Big Al Bartlett Appreciation

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Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
Aug 9, 2017 - 10:38pm PT
time has stamped the man
it has to us all ,
raise cheer for the type
His purity of cause. Was an inspiration to those who followed
Cozz & I sat at belays throwing rocks at on another
While the maestro of choss sent a rain of stuff our way.












The second thing I ever posted



http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2490742/Big-Alan-Bartlett-Appreciation-where-is-he-now-thread

Scole

Trad climber
Zapopan
Aug 10, 2017 - 10:46am PT
No grain pile left unclimbed! Al's FA list is enormous. He's da man
Don Lauria

Trad climber
Bishop, CA
Aug 10, 2017 - 01:04pm PT
Somewhere back in the 70s, the members of the Buff Climbing Club had dispersed from Santa Monica and some of them, namely Alan Bartlett and Rob Dellinger, found themselves working at the Whiskey Creek Restaurant in Bishop, California - Rob as the manager and Big Al as the chef.

Back then, before the imminent by-pass, I consumed more than my share of prime rib. Whiskey Creek was known for it's prime rib. On our frequent excursions to the Sierra, Debbie Winters and I always dined at the Creek.
With Big Al in the kitchen and Rob behind the bar, we were always treated well. The code words when ordering prime rib was "climbers cut". The result was always a huge, thick slice of bone-in prime rib roast.

I owe ya, Al.

There's more to this story, but it must wait ... a memorable evening at the Creek.

Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Aug 10, 2017 - 01:33pm PT
Big Al is one hell of a guy. Photobucket seems to have blanked it out, but there was a photo posted up-thread of Al playing the drums with Zildjian cymbals up front. Nothing but the best.

I have a good collection of guidebooks. There are a precious few that I won't loan out, you have to pay me a visit to fondle them. One is the Sierra East Side book Al did with Erret Allen. To put this in context, another book I treasure equally is the 1953 Climber's Guide to the High Sierra by Hervey Voge.

I spent some memorable days climbing obscurities with Al as he compiled one of his Josh guides. At some point he prompted me to lead some obscure Johnny Woodward rig out behind the stamp mill. If I knew what I was getting into I would have thought better of the idea.

Always good times with Al.
jonnywoodward

climber
Oct 17, 2017 - 06:26pm PT
A few years back Darrell Hensel and I spent some days in the Whitney Portal, one of Al's E Side stomping grounds. We'd do a new route here and there when the past masters had left some space. Off to our right a Gary Slate route... we had four bolts in ours by the time Gary had two in his. To the left an Al Bartlett route... only one in that one. Al did some substantial leads back in the day and some of those routes were cutting edge both in terms of difficulty and commitment. I backed off one of them! Al - you are the real deal.
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
Oct 17, 2017 - 07:57pm PT
Al playing the drums with Zildjian cymbals up front. Nothing but the best.

Ksolem
Messages 41 - 46 of total 46 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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