The Sheep Buggerers of JT...BITD

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L.A. Woman

Social climber
Pasadena, CA
May 4, 2016 - 08:48am PT
Russ, The LA Woman photo is quite flattering, thank you. Wish folks could see my face so they can tell who I am. My butt isn't that tight anymore and I'm a brunette now.

Dave, I agree...great article from Rolling Stone and well written.

The pics of The Fish really make everything worthwhile ; )

Roy, carry on you are the best! Class of '78 rocks!! Love the hair.
I'm in the SGHS yearbook as a senior that year...are those things online?
AKDOG

Mountain climber
Anchorage, AK
May 4, 2016 - 10:59am PT
Nice Jeff
Glad to see Toe Tag Tom doing so well
If there is every a party, Tom needs to bring the wine!
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
May 4, 2016 - 05:41pm PT
SOUL SURVIVAL

Bachar and Largo were competitive, and Yabo … tortured, half crazy, and painfully sincere.

At the end of the 70s, it was my time to shine. I had quit college, climbed The Nose, and started guiding as much as possible. During the winter of '80, Erik and I joined Largo, Lynnie, Vogel, Yabo, and a few others for the FAs of the top rope problems Animalitos and Animalargos, at Hound Rocks, Joshua Tree. These discontinuous crack lines were steep and almost acrobatic. Animalitos was the name printed on a box of animal crackers which we passed around. We had fun naming the second route after John Long: "Animalargos".

While we were warming up, Yabo lit up solo on one of the nearby Baskerville cracks. He was always charging out on something iffy, maybe hoping for approval, but mostly getting his fix. Watching him was kind of yucky. He shook nervously for a good portion of his daily baptism.

A year earlier, I'd had my own baptism.

"Get yer chalk bags! Bachar's goin' to The Beaver!!!" Mari rallied the troops … and anybody who thought they could hang, came with.

We were cliquish as hell. But it was a meritocracy, and people generally self-selected, because the atmosphere was inclusive. The Kirkatron, a pumpy traverse named after the eccentric saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk (idolized by Jimi Hendrix), was one of Bachar's favorite workout venues. So we would all sling laps on the reddish monzonite at the base of Sports Challenge Rock and share a top rope on Leave It to Beaver.

When I buzzed across the traverse, Mari hollered, "Where did we get this kid?", but I snapped off a hold and flew onto my back. I was getting strong, but still a little green.

There were times when being out bouldering was the better call, if just to stay warm. This also suited group activities. There is a water wheel affect when climbing in a collective. Examples get set. People try harder. We made each other better by pushing one another. And as part of his meticulous nature and personal flair, Bachar started wearing these idiosyncratic color-coordinated sports outfits. He was a pro, and acted the part.

Gil Scott Heron: "The revolution will not be televised!" The Last Poets: "Black is you, black is me, black is us, black is free." Bachar had soulful and eclectic tastes in jazz. He could also be sharply standoffish, reciting cutting jabs from Frank Zappa while bouldering stuff you couldn't touch.

Boulder problems and ratings? With Bachar you got the John Gill scale. B1, B2, B3. For a while there, only if something was really stiff, would we let it be called B1. Some of us mortals could do those if we really dug deep. Then there were the "Bachar problems". Usually B1+ or harder. From there, it could get confusing and was open to interpretation. B3 was only allotted to problems which one person could do. As soon as it had a second ascent, the problem automatically became B2. And B2, as far as Bachar was concerned, was virtually nonexistent, reserved only for the very hardest problems. And then he told me: "Just look at Gill's scale, Roy. B1 starts at F10, which is 5.10a or b." So, unless you were Bachar, B1 comprised nearly the whole range, because everything from V0, up to about V7, was just B1, maybe B1+ …

Bachar had gone down to Patagonia with Mike Graham and Bridwell. This was just before Bridwell's ascent of Cerro Torre with Steve Brewer. Spring of '79, Bachar, Erik, Lynn, Mike, Mari, Dan Goodwin, and I went on an overnight trip into The Wonderland, for an ascent of Hyperion Arch. During the hike in, John regaled us with stories of hanging with Bridwell on the train, its steel wheels gravely thundering deeply into South America. They swallowed small chips of acid to pass the time, and eventually aborted the expedition. At the base of their intended route, an avalanche had covered their supplies. Bachar and Graham soon left the stalwart Bridwell to his own devices.

The night before we all climbed Hyperion, campfire and reefer-driven chat provided a cheerful eddy in the cold black night of the desert. As we were zipping into our bags for a night of rest beneath the ceiling of stars, Bachar showed us how to make a bed of coals, covered with a thick layer of sand to keep his Blonde God physique extra warm. So he set it all up and rolled his sleeping mat directly over the coals, which were just a little bit submerged in sand. Somewhere in the middle of our sleep, I awoke to hear Erik giggling. Bachar was hustling about in small fits because he had been getting overheated by the coals. Even legends feel the burn.

One very cold morning after the mass Hyperion ascent, when I was scurrying along the edge of B loop with Lechlinski, getting geared up for the day, Bachar was already halfway up Howard's Horror Direct. He was in the zone, piloting his solo capsule.

"He's crazy, it's way too cold for this. Don't follow that example."

Lechlinski a.k.a. Mo, was 26 and I was just 18. Powerful and intimidating, but with a youthful face and a kind of charm which made him seem years younger, he had a solid presence and was an uncanny nonverbal communicator. So when he spoke, there would usually be some kernel of wisdom in his words.

Mo borrowed Bachar's BMX bike and Evans loaned me his Schwinn stingray death bike and we rode to Keys View. The peddling put heat in our bodies and the effort felt good. It's a few miles, all uphill, we were under-geared, and we weren't seasoned riders, so it was kind of an event.

The descent was fast and fun. I was really stoned. I soaked up the sensations from the mechanics of the speeding bike, rubber tires humming over the grainy road, and Mike's bike whirring along to the side, his body hunched over in a tuck. When we got back to camp, Shockley came up to me, "I hear you and Mike pedaled out to Keys view!" Dick was being congratulatory and it felt special. I was beginning to be part of something – something real and vital and absolutely necessary to the survival of the soul.


 Roy McClenahan, May 4, 2016




..................................................................


Another cold weekend at Josh, early 1979, Scatterbrain campsite. Fingertips shredded. Guns holstered. Somebody produced a tape measure and indexed Largo's cranium. One thing led to another and then we were measuring the standing broad jump, grandstanding for Bachar as he let fly.

Mari, Jessica, Roy, Cashner, Largo, Lynn, Bachar:


 photo, Dean Fidelman
(the photo is cropped from an 11 x 17, hand-delivered from Dean by Lynn, which hangs in my world headquarters office)

...................................................................


In the photo below, taken the same weekend as the picture above, we see Lynn Hill on the cover of Mountain Magazine, making the FA of a tall boulder problem in Josh. On this day a bunch of us had spread out into the desert, into the Asteroid Belt, including Juan Largo, Rick Cashner, Randy Vogel, Lynn, maybe Erik, and a few others, scouting for new problems.

Some of us were blazing that day ...


 photo, Randy Vogel


.................................................................



 Commemorative poster featuring Yabo on Planet X, courtesy of Dean Fidelman
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
May 4, 2016 - 06:36pm PT
Some Bachar music:

[Click to View YouTube Video]
MisterE

Gym climber
Small Town with a Big Back Yard
May 4, 2016 - 06:42pm PT
Great writing and photo shares, Roy.

Thanks so much!
BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
May 4, 2016 - 07:43pm PT
The best of the bestest, Thanks Roy!
dee ee

Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
May 4, 2016 - 08:16pm PT
So I'm digging through the DEEP archives and found this one of RV on the FA of Swept Away. I'm looking for the Shawn Curtis prints.

Drilling the second bolt.

He drilled the first pitch and the belay. I led and did the 2nd p in one push.


I got pretty fired up when Roy posted the photos from the Mtn. Mag article and my glorious shot didn't appear. I will find it.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
May 4, 2016 - 08:53pm PT
Voilà

Dave Evans, FA of Swept Away, November 1977:


photo, Randy Vogel
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
May 4, 2016 - 11:01pm PT
Our whole world revolved around 'weekends"

You LA guys. In San Diego we went 24/7, bitches. I got yer Ho Mannnnn right here, Holmes!
Russ Walling

Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
May 4, 2016 - 11:37pm PT
You LA guys. In San Diego we went 24/7, bitches.

Yeah, that may be... but we never taped for size. Aiders on a roll bitches.... Suk it!!
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
May 5, 2016 - 05:30am PT
Funny how ' Hoh Man " , a bit of a secret password , spread and to this day invokes laughter ...
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
May 5, 2016 - 06:35am PT
Sure ... weekends.

Followed by Monday morning $1.99 breakfast at Don Ricardo's with Russ, Larry Loads, Mo, Driver.

Plus Stony on Tuesday, fingertip pull-up contests on the Boxer's door trim on Wednesday, Rubidoux on Thursday ...

And don't get me started about those early 80s multiple-Denny's-stop-pie-coffee-psychotropic-infused all nighter Friday drives out to Josh with The Fish after his machine shop let him off the leash ...
Craig Fry

Trad climber
So Cal.
May 5, 2016 - 09:18am PT
It was all those pebbles down in San Diego that kept the real crags free of vermin.
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
May 5, 2016 - 09:56am PT
I was beginning to be part of something – something real and vital and absolutely necessary to the survival of the soul.

Roy.... very true. I was asked one time by one of the young dudes at SP "so this Stonemaster thing did you need to join like a club?" or something along those lines....

My reply.... we didn't start out thinking we were special in anyway, we were just very young and we were having a blast with this rockclimbing thing. If you were luckey enuf to have lived in those times and you had something to offer, you became part of the group, and the group swallowed you up.


I reall love that shot of DE on swept away... really shows the whole "I made it to this good hold, now WTF do I do with it? "


Keep it up Roy, your making my day.


StahlBro

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
May 5, 2016 - 10:45am PT
Tagging along to watch Bachar lead the Beav.

L.A. Woman

Social climber
Pasadena, CA
May 5, 2016 - 12:15pm PT
Great story Roy. Keep it up, you're making my week. It was great fun being part of the group...it's amazing how new memories keep popping up. I heard that Ho Man! a few times climbing up Suicide as JL was below me looking up ; )
Craig Fry

Trad climber
So Cal.
May 5, 2016 - 04:01pm PT
For one thing for sure
We need LA Women on every page

But it could be Marge, she has blond curly hair
Name that Crag?
Craig Fry

Trad climber
So Cal.
May 5, 2016 - 04:06pm PT
Of course our Sheep Buggerer crew were all Geniuses in one realm or another
some in numerous exploits all at one time
That's what brought us together

Have you seen the sewing stitches on the latest Fish Gear. Very impressive!!

Booges, mathematician
swellyman, packaged goody management
DE, Advanced County Bird Watching authority
Moonie, scientist, tele skier, still fuzzy (according to unnamed sources)
Tar, writer, runner's wife
Mims, artist
The Fist, artist
Manx, vacuum salesman
Driver, Billionaire
Loads, Real Estate Mogul
Schumtzfink, hedge fund manager at Goldman Sachs
Mo, retired

I could go on..
but will have to do alittle more research

Craig Fry

Trad climber
So Cal.
May 5, 2016 - 04:48pm PT
E, genius in developing a lifestyle so he can climb almost all he wants at the highest level for 40 years and into the future
Craig Fry

Trad climber
So Cal.
May 5, 2016 - 04:52pm PT
This photo seems to pop every time you Google Sheep Buggerer
Part of the Russ collection

hopefully Russ can tell us more
She is wearing EBs, but they look like 3 sizes too big!
so it's old
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