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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 30, 2017 - 09:05am PT
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I just learned that John Strand--Slabbo--passed away yesterday. John was a frequent contributor to this and other forums. John was a strong and often very bold climber who established many new routes, particularly in New Hampshire in the '80s. As his avatar indicates he was particularly at home on slabs, and for a number of years he and I would haunt the Quincy Quarries putting up yet more absurd variations. Unfortunately for the past several years he had been struggling with a number of serious health issues. He was a great guy and will very much be missed. Condolences to his wife, Rose.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:10am PT
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Condolences to his friends and family, he was posting up until two days ago. RIP John
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:17am PT
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a great presence, and a drive to continue, an inspiration for us all as we move into that "Rock of Ages" phase of our climbing lives...
on the "2014 is here... what are your climbing goals" thread...
After a hip replacement, heart failure and 3 MI's..I still here.. Hit Red Rocks with Trundlebum...f/a's with Bob D'A.. and with any luck some of the more "moderate" routes in the Black
And live to see 2015
my condolences go out to his family and friends.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:22am PT
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Sad... My since condolences to John's family and many friends.
A life on the rock, is a good way to live.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:29am PT
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RIP John.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:47am PT
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Kind thoughts to all who knew John. Man, this getting old is tough duty. All my peers and heroes are dropping like crazy.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:52am PT
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http://www.climbing.com/news/climb-free-or-die/
Quincy Quarries, MA
“When you climb at the Quarries, you get good at slab climbing or you leave.” —John Strand
In 1825, a hilltop site in Quincy was chosen to provide granite for the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. A railroad was built to extract the stone, and for the next 140 years, chunks of the immaculate rock were quarried and shipped all over the country. Local Boston climbers first began exploring the quarries’ climbing potential in the 1920s.
The quarries, with their slick, fine-grained face and slab climbing, soon became a training ground for local legends like Robert and Miriam Underhill, Ken Henderson, and Lincoln O’Brien—who used the skills gained on the quarry walls to make the first ascents of all of New Hampshire’s major cliffs during the late 1920s and early ’30s.
After the quarries closed in the 1960s, they filled with rainwater and became a mecca for cliff jumping. The city of Boston purchased the quarries in the mid-1980s, but so many people were dying from cliff jumping that the city shut them down. It wasn’t until Boston’s “Big Dig” highway project started in the early 1990s that a solution was found: 700,000 tons of dirt from the giant hole dug downtown was dumped into several of the quarries, including the Railway Crag, which had 200-foot cliffs. Today, the Quarries remain an afterwork training ground for many Boston climbers, who still venture north on weekends to ply their slab skills in the White Mountains.Located just off Boston’s Southeast Expressway, Quincy Quarries’ biggest selling point is its three-minute approach; its biggest negative is the shocking graffiti that covers the bottom of most walls. The guidebook Boston Rocks describes hundreds of routes on more than 20 “craglets,” which range from 20 to 90 feet tall. Most of the routes at Quincy Quarries have been led, but for the average mortal this is primarily a toprope area, with some reasonable leads sprinkled here and there. Landscaped trails with stone staircases lead to the tops of virtually every crag, where you’ll often find fixed anchors.
Most agree that the 40-foot J-Face is one of the best crags, with a host of topropes from 5.4 to 5.11. Lurch (5.7) is a great introduction to the quarries’ slick, granite face climbing. It may also be your first time climbing on paint, which, as you can imagine, has about as much friction as glass. (The graffiti usually ends a body length above the ground.) When you’re warmed up, don’t miss Ladder Line, a thin climb that requires balance, precise footwork, and a refined smearing technique. Ladder Line is rated 5.10 in the guidebook, but this grade was attached back in the late ’60s when it was first climbed by Kevin Bein— most call it 5.11 now.
The slabbiest wall at the quarries is the C Wall, which has a host of moderates on a 70-degree face. Don’t miss Ripple (5.10), established in 1967 by Pete Cleveland. Beware of a sandbag: Cleveland was one of the best free climbers in the country in the 1960s, establishing the 5.12d grade at Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin in 1969. Success on Ripple will require an ability to stand on microscopic smears, which will come in extremely handy on the nearby Temple of Doom (5.12+), the quarries’ ultimate slab testpiece, led by John Strand in 1988. The footholds at the crux are virtually nonexistent, so be prepared to bend your fingertips backwards on the sharp, thin crimps.
Cannon Cliff, New Hampshire
Your slab climbing apprenticeship won’t be complete without an ascent at Cannon Cliff, a 1,000-foot dome of exfoliating granite. Many of Cannon’s best routes are cracks, but the far right side of the cliff has some classic slab routes that should not be missed, like Wiessner’s Buttress (5.6), Consolation Prize (5.8), Odyssey of an Artichoke (5.10), and Condescender (5.11a). Feeling cocky? Take a burn on Stretched on Your Grave, a 5.13- slab done on toprope by Strand and the late John Mallmen in 1988. Strand said he climbed “thousands of feet” of 5.12/5.13 slab in Quincy Quarries to prepare for it. Never bolted, it could be one of the hardest slab routes in the country.
...RIP John
EDIT: Sewellymon, from John's ST photos...
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Mar 30, 2017 - 11:09am PT
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Very sad to hear this.
Peace to his family and friends.
Rick Accomazzo
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Mar 30, 2017 - 11:39am PT
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Sorry to hear this.
Condolences to family and friends.
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rockanice
climber
new york
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Mar 30, 2017 - 12:12pm PT
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saddened to hear, only knew of him through his postings, but his authority in the Northeast was evident
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Mar 30, 2017 - 12:53pm PT
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so bummed to hear this
Condolences to Rose
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Tom Patterson
Trad climber
Seattle
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Mar 30, 2017 - 01:09pm PT
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Doggone it...I'm sorry to hear about this. My condolences to his friends and family.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Mar 30, 2017 - 01:19pm PT
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RIP John
So sorry to hear this news.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Mar 30, 2017 - 01:32pm PT
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Sad to hear this. seems like we were chatting on MP just a few days ago.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Mar 30, 2017 - 01:44pm PT
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Wow, oh man,
RIP, Sir
O, I've got to. Go
But O" ?
Oh?
O?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Mar 30, 2017 - 02:24pm PT
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Sorry to hear about your friend, Alan.
Nice memories of meeting you while climbing at the C/Sea Wall at Quincy Quarries, fall 1975!
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perswig
climber
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Mar 30, 2017 - 02:34pm PT
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Aw, crap. I figured that tough old curmudgeon would be around forever.
My condolences to his wife and family - he was one of a kind and an important part of our local history; will need to break out Webster's and do some re-reading.
Dale Persing
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Mar 30, 2017 - 03:42pm PT
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hey there say, Alan Rubin, thank you kindly for letting us know...
oh my, this is sad... i wish we knew more about this
sooner, so we could have been of some help to or for him...
but, of course, some folks keep these things to themselves, more
than others... i hope he knew his friends here, really cared...
i've seen his post, too, and will miss him...
my condolences to his family and loved ones... :(
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Mar 30, 2017 - 06:18pm PT
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John was a wonderful man and really full of life even when he was struggling the last few years, I talked to him a few times to maybe get together and climb but it just didn't work out. Rose and John were a great asset to the Penitente bolt replacement and trail work days. A great couple and the world's light is just a little dimmer knowing John isn't with us. Safe travels John.
My heart goes out to Rose and if you see this let me know if there is anything I can do.
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Nick Grant
Trad climber
Natick, MA
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Mar 30, 2017 - 06:29pm PT
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John was one of the greatest guys I've known. He was incredibly funny, a terrific storyteller, a legit adventurer, as smart as anyone I've met, and the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend. He was an exceptionally loyal and (despite the sometimes rough exterior) caring person.
A good deal of the fun that I had in the 80's was because of John. His antics were legendary and were only exceeded by his friendship. The Strand/Callaghan climbing partnership was as close to the Brown/Whillans phenomenon that the NorthEast has seen. True hardmen—hard climbing, hard drinking, hard swearing, but always accompanied by madcap hilarity.
I'm really going to miss John.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Mar 30, 2017 - 07:18pm PT
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Condolences to John's family and friends.
RIP
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Mar 30, 2017 - 07:24pm PT
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RIP, Slabbo.
Condolences to all his friends and family.
I was living in Boston the year I started climbing, and went to Quincy Quarries twice before I moved out to California the following year. I loved the climbing there - now I will think of Slabbo in connection with those memories.
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Mar 30, 2017 - 07:31pm PT
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Another living legend passes.
A toast to what John Strand lived & experienced,
& condolences to his family & friends.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Trad climber
Will know soon
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Mar 30, 2017 - 07:37pm PT
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Saying goodbye......My prayers are with all of John's loved ones, family and friends. Life is awesome, the time we spend here with each other equally so.
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Mar 30, 2017 - 07:55pm PT
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Condolences to family and friends.
What is the yearly morbidity rate amongst posters here compared to general population? Could it be this place is hazardous to your health?
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 30, 2017 - 08:36pm PT
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So sad. RIP
Active to the end, he posted on the 28th!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 30, 2017 - 09:17pm PT
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Very sad to hear this news. I really liked what John had to say on this forum as a fellow slabophile. He was an old school guy and I appreciated his perspective as such.
My sincere condolences to his family and friends. He was clearly a fine man.
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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Mar 31, 2017 - 03:27pm PT
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I met John in the Quarries in about 1979 when I was a naive freshman in college.
He instilled in me a strong old-school ethic and style which I value to this day even if I don't live to it.
He was a character, and as Boston as they get.
We had a memorable trip to the Valley in 1983 with Tom Callahan, John Mallery, Dave Rose.
They had driven straight through and I remember John saying "if you're not going to drive 500 miles don't even bother taking the wheel..."
I still remember them stumbling out of the car and heading straight to Separate Reality...
On the trip they put up The Ticket,5.10 slab, on Middle Cathedral Apron with Bob Gaines.
I lost touch in the later 80's and 90's but was so impressed with the routes he and Tom put up in New Hampshire.
That photo on Grand Finale is really proud!
He seemed part of the Supertopo family and really valued this crew.
I'll miss him and will always remember him when making a sketchy run-out slab move...
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perswig
climber
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^^
Speaking of sketchy run-out slab moves...
A few of John's contributions, from Webster's third ed.:
CALIFORNIA GIRLS I 5.11d R (directed finish to Western Lady)
Not often led, for very obvious reasons! There is no protection at all.
1a. For added difficulty and danger, climb up and slightly left after Western Lady's second bolt, making a long runout (5.11d R) to the trees. 45'
History: John Strand made the variation's first ascent on April 29, 1985, without falls - mainly due to extreme fear.
CUFF LINK I 5.11D R
A unique combination link-up of several of the VENTILATOR slab's hardest routes. An extremely sustained pitch: go for broke!
1. Start up Ventilator (5.10b), then traverse left along a seam to join Western Lady at its first bolt. Continue up Lady (5.11b), step left, and finish up California Girls (5.11d R), the crux, 5.11d R.
History: Attempting to complete the first link-up, Tom Callaghan fell from the final hard move, plunging at least 50 feet. Fortunately, he landed on his chalkbag which saved him from serious injury. John Strand led the route for the first time in April, 1988.
ONE HIT TO THE BODY II 5.12b (or 5.11d) (5.10d R/5.9+X)
Although something of an eliminate line, the route has very unique climbing. Some parties choose to avoid the original 5.12b crux on the left at 5.11d
1. 5.9+ X
2. Step up to a fixed pin on the left before making a 5.11 traverse right on unique pockets to a bolt. The FA party stepped right to surmount a difficult bulge (5.12b) to a second bolt, while later ascents have climbed the bulge on the left (5.11d). An easier runout (5.11a) gains a good belay ledge with small Friend anchors. 45' 5.12b or 5.11d
3. 5.10R
4. 5.8, dirty.
History: after Tom Callaghan and John Strand climbed the crux pitch on May 27, 1986, John Strand and Scott Stevenson completed the route on May 30, 1986. Only the crux bolt was placed with aid, from a skyhook. All other protection was placed free on lead.
That's in the first 80 pages of the guide. His name continues throughout, on moderates way out in the boonies where folks rarely go, and on variations and direct lines that often step up the grade and commitment of the original routes.
My only knowing brush with a Strand variation was the direct start to Waiting for Comeau. We were wandering around one early spring after doing The Booklet and Pathfinder, and probably Short Order, one of my favorites at the time. Not quite ready to quit for the day, my partner offered Sleeping Beauty, which made me laugh (he wasn't gonna lead it and I had made a dog's breakfast of following the second pitch the fall before).
We ended up at Comeau, which was seeping as usual for the first arch and undercling. Depending on grade, that doesn't always put me off, but I find that initial traverse tricky as is; the other option was Strand's start direct to the corner, as the rest of the route looked fine. With the slabby mileage we had just done, and a snowpack that shortened the distance to the first gear by at least 3 feet and covered the Punji sticks left from someone's brush clearing efforts at the base, it looked reasonable and it was, just sustained three-point friction to a perfect jam and then great gear. Thanks, John.
Dale
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