there is already some 5.8 at this point.


happiegrrrl

Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 15, 2011 - 12:20pm PT
Well - so far I have followed Bonnies Roof twice and each time, at that section, I sure used a point(or several) of aid! hahah Maybe next year I'll get it(and then wonder when I will be able to try for it on lead).
bevka

Trad climber
kelly, wyo
Dec 15, 2011 - 12:27pm PT
bonnie prudden's name is well-known to me and to the others of my gunks climbing circle. it was especially nice to know there had been a hard-leading woman, but i think she also showed us that she wasn't a good woman climber, but a good climber, and that leading was where it was at. we tried to follow suit. thanks bonnie.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Dec 15, 2011 - 12:34pm PT
Thanks for sharing the stories. An extraordinary person, Bonnie Prudden.
Gene

climber
Dec 15, 2011 - 07:12pm PT
Bonnie Bump! A Pioneer in so many ways.

g
jogill

climber
Colorado
Dec 15, 2011 - 08:05pm PT
I was wondering whether 8 was the median number of pullups (and so characteristic of the "average student,")

I don't recall. I read this statistic in a book entitled SUPER ATHLETES by Willoughby, I think.
Tony Bird

climber
Northridge, CA
Dec 16, 2011 - 12:49am PT
THANKS HAPPI FOR THIS THREAD!!!!!
Esp when the thread with the titty-producing young female fool has 1000+posts.

THIS IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR US WOMEN!!!!!

bump for the real climbing babes of ST, who stick with the sport and these discussions in spite of a frequent lack of collegiality from the men. i, for one, appreciate your being here.
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Dec 19, 2011 - 12:33pm PT
An obit finally showed up in the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/health/bonnie-prudden-dies-at-97-promoted-fitness-for-youths.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=prudden&st=cse
FRUMY

Trad climber
SHERMAN OAKS,CA
Dec 19, 2011 - 12:47pm PT
TFPU
Jim Herrington

Mountain climber
New York, NY
Dec 19, 2011 - 01:09pm PT

Bonnie and I earlier this year in Arizona. She was still very lucid, energetic and definitely full of humor... RIP, Bonnie.

Seth

Trad climber
New York, NY
Dec 19, 2011 - 01:50pm PT
Nice that the Times published an obit but they seem to have missed her climbing significance! They note that she climbed in the Gunks with Kraus but don't seem to have realized that considered on her own she was one of the elite climbers of her day, male or female.

I think Bonnie's Roof is an incredible accomplishment for her era. If you haven't climbed the route, it may not be obvious just how intimidating it is to approach the overhang at which she placed one point of aid. It is somewhat unusual, in that you leave the security of a crack in a less-than-vertical corner, and then step left onto the other wall, into a reachy, overhanging position beneath the roof. This is just the move to get under the roof, and it would be hard enough even if the route ended there at a set of chains. When you add in the roof itself it of course becomes still more challenging, but I'm really impressed she even got there. The idea of doing this move to get under the roof in a pair of Keds gives me the chills.

Bonnie was the real deal.
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Dec 20, 2011 - 01:36am PT
from Climbing in North America by Chris Jones
ISBN 0-520-03637-9
pp 214-215

'During these immediate postwar years the numbers of dedicated Shawangunk climbers remaind small, perhaps twenty, almost wholly within the Appalachian Mountain Club. Although they welcomed newcomers, their social net was limited. One of their prime concerns when the climbing season got under way in the spring was who, if any, of last year's recruits would stick with them for another year. One who did was Bonnie Prudden, a climber of considerable skill who became Kraus's regular partner and was later known for her writing on physical education. Prudden was one of the few women of the day who performed, and survived, in what was then an almost exclusively male preserve. As such, she engaged the interest of her fellow club members; a favorite story concerns the naming of the climb Boston.

After they had completed a new route, Prudden and partner Dick Hirschland sat at the top of the cliff relaxing and taking in the view. She was explaining the whereabouts of a friend's summer place. With her thighs as an improvised map she pointed out the geography of the region and remarked that the place was situated between Providence and Taunton, Massachusetts. Hirschland broke in, "I wish I was in Boston."'
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Dec 20, 2011 - 02:25am PT
from Williams "Red Guide"

1946
The Brat 5.4 FA Bonnie Prudden
Something Interesting 5.8 FA Hans Kraus, Ken Prestrud, Bonnie Prudden, FFA Art Gran

1947
Andrew 5.4 FA Hans Kraus, Fritz Wiessner, Bonnie Prudden
Blue Stink 5.3 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden, Ken Prestrud
Grand Central 5.9 FA Bonnie Prudden, Hans Kraus, Dick Hirschland, FFA (1963) Jim McCarthy

1948
"48" 5.2 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden

1949
50-50 5.5 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
"49" 5.2 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Oblique Twique 5.8 FA Ken Prestrud, Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden, Lucien Warner
Bonnie's Household 5.4 FA Bonnie Prudden, Hans Kraus
Three Buzzards 5.4 FA Hans Kraus, Ken Prestrud, Bonnie Prudden, Dick Hirschland

1950
Easy Keyhole 5.2 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Boston 5.4 FA Dick Hirschland, Bonnie Prudden
Rusty Trifle 5.3 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Arrivato 5.6 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Petie 5.2 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden

1951
Hans' Puss 5.7 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Never Again 5.10 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden, FFA (1968) John Stannard

1952
Bonnie's Roof 5.9 FA Bonnie Prudden, Hans Kraus, FFA (1961) Dick Williams, Jim McCarthy
Emilietta 5.3 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden

1953
Wrist 5.6 FA Bonnie Prudden, Hans Kraus
Arch 5.5 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Ribs 5.4 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Asphodel 5.5 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
Casa Emilio 5.2 FA Bonnie Prudden, Norton Smithe

1954
Bitchy Virgin 5.6 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden
V-3 5.7 FA Hans Kraus, Ken Prestrud, Bonnie Prudden
Triangle 5.9 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden, Ken Prestrud, FFA (1960) Art Gran, Al DeMaria
Dick's Prick 5.6 FA Hans Kraus, Dick Hirschland, Bonnie Prudden

1955
Dry Martini 5.8 FA Hans Kraus, Bonnie Prudden, Lucien Warner
Mighty Hiker

climber
Vancouver, B.C.
Dec 20, 2011 - 02:49pm PT
Thanks for all the information and tales - good to remember one of our own.

The lack of mention of climbing in the NYT obituary reminds me of the obituary they did for David Brower. Almost a full page, hardly a mention of his climbing - which is how he came to be an environmentalist in the first place.

Interesting that one of her partners was named Prestrud - so was Amundsen's lieutenant, on the South Pole expedition. Kristian Prestrud led a side trip from Framheim to the east, making landfall on the east side of the Ross Ice Shelf. Then they trundled boulders.
hobo_dan

Social climber
Minnesota
Dec 20, 2011 - 08:18pm PT
..........I'd rather be in Boston..........
Messages 1 - 57 of total 57 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta