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Jorge
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 2, 2006 - 04:48pm PT
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G_Gnome
Boulder climber
Sick Midget Land
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Werner hasn't changed a bit, now about that other guy...
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Isn't there a third shot when the ledge hourglasses and dump Mikey into the dirt?
I was testing my trusty Gramiici ledge hanging from a jug hold I had screwed into the wooden ceiling. I was about a foot or two off the floor. The hold pulled, fell 6 feet and hit me hard in the forehead at the same I crashed suddenly into the floor. Blood was flowing! It was traumatic!
Wasn't the ledges fault though.
Peace
Karl
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Hahaha George!
Is that Whitey standing all Sauvé behind me in that first shot? If I didn’t know any better I would think that’s my youngest son sitting there. It’s true Werner you haven’t changed, maybe you’re a little thinner. Me on the other hand! For those interested it’s a rocky road to get back in shape but as long as I can still use my feet there’s hope.
That ledge had a fiberglass frame, only made one that way, super light kept it for myself!
Lent it to Michael Kennedy some years later to climb Trango tower. He had to toss it off to lighten the load for a nasty decent. He felt so bad about it he gave me a year’s free advertising in his Mag. Climbing.
Did we really dress like that?
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Karl, ouch sorry about that. What does Jaybro call them? “Parallelogram” hahaha…;-)
I made the beds tight so if it wasn’t loaded they would spring. guess they developed a rep for that. Hey may have been forgotten otherwise.
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scuffy b
climber
The town that Nature forgot to hate
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Is there something wrong with dressing like that?
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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damn. the inventor of the modern portaledge...eerrr, i mean "cliff dwelling"
street cred like "WHOA!!"
major highlight of my climbing life was getting to kick it like a regular joe, drinking a.m. coffee next to MG at KP's place last april. damn straight, homies. he da man. "the quiet american....."
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Mike White?
Looks pretty much,
'speshly with them kuh-boy duds...
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WBraun
climber
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Gramiici the master inventor, always thinking up various inventions and ideas. Remember the time you told me we will now stare at the candle ......... and see what it says.
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Jorge
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 2, 2006 - 11:29pm PT
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How clever of you Tbuster to clean that up. Never occurred to me...
Mike, I know you've seen it, but this shot really shows your focus.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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titanic. one of my fave valley probs.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Graham,
Were the corners on that ledge done by Larry Sampson by any chance? He mentioned working on an early ledge design (proto-Fish) with you. Cool stuff.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Bob, you’re too funny! A highlight for me would be carrying your pad around for you.
Yep, that be Mike White. The bay area cowboy!
Werner you remember what we saw looking into that candle?
George you took that shot just after I Soloed the Aquarian, I lost 20 lbs shivering for four days straight. I have never been able to live up to that weight again. Thanks
Marty, not sure I remember Larry. Johnny Woodward was the only other one I had working on the “Cliff Dwellings” in the later days.
Cheers
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Mike,
Larry-mo was/is Eddie-mo Sampson's brother. He used to mill ledge corners for Fish and made some drift pins and other stuff. Cool guy.
On a whole other tangent, care to relate any stories from freeing the Beckey/Chouinard route on Howser Tower?
Marty
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Marty, I figured Larry was related to Ed.
Our trip to Canada was a long time back as well. Rick summed up his Howser climb pretty well in Trashman’s thread. There were four of us on that trip but we always climbed two parties of two. Richard Harrison and I had some other projects going on a different peak when Rick and Tobin went back in the Howser area.
That was a fun road trip for four friends
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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George,
All very nice, but a major let down after the title of this thread. I will dig out a slide featuring a young lady, Mike and sleeping bags. Stay tuned.
Rick
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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*bump with photo*
A modern Graham & BVB:
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Sooooo, Mike, been on the Aquarian lately?
We love you all the same. That is if you love us all the same.
Hee, he. Best
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Snell Field, Chamonix, 1976. Mike met his lovely wife-to-be, Wendy, in Chamonix that summer. The rest, as they say, is history. Had lunch with Wendy and Mike in San Clemente last summer. Thirty years later, Wendy is as pretty as ever.
Note the nifty camp chair borrowed from the nearby junkyard.
Mike, you should tell the truly epic story of your solo on the Aquarian wall: several days alone and stationary in the prototype Cliff Dwelling, high on El Cap, pounded by rain and waterfalls, had to hold the fabric together the whole time to prevent it from ripping apart.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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and Graham,
after the Aquarian tale, how about a couple snapshots from your storied trip Down Under?
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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I agree. This is a great thread about a great guy, and it would be not only wonderful but important, if Mike would put some stuff up. We would love it.
Best PH
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WBraun
climber
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Ah yes, the Aquarian tale ......
You told me you were sitting on the ledge, and Virgina Parker showed up next to you and she wanted some of your bivy food. You were having a conversation with her up there. You were hypothermic and having difficulties.
When you topped out I went looking for you and found you staggering back to Camp 4 on the road. The first thing you said to me as I drove up to you: "Werner talk to me".
You had not spoken to anyone for days during your drenched cold climb up that rock called El Capitan.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Peter thanks for that. You are one I always looked up to back then.
Rick you were scaring me when you mentioned shots of me in bed with someone
Werner you have an uncanny ability to remember some significant spiritual details. I don’t know if you noticed this but its you I always run into first in the valley still to this day.
I talked to several people about my experience that night on Thanksgiving ledge to try and understand the meaning of the whole thing. It involved both Virginia and her sister Lucy both native Yosemite Indians as you know. Without getting into the depth of the apparition at one point during it I was sharing what food I had left them. I had remembered tossing Virginia something to eat. At day break as I sat up shaking off the impossible and thinking I had an odd dream. I look over to see a half package of cheese about eight feet from me. To this day it still affects me. At that point I don’t think I was hypothermic anymore but I was sure tired and glad to get out of the hammock after spending 3 days and 4 nights in the same place and not sleeping much.
This was the view from my bed during a light rain and after the snow had stopped.
The Route is aptly named, when the water really came down it pounded so hard on my rain fly I couldn’t hear myself screaming for it to stop.
It didn’t take long that morning after to book it to the top. My self portrait has me drying out my feet and my clothes rotting off me. At this point I am just enjoying any sunlight that comes my way. As many of you know these moments are when you are the most connected with all that’s around you.
It was sure nice to see Werner as I’m stumbling down the road back to camp 4 I very well remember saying “Werner talk to me”
I mentioned my dream to the Indian sisters and they just smiled and said that is a very spiritual place.
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CathC
Social climber
Wyoming
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Very cool story Graham.. esp. the part about Lucy and Virginia... great photo of you also
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Thanks Catherine, great to hear from you here.
You, Richard and I had a pretty fun last minute ascent of the West Face of Sentinel.
Remember that?
Cheers,
Mike
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CathC
Social climber
Wyoming
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Hi Mike, I was thinking about that climb last night and what a whipper I took, and you and Richard were so kind to me after my airborne experience. I was rather gripped for a while, but we finished didn't we !!!Cath
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GDavis
Trad climber
SoCal
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Mar 23, 2008 - 07:36pm PT
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This was a great read. Thanks Graham.
Bump.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Mar 23, 2008 - 10:24pm PT
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RE:
"At day break as I sat up shaking off the impossible and thinking I had an odd dream. I look over to see a half package of cheese about eight feet from me. To this day it still affects me"
excellent -
thanx for sharing +
thanx for the bump
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Mar 24, 2008 - 02:17am PT
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Mike! How about a SM pant with reinforced knees and ass? otherwise, white pant is right pant! thx mang!
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Anastasia
climber
Not here
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Mar 24, 2008 - 04:07am PT
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Graham, your story makes a few things in my life literally form into different shapes.
Please Graham...
Will you share a little more about this event?
AF
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Mar 24, 2008 - 08:16pm PT
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This is really weird, the past week I have been writing a tall tale about the Aquarian. I am right at the part about the thanksgiving ledge hallucination. And you dig this up.
Bizarre !
I’ll tell more someday soon.
Thanks for the bumps
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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bump, awesome pics/stories from BITD.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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I had my ledge that Mike made for me until just a few years ago. We were moving and I was cleaning house. I'm bummed to say that I simply tossed it in the trash. I really wish I hadn't done that.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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Like watching a classic movie.... Happy 4th to everyone. Lynne
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Bump for the history channel.
Those of you that have other chapters,
please put them up!
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Hey Jorge are you the same Jorge that I had the pleasure of putting up a route on Sonora Pass in the early 80's?
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Thanks Blinny for clearin the beta... I hooked up with some local valley Dude in the early eighties from Germany???? and Can't remember his whole name Jorgensen ...........and we established some FA's in Sonora that I can Barely recall where and what... and it would be exceptional to get in touch with an ol' scool fella.... If I was more awake I'd Have realized that this was a George Meyers Gig and Knott gotten waysided.... Take care and keep the majic....
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Suicide '77ish
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Proud solo Mike!
The bed sale wouldn't be complete without this product shot from the great aquatic adventure.
And while Mike White's name is passing around, here's one of his claims to fame (as a photographer).
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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steve, you should scan and post the first page of that interview with mg. i literally have not read it in twenty-five or thirty years, but i can still remember the first lines:
"heard about the yank who's been climbing all the hard routes?"
"all the hard routes??" i replied, british pride sputtering inside me.
"profit of doom, white wall, [etc etc]", the sacred names reeled off his toungue..."
or words to that effect. it was a really great little profile, and especially telling if you were a student of mountain magazine, ken wilson's editorial style, the 70's british fascination with california climbing, and so on. plus it "outted" mike graham as a truly great climber, quiet or no.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Sep 10, 2010 - 11:11am PT
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Bump to echo scan request, please.
Hope to be heading up on Aquarian in a few weeks, and would love to see more pics.
Here's another photo of Mike today, although he doesn't quite look like the same Honemaster from the first couple photos! [Not like me on the right, sheesh]. And that's my partner Minnesota Mark on the left, who I climbed Pacemaker with this spring.
{sigh} The bridge. Tuesday. Be there or be square. Bring beer or be queer. Summit or plummet.
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Slakkey
Big Wall climber
From Back to Big Wall Baby
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Sep 10, 2010 - 12:27pm PT
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That Ledge truly was and still is in many was ahead of its time.
Pete, The Princess and I will not be arriving until the 21st. So more than likely you will be on the wall by then. Dont forget your paddle for the Canoe on the Albatross. I did the Aquarian Wall several years ago and the one thing I really remember is it was Grassy in spots. I think others have written about the same experience as well. Doubt anyone has been up there this year yet so your gardening skills from Pacemaker this spring may come in handy or you could have Soren go up there and mow it down for you ahead of time :) All in all still an interesting route
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Sep 10, 2010 - 12:31pm PT
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I had one of those ledges.
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