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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Not even close...If I do have it scanned already then posting it is easy as it was here.
No date on the Rixon's ascent in Ropers green guide but Roper himself says that the Crack of Doom was the first 5.10 and I did say "commonly" as there is always some ambiguity surrounding firsts.
As I mentioned earlier, many areas had 5.9-, 5.9 and 5.9+ which gives you three grades so four isn't a big stretch for 5.10 as each letter grade is sensible. What's in a grade?
Jim's genius was comparing and categorizing Yosemite grades at a time when the playing field had been thoroughly leveled by clean climbing such that everyone had the same set of tools for protection, a rack of Hexes and Stoppers.
At your level of expertise, John, B1-B3 with plus and minuses worked just fine for your own purposes but then bouldering became popular and took off. The Aussie system always made more sense to me than what we ended up with for roped climbs.
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EdBannister
Mountain climber
13,000 feet
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Steve, prototype sets of the RURP were provided to a few people to try before they went to market, these included a #0, which was scary thin/bendy, it was not offered for sale.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I think that the RURP concept has lead to many variations in shape, thickness and taper along the way. Even the standardized shape had three discernible grind tapers and I recall carrying a couple of each to conquer incipient Reality as it presented itself. I bought a bunch of hardware from Paul Sibley which I think includes a #0 as you describe it, a micro RURP! Clog produced some very thin offset eye tacks but Dolt made the tiniest of them all, of course. None of them in my collection for show and tell.
Five RURPS in a row is my personal best on the pitch above the Gold Doubloon on the Jolly Roger.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
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What about those things called Hatchets™™ that Yaniro had a million years ago? I think they were a ground down 1/2 sized RURP or something similar.
As for RURP placements, above the Brow on BUBS I socked in 13 or so in a row... Shipley was dying trying to clean them since they were on a traversing mini-shelf crack thingy... looked and sounded like a ball-ache.
http://fishproducts.com/topos/yostopos/badsign.html
To add to the thread... If it wasn't for the Bird, I probably never would of heard of Urantia (not saying this is a good thing)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urantia_Book
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ec
climber
ca
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Russ, I had forgotten about Yaniro’s modified RURPs; the blade was ground off except for the top part, and what was left was at a downward point. If I recall now, he called them ‘Stars’? I’m not sure about the name, however I’d seen one.
 ec
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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When Dan was raising money for him, I gave 500 bucks. I didn't need any of his schwag.
I did the same for Kor, but it was a much greater amount. I turned down the guided days. I didn't need some prize.
Helping fellow travelers is a sort of duty, even though I hadn't known either.
It also makes you feel better. I hope someone would do that for me one day.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
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EC: the name "stars" sorta rings a bell... I think that is what they were actually called. Pretty innovative piece for the time, and then maybe the idea was spun into some of the followup gear ideas by others.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 10, 2018 - 08:19am PT
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Charlie Porter as I understand it made some RURP like blades called Hatchetheads that he used famously on the Groove pitch on the Shield in quantity. I have never seen one but somebody has to have one to share.
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Jun 10, 2018 - 10:29am PT
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It’s always amazed me how solid a RURP can be. Always kinda blows my mind to come across fixed RURPs. And, 1/2” webbing acts like a screamer...right?
Not that I’ve ever placed 5 or 35 in a row! Good god!
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jun 10, 2018 - 04:24pm PT
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I know a guy who took a hundred footer onto a rurp...with a sling, before cables.
I can only assume that the junk he was ripping slowed him down enough.
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Jun 10, 2018 - 07:29pm PT
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^^^Holy shit!!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Nov 20, 2018 - 07:52pm PT
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Bird rump bump.
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Jim Clipper
climber
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Nov 20, 2018 - 10:41pm PT
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The greatest contribution by the bird. He invented the bird. I didn't know him, never met him, but from what I've read... tfpu
edit; respect base
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Scole
Trad climber
Zapopan
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Nov 21, 2018 - 10:29am PT
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"I had forgotten about Yaniro’s modified RURPs; the blade was ground off except for the top part, and what was left was at a downward point. If I recall now, he called them ‘Stars’?"
I shared a campsite with Yaniro one season in Camp 4, and he showed us his S.T.A.Rs (smaller than a rurp), and S.T.A.S. (smaller than a star).
Porter made "Grasshoppers" which may have been the inspiration for RURPs. Lots of things evolved on parallel lines, as many were faced with the same questions at the same time.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Nov 21, 2018 - 10:55am PT
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According to Mark Chapman, in a Rock and Ice profile of Porter,
"The news [35 RURP placements in a row on the Shield] spread like wildfire through the climbing community impressing all, including Royal Robins, who was moved to write: '(Porter) has gotten inside the RURP and is looking out.'"
https://rockandice.com/features/the-definitive-charlie-porter-profile-interview/
Scole, I fail to see Grasshoppers predating RURPs and am highly skeptical of that statement. Your timeline is way skewed, dude.
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Scole
Trad climber
Zapopan
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Nov 21, 2018 - 11:26am PT
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"I fail to see Grasshoppers predating RURPs and am highly skeptical of that statement. Your timeline is way skewed, dude."
I didn't claim it as fact. There exists a possibility that "another Chouinard first", may have paralleled, or been based on, something that others were working on.
RURPs were the cutting edge at the time, but I have probably twenty different pins from roughly the same era from Longware, Dolt, Cassin etc, that closely resemble RURPS. Its hard to say which was first, And given the claims of "Another Chouinard first" in their old catalog, we know, that while Chouinard may have been the first to market something, the design may have come from a different source. Case in point is the 1 1/4" angle listed as "another Chouinard first", which was actually designed by Gerry Galwas.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Nov 21, 2018 - 06:19pm PT
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Back to the Bird. So many stories floating around. Anyone have any guess how many Bird stories exist?
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chappy
Social climber
oakhurst
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Nov 22, 2018 - 05:07am PT
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Jim was definitely an innovator and an outside the box thinker. As with all such individuals this led not only to new technical innovations but also climbing concepts that challenged the ethical norms. My thoughts:Jim very well could have invented the chalk bag. As John G mentioned earlier climbers had been using chalk for years bouldering. Normally everyone just carried around a block and would rub it on their fingers--palms on mantles and that was that. As climbing progressed into 5.11 (more boulderish) I could definitely imagine Jim having this epiphany--Wow! Why not put chalk in a little stuff sack and use it on a climb? A seeming obvious progression but one has to remember there was a fair amount of ethical resistance to using chalk in such a manner back then. Hard to believe now but true. Was Jim the first?? He also very well could have been the first to use a quick draw. Does anyone know why they're called "quick draws"? When Jim and I went to do the first ascent of the Nabisco Wall I was the young rope gun assigned to lead the two crux pitches Wheat Thin and Butterfingers. Jim had done Butterfingers before but rapped into it pre placing a couple of arrows. Unbeknownst to me, prior to our ascent, he had rapped down and replaced the arrows with some wires. When he joined me on monkey island after I led Wheat Thin he informed me of the wires and prepped me for the next lead. He set me up with what he explained were quick draws. This consisted of a short runner with one carabiner pre clipped to the lead line and the second biner attached to the gear rack. This way on a desperate clip at fixed gear all one had to do was clip the piece and voila you were protected hence the name quick draw. He set me up with two of these one for each wire. Though I used them they hardly seemed necessary as I felt solid on the moves. Of course the name stuck and they were refined but they are hardly ever used as first conceived.
As to perhaps his biggest influences on how we climb there are these conceptual changes he pioneered both perhaps being somewhat ethically suspect. Prior to all the rap bolting sport climbing hullabaloo in the mid 80s Jim was pioneering rap bolting, pre inspection of climbs,top rope rehearsal etc. The mainstays of modern sport climbing. Unfortunately, this also included a fair amount of hold chipping and the pinning out of cracks. Hence the moniker "the thank Bridwell hold". Nobody chopped his bolts by the way
As to aid climbing he pioneered a renaissance there as well. I always felt Charlie Porter reached the apex of traditional wall climbing as pioneered by Robbins etal. To open up the next wave Jim introduced the cold chisel to aid. The technique was to chisel out copper head placements in incipient cracks and 2 inch "dihedrals". I remember him experimenting in the C4 boulders. Again, perhaps ethically dubious but it led directly to the first great next generation El Cap route the PO wall. He would also routinely enhance cliff hanger placements with a drill.
Say what you will about Jim, he was definitely a pioneer.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Nov 22, 2018 - 05:52am PT
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Hey Mark,
Happy Thanksgiving. Nice bit of history there!
Winter came early here in NH.
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chappy
Social climber
oakhurst
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Nov 22, 2018 - 06:26am PT
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Howdy Steve. My wife and I just arrived in Marseille...not winter like here. Did run up to Chamonix for a look. Didn't realize the Bonatti pillar fell off!
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