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Cracko
Trad climber
Quartz Hill, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 25, 2006 - 02:43pm PT
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Burns,
Damit! Every time I make a list I get in trouble on this site.
I'm showing my age, but I think that the old schoolers listed had to break through barriers that the new age doesn't have to deal with. However, I can't argue with Caldwell.
Cracko
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Burns
Trad climber
Arlington, VA
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Aug 25, 2006 - 03:06pm PT
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No worries Cracko, I meant no disrespect to you, your list, or anyone on it. I happen to be about Tommy's age, so I guess its a little harder for me to speak of those old school hardmen with any confidence that I have a flippin clue what I'm actually talking about (not that having a clue what you're talking about is a prerequisite for posting on the taco, but hey...). I had honestly forgotten about the Kyrgistan incident until just today and I realized how a lot of the climbers that we have all been talking about have shown mental toughness in situations that they essentially put themselves in, and to some extent they were in their element. A rebel with an AK is about as far from climbing cracks in estes park as you can get.
You certainly make a good point though about breaking through barriers. I mean, Tommy got all kinds of press for the Nose, but he wasn't even the first to do it. My generation has missed to some extent the 'Golden Age', especially in Yosemite. Thats not to say that modern climbers lack mental toughness, it is simply that they don't have to rely on it as often as the old-school guys. I think guys and gals like Tommy (and there are certainly a couple out there) could have hung with the toughest of the tough of the earlier generations.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 25, 2006 - 06:51pm PT
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Shite,
In just 24 more years I'll be 70.
All generations have the tuff ones.
It is always intersting to see who keeeps on keepin' on.
Donini is made of steel.
Lynn Hill, who I've known since we were both 16, ain't no slouch.
Gullich was tuff, soft spoken and real nice, very much like Croft.
I met that guy Renan Otzurk, he seems pretty cool, and tuff too.
I saw Tommy Caldwell, here at a gym in Boulder 15 years back, stab up some wicked 5.13 when he was still too small for his ears and he made it look no more difficult than a kitten lapping up milk.
Great thread.
Cheers,
Roy
(Locker style Edit, with a twist of Fish 'Tude):
From "My" G-G-Generation,
Cripes,
Gotta go with those bad ass bastahds,
Jay Smith, Mark Wilford, Charlie Fowler, Greg Child:
All have booted up some serious de rigeur alpinista terrain and still put out on rock.
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blackbird
Trad climber
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Aug 25, 2006 - 09:19pm PT
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(not that having a clue what you're talking about is a prerequisite for posting on the taco, but hey...).
Hey... I resemble that remark!!
BB
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 26, 2006 - 01:13am PT
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That's beyond: mentally tough, hardcore, or badass.
It is just too real.
Sounds like active duty.
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:50am PT
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24 years of it! Now I relax my mind by climbing A4+, WI6+ and sometimes "Solo", all that good stuff that most deem "Tough".
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blackbird
Trad climber
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Aug 26, 2006 - 10:15am PT
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Ditto Tar's statement. While I may not support our president, I do respect his position and the men and women (and their families) who work for him (and us). My father and both grandfathers lived through similar scenarios in different conflicts; all of our lives were profoundly affected as a direct result(how could they not be?!) Sorry, Cracko, but when put in those terms, the climbing related side of this discussion seems a bit mundane... I'm not saying that it doesn't take a huge amount of mental toughness to carry on through dificult times in climbing related scenarios, It certainly does, but... well... Cue real life. Thanks, Ultra, for putting things back into their proper perspective (for me, anyway). Unfortunately, how many of us can truly afford to not note real life? I know I can't, and I know that all too often (for me anyway, and I am the only person for whom I may speak), climbing must take a back seat and is often my relaxation technique of choice...
BB
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BPorter
Big Wall climber
Quartz Hill, Ca
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Aug 26, 2006 - 11:15am PT
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"Sorry, Cracko, but when put in those terms, the climbing related side of this discussion seems a bit mundane..."
Agreed !! Real life situations is where you find the real mentally tough!! In fact, climbing often serves as a respite from the stress created from real life situations. Still, it is fun to discuss those who have this special attribute in climbing that results in them pulling through where most others head for the ground.
Cracko
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 26, 2006 - 11:29am PT
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Hey, are Ultrabiker and PDH Man one and the same?
(ok, duh, just looked at the email tag. the similarities...)
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johnx01
Trad climber
UK
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Aug 26, 2006 - 04:05pm PT
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OK Mental Toughness.........
Walter Bone-at-tee
Herman Buuhl
I met Mugs once, he looked pretty tough!
My absolute 'mental toughness' icon/guru - Dennis (who?) our old rescue dog, he's over 18, had 3 serious strokes in the last 4 years, this little f*#ker just re-wires his brain after each one, takes him a couple of days of staggering round in circles after each attack. He's there at every chow time like clockwork. Drop some food on the kitchen floor, man you never seen an old dog move so fast! Peripheral vision in one eye, tunnel vision in the other, we take him to the vet, they bump him up to the front of the queue and he takes that walk, every dog shuts the f*#k up as he strolls past. I'm having him stuffed when he dies, just so I never, ever forget how hard I should be!
-john
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 26, 2006 - 08:55pm PT
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Day 4 of "HELL WEEK", Class 132...
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 26, 2006 - 08:59pm PT
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How many of those in the picture could we still have a beer with?
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:03pm PT
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This one gave me 36 stitches after ripping out my Gall Bladder, one foot of my Lower Intestines and two weeks in ICU...
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:09pm PT
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Only 26 of us graduated of a class that began with 135. All, gratefully, are still walking and and have become a very productive part of society.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:11pm PT
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Internal injuries sustained
From G Force,
Deceleration?
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:14pm PT
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Negative. I was the Flight Deck CRASH LPO on the "65" Boat(USS Enterprise) and got nailed by a 7" X 6" piece of titanium shrapnel that seperated when this VF-1 "Turkey's" (A/C #121) stbd mainmount exploded on impact after trapping.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:23pm PT
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My first El Cap partner, Ed Kaufer -Nose '79, kept his wings about 10 years,
"Dropped a lot 'a bombs into the Desert Storm", in his words.
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:24pm PT
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What Squadron?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Aug 26, 2006 - 09:28pm PT
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I'd have to ask,
'Just got back in touch with him recently here via super taco,
Plan to see him this winter.
'Dude never lay's down much jive, if any.
Says he "hauls stiffs around now, Powell jargon for commercial work"
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