Royal Robbins (RIP)

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Fat Dad

Trad climber

Los Angeles, CA

Mar 15, 2017 - 10:33pm PT

Nice apogee. I'll have to repeat that this season.

Like BG wrote, first 5.9 in America (The Open Book)
First Grade VI in the U.S. (NW Face of Half Dome)
First continuous ascent of El Cap (second ascent of the Nose)
Second route on El Cap (the Salathe)
First solo of El Cap (the Muir Wall)
Hardest aid climb in the U.S. (at the time): NA Wall
First American climber (pretty sure?) to climb clean
Climbing the Steck-Salathe in 1:45.

Probably lots I'm forgetting or don't know about. I mean the guy would solo Ahab in a pair of Tretorns! What a talent. What a life well lived.

neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

Mar 15, 2017 - 11:37pm PT

hey there say, ... very nice shares, here...

and BooDawg... very very wonderful photos, there...
thank you for sharing...

helps folks like me, see the 'man among friends' and
the sparkle, he had, in his older age... :)

very nice!

TomCochrane

Trad climber

Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay

Mar 16, 2017 - 12:27am PT

Fond memories ...

I first met Royal when he yelled at me and my Scottish climbing partner Robbie Blackwood for our evening attempts to yodel from the Petzold Caves on the Grand Teton.

The second time Margaret Young and I met him and Jane Taylor part way up Baxter's Pinnacle and I followed Royal up the 5.9 variation ... possibly the hardest pitch in the Tetons at the time

Jane and I played the Bach Double Violin Concerto together in the Teton climbers camp

Then Royal and Jane Taylor invited me to climb with them on the Jensen's Ridge of Symmetry Spire, and the Grand Teton North Face (interesting stories there)

August 24, 1961 Royal and Jane Taylor did Teepe's Pillar North East Face first ascent, 3 pitches, 5.7-6.7, 39 pitons, 10 hours (I have his detailed route description and topo ... I took two long leader falls trying to repeat it...a few years ago I discussed this with Royal and he raised some interesting confusion about this route.)

Saturday August 26, 1961, Royal and Jane did the Middle Teton North Face - Taylor Route, 10 pitches, 5.9-6.7, 61 pitons, 13 hours 45 minutes (also have his detailed description and topo)(This entire classic route has since fallen off the mountain)

Royal and Joe Fitchen climbed Big Bluff in Garnett Canyon, 6.9. I made several attempts to repeat it.

My notes on this are unclear, but I think Royal may have done the first ascent of The Fifth Column on Disappointment Peak in the Tetons.

I was one of the early people to repeat Royal's free ascent of the Open Book at Tahquitz, climbing with Margaret Young and Jim Richardson. Knowing that it had been done before is what made it possible to step beyond earlier standards.

I did the second (with Margaret) and third (watched by a crowd from Camp Four) free ascents of Rixon's East Chimney and Sacherer followed me as the fourth. I don't know that we ever sorted out whether the first free ascent was done by Royal or by Chouinard. Either way it was another step up as to what we could do. At the time it was considered to be the first 5.10 and the hardest pitch in the valley. (your history book may differ, Crack of Doom came a little later)

Royal and I did the fourth ascent of the Chouinard-Herbert Route on Sentinel using a nuts kit sent to me by Joe Brown. We used a few pitons at stances, so it didn't count as the first significant clean ascent. We had a lot of fun playing around with living without pitons

I made several attempts to solo Royal's route on Higher Cathedral Spire using various engineering innovations to protect the 'Chimney of Horrors'. Royal was always interested in my engineering contrivances, playing around with rope climbing and hauling systems and anchoring systems. When Lionel Terray came to visit, Royal had me demonstrate hooks and mashies/bashies and hauling and Jumars. Some of my solo devices have still not been shared with the general community.

Royal and I did several repeat ascents of Rixon's Pinnacle, once in a driving rain storm with sheets of water running down the rock. Frost was standing in the parking lot yelling up that we were crazy. (He's always been good at noticing such things ;-) It was interesting to see each hand and foot leaving a wake like a speed boat in the layer of water running down the rock.

Royal and I had an ongoing competition between us for doing outrageous no-hands routes. One of his wildest was on Stoney Point Boulder One. I was apparently the only person able to repeat it regularly. Another is at Indian Rock. Also one or two of Gill's no-hands routes in the Tetons. A special challenge in the Tetons was a long bent over pipe rotating in a socket. Unlike a tight rope or a high line, when the pipe started moving in one direction, it wouldn't come back, but just keep moving along in the same direction. So you couldn't use pressure against your feet to maintain equilibrium. We also used to walk along on the tops of a row of coke bottles, but I think Pratt was the only one to get really good at that.

I used a borrowed Questar telescope to study Half Dome and trace out the line of cracks that later became Tis-Sa-Ack. Royal was very doubtful about it, until I convinced him to study the line through the Questar.

Royal and I did an early exploration of the NA wall, but I got out-ranked for the first ascent team when Chouinard showed up. So I was in charge of rinsing out Frost's photochemical bottles and filling them for the team water supply. The water tap used to be where the bench is now below Columbia Boulder. I kept calling up the hill to our camp trying to tell them that you couldn't get all that stuff out of the plastic, but Royal just yelled at me to rinse them out and fill them up. Then up on the wall the contaminated water made Pratt sick and he was furious with me for not rinsing them out better. It seems a dozen rinses was a sign of general neglect. I can't imagine his fury had anything to do with my girl friend playing us off against each other.

In 1964 Royal and Liz and I did the second free ascent of El Cap East Buttress (first free by Sacherer) We moved fast and got very tired and thirsty. I'm guessing Royal was trying to set a speed record as timed by TM in the parking lot. So we were not allowed to take a break for even a second on the way down.

Royal and I did the second free ascent of Sacherer Crackerer with Frost and one or two other people watching.

My notes say that Royal did the second ascent of the East Face of Washington Column (now called Astroman)

Royal and Liz did the first ascent of Goodrich Pinnacle right side. Jim Baldwin and I repeated the left side a few days before he fell off the column.

I watched Royal and TM make the 1963 first ascent of Bridalveil Falls East Buttress ... TM kept Royal laughing uncontrollably for most of the ascent!

We shared a camp under the Wine Boulder and Royal would leave me to guard it during his romantic excursions to Modesto. One time when running out of food and money, I took the liberty of nibbling on his stash for a few days. Upon returning he was furious that I had eaten some of his European biscuits instead of the salami, which I would have preferred anyway...hoping he has forgiven me!

Layton Kor and I did the second ascent of Royal's 1960 route on the North Face of Lower Cathedral Rock in 1964, with Royal at the base yelling for us to come back down, as too dangerous ... (as usual, he was right...)

Very curious that any of us lived long enough to get old ...

Magical times ...

mouse from merced

Trad climber

The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.

Mar 16, 2017 - 04:16am PT

Great photo, Jim H.

Thanks, too, Tom. Your post shows the value of taking notes.

cornel

climber

Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Mar 16, 2017 - 05:28am PT

Condolences to his family and friends. RR was indeed The first Grand Master of American climbing. A visionary of the highest order. Thank you RR.

pssesq

Trad climber

Modesto, CA

Mar 16, 2017 - 06:53am PT

Royal

Up the mountain, down the river.
Touch a rock he hasn’t touched.
Find a rock he hasn’t touched much.
I dare you.
Train jumper, law breaker, self namer, mountain tamer.
Upright man in a vertical world.
Up the mountain, down the river.
Beware the flat ground.
Prospect’n, no regret’n, find a rock he hasn’t touched.
Find a river he hasn’t run.
Up the mountain, down the river.
Lord of the rings, lord of the rocks.
Swapped his pitons for a sling with chocks.
Renegade boyscout on the loose.
Glad that this one slipped the noose.
Up the mountain, down the river.
Name a tree, a flower, a rock.
Name a crack, a face, a route.
Up the chimney, down the shoot.
Pointy end of the rope.
Envy of every mountain goat.
El Cap, North Face, name a buttress, pinnacle.
Camp 4 saver, Yosemitee fund raiser never nay sayer.
Bolt cutt’n, head butt’n fast climber slow driver.
Beware the flat ground.
My friend Royal

wbw

Trad climber

'cross the great divide

Mar 16, 2017 - 07:24am PT

Thank you Mr. Robbins, sir. To say that your influence completely changed the direction of my life 35 years ago is no understatement.

With greatest respect and admiration,
Brad White
Boulder

Larry Nelson

Social climber

Mar 16, 2017 - 07:42am PT

RIP to a man universally admired.
Thanks to all for the great photos and stories.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Mar 16, 2017 - 07:44am PT

The Modesto Bee's headline story today is about Royal. So is their editorial.

The editorial gets some of the climbing details wrong, but its first sentence is wonderful:

"To call Royal Robbins a rock climber is to call Picasso a painter."

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Mar 16, 2017 - 08:36am PT

I read the Ament books, Spirit of the Age, and only then realized the distance that Royal was above the cut. Driven like a bat in a blanket.

I had my basic Rockcraft I & II autographed by Royal.

When he open the first volume to autograph, he said, "Nice, it's not often you see the first printing!"

My Advanced Rockcraft was also a first printing, but he was less impressed when he opened that one to pen his name. Inside the front flap was the stamped card from the Modesto Library (Royal's home town). I still remember the sideways look he gave me.

Thanks Marty Garrison for giving that one to me (also Marty's home town).

RIP to a truly grand visionary.

SuperSpud

Trad climber

Cayucos, CA

Mar 16, 2017 - 10:34am PT

He autographed both of his instructional books for me with the inscription "Good Climbing, Royal Robbins".

After awhile, I realized how much he really meant it.

Thank you Royal.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

Nothing creative to say

Mar 16, 2017 - 11:48am PT

One year at Dodge Ridge, I sat at a table across from him. I wasn't sure it was him, but I didn't know him even though for awhile I lived down the street from the Robbins. What a dork I was not just asking him if he was Royal and that Nutcracker was one of the first routes I did that first year I was climbing in the Valley.

Later having been encouraged by mtnyoung to come up to Pinecrest for the AAC weekend, I was absolutely delighted to meet the man in person. Exchange a few emails. Talk climbing.

Having first read the Rockcraft books, then Pat's biography (which mentions local stone they climbed on 108), this was a rare opportunity to hang out with him and Tom Frost and some of his other friends. As typical of any climber gathering there was gesticulating and talk of climbs, the beer, the wine, the friends. It was fun to see Royal's friends having a good time.

At one event, I at least got to tell him how much his memoir of growing up in So Cal resonated with me. I was another lost soul in the so cal sess-pool of smog, people and plasticity. Climbing was my way out. It was/is a huge part of my life.

I regret having lost my keys at the last AAC event where I had to go back to the parking lot at Burst Rock. Only briefly got to say hi to him that trip, rather than being able to hang out and talk climbing, just like any other climber on any other climbing day.

Best to his friends and family.

-Rob Munge

skcreidc

Social climber

SD, CA

Mar 16, 2017 - 11:50am PT

All I can say is that I have much respect and admiration for him. But what a life! Rest in Peace Royal Robbins

Jay

Trad climber

Fort Mill, SC

Mar 16, 2017 - 03:50pm PT

Legendary, classy, a hero among heroes of the climbing community. He will be missed and his legacy will endure as long as rock climbing does. Respectfully and honorably I salute thee.

guido

Trad climber

Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific

Mar 16, 2017 - 04:29pm PT

Tears in Santa Cruz and around the world today.

Our condolences to the family.

An old friend of over 60 years I can't imagine the scope of lives he touched while on this earth. I do think we are all better individuals for having Royal amongst us.

Clint Cummins

Trad climber

SF Bay area, CA

Mar 16, 2017 - 05:23pm PT

Fat Dad wrote:

Climbing the Steck-Salathe in 1:45.

I don't think he went quite that fast, but he was fast.
Pat Ament's "Spirit of the Age", p.57 describes how Royal and Tom Frost
simulclimbed it in September 1961 in 3 hours 14 minutes.

Later on the page Pat said Royal soloed it later, belaying himself on 3 sections.
This may have been later in 1961, or his solo ascent in 9/9/1966 (3:35)
where we can read his entry in the summit register.
(The John Muir quote looks like his handwriting as well).
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1533071/Sentinel-Rock-Summit-Register-Classic-Whos-Who-1934-1976