Will Yosemite Pioneers Be Forgotten?

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ECF

Big Wall climber
Apr 27, 2015 - 02:41pm PT
Johntp
You are thinking of Joe Simpson, I'd guess.

I read everything from Whymper to Rowell. There is so much to be learned in those stories. So much wisdom earned the hard way.
Seemed smarter to try and learn from other peoples errors as much as possible when lives are on the line.
Knowing what others had done and made it through, has helped me many times in keeping it together when it starts getting seriously grim.

But when you can look up anything you want at a moment's notice, why learn anything?
Right?

IMO, in a hundred years all that will still be told of Yostory is
George Anderson
Robbins vs Harding
Bridwell
Free Nose, Free Dawn
Honnold making everyone else look like pussies by soloing absolutely everything

Really, where do you go after that?
rbord

Boulder climber
atlanta
Apr 27, 2015 - 03:02pm PT
Reading a quote from Ashley Montague in Neurodiversity about the glories of my daughter's adhd.

From their "mature adult" heights adults only too frequently look down patronizingly upon the "childish" qualities of the child, without any understanding of their real meaning. Such adults fail to understand that those "childish" qualities constitute the most valuable possessions of our species, to be cherished, nurtured, and cultivated.

Love that girl of mine and her irrepressible childish energy! Or build a shrine to RR, if we prefer.
Mike Friedrichs

Sport climber
City of Salt
Apr 27, 2015 - 03:35pm PT
I'm with Rhodo-Router. The history of the crag where I learned to climb (Vedauwoo) is mostly forgotten. The few of us who remember such things have moved away, passed away, or simply lost interest. I suspect there are many such areas that have lost or are in danger of losing their history.

Yosemite may be one of the only areas where that history has been preserved.
Byran

climber
San Jose, CA
Apr 27, 2015 - 03:53pm PT
I think as long as guidebooks and such continue to have FA indexes, then the pioneers who put up a bunch of routes will continue to be well-recognized, or at least their names will. Plus a bunch of climbs and formations are named after the FA party: Dolt Tower, the Huber Variation, Harding Slot, Kor Roof, Schultz's Ridge, Sacherer Cracker, Kaukulator, Klemens' Escape, Werner's Ant Trees, the Chouinard-Herbert, Bachar-Yerian, Ament Arete, Bates Problem, and a million other examples.

Edit: On a related note, anybody know who/what Rixon's Pinnacle is named after? It popped into my head when I was coming up with routes named after people, and I realized I don't know how it got the name. First climbed by Chuck and Ellen Wilts in 1948, but perhaps already named prior to that?
Ihateplastic

Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
Topic Author's Reply - Apr 27, 2015 - 04:36pm PT
Byran... Good opinion!

And I too am perplexed by Rixon's. I have a decent library and an above average knowledge of Valley climbing and can find no mention of who Mr. (or Mrs. or Miss) Rixon is or was.
StahlBro

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
Apr 27, 2015 - 04:36pm PT
I'm with DMT on this one. Put it out there and let it stand on it's own merit. Spray it all you want, but go easy on slandering what people are doing today.

It just freakin' rock climbing for Buddha's sake. Respect is important, hero worship is creepy.
Bullwinkle

Boulder climber
Apr 27, 2015 - 04:36pm PT
I've been working on a New Book for the past two years with Largo called "Yosemite in the 50's" The Iron Age. It will be avabile the beginning of September, Published thur Patagonia Books. This is a Great Book, a labor of Love and Obbession. . .df

This will be the Third climbing History Book about Yosemite from we've made, The StoneMasters, Valley Climbers and now Yosemite in the 50's. . .
EdBannister

Mountain climber
13,000 feet
Apr 27, 2015 - 04:40pm PT
Read through your list to see if you "forgot" Bev Johnson, but you did not

so at least you are ok.. : )

Ultimately the climbs are more important than the people
some realized that early and never reported a route they did.

Many could learn to climb with a little more coherence in general,
but there are some, and at least one on your list, who did not.
Ihateplastic

Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
Topic Author's Reply - Apr 27, 2015 - 04:55pm PT
Dean! So looking forward to that. Gotta make more room on the shelf!
EdBannister

Mountain climber
13,000 feet
Apr 27, 2015 - 05:01pm PT
and.. Ron, Dale, but not Tony?

oh by the way, after Westbay, Long, and Birdwell did the Nose in a day,
Dale Bard and Tony Yaniro fixed to sicle.. and in the morning started up, Dale insisted on hanging out for 45 minutes or so most of the way up so they would not look like they were trying to set a record… which they did not do because they fixed the first four pitches..

back at camp 4 eating LUNCH someone asked what they did that morning… "oh the nose"
came the answer.. nobody even contemplated that they were serious, they had cut the record in half. i think it took another 10 years before someone else climbed the nose that fast.
WBraun

climber
Apr 27, 2015 - 05:01pm PT
Wave you arms, embellish, lie out the sides of your mouth IT DOES NOT MATTER.

In 1945 Albert and Mabel Rixon stood in front of the pinnacle and took self portrait.

They called it Rixon's Pinnacle ........
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Apr 27, 2015 - 05:07pm PT
ECF-

I am also an avid reader of climbing tomes.

**All four made it to the West Summit for a second time, which was snow lined and more straightforward, and established a snow cave at 7000m on the ridge connecting it to the main summit, which would be their high camp. Doug and Chris then had a go at the main summit, a 250m rock pinnacle which required many pitches of extreme rock climbing (Doug said it was difficult to estimate the climbing grade because the problems are very different at high altitude, but he said it was certainly the most technical climbing he ever did at that altitude). They reached the summit on July 13th as the sun was setting. Because it was so late in the day they knew they had to get down quickly while there was still some daylight, which they did by abseiling. During one pitch Doug took a 30m pendulum swing against a rock face and smashed his legs. He pushed off with one of them against the rock, and felt such unspeakable pain wrench through him that he realised it must be broken. He pushed off with the other leg, and felt the pain again. Both legs were broken, and they were on a small ledge a little below the summit, with more than 2000 metres of extreme climbing ahead of them if Doug was to get back to base camp safely.

“There wasn’t any fear, just anticipation,” said Doug. “I never had any doubt that I would get down, I just didn’t know how I was going to do it.”**
EdBannister

Mountain climber
13,000 feet
Apr 27, 2015 - 05:10pm PT
Bullwinkle!

Since the book is about the iron age..
will it tell of John Salathe"s company?

That company made pins that looked strikingly like lost arrows!
and the company logo was a Diamond P !!

Looking forward to your accurate story as published by Chouinard.

Ed
Studly

Trad climber
WA
Apr 27, 2015 - 06:03pm PT
Lynn's free ascent of the Nose may be the most momentous athletic achievement of any female in history, as far as one upping the men and the length of time before anyone followed in her footsteps.
this just in

climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
Apr 27, 2015 - 06:37pm PT
This book is incredible
pyro

Big Wall climber
Calabasas
Apr 27, 2015 - 06:55pm PT
The iron age Sounds just bad ass!
Thanks bullwinkle.
I'll get it at GPIW...
hobo_dan

Social climber
Minnesota
Apr 27, 2015 - 07:01pm PT
Mark Twain goes to Pompeii and he walks into a home whose stone threshold has been worn down an inch by all of the people who have visited the family over the years. 1600 years (and a volcanic eruption) later he wonders who these people were and what did they do?
So who was that who pinned out Serenity Crack?
WBraun

climber
Apr 27, 2015 - 07:04pm PT
I did it several times with pins so that banana eating monkeys could do it free later.

The Iron Age .....
Lynne Leichtfuss

Trad climber
Will know soon
Apr 27, 2015 - 07:06pm PT
Honor the story tellers. That's how history thru the ages has been passed down to the many generations.....that listen.
Lynne Leichtfuss

Trad climber
Will know soon
Apr 27, 2015 - 07:31pm PT
You are so right, Warbler. But timing is everything. Trying to get on the same page with Beckey and TM for our book. Everyone says, get TM at a campfire......yeah. Trying.
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