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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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May 25, 2015 - 11:56am PT
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Here you go. Walt and his gang started the climbing club at the junior college mid-20th century. They climbed in the nearby Needles where they bolted up the Sore Thumb, and much to the consternation of the Conns, left an orange barrel with a cross embedded on the summit. Herb tried to ensnare the abomination with bow and arrow, but failed. Years later Dave Rearick and Bob Kamps free climbed a crack next to the bolt ladder and pushed the barrel off the top.
So, you see, the youngsters of the 1960s and 1970s were preceded by some interesting characters.
Just a bit of climbing history.
Walt Bailey
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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May 25, 2015 - 12:30pm PT
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Walt has s nice memorial at Devils Tower.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 25, 2015 - 12:38pm PT
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Yep Lugar, I don't know how any of us survive the day to day mishaps of our lives, let alone climbing. My own daughter has grown into a beautiful, wee adjusted 25 yr old young woman who just last night texted me to be sure not to miss the new mad max movie.
Guys with plates in their heads wrestling it out in mtn
shops with young bucks half their age, might be lucky to come away with broken necks.....
But yeah, he's still going strong! Did you see the photos he posted here of his homemade electric bike?
Thanks for the history John! I knew that Walt Bailey had met a tragic end, but I don't think I appreciated how young he was!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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May 25, 2015 - 04:30pm PT
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Where's Karen? I'm anticipating a progress report.
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Dick_Lugar_II
Trad climber
Center of My Universe...
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May 25, 2015 - 08:07pm PT
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Walt Bailey amassed an impressive collection of climbing books at the Casper College library during his tenure there as a prof. I was always grateful to him for having access to them...for free! It gave me a once in a lifetime opportunity, at an impressionable age, to read so many great, classic climbing and mountaineering books.
Good idea for ya Karen, to get up to the CC library and check out some of those books for those long Wyoming winter months! Doug's Scott "Big Wall Climbing" and "Freedom of the Hills, 1st or 2nd ed." come to mind. I need to get back up there and see what is still left up there on the shelves. I'm afraid that some of those classics may not be there anymore though for various reasons...
LOL Jay!
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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May 25, 2015 - 08:16pm PT
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Progress report from my ranch: I'm laying in lumber for the construction of an Ark. It's a deluge outside as this is written...
The Little Laramie River near Wheatland is flooding out the bottomlands, but I haven't checked the North Platte since last week.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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May 25, 2015 - 08:42pm PT
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Re: Walt Bailey; he certainly "got around," due to lots of climbs named after him: Walt's Wall, at Vedauwoo; Bailey's Overhang on Castle Rock, Boulder Canyon.
He perished from High Altitude Pulmonary Edema in the Andes.
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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Topic Author's Reply - May 26, 2015 - 05:59am PT
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All of your replay's are awesome, thanks! Begin my new job today, wish me luck!!!!!
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the museum
climber
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May 26, 2015 - 06:27am PT
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You got it! Good luck Karen!
the musuem
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Dick_Lugar_II
Trad climber
Center of My Universe...
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May 26, 2015 - 07:19am PT
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Just curious Karen, what type of work will you be doing in Casper? Is it a long term or short term contract/project? I don't need a name of the company, for obvious security and safety reasons, just curious as to what brought you to Casper.
BTW, I AM NOT a stalker, but I can't speak for the rest of these guys posting on here! :) LOL. Cheers and good luck with the new job. PM me if you want to rope up at the canyon soon! I'm getting that 'ol familiar climbing itch that begins about this time of year!!
Regards,
Frank
EDIT: Sorry, can't help myself. Slow day at work and the sun is out, the sky is blue...so I gotz to post pics!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 26, 2015 - 07:29am PT
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Congrats and go get 'em Karen! I'm excited for you, and I don't even know what you do!
And yeah, that Frank guy is on the level, and so's the other one!
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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Topic Author's Reply - May 28, 2015 - 07:02pm PT
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Hi guys, I've just been too pooped from working and getting used to the time change to post up. At my job it is all computer driven now so having to learn their program but I work with people, am a mental health therapist and the job is long term. Soooooo.....want to learn this area as much as possible, it will take time due to working full time.
Plan on going for a hike this weekend, not sure where, any suggestions? Some place close by?
I quite like it here so far, I've never seen so many trucks in my life, my little Cali car is lost amidst the sea of trucks but it's cool, culture change for sure. People are super nice and I have no complaints so far.
Did I interpret correctly that Dingus lives here?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 28, 2015 - 07:49pm PT
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Near there, Laramie actually. But he has projects closer and is know to frequent the area.
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the museum
climber
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May 28, 2015 - 08:37pm PT
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Karen, check out something at Casper Mtn, or go out to Independence Rock and hike around it and over it and find the H P Bemis 1850 carving, and see if the Swainson's hawks are there.. Juss take CY Avenue out past the Walmart. Oh and get mexican bfast at the 24/7 stop on CY.
Dome Rock NEXT weekend!!!
the museum
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Dick_Lugar_II
Trad climber
Center of My Universe...
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May 28, 2015 - 09:54pm PT
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Oh, yeah...BIG TRUCKS! That is a rude awakening isn't it?? Make sure you roll your window up at stop lights. The guys with diesel trucks like to blast everybody next to them with their black smoke. I arrived in a '82 Subura Sedan from S. Cal myself...felt very inadequate, but I refused to have "big truck" envy. Mental Health profession...Awesome! Casper (as most anywhere) can use more and good MH specialists! As far as hiking goes, from closest to farthest from town:
1. Great hike, great elevation gain from base of Casper Mtn up most of the mtn, the water fall should be in full swing and beautiful this time of year, 100 mi. views to the Big Horns and mins drive from town: (Hiking/Driving time: 1-2 hrs.)
http://www.casperwybridletrail.com/
2. Muddy Mtn. behind Casper, Mtn...probably too muddy (this time of year without a BIG truck!lol), but great day hiking option for future reference: (Hiking/Driving time: 2-4 hrs).
http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGR082-020
3. Do you like lakes? Geology? Fossils? Try Cottonwood beach's fossil interpret trail at Alcova Lake, then continue driving to Fremont Canyon and Pathfinder Dam overlook...one of my favorite drives and sightseeing trip. (Hiking/Driving Time: 4-6 hrs. give or take).
http://www.caspercollege.edu/tate/virtual_fieldtrips/edres_virtual_alcova.pdf
Beware and be on the lookout for the usual critters. If it's warm, rattlesnakes will be out, especially at Alcova/Pathfinder. I ran into a bull elk on Casper, Mtn. one time, scared the bejeevus out of me and saw mtn. lion tracks. Muddy Mtn. has more of the same...be sure to stop by the "Flour Bin" on 1st St./N. Ash St. for some carbo loading before your hike!...they have some of the best chocolate croissants I've ever had! Unheard of and unavailable in Casper until last year..so lucky you! Enjoy.
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patrick compton
Trad climber
van
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May 29, 2015 - 06:40am PT
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spent a year there
2 seasons:
windy and cold, windy and hot
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Just now on my. Fb feed...
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miwuksurfer
climber
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A teaser for Karen...scanned from the 90's...this place still looks much the same...except for the 100 room hotel built to the left in the old parking lot and 4 or 5 corkscrew slides down to the river!! Gets a bit crazy during tourist season! ;)
Credit: Dick_Lugar_II
Is this a joke? Is there really a hotel and water slide there now? I lived in Casper for a year about ten years ago. If I recall, there are some climbs right next to the parking lot too.
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feralfae
Boulder climber
in the midst of a metaphysical mystery
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Karen,
I am so excited for you and your new Wyoming adventure! I am just back from the Chugwater formation north of Lander, where I scattered some of Doug's ashes in the North Fork of the Popo Agie, beneath some cliffs he liked to scramble when in his 60s. I scattered red ochre there and on some graves on the Wind River Reservation.
When you get free time, you MUST go start your climbing log for the Winds. I envy your joyful sense of wonder in that expansive place of great beauty. Truly the Alps of North America. And, if you wish, I hope you start a log of your new adventures here on ST for us, so we can all keep up with your fun.
I am delighted that you are working in the mental health field. We are treating many, many returning military men and women at the VA here for PTSD and head injuries, especially. I sometimes think the entire Earth and all living things are in trauma. But I also think we are learning better stewardship and slowly learning better ways to resolve our problems. I think climbing is healing.
All best wishes to you in your career. It sounds as though you are going to be "settled in" there in Wyoming for quite a while, and probably in Casper. You are going to have a fantastic time exploring your new country. :)
Welcome to the Wonderland of the Basin and Range. :)
feralfae
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2015 - 06:36pm PT
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Thanks once more for all your suggestions and beta. I'd like to get up Casper mtn and do some exploring, will have to put that on this coming weekend's to do list.
I want to climb but must get in shape. The local gym should suffice! Just need to find it.
Happily I did meet Broke Down Climber and he gave me a very nice tour of one of the climbing areas. Thanks again BDC!!!!!
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