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TwistedCrank
climber
Boise, ID
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 28, 2007 - 08:36pm PT
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I happened to stumble upon a notice of his death, which occured as a result of a motorcycle accident in Boulder Canyon in 1998. At the time he was suffering from brain cancer. That it took me so long to hear this news just shows how out of touch I am.
http://www.ucar.edu/communications/staffnotes/9810/roberts.html
I only knew Bill for a short time - it was at a very influencial time in my life. He took me under his wing for a season in Toulumne and the valley. His original intent was to use me as his belayer but after a while we managed to hit it off and he began to push me as a climber. He never intended to be a mentor.
What I remember about Bill was that it was the summer that Galibier Contacts were all the rage, yet he insisted on wearing his green leather Shoenards (in mint condition no less), even in Toulumne. He could stand up on the thinest edge and stay balanced there for was seemed like forever. I also remember that his equalized anchors were works of art. There was nothing clever about them - they were so simple they were beautiful. He used to sew up routes he was told were runout (often times with his brand new set of RPs) - then he would smile and tell me that the protection negated the difficulty of the moves.
I learned later that Bill was one of the earlier developers at Vedauwoo and had a bit of a reputation there. That explained why he enjoyed ticking off the 5.10 offwidths we often climbed in the valley togather.
I climbed with him only a couple of time after that season. The last time I saw Bill we were dangling our feet into the Black Canyon smoking hashish, drinking Sheaf Stout and making plans to go into the canyon togather. Some unfortunate injuries prevented me from being able to climb as hard as I did when I was with him. I did get a couple of letters from him telling me he was climbing hard 5.11s in Eldo and at Lumpy Ridge. He seemed stoked.
It's humbling when you stumble onto that kind of news. In retrospect Bill influenced me at a very pivotal time in my life and although I never climbed that hard again there are other aspects in my life in which I go out there the way Bill went out there. I know we all have stories like that and there's one of mine.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jan 29, 2007 - 01:22am PT
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I'm very sorry to hear about this. I had no idea.
I climbed a lot with Bill in the Vedauwoo days. He was part of the first series of attempts on Lucille. My favorite route of his is Mickey Mantle in downtown Vedauwoo, indeed he did lead it in Green 'nards. I reccomend it to all.
I lost track of him around'90.
A very funny guy and solid climber. He had me painfully gut laughing on many occasions. Other times we had high conversations about 'Godel, Escher, Bach' and Wonder Warthog (especially the Superhero correspondence school episode)
He and Doug Cairns conspired to do the best "Wild and Crazy Guys,'™ interpretation ever!!
Bill,leading the wierd pitch on top of J-crack Lumpy ridge.
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Carolyn C
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 29, 2007 - 11:12am PT
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I was so surprised and sad to see this. My husband and I met Bill in the Columbia Icefields campground one August many years ago, when we were all hanging out in the picnic shelter during a long spell of bad weather . I can't even remember what year it was...had to be the early 80s, I'm thinkin. If I remember correctly, Bill was working at Martin Marietta at the time, or had just quit, or something. Anyway, a few weeks later I met up with Bill in Tuolomne for a few days of climbing, to be his belayer. It was late September, and had gotten too cold up high, so we went to the Valley. I only remember doing Lunatic Fringe with him: he led it in fine style. When I followed it though, I had gotten pretty pumped, and near the top of the pitch I sliced my finger on a carabiner gate, and sprayed blood all over the place. He just laughed it off, thought it was funny. He was a fun guy to climb with, and I'm sorry to hear his life ended much too soon and with such difficulty. RIP Bill.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Jan 29, 2007 - 03:00pm PT
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I first met Bill Roberts in 1989. After trying to do a second ascent of Phantom Sprint in the Fisher Towers, which ended with a sixty foot fall (not me) and a sudden lack of interest by my partners, someone who knew myself, and Bill, and guessed that Bill might be up for such a climb, got us together. Sure enough, we got on well together and climbed the route, Bill happily wrestling with the mud and weirdness, and then we went on to climb about a couple of desert aid routes a year.
He had a grand mal seizure one day; he hurt his back (the medics used restraints) and could not climb for a while, and had his first brain surgery, followed by much chemotherapy.
He still wanted to go climbing, and so we did, mostly more locally, in Eldo or Vedauwoo. But we would still head out to the desert once in a while. Since he would sometimes have small seizures (he would stop talking, mid-sentence, for a minute, then restart where he left off, oblivious of the time lapse)I bought him a GriGri.
On a final trip to the Fisher Towers we climbed Jagged Edge. He had no seizures during this climb (not any that I noticed anyway) but it was apparent that part of the normal Bill Roberts was missing; his patience was short, and things would upset him. He complained about things. The tumor was taking its toll. The changes really showed up just what a fine partner he had been previously: bold, unflappable, patient, totally reliable, great sense of humor. The kind of climbing partner who is so fine you kinda forget and just relax and know you never have to worry about a thing.
Eventually a second surgery was done. He almost died during it, from blood loss. The surgeon said that that was it: no more brain surgery for you.
We still climbed, and in fact the seizures went away after this. He pleaded with his doctor that since his seizures had gone, maybe he could get his license back to drive his truck to go shopping once in a while, if he was really, really careful and slow. The doctor reluctantly said okay, and gave him a stern warning about driving slow and pulling over at the first hint of anything strange.
Next day he bought a motorcycle. A Harley-look-alike cruiser, big and powerful.
He rode all over Colorado and Wyoming. He was happier than he had been for a long time. A month later came the inevitable; a seizure while riding, in Boulder Canyon. He rode straight into a large truck and broke his leg very badly. No one else was hurt. He was advised to go for amputation because of his history, but he figured that he desperately wanted to climb again, so elected for extensive surgery to save the leg. He never woke up after the surgery.
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