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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Boulder Creek CA
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Mar 13, 2010 - 12:37am PT
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Pat, that was in the Teton's several years before I met you. Gill was living in the Teton climbers camp, as I was. I am very impressed that you were later able to climb at anywhere approaching his level.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Boulder Creek CA
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Mar 13, 2010 - 01:00am PT
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John Morton, I remember all you guys with your badge of honor wounds on the backs of your hands from Bridalveil East. That did nothing to tempt me to go there!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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FRANK SACHERER Remembrance Day & Yosemite Old Timer's Reunion.
I just spent over an hour on the phone with Ken Yager yesterday and wanted to announce our plans since they have firmed up finally and this has become an official Yosemite Climbing Association Event.
The Yosemite Park Service is granting permission with the understanding that the historical nature of the event will be emphasized, while YCA hopes that it will be the first in a series of life remembrances for some of the early pioneers of rock climbing in the Valley.
EVENTS SCHEDULE:
May 21 Friday evening
Indoor Auditorium
We will show Pat Ament’s new film on John Gill and the Early Boulderers. Exact time to be announced later.
$10 Donation requested.
May 22
Saturday Afternoon - Memorial and Get Together. Lower River Outdoor Amphitheater 1- 5 pm. Free.
Indoor Auditorium
6pm
Mexican Food and Drinks for the first 150 people
$15 Donation Requested which covers food and film.
8 pm
Second showing of Pat’s film
CAMPING:
May 21 Friday
HODGEDON
YOSEMITE PARK CAMPGROUND
GROUP CAMPSITE – D
This campsite can hold up to 30 people.
May 22 Saturday
WAWONA
YOSEMITE PARK CAMPGROUND
(Southern part of the Park)
Three single campsites have been reserved which can hold up to 2 cars and 6 people each.
GROVELAND
YOSEMITE PINES RV RESORT
PRIVATELY OWNED CAMPGROUND
(West/Northwest of Park)
Two Campsites for 6 people each have been reserved. More are available.
May 23 – 27 Sunday – Thursday morning
HODGEDON
YOSEMITE PARK CAMPGROUND
GROUP CAMPSITE – A
With any luck, another group will cancel and we will have a group campsite at Hodgedon for Saturday night also. Please send positive vibes in that direction!
Meanwhile, if you have special needs (elderly, inform, traveling a long distance, maybe from out of state or out of country, EMAIL me about the reservations for any of the three nights.
For everyone else, the group reservations are on a first come, first served basis.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Thought it would be timely to bump this one.
It's beginning to sound as though Tioga won't be open by May 22nd, which is a real nuisance.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Another bump--see you there, Mighty Hiker!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2010 - 12:12pm PT
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I just reread this entire thread last night. I'm still amazed at the whole thing... pondering what a book might be like, who the audience would be, why it is important... secretly hoping that some creative literary talent out there has already done it...
... looking forward, it will be very nice to meet many of you at the up coming memorial service.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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I am currently in Colorado and going today to pick up the programs for the memorial. Included items are two photos from this website and the list of Frank's climbs, which Ed compiled for this thread.
I too am looking forward to meeting both old and new friends that weekend.
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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Sacherer bump!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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No doubt Kalimon, one of the best history threads in the whole place for sure.
Just the cast of characters in this thread is kind of mind boggling.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Frank’s memorial and the scattering of his ashes in a place overlooking his favorite climb in Yosemite, have come and gone. For those European friends who had earlier bookmarked this page and wondered how it went, here’s the link with the actual photos and some of the talks given. The photos start about half way down the page.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1140305&tn=120
Thank yous to everyone involved in helping bring this to an honorable conclusion, including friends in Europe, are found here.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1140305&msg=1183954#msg1183954
Meanwhile, copies of the program distributed at the memorial have been mailed to Christine Petit-Jean-Genaz at CERN for distribution to people who knew Frank.
Scanned copies are attached below.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Several people at the memorial mentioned Frank’s keen interest in Zen. I had previously noted the influence of his Catholic background, but after hearing the recollections of his close friends, I realized I had neglected the Zen. Neither Frank nor I ever practiced sitting meditation, so it remained an intellectual interest, often in combination with the philosophy of physics.
Here are a couple of comments on the Zen connection made by Eric Beck.
“Frank liked samurai movies because he was fascinated with the idea of maintaining a calm center in the midst of furious activity”.
“Frank was once in a discussion about the nature of freedom. My mom said she thought freedom was not having to do what you don’t want to do. However, Frank came up with a very Zen like definition.
‘Freedom is wanting to do what you have to do’ ”.
Recently also, Paul Kunasz, a friend and early climbing partner of Frank, sent me a copy of a letter he recently sent to the Boulder Daily Camera in response to an article on their sports page.
“I read with interest Jenn Fields' The Partial Zen of Sport because it reminded me of conversations with Frank Sacherer in the years leading up to to 1964, the "summer of Sacherer…….
Frank was interested in pursuing a state of mind while leading which would allow the same calmness and therefore effectiveness in a scary, runout position as one would have when clipped into a couple of good anchors. He was interested in using Zen teachings to explore this state of mind".
Another interesting tidbit from Eric that I had never heard before was that Frank had wanted to study cosmology in grad school and resented being directed into particle physics as were almost all the advanced students at Berkeley. This did not surprise me given his interest in Zen and physics, but was the first I had heard of it.
Ironic too, and indicative of our being attracted to certain types of people, I went on to teach courses in comparative religion and his live in girlfriend after I left, was employed at the World Council of Religions in Geneva and later married a cosmologist.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Finally, I would like to note that one of the reasons I personally put a lot of effort into the memorial was not only to honor Frank and his great influence on my life, but also as a way of repaying his parents for their many acts of kindness.
Frank’s parents always told me that I was the daughter they never had, and treated me accordingly. I was very moved when they invited me to stay with them after I left Switzerland and moved back to the U.S. In fact, I lived with them for nine months until I had finished my B.A. and been accepted into grad school. Then, after I located my own apartment, Frank’s father did not like the ground floor windows, which he felt were unsafe. As a surprise, he replaced them with new aluminum windows at his own expense and using his own labor. For the following year and a half I had dinner with Frank Sr. and Verna every couple of weeks, and for 15 years after I went overseas, I stayed with them whenever I visited the U.S.
Sixteen months ago when I first learned of Frank’s obligatory exhumation, some of my first thoughts went to his parents and how horrified they would have been to know that he was not buried forever. I also knew that finally, I would be able to repay them for their kindness.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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A Poem by Hope Meek
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1180799/Poem-for-Sacherer
Frank Sacherer
His Last Trip
Loyalty, love and friendship
Carried him on his way
To the heights, they spread him
The seventeenth of May
Returned from the Shroud as powder
Remains in Reddish clay
Now returned to heart’s home
His memory here will stay.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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That's awesome Jan.
Thanks for the links, all your hard work, and most of all for sharing so many of your personal thoughts about all of these things since this thread started.
Bruce
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scuffy b
climber
Eastern Salinia
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Thanks, Jan.
I'd been thinking "How could there be more to say" by this time, but
you've produced more touching writing for us.
It's good to know more about this man who was such a great influence,
even to many of us who never met him.
At the memorial, even though I felt myself to be such an outsider, the
little bit of rubbing shoulders I did was very moving for me.
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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Jan,
You are a very strong and courageous individual! Your willingness to bare all has made this thread something special indeed. Frank was a very fortunate man to have found a woman and partner like yourself.
Thank you for everything!
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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Ran into TM at the start of West Crack on Daff Dome one day and he described how nervous FS was on the initial 5.9 move. Try it without sticky rubber and see what you think.
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jstan
climber
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Jan:
What you did had to be done. It was wrong for Frank to be in Chamonix. Now it is right. Yosemite has regained a son. Thank you.
I have a nostalgia drawer that needs a copy of your program for the memorial. My copy got bent up on the train ride. If you have any more, could I impose upon you to mail me one?
It is a work of art.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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jstan-
Email me your address and I'll be happy to send you another one. I have plenty left over.
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