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john hansen
climber
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Dec 10, 2006 - 06:58pm PT
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I was just checking out Michael Kennedy's artical in the 79 AAJ on your attempt on Lotak with George Lowe and Jim Dononi.
It's great to see where it all started. Can't wait for the book.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Dec 10, 2006 - 07:02pm PT
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OMG, Jeff, that is so funny. You don't need a movie. Your description is good enough. A new objective hazard for mountain guides...80 lbs bags of cement flying through the air.
Your statement "How did we not die?" takes on a whole new meaning.
Still laughing.
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TYeary
Mountain climber
Calif.
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Dec 10, 2006 - 07:51pm PT
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Great thread Jeff. Belay technics not exactly Freedom of the Hills approved, though! Sometimes I wonder how I survied the early years too.
Tony
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 10, 2006 - 08:05pm PT
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I'm jealous Jeff.
I never got to climb with my grandfather, but I have a photo of him roping up for a glacier crossing in 1928.
My dad was always talking about taking us on an African safari but buying the elephant gun pictured in R&I was about as far as he got. lol
What a lot of people don't realize is that Jeff is a hardcore traditionalist and only last week rappelled down Touchstone using the same dulfersitz technique. Its really gotten him walking funny.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Dec 10, 2006 - 08:48pm PT
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Bravo!
Ultra natty family portrait, great stories.
Carry on.
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Conner
Social climber
on the road
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Dec 10, 2006 - 09:02pm PT
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J- just checking in on Amy and saw this thread at the top of the list. Very cool stories you wend about your Dad.... surely they can go in one of the books you have planned... Cheers, C
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Dec 10, 2006 - 09:07pm PT
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That man lived LIFE. Should we all be like "dad."
JL
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Dec 10, 2006 - 09:08pm PT
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Great story, Jello, keep 'em coming.
Was there a hut at Camp Muir back then? OR, for that matter at the lower saddle of the grand, when you were 7?
This is the stuff (events with our kids) we all need to create, to pass on.
For me, hiking up Longs peak with my Dad when I was 13, (cables up /keyhole down) went a long way toward making climbing a big part of my life.
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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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Dec 10, 2006 - 09:49pm PT
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Jeff, thanks for sharing. That pic is awesome.
My first time climbing with a rope was when my bros and I were out scrambling around in Deaf Smith Canyon. You know that one between Big and Little Cottonwood. We had taken my dads Lariat (he was a vet) and my big brother tied it around me and lowered me off a cliff. Not sure why I got into climbing after that experience, doesnt bode well for my intelligence.
Edit: Jello, I bet you are still the youngest to climb the Grand. I admit, I thought about breaking that record. My youngest son Trevor was dragged around climbing since he was a couple months old. I used to place candies on the trail ahead of him when he was young to coax him along. Alas, I didnt have enough candies in my pack for the Grand. That love for hiking and climbing needs to come from within, and while my kids love other outdoor persuits climbing is not high on the list...
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Ouch!
climber
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Dec 10, 2006 - 11:10pm PT
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" Its really gotten him walking funny"
Magnum wedgie.
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2006 - 11:54pm PT
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Thanks, all. Dad was a seriously twisted but rightious dude. I've got loads of stories to tell about/on him. He and Mom were quite the pair - a wild disciplinarian Republican with the heart of a true liberal, and a devoted Lutheren ex-socialite from Seattle who gave up a career in theatre and dancing to throw her lot in with a Mormon athiest and raise a big passel of kids in the cultural wilds of northern Utah. But that whole saga will go in my next book, which Connie alluded to, which will be a series of portraits of my fantastic partners in a life of climb. But I've gotta get this damn book finished first...
(Hope you're having a great trip down-under, Connie. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Jeff)
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
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Dec 11, 2006 - 01:41am PT
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This thread has been closed until further notice pending a new chapter by Jello.
that is all.
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Dec 11, 2006 - 08:50am PT
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Cool Jeff, a Hudson Hornet. My brother had one of those in the early 1970s, I think it was a 1951 or something.
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RRK
Trad climber
Talladega, Al
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Dec 11, 2006 - 09:32am PT
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Cool shot and stories. You ought to get the family together for a new picture at the same spot- "The Lowe Family Picnic, Part 2" - dulfersitz and all. I had a scar for a long long time from my dulfersizt escape - I would have paid a bunch for that leather pad at the time.
Here's a bit of advice for anyone who still has parents (or grandparents) living. Get out the old video camera and pay them a visit. Put it on a tripod, set it to run and let them be the "talking head". Tell them you're doing a family history and they'll be happy to talk. Start 'em as early as they can remember and just let them tell stories about the "old days" till you run out of tape. I got one of my dad and also one of his mother before they both died and it's something that I would go back into a burning building to retrieve. We all get together and watch them during the holidays - It's like they're right there in the room with you. It doesn't cost much so get going - the clock's ticking. You won't regret it.
RRK
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 11, 2006 - 10:56am PT
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GREAT suggestion, RRK!
Kevin, you've got a 2-year old girl? Fantastic! Daughters are wonderfull - mine's 18 and in college now.
-Jello
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 11, 2006 - 11:16am PT
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18 huh?
Hmmmmm.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 11, 2006 - 11:20am PT
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Ain't love grand and improbable!
I woke up laughing this morning over the concrete strafing run! Great story, Jeff. Very cool to have climbing roots extending so far back. I got my start by hanging around the local climbing shop, the Summit Hut, asking silly questions until somebody eventually took me out either to begin my education as an alpinist or to dispose of my twelve year old annoyance in a tragic but blameless little accident.
Many of my close friends are climbing with their kids and it really warms my heart to see it. I too can't wait for your book to come out. If your forum posts are any indication, it should be a howling good read!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Dec 11, 2006 - 01:04pm PT
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Dad had a fatal heart-attack a few years later, while skiing with his daughter, Lil, at our local area, Snowbasin. After the ski patrolmen had loaded him into the tobaggan, Dad, knowing he was dying, begged them to take him over the old Porqupine gelande jump, which was just below where they were at the time. Of course, despite Dad's entreaties, they could'nt really grant his wish.
What a story, to go with the picture. Thanks.
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N0_ONE
Social climber
Utah
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Dec 11, 2006 - 04:40pm PT
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Bwa ha ha!!!
Ron your killing me! 18 Hmmmm!
I'm still laughing!
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jstan
climber
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Dec 11, 2006 - 05:41pm PT
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OT:
There is an alternative to the Dulfersitz I have seen used in recent times that seems quite reasonable, for short rappels on two strands. Put the rope through between the legs and then bring the brake hand up in front of you so you are basically sitting on the rope with one leg. By doing a reverse one arm you can even take the pressure off your leg. Have never looked for a writeup of this but it must be out there.
Cheers,
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