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Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 18, 2007 - 06:46pm PT
Found these interesting offwidth shots today and thought I'd start a new thread.

Just after the crux of the Regge Pole near SLC during the first ascent in 1970. Note the Robbins boots. Jim Langdon photo.

A picture of me looking up through a difficult bulge on the first ascent of Sandblaster, 1987. Wilford must have believed the stuff I'd written in the old Tri-Cam brochure, where I said it was OK to stack the larger sizes!

Starting the crux of Acquired Taste (first ascent), near Moab in 1994, on honeymoon with Teri Ebel, who took the photo.

Anyone else have shots of interesting wide pro, etc?

Edit: Should have said FFA of the Regge Pole.
WBraun

climber
Feb 18, 2007 - 07:04pm PT
The body is becoming very tired "climbing" in your "offwidth stuff" in the minds eye. It is very strenuous. The key protection piece has been forgotten.

A run out has now reveled itself as a possible choice. The nice partner below is shouting encouraging words to the tune of go for it. The mind is now reeling with possibilities that scare it.

The ankles and knees are beginning to bleed. Little does the partner know what state the leader has reached. The partner thinks everything is going smooth from below. The rope will not break says the voice in the head.

Such a thing is possible.
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 18, 2007 - 07:10pm PT
Your poetry gets right at the heart of it, Werner!
Mighty Hiker

Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
Feb 18, 2007 - 07:12pm PT
A very nice, albeit perhaps a bit unlikely, juxtaposition of blank verse poetry and offwidths.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 18, 2007 - 08:19pm PT
I like the Regge Pole shot; the OW you'd just done looks perfect.

But those stacked cams of Wilford's, seems like rope movement alone would be 'nuff to tinkle that shyte right down the cord -yow...
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
Feb 18, 2007 - 09:08pm PT
keeping things wide here...


Brutus on Wagon Train FA

note 'Wagon Wheel' cam ready to be deployed. Note also which direction it hangs down. hrm sumpin ain't right there.
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 18, 2007 - 09:56pm PT
Looks like some bomb-bay action there, Munge...
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 18, 2007 - 10:17pm PT
Hey Jeff,

I like the way your picture shows the excellent flexibility of the Robbins Blue Bazookas. You can tell that you can just bend those toes right over for good smearing action.

Buzz
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 19, 2007 - 12:40am PT
Ahhhhh, but the comfy heel and toe work always made the RR king! I guess that I just love the old blue boots since they were my first. Blue shoes, blue Mammut rope and a baby blue Joe Brown brain bucket was how it all got started for me back in 1970!
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 19, 2007 - 10:05am PT
Yes, Roger (edit: I meant Steve, as Roger didn't seem to appreciate the RR's all that much. See below), I liked those old Robbins boots, too. Great support on aid climbs, and actually free-climbed pretty well, too. You just had to edge everything - even on the Apron in the Valley, you could do most of the routes by edging. Heel-toe in wide cracks was much more comfortable wearing them, than with slippers (for example), as well. You could also do long walk-in in the Sierras, Rockies or Wind Rivers, without carrying extra shoes. In the old days everything was simpler, wasn't it?
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 19, 2007 - 10:42am PT
Hey Steve and Jeff,

I have no such fond memories of those shoes. I wore Spyders--I think that is what they were called--before Royal's shoes came out. I bought a pair of RRs and found that edging was a little easier since they were so stiff. Also the rubber rand was better in wider cracks.

But I could never get used to the size of those beasts or their stiffness. It felt like all crack climbs gained a notch or two in difficulty. I also didn't like trying to get my feet into aid slings, at least not the skinny loops that I used--they would not fit without turning my foot sideways.

When PAs were available, I switched to those. I think I may have also tried a pair of RDs. They both skated on just about anything since they had smooth soles and were hard, but they were more flexible than RRs and had a rubber rand. I switched to EBs as soon as they came out. Even when I climbed with Royal or worked at RockCraft, he wore EBs. However there are some pictures of him wearing RRs. He told me once that they did not turn out the way he thought he had specified them.

I carried tennis shoes or light boots for approaches.

Maybe I would have appreciated RRs more if I had not been so wedded to the Valley and it rhythms: arise and stagger to the cafeteria. Consume coffee and awake. Plan the day. If it included climbing, get the gear, drive to closest pull-out. Hike as little as possible. Climb, descend, shower, spruce up, return to the Lodge, eat, drink, carouse, stagger to camp, sleep. Repeat.

As you say, A simple life.


Wes Allen

Boulder climber
KY
Feb 19, 2007 - 10:59am PT
People are always saying how hard OW climbing is, yet you can get no hands stances all the time...


The red has a few pretty cool OW routes as well,

Not my photo (Kris Hampton, aka odub)

not sure who took this one.

Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 19, 2007 - 11:13am PT
Love those burly shots of the Red, Wes. Really cool-looking awfull-widths. But in that first shot, the climber obviously has a solid knee jam, so it's not really offwidth, is it? Nice looking jamcrack, though...
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 19, 2007 - 11:28am PT
I still do walls in my second pair of RR's and love them to death. However, once Ellis Bringham's Ego Boosters showed up there was no turning back for free climbing. One advantage of learning in stiffer shoes way back when is that I became acutely aware of weight distribution and foot positioning early on. I was inspired by Mr. Kamps' legacy to keep refining my technique. Solid edging skills really pay on the steep and airy routes like those on MCR when the pro may be distant. Climbing without chalk sharpened my footwork even more.

It is hard to imagine all of those classic Apron routes going up in RR's! But it is also hard to imagine a superior slab skiing boot when faced with the inevitable. One boot for the many faces of alpinism! RR should at least be proud of that. LOL

My personal favorite footwear all time was produced by the House of Hawkins in GB and was called the Master. Super thin toe profile and outstanding friction feel made these boots tops in my book even by modern standards.

Things were delightfully simple back in the day. Jello, you are absolutely right on there. All you have to do is compare trade shows then and now to witness the madness. To quote John Doe, "we got freedom of choice in the USA, drives everybody crazy! See how we are?"

Edit; interesting definition of OW regarding the knee entry! I have a 4" fist and a 5" knee width. Is my whole OW universe confined to that 1" spread? LOL
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Feb 19, 2007 - 11:46am PT
Nature giving it a go on Between A Rock and a Hard Place

Billy Russell doing something definitely not in the guidebook... Oz Area, Joshua Tree

Elcapinyoazz with the classic groin and heel bridge...talk about yer stacked nuts...

Fish getting ready to slap that hand stack in there on this first ascent of Boot and Rally

This one says it all...where did I leave those golf clubs?
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 19, 2007 - 11:58am PT
As I reflect more on RRs, I don't think I know of a single climber in the late 60s or early 70s who was putting up first ascents who wore RRs. Maybe aid climbers--seems like Jim and Kim had them. All I remember are Cortina's and the lesser Sypders, if I have the names right.

Regarding the width of off width, Steve, I think your comment--bigger than fists, smaller than a knee--is too narrow a definition of off-width. For sure, this is the hardest size to not fall out of and to make progress. But, personally I think that off-width includes getting your knee in. Once you can get inside--stacked feet and arm barring--its no longer off width. Still pretty dependent on the individual climber.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 19, 2007 - 12:11pm PT
Roger, I was mostly ribbing Jello on the OW definition not proposing one. Do you go back far enough to know what Ken Boche was wearing during his Apron days? His name appears most often in the 60's on Apron FA's.
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 19, 2007 - 01:00pm PT
Monkey- thanks for posting up those images of pure off-width elegance.

Steve and Roger- I was joking about the knee jam disqualifying the route from offwidth categorization, although there's a point to be made that "offwidth" could really be defined as any crack that doesn't allow some body part to be jammed securely. By this definition, off-fingers and off-hands would qualify, and of course, they don't, for most of us. But Munge's photos bring up the issue of what to call some of those "off-body" leaning, flared, bomb-bay chimney thingies?

Roger- I put up hundreds of routes of all kinds in RR's. Didn't know you couldn't climb in them, I guess! Actually, over the years I climbed in all those other shoes, too: Spiders, Kronhofers, PA's, RD's, and then Fire's, which ruined everything...
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 19, 2007 - 01:11pm PT
I figured that you were asking a loaded question Steve on your 1" proposal--I figured that to be safe you should add a margin and call it 1/2". I also roughly measured the difference between my own fist and knee--it's about 1/2".

I am pretty sure that Ken wore Cortinas--the same sort that Kamps wore. (Is that the right name for those shoes--thin lug soles and gray suede uppers?) This was mostly before my time in the Valley, but I think that is what Ken was wearing when I met him a little later. Anyway, I don't know what else anyone would have been wearing.

I even have a vague recollection of Pratt wearing those shoes into the 70s--at least in the few times that he and I both worked the same sessions of RockCraft. But Chuck was just stubborn and super conservative.

Personally, I took every opportunity to give myself any advantage possible--new shoes, tincture of benzoin, chalk, tape, knee pads, young rope guns (modern phrase) for sharp end duties, multiple rest days devoted to the whims of young girls, wine soaked courage enhancement sessions…

Edit: Kronhofers--that's what they were. Thanks Jeff. Cortina was the company that made the Spyders. Kronhofers are the shoes that I remember everyone wearing.

So, Jeff, would it crush your spirts so much if you learned at this late date that all those desperate climbs you did in RRs were all 5.3 in regular climbing shoes? Just asking?
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 19, 2007 - 01:24pm PT
HaHaHa...They're not, Roger! But if they were - yes, my spirits would be devastated.
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Feb 19, 2007 - 01:31pm PT
I can remember during my first few years in the Valley I could only afford one pair of good shoes at a time and I always got them skin tight in order to boulder and face climb. Heel and toe jamming was torturous in those tight boots. I remember lybacking some off-size climbs just so my feet wouldn't start crying.

JL
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 19, 2007 - 02:05pm PT
That was one advantage to RRs--no foot pain.

Anyway, Jeff, as a friend of mine at the time qouted to me, "It's the singer, not the song."

Hey, John did you ever wear Kronhofers? Did anyone posting on ST ever wear them? Maybe Stannard and his Eastern cohorts.
Mighty Hiker

Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
Feb 19, 2007 - 02:13pm PT
I had some grey shoes in the early 1970s, but can't remember their name. They were much like RRs - solid grey, toe but no heel cap (?), stiff, light vibram sole. I got them at REI in 1972. They weren't Kronhoffer's, but what were they?

The grey shoes, and RRs, were quite good for climbing at Squamish in the early 1970s. Lots of mixed climbing (free/aid), most of the friction was edgeable. With flexible legs, you could sort of smear with them.

We used to go to REI or the Swallow's Nest in Seattle to get gear, usually en route to Leavenworth or Yosemite. Eric was the first to catch on to RDs (Rene Desmaison - the brown, smooth sole shoes) and then EBs, in late 1973. There were a few other shoes of similar ilk that appeared at the same time, but I can't remember their names. I don't think they were ever very popular, although the EB was undeservedly popular, and a classic case of abuse of a near-monopoly.
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
Feb 19, 2007 - 02:16pm PT
It seems that when I was too poor to afford two or more pairs of shoes, I always went tight, so wide was murderous like JL says, liebacking to follow a climb was almost de rigeur (sp?).


Jello, I figure bombays have to be completely horizontal, or almost so. Flares though are vague and nebulous, but anything with an edge to the crack that is rounded can count, specifically where you can't utilize your feet where you could normally using an outside edge.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
Feb 19, 2007 - 05:19pm PT

That is a 'Scuffwidth' sized crack.
Mimi

climber
Feb 20, 2007 - 01:13am PT
Largo, speaking of OW horror. If you don't mind sharing this one again, how about a tale of your singular and personal approach to managing the Harding Slot. I think it qualifies as OW for you, mighty one.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 20, 2007 - 01:27am PT
Hey Roger,
Whaddaya mean, -um to paraphrase, "Grey shoes people usetah climb in."


...these proud hush puppies are actualy a Kronie copy, called a Voyager Directissima and I got em new, outa the box, just last year.



I've also gone through 3 pair of Robbin's boots in the last 10 years, all used for lots of mileage and 4th/easy 5th in the mountains.

Plus, 'seen it with my own dope adled eyes, John Lonne strolling New Gen, a 5.11 at Suicide Rock, in them Blue Bazookas.

I know, I know, whudever Roy.


Back to you John Long...
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
Feb 20, 2007 - 01:29am PT
hrm makes me think about the Narrows.

Has anyone actually taken a tape measure with them on Steck and measured how wide that squeeze is?
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 20, 2007 - 01:35am PT
Mungie,
I'm guessin' The Narrows is about 11"
WBraun

climber
Feb 20, 2007 - 02:19am PT
Wes & steelmnkey

Those are great photos.
Levy

Big Wall climber
So Cal
Feb 20, 2007 - 02:28am PT


These two shots are of Innervisions, Disneyland Dome, Josh. I got in a big tube up high and some junky tcu in a flake inside. Pretty stout for 5.9

This is a new route in Josh near the Mystic Cove. 5.11 ish.

Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 20, 2007 - 02:47am PT
Hmm? I'll get the scanner going, soon.

I tend to throw anything bigger than fists and less then almost full thigh width into the category of offwidth. I think of squeeze chimneys as a subset of OW, more than one of chimenys.
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 20, 2007 - 08:56am PT
Hi Kevin,

"...I remember wearing them (Kronhofers) every day to class also, probably one of the reasons why all the chicks steered clear of the climber freak..."

That is too funny. And somehow we all managed to make it this far.

I have started a new book, “A History of Climbing in 6 Shoes.” Interesting read. Never really thought about climbers all sharing the same fetish.

Buzz

Gotta fix my PCs--today I cannot see any of the pictures on either my office portable or my home desk top. The one expressing "I golf in my other life," is a classic. It that you 'steelmnkey?'


steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Feb 20, 2007 - 09:20am PT
A shot of Brutus in The Narrows (from the Brutus appreciation thread). With my 46" chest, I chose to squiggle to the outside and climb up that way. It was too late in the day to be horsing around with a stuck monkey!

Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 20, 2007 - 09:29am PT
Wow, a 46' chest! Are you like a porn star or somethin?

Redefines the whole off-width/squeeze chimney debate.

Just teasing, Buzz
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Feb 20, 2007 - 09:41am PT
Hell, Largo probably had a 46 inch chest when he was 11.
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Feb 20, 2007 - 02:26pm PT
Porn star Buck Naked, that's me! NOT!

Here's a shot of the one time I just HAD to get that
#5 Big Bro out and scuffed up. It was a Christmas present
from my wife. What a gal!
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Feb 20, 2007 - 02:35pm PT
Nice pic of a bro in action, SteelMonkey. Never seen one set before.
Moof

Trad climber
A cube at my soul sucking job in Oregon
Feb 20, 2007 - 02:46pm PT
Love the #5. It's the only piece of gear I've placed BEHIND myself. Of course, that's the ONLY time I've actually placed it...
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Feb 20, 2007 - 03:35pm PT
Not sure I would have wanted to tumble down that chimney and hope that #5 would hold, but it was mostly just about USING it that day.

Me 'n my buddy on the summit!
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 20, 2007 - 08:57pm PT
Here's some morefor those with a wide attention span;

















I know, an aid ascent







(Tar, I've got RR's and had Kronehoffers till a girlfriend threw them away but those leather pants are still creepy.)

but, monkey that's the unit!

I was always gonna do regge pole when I lived in SLC, oh well, sigh/
Mimi

climber
Feb 20, 2007 - 09:02pm PT
So beautifully sick Jaybro! What a body of work you've assembled!
yo

climber
The Eye of the Snail
Feb 20, 2007 - 09:31pm PT
I hope when I fall asleep and roll my truck it's Jaybro standing there by the road because he's the human Jaws of Life. That's some impressive shyte right there. No stacked tri-cams though, which is a little light duty.
Russ Walling

Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
Feb 20, 2007 - 10:33pm PT
JayBro is my idol!
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 20, 2007 - 11:27pm PT
Mimi is right. What a work of your body you've assembled, Jaybro!
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 20, 2007 - 11:54pm PT
Jeebus!
...an on-slot of burly manliness.
Mighty Hiker

Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
Feb 20, 2007 - 11:59pm PT
Tar: That was simply offal!
Zander

Trad climber
Berkeley
Feb 21, 2007 - 12:00am PT
Jaybro,
Damn Dude, we bow and obey! Mustt.. find.. offwidth....
Zander
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 21, 2007 - 12:26am PT
Fuchit,
That's it!

If Jay can post all those neato wide shots,
Then I'm slammin' up shots of my boots:






Of all the stiff soled shoes, these steel shanked Vasque by far climbed the best; especially in Eldo. Not that I'd know really, as I started out in the red PA's -for me these are another item for the scrambling/high peaks quiver:

eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Feb 21, 2007 - 09:17am PT
Was that Dick Cillie in one of those pics, Jaybro? I didn't know that he did offwidth.
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 21, 2007 - 09:34am PT
Yeah, that's Dick on bad ass moma, impropability drive (granite mtn) and in a hole in Josh.

Also he either took the photo on elephant's Eliminate or was the belyaer.
scuffy b

climber
The town that Nature forgot to hate
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:27am PT
WooHoo
This is a real megadose.
Awesome collection.
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:37am PT
I have yet to be upside down in an offwidth. Someone's gonna have to show me that that technique allows me to do something that I wouldn't be able to do using more conventional means.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:44am PT
Dick lives for hard OW.
EEyonk; most of that roof stuff involves inverting off of hand stacks and stuffing legs up into it, often on either side of the stack...

Anyone remember a pretty stout roof crack/boulder problem/tr in Josh, which is found along the way to Hyperion Arch area? I think I was shown it either by Dick or Billy Russel; I vaguely recall getting clipped in to the rope after emerging from underneath the belly of the thing, at a point where it becomes more a TR than a boulder problem. It would be along the approach road, on the right as you're hiking out there.
scuffy b

climber
The town that Nature forgot to hate
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:49am PT
The artist formerly known as Grug sez:
I have yet to be upside down in an offwidth. Someone's gonna have to show me that that technique allows me to do something that I wouldn't be able to do using more conventional means.

I wanna audit that class!!
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:51am PT
I was just giving Dick some sh#t. We haven't heard from him in a while.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:54am PT
Yah and you gotta be pullin' our chain with your feigned ignorance of that invert stuff too right?
I mean, I feel pretty goofy dispensing that info your way. Nice troll...
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Feb 21, 2007 - 12:08pm PT
No, I meant that Tarbuster. I have never inverted - never needed to. Wouldn't even know how to start.
Russ Walling

Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
Feb 21, 2007 - 12:20pm PT
First rule of Invert.... nobody talks about invert....



426

Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
Feb 21, 2007 - 12:46pm PT
J-lo, thought you might get a kick out of this bros work.


Grounds for infringement?...


#3

some nice shots all-inspirin. I love a good "back rope" pic...

rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Feb 21, 2007 - 01:24pm PT
On the (side-) (off-) topic of shoes...

RR's worked pretty well in the Gunks, but RD's were better. Kronhofer's, which were popular out West, were not good for steep edging. Spider's were better because they were stiffer, Zillertals not quite so good.

And yes, Kamps wore Cortinas, which wouldn't qualify nowadays as a good approach shoe. But there are plenty of folks sketched out of their minds in their latest high-tech footwear trying to follow Kamps' Cortina-shod ascents...

I thought RR's excelled as "mountaineering" boots. I recall hiking in (that's right, no effin' canoe) and climbing both the regular South Buttress and the South Buttress East of Mt. Moran in them, as well as the complete Exum Ridge on the Grand. Here, the top of the Black Face:


We used 'em in the Wind Rivers:


And on lots of routes in the Bugaboos. Smear 'em with SnoSeal every morning for the glaciar hike, cover 'em with high gaitors, and off you go.
Jingy

Social climber
Flatland, Ca
Feb 21, 2007 - 09:18pm PT
This only goes to prove that Off Width climbing is brutal and should only be taken on by the not-so-faint-of-heart.

Keep those pictures comin'. I just like seeing people in the pits of hell!!!
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Feb 21, 2007 - 09:40pm PT
Offwidth is easy...comedy's hard.
yo

climber
The Eye of the Snail
Feb 21, 2007 - 09:46pm PT
I just flew in from Lucille...and boy are my arms tired.
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 21, 2007 - 09:46pm PT
Ain't it the truth, yonk.

oh, yo,yo,yo...
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 21, 2007 - 11:51pm PT

"First rule of Invert.... nobody talks about invert...."




anyone ever do the one below without inverting?


yeah, yeah, the tape thing, what can I say? a month on the high plains ensures evulsions.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 22, 2007 - 12:16am PT
Blue knuckles and blue boots on the high plains....boy howdy.

And only Dick Cilley would call you a pussy for the shredwrap!
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 22, 2007 - 01:58am PT
Mimi

climber
Feb 24, 2007 - 05:39pm PT
Hilarious Roy. I know I've almost looked like that on a few.

Calling Largo....please tell us about your frolick with the Harding Slot.

The great (but never late) Eric Goukas had a similar time on it because he was too large to fit inside.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 24, 2007 - 06:14pm PT
You think that's too aggressive for a proper tape job Mimi?

While we're waiting for more burly OW posts, here's one fer the sub-topic, stiff old school boots.
Sheesh, Roger says no one climbed hard free in them; why here I am about to cast off into Astroman's enduro corner:


(Ok, maybe it's the 5.7 summit pitch on Matterhorn Peak)
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Feb 24, 2007 - 07:22pm PT
That looks like the Enduro Corner to me--only looking down. Weird perspective. Must be the boots and hat. (You can do an inverted 'iron cross'? Then, you can climb in RRs.)

Buzz

Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 25, 2007 - 12:25am PT
Alright Largo,
Here's the chickeneye view up into the beast. Should get the old time offwidth juices just a bubbling up right quick I reckon.

Pictured is Hugh Herr en route to the worst case of bloody knees that I can recall. The wonderous lad had only led two chimney pitches at any grade prior to throwing himself at this infamous pitch! An afternoon jaunt hauling a pack in five hours. It doesn't get better than Astroman.......really!
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 25, 2007 - 12:40am PT
Each time squirreling into that slot, I've been absolutely flabbergasted by the reports of others, even imagining the remote propositon of actually going outside that thing: absolutely NFW.

Nice shot Steve. I wish I had some. I wonder if we have enough Taco'ers holdin' to float an AstroThread.
Brutus of Wyde

climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
Feb 25, 2007 - 12:51am PT
Regge Pole...

The one I did was in Little Slide Canyon...

Hope the East Face Dihedrals never sees a repeat.

Cr@p route.

But it did have lots (and lots) of OWs!!

Brutus (no photos, too gripped)
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 25, 2007 - 01:06am PT
What Tar said, it's not that narrow(?)

now you're a tease Brucus.
WBraun

climber
Feb 25, 2007 - 01:46am PT
Steve

I think you flipped the slide in the scanner the wrong way.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 25, 2007 - 02:19am PT
Thanks Werner, all better now. That might've really messed with Largo's head.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 25, 2007 - 10:53am PT
Hey it worked perfect for my dislexic memory.
I just figured you were all twisted around something awful to get a look up at Hugh.

I recall seeing a topo by Collins, where he called going outside the slot an 11D layback? Off what edge? Looks quite rounded; talk about the all time lead screamer potential.
Chiloe

Trad climber
Lee, NH
Feb 25, 2007 - 11:34am PT
Another shot from that early-70s era of tube chocks, blue jeans and PAs: the Bishop Offwidth (5.11a).

Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 25, 2007 - 12:26pm PT
Roy, when I was following that pitch and got to the jug that allows you a brief repose before jumping into the granite anus, I fumbled and dropped the biner after unclipping from the fixed wire. I made the mistake of watching it fall, and fall, and fall, and vertigo set in. The biner never hit rock and made a little dust cloud. At that point, anything looked better than what was above, but I had to get back to it.
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 25, 2007 - 02:19pm PT
Great stuff, all! Chiloe, that Bishop offwidth crack is a good one. Also (OT), the vertical line coming out of the pod on the left side of the photo, is the best finger crack in CO, in my opinion, but quite hard, at 12-something.
Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 25, 2007 - 02:33pm PT
Talked about Icarus on Sundance at the beginning of this thread. There is as yet an unclimbed offwidth through the same roof-band that Icarus and Turncorner go through, this one to the left of TurnKorner. I actually set out to climb it with Charlie Fowler in 1979. We climbed four pitches up to a stance underneath the roof, before traversing left into the line of Mr. President. Charlie had taken a fall on the pitch leading up to the stance under the roof, and the passed the lead to me. I managed to avoid pulling off any of the loose holds (there weren't many, actually), and got us to the stance. Thirty feet above looms a rounded 6" crack through a fifteen-foot roof. Charlie was turned off, so into Mr President he took us. I've always thought the roof and cracks above would finish our line - which is called Laura Scudders - off properly (see green line on photo). The offwidth looks considerably harder than Icarus, though.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 25, 2007 - 07:54pm PT
Jeff,
When things melt out I'll enjoy some rock ogling up at Sundance and look for that thing. That 5.9 squeeze chimney 1st pitch of Mr Pres is pretty cool (even if it does have a "cheater" crack in the back, hehe).

Nice description of the falling 'biner Steve, right now I can see it going...Poof!
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 25, 2007 - 08:31pm PT
Man,I think I'll get younger, start over and do all the stuff Jello didn't quite get to; Lumpy, Eldo, the bugs, what am I missing?
WBraun

climber
Feb 25, 2007 - 08:33pm PT
Jaybro; ".... what am I missing?"

A young body.
marty(r)

climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
Feb 26, 2007 - 10:52pm PT
Steve,
You need to start a whole thread of nothing but "And only Dick Cilley would call you a pussy for_." In the meantime, care to share some lore from your clean ascent of the Muir?
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Feb 27, 2007 - 03:11pm PT
Plenty of room


Ed-note, wihte pants/red shirt
Werner-Too true!
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Feb 28, 2007 - 02:28am PT
MartyR,there was a Dick Cilley appreciation thread not long ago with the original tape pussy accusation. Check it out. The Muir eh???
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Feb 28, 2007 - 02:33am PT
excellent picture!
426

Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
Feb 28, 2007 - 08:24am PT
Raydog

Trad climber
Boulder
Mar 3, 2007 - 03:04am PT
I had a complete first generation set of tube chocks and, as a testimony to my sanity, am proud to say I never used 'em.
Roger Breedlove

climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Mar 3, 2007 - 09:03am PT
That is a great picture, Jay
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 3, 2007 - 01:30pm PT
Thanks

Quality due, no doubt, to the high tech equipment; a kodak disposable with shoelace taped on for lanyard.
Cuckawalla

Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
Mar 3, 2007 - 01:48pm PT


Ecalante Canyon. It was a little overhung.
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Mar 3, 2007 - 02:16pm PT
Like all of these pics. So Ray, as a contrast to the full set of tubes, I had exactly one tube chock for pretty much my whole climbing career. Placed it on just about every wide crack climb I ever did.
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 3, 2007 - 05:19pm PT
So Cuck, is that the same dealio in both photos? i've drooled on the B & W one before, but the color one with the wider perspective gives it a, wider perspective. Is it presumptious to request location/approach beta?
lemon_boy

climber
Mar 3, 2007 - 05:46pm PT
escalante canyon is the vedauwoo of the desert. it is absolutely obscene how many awesome offwidths are in this canyon. i wonder how many long sleeve t-shirts i've blown out in this canyon. man, i would love to be sponsored by some long sleeve t-shirt company....

jesse(?) is it true that matt put up 4-wheel low late 90's/early 2000? for some reason i had always called it aunt jemima's hand stacks, and thought it was put up by cameron teague. wouldn't be the first time i was on crack though...
Cuckawalla

Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
Mar 3, 2007 - 08:05pm PT
First photo is me, the second is my friend on it. I had no clue who did it and posted the route on Mountain Project. Stewart Green posted and corrected the first ascent. Escalente has so many climbs and I have only ever seen NOLS kids out there near the Cave. Would be nice to one day have a guidebook for it. Only Desert Rock has a few routes. In Desert Route it is said that to descend from S-crack you must down climb it. HAH.

LEmon Boy, YOu from around these parts? YOu ever go to a section of escalante ( I am sorry for being vague) where you hike up on your right and there is a 11+ finger crack on the left or you can go straight up the supposed 12- offwidth with 45 degree 10 foot long roof. Both climbs lead to the same anchors via a bit of chimney?

Jesse.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Mar 4, 2007 - 12:06am PT
ok, hows about some video?

http://www.urbanclimbermag.tv/videos/videoInfo.php?video=729

http://www.urbanclimbermag.tv/videos/videoInfo.php?video=820

at least one is OW
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 4, 2007 - 12:22am PT
People still climb in that urban wasteland known as vedauwoo?



Okay, those stanleys and loyds rock! no way I'd wear a hellmute there, though, and tape only on an ... evulsion ...
ChrisW

Trad climber
boulder, co
Mar 5, 2007 - 01:20pm PT
I think people get confused between "offwith" and "squeeze". If u can get any part of your body in the crack, it's a squeeze. Otherwise, it's a offwith. If you are chicken winging, it's definetly a squeeze. At least that's what Pat Ament told me when i was younger.
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 5, 2007 - 03:18pm PT
Definitions are guidelines. By that definition a finger crack is a squeeze.
Disagree about the chicken wing thing too. There are places you can chickwing where you can't get your trunk in. It's not a squeeze till all parts are enveloped.
TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
Mar 5, 2007 - 03:28pm PT
Tormentor, Queen Rock






Jello

Social climber
No Ut
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 5, 2007 - 03:35pm PT
Great shots, Tom! Illustrates Jaybro's points from the post above (with which I agree, by the way).
mojede

Trad climber
Butte, America
Mar 5, 2007 - 03:40pm PT
Nice sequence TK, really shows the varying stages of physical agony needed to surmount the climb.
scuffy b

climber
The town that Nature forgot to hate
Mar 5, 2007 - 03:55pm PT
Turning around is always so much fun!
Oh damn, I got what I wanted...
3rd guess?
TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
Mar 5, 2007 - 05:12pm PT
Pinnacle Dihedral


Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 5, 2007 - 05:25pm PT
That is so cool!! can't beat the full (1/2?) pirouette!
I'm gonna have to raise me some dental floss!
TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
Mar 5, 2007 - 05:42pm PT
That's a purty fancy word you got there Jay...

He did start left side in, so I guess it was, in fact, a full...

Montana is waiting for you Jay ;)
Cuckawalla

Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
Mar 5, 2007 - 05:51pm PT
lemon_boy

climber
Mar 5, 2007 - 10:03pm PT
yo cuckwalla,

can you be a bit more specific? i have climbed quite a bit throughout the canyon.
headintheclouds

climber
Mar 5, 2007 - 11:16pm PT
Cuckawalla

Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
Mar 6, 2007 - 10:51am PT
Lemon_boy The route is probably 2-2.5 miles past the cabin on the west/right hand wall. Past the PROW area and you park at the bottom of a drainage and hike up the drainage. There are no other climbs up there except for this one. A guy that has been doing some developing out there, Kent Pease, showed it to me. He also did the FA. Next time I’m out there I’ll take a picture of it.
Cheers,
Jesse
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Mar 6, 2007 - 11:04am PT
my left shoulder is feeling better and started flexing while I was looking at these pictures... the call of the wide?
lemon_boy

climber
Mar 6, 2007 - 11:44am PT
cuckawalla,

yeah, i've climbed with the sender quite a bit out there. i think you are talking about a route called 'amplitude'. i have a picture of it, i will email it to you at your address listed on this website. it starts off through a short bit of slight looseness, then quickly transitions into a perfect #4 camalot splitter, then out a big splitter roof that is 4.5 to 5 camalot (but it is wierd and wavy inside, more like a granite crack, which makes it harder to shuffle through), then it goes up into a squeeze. sorry about the long sentence.

just to the left is a splitter finger to thin hands crack that goes big hands to fists through the left side of the roof and ends up at the same anchors.
Cuckawalla

Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
Mar 6, 2007 - 12:10pm PT
Thats the Route. Sender is always down there in the summer, most times by himself.
Drop me a line if you are ever going down there.
Jesse.
deerpit

climber
Mar 6, 2007 - 12:15pm PT
Cool pics everybody. Thanks! I just got registered onto the site yesterday, so maybe I'll try and figure out how to post some photos of my own. I might have a couple of pics of some fatties (cracks that is) laying around. Hey Lemon Boy - I'm guessing your someone I've roped up for the wide ones a good bit?

dean
lemon_boy

climber
Mar 7, 2007 - 04:14pm PT
here's a shot of satan's personal trainer getting ready to do the triple alternating levitation gig to get through the roof of 'amplitude'. he's warming up on the 4 camalot splitter leading into it. on one of his attempts he took an enormous upside down fall and smashed into the wall below the roof.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Mar 7, 2007 - 04:36pm PT
You got a nice shot there, lemon_boy.
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 7, 2007 - 08:47pm PT
"smashed", love it. is the one to the left good too?
mojede

Trad climber
Butte, America
Mar 10, 2007 - 11:17pm PT
TKingsbury, 10 feet up with 30 to go on the "Tormentor" (.10d).

Raydog

Trad climber
Boulder
Mar 10, 2007 - 11:22pm PT
I used to like wide crack climbing but was always scared to lead it.

I thought Bad Ass Momma in the valley was a cool TR.

One day I looked at Jaws but the thought of sticking my body in it was out of the question - I didn't feel the need to punish myself like that; I had seem radical shoulder gobies inflicted by it...

Leroy

climber
Mar 26, 2007 - 05:22am PT
No OWS for me this month.The doc says I cant rip cracks apart for a month after the hernia Operation.
ChrisW

Trad climber
boulder, co
Mar 26, 2007 - 12:20pm PT
Tkingsbury does prove me wrong!!!! Who's going to Vedawoo soon?

Lemmon, Where's it that climb! It looks familar.
Jaybro

Social climber
The West
Mar 26, 2007 - 03:07pm PT
Leroy, didn't you just have a birthday that we should celebrate with a photo thread like Bachar's?
Chiloe

Trad climber
Lee, NH
Mar 26, 2007 - 03:52pm PT
The tourist route on Three Penguins. Photo credit to Larry Harpe.

Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Apr 1, 2007 - 06:09pm PT
Since this thread had a certain special footware flavor, here's a little tidbit from Ament's Wizards of Rock. The photo shows a Kronhoffer and a Cortina on the third ascent of Crack of Fear. The question is for all you fat crack climbers; have you ever resorted to mismatched footware to gain an edge on a wide crack problem the way Ament did here?

TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
Oct 29, 2007 - 04:34pm PT


Elcapinyoazz

Social climber
Joshua Tree
Oct 29, 2007 - 04:43pm PT
Gas to the crags: $18.70
4 rolls of tape: $6.95
Shredded shoes: $125.00

Pimpstyley croche headband: PRICELESS.

That thing is nice Tom.
TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
Oct 29, 2007 - 05:02pm PT
LOL

Thanks Will. I could probably get Liz to do one for you...

Have you posted that video of Jaybro on 'spinning in the wind'?

or any videos from the woo?

P.Kingsbury

Trad climber
the jeep
Jan 29, 2009 - 04:17pm PT
dug up from the depths.....

bump for the wideness!!!!!!11111111
P.Kingsbury

Trad climber
the jeep
Jan 29, 2009 - 04:39pm PT

red rocks
jstan

climber
Jan 29, 2009 - 07:17pm PT
Steve Grossman's post above mentions George Livingstone. Since getting involved in this quite odd pursuit I have found it curious how certain very outstanding people get all the attention and equally outstanding people don't. If you wanted to do really great climbs and have the company of just the best person you ever met, you could not do better than George.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Jan 30, 2009 - 02:00am PT
Was he mostly a Seneca Rock climber or points farther east as well?
Mr_T

Trad climber
Somewhere, CA
Jan 30, 2009 - 06:15pm PT
Widecrack Bump
mongrel

Trad climber
Truckee, CA
Jan 30, 2009 - 06:49pm PT
Cheers to Kingsbury for rescuing this great thread from obscurity. Answer to somebody, yes LOTS of tacoans probably climbed in Kronies. And BS to someone else: they were quite good for steep edging too and had the huge advantage in the Gunks that you could sneak the toe into the tight horizontals and get more of a hold than the pain machine wearers did. We did tons of 10s in them at a time when that was not too shabby, even Henry wasn't on-sighting FAs at more than 11. Great thread, except for one thing: WHERE'S THE BLOOD??!??!??!
goatboy smellz

climber
dirty south
Jan 30, 2009 - 07:07pm PT
One order of blood, coming right up!


eeyonkee's hands after a couple of pitches at Vedauwoo.
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Jan 30, 2009 - 07:15pm PT
hey there steve... say, great question:
"The question is for all you fat crack climbers; have you ever resorted to mismatched footware to gain an edge on a wide crack problem the way Ament did here?"

hey all, say, reall GREAT thread/post, here...

great pics, too.... i love cracked rock, course, when it sticks together, though...

*otherwise, there ain't much rock left to see... or climb... :)


ps--and for me, not being a climber, well:
the cracks add a new beauty, and interest and make you wonder how, why, and when, it all came to pass....

Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Jan 30, 2009 - 09:31pm PT
Is that the tape job that scooted out of Bat Guano (BG) crack?

Yikes!
goatboy smellz

climber
dirty south
Jan 30, 2009 - 09:42pm PT
Yes I believe scooted is the correct verb if you want to call it that, better ask grug if you want a fist hand account.

Vedavoot Scoot '09 here we come!
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Jan 30, 2009 - 10:03pm PT
Seconds on that blood?
Reminder: Some OWs need boots.

Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Jan 30, 2009 - 10:05pm PT
oh, lord scarp, when will they learn?????

Earthborn spirit, 2009 wide scoot style bump!
Captain...or Skully

Social climber
North of the Owyhees
Feb 1, 2009 - 08:52pm PT
Why, oh why are high top climbing shoes extinct?

They were great!!
Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Feb 1, 2009 - 09:03pm PT
Two solutions Cap, JB's or have Scuffy score you some kauk's

Also there is talk of something new headed this way from Italy in the by and by

Nice work, BTW
Captain...or Skully

Social climber
North of the Owyhees
Feb 1, 2009 - 10:41pm PT
I gave all my ballets to Theron. Woe.
Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Feb 1, 2009 - 10:58pm PT
In one week, way before the turn of the century, I climbed the Thimble in the South Dakota needles, and did the first ascent of Lucille, in the same pair of Fire Ballets.

I generally prefer the 'feel' in slip-lasted shoes, but there really is a place for board-lasted shoes!
mongrel

Trad climber
Truckee, CA
Feb 1, 2009 - 11:46pm PT
Enough talk about shoes already. Yeah, high tops were great, still nursing some Generators, blah, blah. But what we're on this thread for is MORE BLOOD!!
dickcilley

Social climber
A cova Dos Nenos
Feb 2, 2009 - 10:55am PT
Note that in the same year Ament didnīt free Crack of Fear 5.10+ but did free Supremacy crack.5.11-.Since when did supremacy drift up to 5.11c?Why does Ament even list his ascent of crack of Fear if it wasnīt an improvement in style?
DJS

Trad climber
Feb 2, 2009 - 01:30pm PT
The new TC Pro from Sportiva.

I still prefer the Acopa JB though.
TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
Feb 2, 2009 - 01:38pm PT
Sweet looking kicks...not sure if I'm ready to throw down $170 for them though...



Pat plugs the JBs
scuffy b

climber
On the dock in the dark
Feb 2, 2009 - 02:12pm PT
Gotta wonder about the rubber on the heels of those new things.
Also, is it really high enough on the ankle?
ZeHardcore

Trad climber
San Diego, California
Feb 2, 2009 - 02:12pm PT
Bishop Pratts Crack

Talk about a nice rack...
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Mar 13, 2009 - 01:02am PT
wide bump
P.Kingsbury

Trad climber
the jeep
Mar 13, 2009 - 01:08am PT
nice ed!!!

bumping some good ones!!!
Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Mar 13, 2009 - 02:34am PT
flump
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Dec 21, 2011 - 10:35pm PT
wide Jello bump
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
Dec 21, 2011 - 10:37pm PT
Jiggling Wyde, tape yer thumbs.....
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Nov 6, 2012 - 12:13am PT
bump
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Dec 13, 2012 - 03:15pm PT
BUMP A'READY!

More WIDE!

"This is useless without pics and we're gonna die."
nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:25pm PT

The business:


The requisite butt shot:
Russ Walling

Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:31pm PT
Fresh TZ pic from the WF Gallery

http://www.widefetish.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=2793&g2_imageViewsIndex=1
nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:32pm PT
Lost in the fray...

There he is:

One of many adventures to be revisited:
nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:37pm PT
A short grunt-fest:

nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:41pm PT
A different grunt fest, into the second day of it:
nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:43pm PT
Jus' playing in Gary's back yard
Russ Walling

Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
Dec 13, 2012 - 04:55pm PT




nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 05:05pm PT
Russ, is that first one Centurion? Or Hobbit Roof?

In a few weeks Jtree will be my weekend crag, need to start a new to-do list and get familiar with the local topography.
Russ Walling

Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
Dec 13, 2012 - 05:09pm PT
Naw.... this is Centurion. This is an Ed or Jay pic, moments before I cheated death again! Check the angle on the cam in the crack. Survey says "decker".



The one you are asking about is Grit Roof, before the big flake at the lip fell off.
nutjob

Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 05:15pm PT
Hmmm...that kinda looks like a pain in the @ss. I might have to work my way up to that.

And some unspecified thing at Woodfords:
westhegimp

Social climber
granada hills
Dec 13, 2012 - 10:41pm PT
bump FTW (for the wide!)

Wes
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Dec 13, 2012 - 10:54pm PT
Offwidth? Sure, why not!

Alexey

Trad climber
San Jose, CA
Dec 13, 2012 - 11:38pm PT
more wide cracks from IC

Russ Walling

Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
Dec 17, 2012 - 04:30pm PT

Scuffy ties it all together in the cyber world.
mctwisted

Trad climber
e.p.
Dec 17, 2012 - 05:54pm PT
good stuff guys, heres a few of alexey warming up at the cookie
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