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yo
climber
The Eye of the Snail
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 5, 2006 - 12:25pm PT
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Let's hear it for this cat. Who among us hasn't read Camp 4 or appreciated a little Sierra Roper "class 4"?
Early on El Cap, early in the free game, early in the speed game and early on the word processor (or pen and paper, or stone tablets, I guess.)
What do we got?
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WBraun
climber
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Ironic isn't it?
A guy with the last name "Roper" showing up in the early beginnings of modern rock climbing in Yosemite.
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elcapfool
Big Wall climber
hiding in plain sight
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Didn't he guide Moses up Mt. Sinai?
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yo
climber
The Eye of the Snail
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 5, 2006 - 12:37pm PT
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"...I came to be perched atop Pinnacle Rock at a Sierra Club gathering, watching a flashy Jaguar roar up and park in the nearby street. 'It's Warren Harding,' someone whispered. Out stepped a handsom, devilish fellow with a young woman draped on his arm. Short and classically wiry, he strolled over to our group, a furtive gleam in his eye. At this time Harding was locally famous for his feats in Yosemite two years earlier, notable the second ascent of the notorious Lost Arrow Chimney. So I stared closely, trying to measure the man. I though I would see him swarm up our practice routes, but instead he sat down and began drinking jug wine and telling stories. A sociable chap, I thought, but why doesn't he climb? Though he wore army fatigue pants, like most of us, he had dyed his black. Looking at his black flashing eyes, his wild black hair, his jet-black pants, his sultry moll by his side, his wine, and his lack of interest in what anyone was climbing, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was fascinated, mainly because the other climbers I knew were spectacled scientists, staid folk who would never have dreamed of wheeling up to a rock with a sports car and a jug and a flashy dame."
(Roper, Camp 4, pp. 63-64.)
DMT, you gotta love the dude that wrote that, then.
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elcapfool
Big Wall climber
hiding in plain sight
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I'm with DMT, the guy that got the girl was cooler.
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yo
climber
The Eye of the Snail
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 5, 2006 - 12:42pm PT
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"Few among our group could be called neurotic, but there's no doubt we were socially backward. 'Who here has ever been to a dance?' someone once asked at a campfire. A dozen climbers--fit, not particularly ugly, mostly virginal young males--pondered the question. One of us finally ventured: 'I went to a high-school prom once, but I didn't dance.'"
(Camp 4, p. 15)
Not like that rings a bell...
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elcapfool
Big Wall climber
hiding in plain sight
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Is that what you were doing in the bathroom? Working on your handstrenght training?
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James
climber
A tent in the redwoods
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I've always been impressed with Roper's unsung climbing accomplishments. His name is tacked onto many notable first ascents in Yosemite and beyond but he isn't given as much credit. A pure humble badass.
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Gene
climber
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What a guy!
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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Quite the man, Mr. Roper.
I got the opportunity to work with him (AND Al Steck) for many blurry evenings at his home in Berkeley, drinking copious quantities of really good wine, while we were editing an article for Ascent (the "Mechanical Advantage").
Sort of like hanging out with Vonnegut or Hemmingway, with the writ word as only the background for the occasion.
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john hansen
climber
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I have total respect for this man and his work. Have read alot of his stuff.
Just a quote from Harding thou.." If I ran into Roper I'd kick his ass" This was from an interview when Warren was in his fiftes or sixties.
Respect to both these guys ,I just enjoy the history and think some of it is kinda funny.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Steve Roper has been the voice, for me, of Yosemite Valley and the Sierra ever since I started climbing. His "Green Guide" is something I still refer to, and the front matter to that guide continues to provide insight in to the sport. Same with the Sierra guide. I suspect I will be carying those two guides in my pack for the rest of my climbing life.
His genuine interest in climbing literature produced one of the finest works describing and defining climbing, Ascent, for 30+ years along with Al Steck.
On top of that, there is Camp 4, a splendid memoir of life in the "Golden Era" of Yosemite climbing, and the followup, of sorts, Ordeal by Piton in which several important articles are reproduced which had not been available in print for decades; a real labor of love, and a recognition of the enduring value of this lost literature.
I do not know what gems Mr. Roper has stuffed in files, boxes, bookshelves, etc., but I know that he continues to wield his imagination in a dedicated mission to tell the story of climbing.
Bravo Steve Roper,
and thank you.
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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Ed I am glad you mentioned "Ordeal By Piton" because Roper not only is the best climbing historian and author so far, he is also the best at recognizing the importance of other well written articles that depict the essence of what climbing is all about.
I don't know how many times his guidebook scared the heck out of me. He always seemed to know exactly what my mood was or would be with his written description of the next bit of climbing, especially when it was my lead. It was as if he was there with me as a partner shouting encouragement.
Ken
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TradIsGood
Trad climber
Gunks end of country
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“Routes were vague back in the old days,” he says, “and by using vague words we guidebook writers could ensure that climbers would get just as lost as we did.”
I guess he still works for Supertopo.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Roper's corrections in Alpinist are hilarious...
-Brian in SLC
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Gateway to Adventure:
This copy is almost 30 years old.
Thanks Mr Roper.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
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Over a chance meeting and a bottle of wine in Josh one year, Brad Young and I tried to convince Roper to write another book about the climbing community.
I for one am glad he contributes to Supertopo. The climbing literature feeds the worm.
Cheers,
Munge
My heros are human, and are elevated for it.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Feb 10, 2010 - 06:13pm PT
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I thought it would be fun to open this Thread again. Roper really is one of the hero's of our generation. Shy, funny, licentious, talented and speedy climber with untold ascents in Yosemite and beyond and literary spokesmen for many, I think it could be both fun and enlightening to get him involved on the ST forum. He did make a guest appearance only last week, so there is hope.
POWELL /ROPER-NW FACE HALF DOME 1962
I am pretty sure this was 1962 because it was the same summer the three of us had climbed Castle Rock Spire,
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1066638/Castle_Rock_Spire_with_Roper_and_Powell-1962
I also believe this was their second attempt at this route and on an earlier excursion they had bailed out to the top of Ahwiyah Point Buttress?
It certainly was one of the early ascent of the route by two of the fastest climbers of the era.
Roper had a love-hate relationship with the Dome. On an earlier winter excursion in 1961, with the naive Sacherer they had attempted to climb the ice covered slabs above Mirror Lake. Roper in his hubris refused to bring along a rope in fear that the “inexperienced” Sacherer would fall and pull him off.
“I’ll go first and show you how it is done,” He said, having strapped on crampons about six times in his life-but six times more than Sacherer.
“Well ….okay,” he said, frowning. “But we’re taking a rope, aren’t we? It looks slippery up there.”
“A rope!” He screamed. “Jesus, on that little slope? You think Buhl would want a rope? No rope! Besides , if you fall off, you’ll drag me down with you!”
Irony was that Roper peeled off and took a 600 ft fall on the ice crusted slab and with Sacherer’s assistance was able to make it to the Valley hospital for a 13 day visit.
In May, 1966 Roper and Jeff Foott made the first one day ascent of this route, a long day that involved the placing and removing of over 250 pitons. I was on top to meet them but failed to bring along a camera.
Later this summer, in July, Eric Beck in two and one half days made the first solo ascent.
Again, thanks to Haan for converting basically unreadable slides to a viewable format.
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MisterE
Social climber
Across Town From Easy Street
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Feb 10, 2010 - 07:08pm PT
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I have been in contact with Steve in the last year or so. He was very close friends with my father, Mike Borghoff, and sent me a bunch of letters and pictures, completely trusting me to take care of and return them - which I did. Thanks for being so helpful, Steve!
Also, best of luck on the history project - can't wait to see the results of those contributing...
Erik Wolfe (Borghoff)
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Feb 10, 2010 - 09:20pm PT
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Roper had a love-hate relationship with the Dome. On an earlier winter excursion in 1961, with the naive Sacherer they had attempted to climb the ice covered slabs above Mirror Lake. Roper in his hubris refused to bring along a rope in fear that the “inexperienced” Sacherer would fall and pull him off.
Irony was that Roper peeled off and took a 600 ft fall on the ice crusted slab and with Sacherer’s assistance was able to make it to the Valley hospital for a 13 day visit.
If I'm not mistaken this was the fall on which Roper called out as he sailed by Frank (impressing him hugely), "I'm having it".
Frank was always hoping to have a similar mystical insight and witty quip while falling, but never did.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Feb 10, 2010 - 11:59pm PT
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Not sure Jan, but I always thought it was "Oh Shi#t Oh God," as he flew past Sacherer?
I guess Roper could set us straight on this right now?
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 11, 2010 - 12:12am PT
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The story is related on pps. 131 & 132 of Camp 4. It's quite colourful, and includes some apparent quotes, but not that mentioned. One is "A rope!" I screamed. "Jesus, on that little slope? You think Buhl would want a rope? No rope! Besides, if you fall off, you'll drag me down with you!" Nothing about a bon mot as he slid.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Feb 11, 2010 - 12:17am PT
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Heck Tar My Green Guide is older then that...78'..? I loaned my Valley guide to someone, I don't recall and regret it. There are some routes in there that are no longer advertised that I really want to do. Fortunately Shack has a copy of the valley guide and scans me pages....The 50 Classic climbs, Hardcover is more worn out then any porno mag I've ever had...Mr. Ropers 5.4's (as I mentioned many times before on ST) are solid 5.9's or even .10a's ...That crazy Bastard,.I've left more gear trying to save my own Arse on some of his guide book routes then if you stole my entire rack. Steve was the "Shizzle", and we all owe him a bit of gratitude for sharing his knowledge of "the Hills' with us in guide book form...."Move left about 20' around some chossy stuff and continue up a right facing corner to an improbable overhang, passed easily on the right side"........Holy shite...Right there Mr. Roper deserves a Pulitzer Prize....
He also climbed things in about a third of the time us "Armchair Weekend warriors" can manage to drag are own butts up even with modern rubber and gear....Thanks Steve. We are Knott worthy.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Feb 11, 2010 - 01:00am PT
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Bump for Mr. Roper!!!!
I have a couple of the green guides--my original from about
'75 or so, and a mint copy I picked up for $1.99 at a thrift shop
a couple of weeks ago. Ordeal by Piton is great, as are the
Ascents he helped edit.
Go Steve!!!!
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Dennis Hennek
climber
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Feb 11, 2010 - 01:02am PT
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Dear Steve,
Guido has told some amazing stories through the years,
I'm not sure, knowing Guido, if they are all true but I would love to
hear about your ascent of the West Buttress of El Cap with Kor again.
Its probably on some thread somewhere but I haven't found it.
Do you remember that climb? and would you share the story with us.
All the best, Dennis
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Feb 11, 2010 - 01:05am PT
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I was so stoked last summer to see his name in the Four Gables
summit register from about 4 years ago. Then I saw where he noted how
he had reached Four Gables from the west via some route probably known only to him.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Feb 11, 2010 - 02:46am PT
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In reference to Hennek's recent post about Roper and the first ascent of the West Buttress of El Cap I will enclose a couple of letters that may provide a little insight into this route and some of the characters involved.
The first is from Jeff Foott and relates to Beck and Harper working on the route with Kor and the second is from Roper while working for Uncle Sam. Of all the letters I have from Roper this is probably the most innocent and will readily pass the ST censor team. There is also an interesting side note on Watkins.
"It's the truth Hennek, even if it never happened it's the truth."
If someone has a scanner it would be interesting to enclose what Roper has to say in his book on Camp 4, about the ascent.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Feb 11, 2010 - 02:58am PT
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Even after topo books are available, the green Roper's Valley book is still quite valuable. It explains approaches and descents, and can lure you off to some forgotten gem, to get paid off very well for the effort. Absolutely Free comes to mind, as something not topoized, but very nice.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Feb 12, 2010 - 02:00am PT
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Those letters are priceless!
It looks like there was a lot more going on surrounding that route than I ever knew.
Beck having "enough" of Kor, Kor's "sh*tty" bolts, whippers, Pratt and Robbins attempt, the army.... wheeee!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Feb 12, 2010 - 11:19am PT
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"It's the truth Hennek, even if it never happened it's the truth."
That's a good one. I had a friend in the military who would tell these outrageous tales, and then when someone would say, "Wow, did that really happen?" He would say "No,....but it COULD have!"
I'm serious Guido, I've brought this up before, about the letters. Are you just a mail hoarder, or did you know that these letters would be important someday or what?
I love that Roper letter from the Army. Man, I've been there!
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Feb 12, 2010 - 12:02pm PT
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I had the good fortune of climbing with Steve regularly my first season in the valley. This was mostly research for the first Yosemite guide.
Regarding the quote "I'm having it", I can't say whether Steve did actually say this on his ice fall with Frank, however, Steve had previously related that someone whose name I forget used this expression while taking a 20 footer on the south face of Rixon's.
In the spring of 63, I think, Chouinard appeared and Steve suggested that they do Half Dome, to which Yvon replied "Half Dome is a sh!t climb", let's do the Salathe Wall. This failed due to their haul bag being shredded on the slabs. They had even anticipated this and wrapped it in a burlap sack, but to no avail. They fortunately had bolts, not knowing the quality of the first ascent bolts, which they needed for the rappels from the Heart.
Robbins, upon hearing of this attempt, said they would fail on the 5th pitch, an A4 seam followed by 5.9 face climbing. He said "Yvon is too short and Roper too chickensh!t". Steve led this pitch easily.
We got a limerick out of this:
Chouinard was a man very small
On Sundays he won't climb at all //a reference to Yvon's catholicism
He'd rather stay home than do sh!t climbs like Half Dome
and got turned off the Salathe Wall
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Feb 13, 2010 - 10:53am PT
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Here's what Steve has to say about the 600 foot Dome slide now.
Hi, Jan. I simply can't remember what I screamed. Certainly I swore--and I had quite a bit of time at the start of the fall since I was manfully trying a self-arrest. So I might well have done the "having it" scream a few hundred feet down. Makes for a great story, and let's go with it! SR
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:23am PT
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Morning Jan, (I guess it is evening for you)
Please tell Steve that it is against all decency to have you shill for him. He should man-up and post his own, carefully wrought lies--the rest of us do (excluding you, of course).
I would post my own lies about Steve, but everything I know about him is true.
This gets confusing.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:33am PT
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HA HA HA HA HA HA HHHAAAAAA!!!
Good one Roger.
MAN UP STEVE!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Feb 13, 2010 - 01:10pm PT
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Roger-
Steve is a great story teller, but decency and decorum? I think not.
Especially the decorum part.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 01:13pm PT
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If this was FaceBook, it would now report that Steve has been "poked".
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Feb 13, 2010 - 01:57pm PT
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Hi Jan,
Steve is an excellent story teller, and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things climbing. Most impressively he still has a razored wit, and I can attest to his ability to keep that fine hone well past sobriety, not that anyone drinks anymore.
If Steve ever decides to join in directly, he'll have everyone hooked. Although he has published the most of his generation, I think he could fill several more volumes in the ST format with his stories plus the countless stories he has been told first hand.
But, I don’t hold out too much hope. When I asked Steck why Steve hadn’t come to the Nose50 reunion, Allen rolled his eyes and told me that “I’ve given up on Roper.”
Apparently, after all these years, Yvon was right.
Heehe.
With friends like these, who needs...
...thousands more.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Feb 13, 2010 - 02:11pm PT
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Let's hope Steve's using his hermitage to get more writing done!
Meanwhile one of the people who had the best stock of Roper stories was Layton,
and I'm going to visit him in early April this year so Steve better be prepared!
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BBA
Social climber
West Linn OR
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Feb 13, 2010 - 05:03pm PT
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Steve keeps a journal. Has for many years as writers are prone to do. I have a page or two he sent to me about Starr King a few years back. Now if he were to publish his journal plus additional remembrances...
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Feb 13, 2010 - 05:19pm PT
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This is from the Porcelain Wall Thread I posted a while back.
These shots of our beloved SR are from a trip in the "Year of the Flood", sometimes in the late 90s(?) to duplicate the famous Adams shot of the NW Face. Roper, myself and Jeff Foott. It was an excellent trip,not without its own excitement, but more about that later.
"Beneath the Diving Board lies a formidable wall-The Porcelain Wall"- Roper
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Feb 13, 2010 - 10:34pm PT
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Those are some of the most interesting Valley photos I've seen in a long time! It's amazing how different it all seems from a new perspective. It makes me wonder how many other interesting views have never been photographed because they were off the beaten track. It seems odd though that no one has ever walked the rim before and taken photos from that angle.
Meanwhile you guys look super bourgoise and respectable now!
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MisterE
Social climber
Across Town From Easy Street
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Feb 13, 2010 - 10:50pm PT
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Excellent shots, Guido!
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Dick Erb
climber
June Lake, CA
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:13pm PT
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Great photos Guido. It would also be neat to see what Jeff came up with. When as a teenager, I left the conservative suburbs of Orange County and got a job as a busboy in Yosemite. The first Camp 4 climber that I climbed with was Steve Roper. His uninhibited enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air. A superb quick and efficient climber. He was as fun and entertaining a person to hang out with as anyone I've met. I think most any other Yosemite climber I knew felt the same way about him.
Jan, I know of one other person who took a photo from that place, Ansel Adams. About twenty years ago Judy and I hiked up to the diving board. We got there just in time for the perfect light on the face. I clicked the shutter and my battery was dead. You're right though Jan. Guido got a different angle than Ansel.
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Double D
climber
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:31pm PT
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Wow great shots guido!
Roper's green guide was incredible at getting one to the base of a climb. Modern topo's don't even come close to getting to the base.
"Man up" Steve!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Feb 15, 2010 - 04:55am PT
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So, the purpose of the trip was for Jeff to replicate Adam's famous photo, Monolith, taken in 1927 from the Diving Board. That little tree in the foreground of this famous photo had grown a great deal in the interim.
This photo of Jeff is probably where Adams was positioned to compose his photo in 1927?
Adams classic Monolith photo of 1927
The weather made an abrupt change that evening from months of drought to torrential rain. Roper and I bailed early morning, across the slabs and had a difficult and dangerous descent to Little Yosemite. Jeff, opted to stay three more days and had to descend LaConte Gully to escape. The Valley was flooded with one of the worst storms in history. So much for mellow photographic expeditions.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Feb 15, 2010 - 06:27am PT
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Absolutely great photos Guido!
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Boulder Creek CA
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Mar 12, 2010 - 04:27pm PT
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It would be helpful if someone can direct me to contact information for Roper.
Thanks...
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Boulder Creek CA
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Mar 13, 2010 - 09:19pm PT
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Thanks for the contact information. Steve Roper has written some rather intriguing items about me. I'm trying to persuade him that it would be a good idea for him to actually meet me sometime...
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Chris Jones
Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
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Mar 14, 2010 - 12:34am PT
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I have had, and continue to have, wonderful times with Steve. Whether Yosemite, Pinnacles, Joshua Tree, Berkeley, the climbing gym, his home, on the road. Thing is, he'd be the best one to relate the stories, the myths and the legends. (Unfortunately I have pretty poor memory, so others may correct my spiel). Here's a story from Berkeley. It was likely in the late 1960s or early 1970s that Steve lived in a typical wood-frame Berkeley house on Rose St. His life, and ours it turned out, were transformed when he came into an inheritance. At that time Davis Bynum Winery had an outlet on University Avenue. One of their ploys was to offer private labeling. And Steve soon came up with a suitably macabre label: the well-known etching of the fatal accident from Whymper's "Scrambles Amongst the Alps"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matterhorn_disaster_Dore.jpg
Pretty soon untold cases of privately labelled wine arrived. The entire full-height basement was given over to its care and storage. The shelves of wine reached from floor to ceiling on three sides! It was a mind-boggling sight; particularly as this was much better wine than our normal fare of gallon jugs of Mountain Red and Rhineskeller (or whatever it was called). Always popular, Steve was suddenly even more so. Sometimes we opened a bottle or two in the basement and swapped yarns there, other times one of us popped down to the cellar from the living room to re-stock. In spite of the immense amount of wine it disappeared at a withering speed. This was especially true when Steve was out of town - as I recall Chuck Pratt (who Roper always called Marshall) was among those responsible for some of the depredations. Steve, it seems, basically looked upon the inheritance as found money - and was happy to share it with his friends. He probably has one of labels kicking around somewhere. Steve, you're a good man.
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Mar 14, 2010 - 01:47am PT
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Steve Roper is one of those genuine individuals, a notable
big wall climber in his day. He, Kor, and Denny teamed for a
fast ascent of the Nose for that time. Weighted down with pitons
and haul bags, the three sailed up the Nose in 3 and a half days,
a fast time then. Steve and Jeff Foote also did a fast ascent of
the NW Face of Half Dome, but Roper was a leader in the creative
department. He and Steck, of course, spearheaded Ascent, a very
good publication even though a bit pseudo-intellectual or self-
righteous at times. One of the best ever issues to be published in
the mountaineering literature was that beautiful issue of Ascent
with Totem Pole on the front. Fitschen's article and Pratt's were the
genius ones, but all the others were good too, including Royal's.
That was fantastic stuff. Roper is a historian. He has an incredible
memory. No, he doesn't get everything right. He is human, like the
rest of us, and I can point out mistakes in his guides and his
Camp 4 and other writings, just as he can point out mistakes in my
historical works. That's normal. But you won't find people that have
gone deeper into it than we have. I appreciate Steve, because he
is a teacher, in essence, in the way he conveys his knowledge and
in the way he remembers. Steve is a valuable spirit in this day and
age. He is a walking wealth of wisdom and memories, in a day when too
many don't have any interest in their roots or in history. Those who
have taken a serious and noble interest are becoming few and fewer.
Hats off to Steve for all he has given us. There are some real pseudo
historians floating around, and some noted climbers who pretend to be
historians, and who get more wrong than they get right, but Steve Roper
is the real thing, an American climbing treasue.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 14, 2010 - 07:26am PT
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Morning Chris,
I think Steve had Mort Hemple house sit for him when he visited Europe and East Germany in about 1970. Steve published his trip to Dresden in “Ascent,” and Mort and his friends drank most of Steve’s wine.
Steve’s private wine label with the Matterhorn accident print was labeled “The Incubus Hills” allowing Steve to unite three of his true loves in life: climbing, wine, and sex.
Steve’s inheritance also allowed him to perfect his fourth love, writing, in organizing and editing “Ascent,” with Allen’s and Chuck’s help. I learned to write and edit listening to those guys.
It sure was fun to hang out at Roper's house.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Mar 14, 2010 - 10:18am PT
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LOL! Steve’s private wine label with the Matterhorn accident print was labeled “The Incubus Hills” allowing Steve to unite three of his true loves in life: climbing, wine, and sex. Great stuff!
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Chris Jones
Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
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Mar 14, 2010 - 01:16pm PT
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As editors of Ascent, Allen Steck and Steve were very taken with the writing of Ed Drummond. (Now there's a character ..). Ascent published his account of a climb on the Orkney Islands, Scotland. Drummond writes of the approach: "swaying like camels under our masters, up the incubus hills ..." They took this startling imagery, and used "The Incubus Hills" as the title of the piece, and as Roger reminds us, as their wine label. Steck also had loads of this wine, but not in anything like the Roperian quantities.
Incubus Hills not only works in the ways Roger outlines, but also in the genre of wine labels. These are often at pains to tell us that the grapes come from this hillside, that Cote, or the other mountain slope.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 14, 2010 - 01:19pm PT
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Hey Chris,
Do you see Ed? If so, ask him to join in. I haven't seen him since we lived on opposite sides of the Pan Handle in 1980.
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John Morton
climber
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Mar 14, 2010 - 01:22pm PT
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OK, I'll pitch in with an early anecdote. I may be the climber who has known Steve the longest - we grew up a few blocks apart, and he was a couple of grades ahead of me in school.
I remember Steve as the terror of the schoolyard at Hillside Elementary. I genuinely feared him, and dreaded encountering him on the street. A neighboring kid named David was very timid - a sitting duck, if you were looking for someone to intimidate. So David's father told David he would pay him a nickel for every time he punched Steve Roper. I am quite certain he never collected, but you could ask Steve about that.
It was years before I came to know Steve again as a climber, and it didn't surprise me to learn that Ed Roper had introduced his son to climbing (and bravely undertaken it himself!) in an effort to keep him out of trouble. Now I am happy to say that I have now enjoyed his company, quick mind and ironic wit for many years.
Roper's pad in the seventies was on Delaware St. I lived far away at that time, but on a visit I knocked at Delaware one evening and Pratt answered the door with no clothes on. Others will have much more to tell about what happened at that place.
About Incubus Hills - Steck has a complete set of labels in his fabulous historical file cabinet - there were several varietals. (Someone start a Steck thread and I will reveal what may be the finest document in that cabinet!)
John
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 14, 2010 - 04:31pm PT
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It's interesting that the alcoholic drink of choice amongst the 1960s era climbers seems to have been (cheap) red wine, whereas from the 1970s onward it seems mostly to have been beer. I wonder why the preference for wine then? More bang for the buck, or?
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MH2
climber
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Mar 14, 2010 - 04:43pm PT
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it didn't surprise me to learn that Ed Roper had introduced his son to climbing (and bravely undertaken it himself!) in an effort to keep him out of trouble
Now there's a pregnant statement. One to conjure with, anyway.
As Robert Nugent said as we watched a lady take over the lead from her faltering partner, "We[men] are all looking for the girl who can get us out of trouble."
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Gene Pool
Trad climber
A trailer park in Santa Cruz
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Mar 14, 2010 - 06:08pm PT
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How many of you have done the Sierra High Route? I did 75% of it a few years back and had a blast. His description of Bench Canyon is classic. If I had it handy, I would quote it for you. In addition to his climbing exploits he must complete with Secor for time spent in the Sierra Nevada.
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oldguy
climber
Bronx, NY
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Mar 14, 2010 - 07:40pm PT
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Roper's secrets are safe with me (at least for the time being), but mention of wine and Ascent reminds me of our editorial meetings for the first two issues (before I decamped to north-eastern California in search of a salary). At the time, Davis Bynam, who made the Incubus Hills wine, had a little shop on San Pablo and was at the blending and bottling stage of his career. He produced a nice sherry, much more than merely drinkable, and sold it in gallon jugs for a very reasonable price, so that became the refreshment of choice at our editorial meetings at Steck's house. We kept forgetting that it was sherry and drank it like it was Chardonay. Fortunately, I lived downhill from Steck and could roll home at the end of an evening. Roper lived up on a ridge, so I don't know how he made it. It amazes me that the quality of Ascent was so high. Later Bynum started selling future shares on wine he produced from grapes himself, and that was the Incubus Hills. It was very good, especially for the price. One day Allen and Steve and a few others and I drank a bottle and left it on top of what became Bynum Spire at Pinnacles. The last time I was there the bottle was gone, probably taken by the same scoundrel who filched Salathe's date can from the Narrows of Sentinel. A few years ago, I found a bottle of Bynum wine on a menu at one of the better restaurants in New York, and although the price was more than double what I usually pay for wine, I had to have it. It was worth every penny, and I even let my wife have a glass. I don't know if Davis is still alive, but he had a beautiful winery up Sonoma/Napa way.
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Dick Erb
climber
June Lake, CA
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Mar 14, 2010 - 08:00pm PT
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Roper's Sierra High route seems to me to be a more interesting and scenic thing to do than the John Muir Trail which was designed as a route for pack trains.
Interesting wine post, Joe.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 14, 2010 - 08:52pm PT
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Great post, Joe, on the details of wine and editing. Heady days in more ways than one. I wonder if anyone has an image of the Incubus Hills label.
Steve was hell on wheels on editing details. He was fanatical about all aspects of every article. It showed; Ascent was really well done. I recall in an early issue of Alpinist, they published a list of corrections suggested by Steve to Christian Beckwith (it probably embarrassed Steve to have it published in the letters-to-the-editor format). It was spot on and a tribute to Steve's eagle eye for details and style. Steve had read the entire magazine through in a couple of hours. Last time I had a chance, Steve's capacity for good wine and good conversation was not diminished.
By the way, Joe, the rule on ST is that any living character who chooses not to post can be exposed, slandered, and placed into untruthful circumstances with impunity. If you know secrets, expose them; if you don’t, lie with verve.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Mar 14, 2010 - 08:56pm PT
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except that most on the STForum these days would be challenged by verve
Roger, your intellectual affectations are showing again...
I didn't know that "living" was a prerequisite
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 14, 2010 - 09:00pm PT
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I'm reasonably sure that Steve wrote to Christian regarding errors in every issue of Alpinist, not that there were usually all that many. It was something of an in-joke, that a few others knew about. Maybe Katie is around and can comment.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Mar 14, 2010 - 09:09pm PT
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Eddie, right, I too am feeling another Nobel coming on for Roger, this time for Verve. The kid does have it though. I think in Cleveland they probably use that noun often. It would just be better if he let loose with rawer thoughts. Look my desktop dictionary says:
verve |vərv|
noun
vigor and spirit or enthusiasm : Kollo sings with supreme verve and flexibility.
ORIGIN late 17th cent. (denoting special talent in writing): from French, ‘vigor,’ earlier ‘form of expression,’ from Latin verba ‘words.’
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 14, 2010 - 09:15pm PT
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It is better still if Steve corrected Beckwith every issue. The best sort of generational joke.
Ed, Joe can do v#rv@, and slandering the dead is not protected by Chris' terms of use.
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JOEY.F
Social climber
sebastopol
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Mar 15, 2010 - 01:14am PT
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Thanks for that photo, Gene Pool.
Twin Island Lakes to Blue Lake Pass
"The route finding during the next few hours is rather tricky;
consult your map often! Many hikers have become temporarily lost in this section."
Ahem.
and
Amen.
Regarding Bench Canyon,
"Below, winding west in graceful curves, lies Bench Canyon, surely one of the most sublime valleys in the range.
Miniscule groves of conifers harmonize perfectly with shining slabs and glistening brooks.
The view to the east is equally stunning, for the northern half of the Ritter Range fills the sky"
Khanom did the route last year, you still out there?
How about some photos?
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 16, 2010 - 03:17am PT
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Spending time with Roper and Powell can permanently skew your mind set.
"There once was a climber named Powell.
Whose antics were suspect and foul.
In place of a Bong
He used Ropers Dong
While Roper cut loose with a howl!"
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Mar 16, 2010 - 02:28pm PT
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I first got to know Roper on the back side of Half Dome in 1966. He and Pratt were camped beside us (me and Michael and Valerie Cohen) in preparation for a NW face climb. Both ours and their intentions were foiled and, as it worked out, Steve and I hiked back to Happy Isles together.
That evening in Camp 4 Roper asked if I had ever done Phantom Pinnacle. Nope! I hadn’t, but I was anxious to do it, especially with someone who knew exactly where it was. It was agreed – we would get an early start in the morning.
With Steve rousing me at 6 AM the following day, we were off and running. With no hesitation at any point along the approach (we walked from Camp4), we arrived at the pinnacle. Roper kept asking me if I thought I could lead the final pitch which he considered the crux. Hell, I didn’t know. If he thought I could I would certainly give it a try.
I remember little of the interim pitches – they went by so quickly, but I do remember the final pitch which was my assigned lead. When Steve arrived on top he immediately set up the first rappel while quizzing me on my reaction to the last lead. Three rappels later we were on the ground.
As we approached Camp 4 around 8:30 AM, Steve stopped in his tracks and said, “Come on we’re going back to the Lodge for coffee!” I asked why and he replied, “S##t, if we go back this early no one will believe we did it.”
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Mar 16, 2010 - 03:47pm PT
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lol!!
great stuff about the Bynum Spire! I cross posted that to mudncrud.com.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Mar 16, 2010 - 06:00pm PT
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Roper's writing was so authoritative that I accepted it as gospel. I first encountered the Red Guide (and technical climbing, generally) in 1967. His introduction, now more than 45 years old, with the discussion on bolts, siege climbing and publicity, still rings true to me today.
I'd heard the story of Roper's epic fall from both Galen Rowell and Wally Upton. From Rowell's description, when Roper's slide ended, Sacherer called down, "Are you all right?" Not expecting an answer, Frank was relieved to hear a hesitant "Yeah." "Good," said Frank. "Now come up here and show me how to get down," to which Roper allegedly replied "I'm not that all right!"
Finally, to amplify on the irony of his last name pointed out earlier, I was always amused that the first ascent party of the Center Route of Nevada Flake (in its day, a beginner's aid climb) included both Roper and Tom Naylor.
John
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Mar 16, 2010 - 10:34pm PT
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I just did a big post and went to send, and poof. It vanished.
Must not have been the right one to do. Ok, I'll try something
different.
Roper is an excellent, very fine, photographer. He has many
classic photos. Because such greats and Denny and Frost are on
the scene, a few other photographers get somewhat overlooked.
Steve is one of those undersung photographers. He took one of
me standing with Royal, on a ledge on the West Face of Lembert,
in fall of 1968 (page 276 in Chris' "Climbing In North America."
What I remember most is when Steve suddenly appeared from above,
on rappel. I had moved over the crux twice and, instead of finding
the bucket that makes the next move almost easy, I was reaching
in the wrong place. I hear Steve's soft voice, "You've done a
lot harder, man." It was a warm, encouraging voice. It was the
side of him I really liked and experienced at times. Sometimes
an unfriendlier, almost mean-spirited side would raise its head,
but always just when I would think that was Roper, that other funny,
warm, gentle, great side, that light, brilliant side would emerge.
That's where memory goes now, almost always, when I think of Steve
Roper...
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David Wilson
climber
CA
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Mar 17, 2010 - 12:11am PT
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Galen used to tell a story about Roper as pilot of a small plane . They were en route to the eastern sierra or another mountain range. Galen was soundly asleep as the weather closed in. Roper searched in the thickening clouds for a way down through to what he hoped would be better visibility. At some point he spotted an opening and dove the plane downwards, sensing the moment. The stall warning went off - a shrill whistle. Galen woke abruptly, panicked, and looked to Roper for reassurance. Roper, deadpan, said " we're f*#ked.........."
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John Morton
climber
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Mar 17, 2010 - 12:54pm PT
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Don, your Phantom Pinnacle story is the best description yet of Roper as a climber.
David Wilson reminds us of that whole category of Roper airplane stories. After claiming his inheritance Steve bought a 6 passenger plane, which he flew all over the West, and as far as Alaska and Central America. Being absent from Berkeley in the seventies I never got a ride, but showing up at Delaware St. one time I spotted two propellers on the porch. The tips were bent into a "J" shape, and Steve explained that this was the result of failing to put the landing gear down before landing. I don't know if he was ever impaired as a pilot, but he used to quote the slogan he was taught for alcoholic pilots: "at least 12 hrs. from bottle to throttle".
My favorite tale is the Davis Gulch landing. Roper was in Utah and picked up (I believe) the Cohens, and I think there was another passenger. It was decided to try and land above Davis Gulch, a tributary canyon of the Escalante which is one of Steve's favorite canyon hikes. Doubts were expressed, but Roper decided to land on a sloping area, apparently smooth. As they taxied to a stop he realized the ground was rather softer than he had hoped. This did not bode well for the takeoff, and it's a long way to walk out of there. Steve placed a marker at a measured distance back from the brink of the dropoff to the Escalante, and explained that he needed a speed of at least x at that point, or they would not lift off and should abort the takeoff. He taxied to the upper end of the slope, turned and gunned it down towards the brink. At the marker they were not going fast enough, but Roper just kept it at full throttle and ... well, we all know that Roper and party were not killed in a crash in Utah in the seventies.
If any reader was on that plane, please correct or fill in details.
John
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 17, 2010 - 02:39pm PT
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I posted these bits on a thread last year:
Steve had a Cessna 210 which was a 6-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engine general aviation plane. Steve would organize flying trips ranging from practicing hair raising cross-wind landings on farmer’s strips in the Central Valley on really windy days; to flights over the Sierra, down 395 and back across the southern Sierra to the Bay Area, also hair raising; and longer trips, such as to South America, landing on beaches and camping. Steve was a very serious pilot and it was fun to go flying with him.
Although I wasn't there, when Steve was learning to fly, he landed on a farmland airport in the Central Valley. Steve remembers it as a pretty smooth landing, and was surprised when he opened the door and the plane was too close to the ground. He had forgotten to put down the landing gear. An airport employee who watched confirmed that it was a pretty smooth landing although he was pretty nervous since he could see the land gear was up. Steve's propeller was bent all to hell and the bottom of the plane had to be fixed up. This is the story John relates above.
To give a flavor of flying with Steve, once, when I was recovering from a bone biopsy on my hand—-a bone in my hand just decided to grow to three times its normal size, interfering with my hand jamming and, of concern to my doctors, possibly interfering with my life expectancy. I had little use of my hand as it healed, but gladly took the co-pilots seat for a look-see of jets taking off and landing at a military base near Sacramento as well as some practice landing on farmer's strips in strong cross winds. (Talk about terrifying: landing side ways to touch down on one wheel then whipping the plane around straight on the second wheel; taxi to the end, turn around, take off and find another strip.)
Above the airbase, Steve assured me that as long as we didn’t fly right over the base we would not be shot down. I was curious about the operation of the plane and Steve took me through the first lessons: flying complete circles with decreasing radii while maintaining altitude. This requires looking at the instruments to maintain pitch and altitude while operating the controls. With the first few wide circles I was fine, essentially flying with my one good hand.
Then Steve ordered me to increase the pitch and the plane started to dive.
As we were barreling for a certain death of either hitting the ground or being shot from the sky for attacking the air base, Steve started yelling at the tops of his lungs:
“Pull up Breedlove. You’re going to f*#king kill us. Pull up, for Christ’s sake.”
He was slapping his thighs and yelling at the top of his lungs and laughing manically.
I was drilling us down.
Finally I croaked, “I cannot pull up. My hand won’t work!”
Steve calmly said, “Let go.” I did and the plane righted itself instantly.
Steve was very serious about flying. But he was bold. He told me once that he had flown across the US to New York City landing at JFK. He figured that as a tax paying citizen he had as much right to land at a big airport in his tiny plane as anyone. As he was approaching, the controller instructed him to "maintain speed," which Steve mimicked in a tense, over-the-radio voice.
"Maintain speed. MAINTAIN SPEED. MAINTAIN SPEED."
Steve said he was going well above normal speed when he touched down.
Then the controller yelled at him to exit left, immediately.
Steve careened his plane off the runway and onto an exit. As the plane turned he could see the underbelly of a giant airliner landing in his wake.
He grinned and said, "Maybe I had the right, but not the good sense in landing at a big airport."
Looking at the Sierra from a small plane and all angles was terrific fun. I missed out on a trip to Central America because I couldn’t get a passport fast enough.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 17, 2010 - 06:01pm PT
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Roger
Great story-I remember a landing with Roper at the Portland Or airport and having a large jet climbing up our ass as we landed. I wonder if this became a habit for Roper?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 17, 2010 - 06:17pm PT
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An innovative trailmaker, as well!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 17, 2010 - 06:40pm PT
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This is a fun Thread to keep alive for a while. No deficit of stories, smut and downright fun lacking with Roper.
The following is another of the infamous letters I received from Steve over the years. Written during his years on holiday with Uncle Sam and unique in that I can post the entire letter without any need of censoring.
cheers
Guido
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 17, 2010 - 07:28pm PT
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No reason to make up Roper, when you have him live, so to speak.
Okay, we have the challenge: Eric Beck to tell the story of freezing in McGehee, Arkansas.
But, please no gratuitous slams on the south: Breedlove is southern (1693 Essex County, Virginia) and my Dad is from Arkansas: the Ozarks; hillbilly Arkansas; proudly Arkansas. His howetown dedicated its library to him. My Mom and younger sister and I visited for the dedication about 20 years ago.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 17, 2010 - 07:34pm PT
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Is "Small One" a form of "Little Joe"?
Also, there's a reference to "the Chief" near the end. I wonder what he was referring to? I don't believe that Steve's ever been to Squamish.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Mar 17, 2010 - 08:12pm PT
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The worst part, Anders, is the reference to the Rhombus and the Chief in the same sentence. This is subterranean history.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 17, 2010 - 08:17pm PT
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Ah, grist for the mill lads!
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Chris Jones
Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
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Mar 17, 2010 - 08:26pm PT
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Roper has quite the way with words. He has a particular pattern of speech, and is both witty and mischievous. This story comes to me from R. D. Caughron, who regarded it as a favorite Roper yarn. RD wanted Roper to come on a climb in the Sierra. He proposed the classic Underhill, Dawson, Eichorn, Clyde 1931 East Face of Mt. Whitney. For a historian and lover of the High Sierra such as Roper, this is a route one might imagine he revered. Roper thought for a moment, then said: "Long drive. Long approach. Sh#t route. (a pause). Have fun."
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 18, 2010 - 12:36am PT
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Famous Roper responses to just about anything and everything:
" Yeah man, no sh#t man"
MIckey's Beach - very early 60s
Famous Roper overtheshoulderdon'tgiveashit belay technique
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 19, 2010 - 08:48pm PT
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"Yah man, no sh#t man" all of Cal was a nudist colony back then!
More Mickey's Beach photos and as you can see, yes we put up the bolt ladder and several other routes back then. Stinson Beach was my fav place to hang out in the summer before my life was destroyed by climbing.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Mar 20, 2010 - 12:34am PT
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Is the Reva who was Kay's sister the same as Reva Colliver?
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Dick Erb
climber
June Lake, CA
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Mar 20, 2010 - 12:53am PT
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Jan - Yes Kay and Reva Johnson were sisters. Reva married Gary Colliver.
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Dick Erb
climber
June Lake, CA
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Mar 24, 2010 - 09:57pm PT
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Somebody must remember about Roper's climb of the Golden Gate Bridge. I heard about it from Steve, but that must have been over 40 years ago, and the only part I remember was that some kid's dad tipped off the cops and they got busted. Who can recall the details? Guido? Foott would know.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 24, 2010 - 10:12pm PT
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Foott would know
Somehwere I can visualize a cartoon or postcard or some graphical display of the time they were caught. Newspaper article? Note from his dad Ed? I will look through the "archives of antiquity" and see what materializes.
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Mar 24, 2010 - 10:44pm PT
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Regarding the Golden Gate Bridge ascent, I remember this tidbit from Steve;
that the crux was stepping up on a rivet slippery with condensation from the fog and that they had to downclimb the move.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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May 18, 2012 - 11:11pm PT
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Well, what do you do with your life when you have climbed all the climbs you desired, drank all the best red wines you or your friends could afford and seen and checked off all the birds on your list?
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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May 18, 2012 - 11:36pm PT
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He's a fine writer. [My standards are higher than most.]
I have long regarded his Sierra High Route book to be essential reading for All Things Backcountry in the Range of Light.
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John Morton
climber
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May 19, 2012 - 10:54am PT
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It just popped into my head: the name of the kid whose father called the cops on the GG bridge ascent - Dave McFadden.
Speaking of Roper appreciation, I saw the Salathe 3rd ascent film with commentary added in connection with a 2008 exhibit at the Autry Museum. Has that been shown at gatherings of climbers? To my mind it's right at the top of climbing films I've seen - no throbbing music, no sickening zooms or preposterous camera angles. The narration is great, recorded casually over wine in Steck's living room. The personalities shine through wonderfully, subtle humor with no trace of self consciousness. Tantalizing sample here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1k5GE3MeLE
John
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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May 19, 2012 - 11:13am PT
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I agree, John. Their informally attempted movie of the second continuous ascent of the Salathe is all that you say it is. Just terrific. Al says that Long bought the camera the day before too. I think it is the best movie of that whole era. Al was passing out copies at the last AAC dinner at Spengers. And it is pretty amazing how much of the route they got filmed considering how heavy the ascent must have seemed at the time. It must have been a great climb for the three of them, Long, Steck and Roper. I imagine Roper must have been their young rope gun at the time!
Getting back to Roper. We are so lucky to have had him at the helm, so to speak. He still is socially connected to dozens of his old friends and does some of the parties locally. And as Eddie Hartouni says, his books are basically so good they are reference volumes for our sport and art.
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BBA
climber
OF
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May 19, 2012 - 10:40pm PT
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What I say here is amenable to correction by anyone who remembers it better than I.
In Berkeley, fall of 1960, I found a better environment for climbing at college than at UCLA because I could get to Indian Rock easily on a bicycle and boulder on a daily basis. Jeff (Foott) and Joe (Guido) and I would also ride our bikes to the top of the Berkeley Hills, Grizzly Peak Road, and then come down at breakneck speeds on the very winding Claremont Avenue. One day Joe went off the road to our amusement, but we hid it. Steve never had anything to do with bicycles, probably because the Berkeley Hills were steep and it took lot of work to get around.
Now and then we would go over to Steve’s house and he would cook a batch of cornbread from those little Jiffy Cornbread boxes which cost about a dime then. We would eat and Steve would put a Beethoven symphony on the turntable and wildly flail his arms to conduct.
One of Steve’s preoccupations was with climbing aid faster, speed climbing. The times in Yosemite on the big new ascents usually required a lot of aid, so if you could figure out how to do it better you could get up climbs a lot faster. He figured out the details and came up with using longer slings than were normally carried and tying the loops on a bias as you see Kor using in Guido’s photos above. Kor’s size dictated four loops, but at the time we all went with three, ala Roper (Layton had not yet arrived). Prior to that I had used only two loop slings tied in whatever manner I had wrongly figured out. Steve had a routine of just pounding a piton in with a few bashes with his adapted carpenter’s hammer and moving up. I practiced going up the old bolt ladder at Indian Rock many times until I had the routine down. It was like a time management study, and I used it in a paper for a business administration course my Forestry major required. The TA said he would give it a “D” because (a) it had nothing to do with business, but (b) it was an interesting application of rigor to solve a time problem.
The efficacy of Steve’s method can be seen in the Rixon's Pinnacle Register 1948-1963 thread. Steve and I went up the S. Face in 5 hours in winter as fast or faster than anyone had done it before (it’s hard to read the register to figure it out 100%), and I had done little aid in the Valley. With Steve’s speed climbing method it went easily and mechanically. I viewed things through a competitive lens, so it was nice to be up with everyone else, especially when you don’t see yourself as being in the top tier.
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John Morton
climber
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May 20, 2012 - 11:34am PT
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Yes, Roper had an enduring interest in technique and efficiency. I think he wanted to upgrade the basic Sierra Club knowhow of climbers to make them faster and smarter (and provide a pool of good partners). The RCS training produced safe and slow people, reliable partners who didn't see the possibilities ahead for California climbing.
Steve was like a graduate school for those who would accept his point of view. He was sometimes berated by the old guard for his apparent emphasis on speed, but that was really an emphasis on eliminating redundancy and the wasting of time. Fast times were merely a byproduct of doing things right.
I have told this one before: in 1963 or 1964 Roper and Jim Baldwin were canvassing Camp 4 for some Sun. morning action and spotted me and Steve Thompson idling. Idling was prohibited, so Roper proposed a nailing race, Roper/Thompson vs. Baldwin/Morton. We took some gear up to a pair of cracks behind the camp. I knew the outcome before we started - Thompson was a natural, tall and efficient though not experienced on aid. Baldwin had placed thousands of pins, but was shorter like me and didn't have Roper's top-loop moves and wide placements.
It was no contest. Cleaning behind Jim soon turned to agony. I had brought no hammer so had to use Jim's spare, a cheap claw hammer with one claw busted off. The head was rounded off to a dull point, and every blow would glance off the pin and bark my knuckles on the rock. I had a dim view of nailing for some time after that day.
John
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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May 20, 2012 - 12:03pm PT
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So good to hear such stories of America's leading writer on rock climbing.
Heirs to Roper will be hard to come by. The standard has been set. No other writer I have read is so consistently perfect.
I particularly love his reminiscence in the "most recent" Ascent. (I write that instead of "the last" Ascent for superstitious reasons.)
It shows he's aging like good wine ought to age.
And I've said it time and again, Roper's hyphenage skills are good, but I am in training and I never train! But he's too good. I must train-I must train-I must train...
Keep on typing, Stoper.
Tarbuster: Does your copy have its screws? I lost one of mine. A a screw can be replaced, but Roper? I think not.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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May 25, 2012 - 12:49am PT
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It was a party at Chouinard’s beach shack – late 60s, early 70s. Tompkins was supposed to arrive with people from the Bay area in his plane.
Tompkins put his plane down on the new highway under construction just above Yvon’s place. Roper emerged from the plane along with others –don’t remember who.
First thing out of his licentious mouth upon eye-balling my young daughters (11 and 9), “Oh my, nymphets.”
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Feb 20, 2017 - 03:24am PT
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I only know Steve from Indian Rock (Berkeley), though I have run into him in the Valley, but he probably wouldn't know who I am. A very nice gentleman.
Chris, Davis Bynum Winery, wow, I remember when they were in Bezerkley. My late brother Mac (and I a couple of times) would go there and talk with Davis and get tips (we started making wine - Saw's Vineyards - in 1969 in our little barn in Saranap - between Lafayette and Walnut Creek, we also had about 90 cab vines. Actually since we had plum, apricot and peach trees, and cherry, olive, mulberry, lemon and orange trees as well - Mac started making plum wine around 1965).
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Feb 20, 2017 - 09:24am PT
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Steve told the Golden Gate bridge story around a campfire one night. It seems they had repainted the bridge just before Steve climbed it. They came down with red paint on their hands.
The headline in the local paper?
"Climbers Caught Red Handed"
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Feb 20, 2017 - 12:23pm PT
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Just remembered another “Roper the pilot” story as related to me by Michael Cohen:
Seems, decades ago, Steve and Michael (and maybe others) flew to some remote canyon in the Southwest to explore. Roper put his plane down uphill into a box canyon.
When the time came to return home, Roper realized the predicament he had created upon landing. He had little room to take off and avoid the surrounding mountains.
In preparation for the takeoff, with engine idling, Roper exited the cockpit and marched off ahead of the plane. After reaching some particular distance, Steve removed a handkerchief from his pocket and placed at his feet. When he returned the plane Michael asked, “What’s the handkerchief for Steve?” Roper’s reply, “I want you to keep your eye on that handkerchief as we takeoff. If we’re not airborne by the time we reach it, yell and I’ll abort.”
Roper revved the engine and the plane began moving, gaining more speed, and more speed, and Michael’s eyes were glued to the assigned marker. Still on the ground as they passed the handkerchief, Michael yelled, and instantly turned to Roper. Jaw set, his eyes firmly fixed ahead, the plane still on the ground, still at full throttle, Steve was leaning forward, pleading, “Come on, baby! Come on baby!”
Michael’s yell to no avail, Roper pressed on. Since both of them are still alive, you know they made it.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 20, 2017 - 03:05pm PT
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Brian- Getting up on the climb was Al's idea as John had determined that the route was beyond his scope after reconing it while climbing the Northeast Bowl. It would make sense that Steck would get first position on the route name as John was hardly an egotistical guy. It sounds better that way too.
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Feb 20, 2017 - 04:52pm PT
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I can't resist telling this legendary Steve Roper/Royal Robbins story, even though I have absolutely no idea what so ever, whether it is true or not, but Tom Gerhuty told me this many years ago, back in the late 60's. If I get banned from Super Topo for relating it, so be it.
This girl shows up at Camp 4. She was attractive, but short on camping gear. It was her custom to spend the night with different climbers, but you had to be a member of the elite of the day. She was fairly picky.
The legend goes that she once spent the night with Roper, and the next day said, "Steve, that was the second best lay I've ever had."
After a few moments of stunned silence, he was curious, who was the best. The legend goes that he just looked her and said, "Royal?". She just quietly raised her eyes and nodded."
Can't beat those golden age climbing girls.
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Feb 20, 2017 - 06:31pm PT
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I have heard the same story almost verbatim.
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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Feb 20, 2017 - 06:49pm PT
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The history of Roper is not easy to disentangle.
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Chris Jones
Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
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Feb 20, 2017 - 08:21pm PT
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Roper told me more or less the identical tale of sexual prowess. He also included the name of the young lass, which I hesitate to divulge here. Altho I included several fantastical Royal legends in my tome "Climbing in North America," this was not among them. Pity perhaps.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Apr 17, 2017 - 08:17pm PT
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Good story!!!
Todd Gordon and I have an almost identical story from Denali with a teenage pilot in deep snow!
We heard the same prayer though..."come on, come on, come on baby!!!"
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