Mark Wilford

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Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 10, 2007 - 04:12pm PT

Mark's name came up on the Stonemaster thread. He wasn't a real Stonemaster, of course, because he's from Colorado, not California. But he is, in fact, a stoned master. Pot and beer were two important training supplements for one of America's greatest all-round climbers. No question, Mark could throw pebbles with the best, take the lead on the runouts whenever his partner's boldness was lacking, and wield an ice ax with true craftsmanship. But first he'd have a bowl, and maybe a beer to clear the palate. Mark's still climbing strong, by the way, but he's become like most of us, a bit more domesticated, with a cute young wife and two young kids.

I met Mark through Mal Daly, who was another one of tyhe very talented Ft Collins/Horsetooth crowd. It was the early 80's. Mark and I hit it off and immediately started doing new routes together. Mark started working for my old gear company, Latok, in Lyons, Colorado. We had a routine of meeting at 6am every day to get a route or two in before starting work at 9am. We did a whole bunch of new routes in the area - maybe fifty - in the 5.9 to 5.12 range.

These were all done on sight without pitons or bolts, often R rated and occassionally X rated. With Mark it didn't matter. He was just so solid. I've seen a number of those routes credited to other folks in guidebooks, often sporting bolts where there had been none. It's our own fault, really, for not recording our efforts. But we were too busy climbing to write everything up!

Mark and I climbed in the mountains, too, in the same pick-a-great-looking-unclimbed-line-and-go-do-it style. No messing around with over-planning or too much gear. With Mark success was usually gauranteed anyway. One of our best alpine rock climbs was Risky Business, a 9-pitch 5.11+ R route on the northeast face of Chiefshead in Rocky Mountain National Park. When I backed off the scary crux pitch, Mark went up and led us through, as usual. Unfortunately since the first ascent, so many bolts have appeared in and around Risky Business, that the original climb is probably lost.

One of my favorite memories of climbing with Mark also involved Charlie Fowler. Trying to find a mixed rock and ice climb that was chall3enging enough to be interesting, the three of us set out one February morning to ferret out the secrets of a radical-looking line outside of Ouray. We had a great day establishing Bird Brain Boulevard. Although the climb turned out to be easier than anticipated, it was such a fun and inspired time to be out with two of the best alpinists ever, and two great people in every sense of the word.

I miss Charlie. I'm glad Mark's still here.

-Jello

Mark Wilford and Duncan Ferguspn on Hallets Peak

Mark Wilford and Steve Mammen

Rick A

climber

Boulder, Colorado

Jun 10, 2007 - 04:23pm PT

Good idea, Jeff.
Here is Mark at Horsetooth in 1978, with Randy Vogel and my wife to be, Gerry, looking on.

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 10, 2007 - 04:31pm PT

Great photo, Rick. Kind of emphasises my point about Mark not needing a lot of gear, or even holds, for that matter!

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 10, 2007 - 05:20pm PT

I understand he's already taken an advance on his driver safety manual.

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 10, 2007 - 05:39pm PT

Speaking of driver safety, Ron, I once loaned a fairly new Toyota PU to Mark during that time he worked for me. He had a slide show to do up in Wyoming and didn't currently own a car that worked. Well, true to MW form, the vehicle was returned after the weekend somewhat the worse for wear, adorned with a deep V-groove in the front grill and hood. Sheepishly, Mark explained to me that he'd dozed off on the drive up and run off the road. The ruckuss made by hitting a signpost as he drifted off the pavement snapped him out of his torpor and he got the truck back under control before anything more serious happened.

He paid for the repairs in full, over a period of time.

10b4me

Trad climber

Hell A

Jun 10, 2007 - 05:48pm PT

Alpinist 19 had a profile of Mark

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 10, 2007 - 06:01pm PT

I've offered this before, but it seems appropriate to do so again here. There's an old movie of Wilford and me trying to do a new route in 1984 in Alaska, called Cloudwalker. Lot's of time spent on Mark's ideas and goals; clips of him bouldering and doing a new 5.12 R onsight inear Lyons, and even a bit of smoke being shown just to be true to the subject. I've transferred the film to DVD (scratches and all). Send me an e-mail with your address and promise to pay for shipping and $10 for the DVD, and I'll send you a copy. Bridwell's in the film, too. The feeling of the time is pretty well represented in the film.

-Jello

Incidentally, all proceeds from these sales go to support Ogden Climbing Parks.

maldaly

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Jun 10, 2007 - 09:54pm PT

I spent a lot of time with Wilford and have many great memories. The first good one was following him up Reed's Direct in the Valley during our first trip there in '75 or so. He did the damn thing is Levi's and a swami and from then on Kauk sported Levi's. One night we had the great racoon war with Wilford scoring a perfect 10 on the head of the biggest racoon any of us have ever seen. We had to nurse that thing back to life. Then next morning we had to talk Turk (Steve Mammen) out of skateboarding the Apron. Once he took a good look at it (Remember it was our first visit.) there was no argument.

Here's a great photo of Wilford bouldering (before there was bouldering) and me spotting. Note the talus, my percarious stance and Mark's altitude. Typical Wilford:

Cheers,
Mal

Crimpergirl

Social climber

Hell on earth wondering what I did to deserve it

Jun 10, 2007 - 10:00pm PT

These are great photos! Hope there are more to follow...

N0_ONE

Social climber

Utah

Jun 10, 2007 - 10:09pm PT

Yeah, what crimpy said!

I love it when you older, er, um, I mean more experienced guys and gals from the old school get to tellin stories!

maldaly

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Jun 10, 2007 - 10:22pm PT

Here's another great Wilford story. In Jeff's earlier post he said that he and Mark had developed a bunch of the routes in the area around Lyons. Perhaps the best crag we found was the River Wall below Buttonrock reservoir. Mark discovered this crag in the mid-eighties when Jeff Lowe's company, Latok, was located downstream in Lyons. Four of us (Jeff, Mark, Steve Mammen and I) went up one afternoon to climb here and we all epic'd. Mark and Steve took the thin crack line of what is now called Pocket Hercules so Jeff and I got the Neurosurgeon line. Here's what I saw:

Steve was more of a boulderer so Mark took the lead on their line: Jeff an I took the line which is now called Neurosurgeon. The water was low and the flat slabs at the base were slick so Steve belayed fairly far to the left; maybe 25'. Mark traversed to the base of the crack and clipped in one of his half-ropes to an upward pulling directional. Then he started up and after about 10' placed his first downward pulling cam. He cruised the crack, clipping alternately, and was virtually at the top when he stopped to place a last cam. He got a good one in and was pulling up the rope to clip when his hold broke and he fell. By the time he stopped falling, Steve had been dragged 20' to the right (There's is not much in the way of anchors there) and Mark was hanging about 2' above the water and getting closer as Steve tried desperately not to get dragged farther across the slab. Mark was screaming at Steve not to let him down into the water (the route overhangs about 20' so Mark was out over the water), Steve was freakin' because he didn't want to let Mark down but there wasn't anything he could do about it and Jeff and I were laughing so hard we had to quit for the day. Well, Mark got all wet so they bagged it and we all went for beers.

What happened was that when Mark fell the weight came on the rope which was through the directional. It pulled, leaving about 30' of slack. Between the slack and Steve getting pulled across the ledge Mark ended up taking a 50 or 60-footer.

Same story as for Neurosurgeon here. I told Piana about the epic and the cliff and by the time we got back to climbing there he had bagged the ascents of both routes.

Mal

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 10, 2007 - 10:36pm PT

hahahha!
good one.

Russ Walling

Social climber

Out on the sand.... man.....

Jun 10, 2007 - 10:48pm PT

Little known Wilford fact: Not only is/was he some kinda driver, but... Thought drift: Roy, remember the rental car they (Skip, some accountant, and Wilford) were jumping for distance out in the open desert behind Petes in Hueco.... then drove it around for another week or more with a dead jackrabbit hanging out of the hood.... then had the accountant take it back in to the agency and say he has never been so embarrassed than when he had to pick his mother up in that POS car and the condition it was in..... oh... and the story of the Firebird that was rolled in Mexico and then something about using the engine as bail after many nights in the klink..... or when he earned the nickname "Boom Boom Wilford" after KO-ing that guy in the Boulder mall with Cilley.... man, there is a million of them.. but one time in Hueco with Tom Henry and Mike McCarron the truth came out.... "Willy" as they called him, was a Webelo!!! He proved it to us by building a fire without the use of white gas!

Damn... that Wilford is a gas! I always liked that guy! Got a pic of him here somewhere... I'll post it later. Some freesolo 5.12 thing at Hueco.

Standing Strong

Trad climber

real eyes realize real life

Jun 10, 2007 - 10:53pm PT

*bump*

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 10, 2007 - 11:04pm PT

Um,
Yes Mr Fish', those were also the driving skills which gave birth to the snappy maxim:
"All rental cars are 4 wheel drive"

Oli

Trad climber

Fruita, Colorado

Jun 10, 2007 - 11:19pm PT

I met Mark in the Colorado University fieldhouse. I often went there just to get a little exercise or watch other people fool around. There was some pretty good indoor climbing, up over big rafters, and roof-things, where you could climb horizontal, as in Separate Reality, or if not climb one could run around the track and we sometimes took huge leaps from the upstairs balcony onto a pole vault pad below... Erickson was trying to be a sprinter and often was there running the hundred or fifty, in bursts. I had been the fastest runner at Boulder High School in 1964, at the 50 yard dash (anyone could be me at anything longer than that), and Erickson didn't know that. I casually challenged Erickson to a race. He chuckled at my foolishness, but I beat him in a sprint around the track. He went dark for about a week, he was so humiliated, but then Paul Hagan came along and was running, and I challenged him to the same race, thinking I make quick work of someone else too, and he left me in the dust.. a real spead burner. Mark came and was doing some hellacious mantels up onto a big horizontal piece of metal. It was not a bar you could jump to. It was too high up. You had to climb up and then out to the end of it, hang there at the end, and then, with hands on the very end, do the mantel. I was good at mantels and thought I might be able to manage it possibly, but Mark went right out and with no trouble at all did a pure muscle up onto that piece of extending metal. I saw his full strength in action there and knew this was one of the new generation, one of the true stars here and now and to be. I was especially taken by how cordial and warm he was. I mean, here I was, an old has been, couldn't climb my way out of a paper bag anymore, and he treated me with all sorts of honor and respect...

Pat

Rick A

climber

Boulder, Colorado

Jun 10, 2007 - 11:30pm PT

Hank,

Don’t want to hijack Wilford’s thread, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I learned that my law partner represented the owner of the building whose plate glass window you flew through only after the case had been going on for some time.

There are also mitigating circumstances in that I have provided legal advice to more than one El Cap base jumper over the years, including defending charges before the Yosemite federal magistrate and advising another jumper who narrowly escaped capture in El Cap Meadow. If it weren’t for the conflict with the building owner in your case, I would have been happy to help you as well.

Hope there are no hard feelings. I would be happy to buy you a beer and discuss it in person some time.

Very truly yours,

Rick

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 10, 2007 - 11:38pm PT

There are two things about that cover photo that always get me; the EBs and Malcolm.

Hey, I remember when EBs were the hot ticket to replace my RDs and PAs (and we won't talk about the Kronhoffers).

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2007 - 12:38am PT

This is a lot of fun, roasting Wilford slowly and lovingly over the coals...

-FlameBroiledJello

Oli

Trad climber

Fruita, Colorado

Jun 11, 2007 - 01:06am PT

Rick, You have always been the nicest guy, and I can't imagine anyone could ever offend you... unless it would be some strange person suffering all kinds of health problems, depression, etc., and who for some reason might say all the wrong things...

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 11, 2007 - 10:13am PT

Wow, so that's Malcom.
I always wondered who that frail skinny guy was, standing in the firing line beneath Wilford in the cover pic...

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 11, 2007 - 10:31am PT

Well now Roy you're not being very fair. Malcolm doesn't weigh all that much more now than he did then (all things considered).

You might say that he has a leg up on most of us in that regard.

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Jun 11, 2007 - 12:51pm PT

And that peculiar European love of sport stripes wherever they could be had on clothing! LOL
Great thread. Lots of my lines are the blank swaths between bolt ladders, Jello. It is a strange feeling, kind of like watching development encroach on your shack at the edge of town. "Yup, I climbed that, huh, you bolted it?"

looking sketchy there...

Social climber

Latitute 33

Jun 11, 2007 - 02:04pm PT

When Rick took that photo of Mark barefoot bouldering at Horsetooth (Mark climbed a lot back then barefoot -- I even tried it, but seemed to have to chalk my feet too much), I was visiting for the summer and Mark gave me a great tour of lots of local crags.

Mark's driving scared me more than anything we ever did on a rope. Not sure how any cars he rolled or totalled.

maldaly

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Jun 11, 2007 - 02:11pm PT

He's up to 7 rollovers but now that he's driving an S6 Wagon he's more careful.

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 11, 2007 - 02:21pm PT

Its not that he is a bad driver. Its just that the Wilford body is capable of accomodating more G forces than the average motor vehicle.

nick d

Trad climber

Jun 11, 2007 - 09:19pm PT

Malcolm! Mark Wilford,"more careful" !!!!!

I'm surprised your hands didn't burst into flame as you typed that! ROTFL!

MS

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 12, 2007 - 12:22pm PT

C'mon, I kinow we can do Wilford way more than this.

How about, circa '78-'80 first barefoot solo of Steck Salathe.
I got that right yes?
Was it on sight?
Jello?

Watusi

Social climber

Joshua Tree, CA

Jun 12, 2007 - 12:30pm PT

Yeah Mark's a great guy! It's been forever since i've seen him...

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 12, 2007 - 01:12pm PT

Once during a safety session at an AAC annual meeting I bet Mark $50 that he was going to win the Underhill Award.

I would have thought that HE deserved receiving the award before Conrad but apparently locating a former partner of a member of the awards committee can get you a bump on the totem pole,..

Well, at least Mark had booze money that evening.

I guess he and then Charlie were the subsequent awardees, but Charlie couldn't be talked into attending the dinner until Donini let me in on it and authorized me to tell him too in order to get him there.

When I finally had the inside info I needed to get my $50 back it was too phucking late!

Mr. Southfork

Ice climber

Cody, WY

Jun 12, 2007 - 01:41pm PT

Mark came to NW Wyoming in the early 80's with his slideshow, wine, smoke and tremendous climbing skills. He established several classic (and hard) boulder problems and onsight soloed several 5.11+ cracks for the first ascents. We were totally blown away. His visit was most inspiring and helped progress my ambitions tremendously. Thanks for the memories Mark.

Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Jun 12, 2007 - 06:50pm PT

The first time I met Wilford was in the box canyon @ Vedauwoo. circa '78-80' Several of us bouldered a bunch of stuff, when my buddy wilke elbowed me and muttered "guy's got stonemaster eb's"
We did a bunch of problems (traverse, mantels) on what was known as the jungle gym boulder as well as some then, rarely done roof crack problems.. He blew us away.

after that I ran into him a bunch of times, but I always knew what to expect.

barefoot servants style edit; I heard that about the time of that first meeting he and Gurrein did a barefoot ascent of skull (5.10 and as k-spar intensive knobby, overhanging a handcrack as can be imagined) on Poland hill.

Oli

Trad climber

Fruita, Colorado

Jun 12, 2007 - 08:15pm PT

In about 1981, Mark and Skip Guerin repeated Bachar's "Silly Putty," a tough 5.11R on the west side of Twin Owls above Estes Park. One fall Wilford took happened just as he placed the first and only nut in 30 feet of climbing.

Before that, as a teenager, Mark made an attempt at the Diagonal Direct free, on Longs Peak. He and Pat Adams got within five feet of the end of the hard climbing. Mark took a big whipper on the crux pitch that ripped Adams out of his hanging belay. After that fall, Mark went back up, tried again, but got stuck halfway through a crux move when the haul line jammed. That was a very near success for those young lads.

In 1981 Mark, with Bill Wylie, climbed Meltdown and Marlin Alley on Lumpy Ridge, above Estes Park, Colorado. Both routes were 5.11 and seriously runout in places. Marlin Alley had repulsed a number of other strong climbers, going out the prominent roof on the southeast face of Lightning Rock.

Let's not forget that Mark climbed Spinal Tap, in Big Thompson Canyon, below Estes, a route rated 5.13X! Were you on that one, Jeff?

Pat

maldaly

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Jun 12, 2007 - 08:25pm PT

Here's a good one.

One day in the late '70s or early '80, Wilford and I drove down from Ft. Collins to climb the Naked Edge. When we got to Eldo Mark realized that he'd forgotten his shoes so he decided to do it barefoot. He cruised it as we swung leads. I think he got the 2nd and 4th pitches but it's not really clear. Whatever.

The fun startted when we got down. We found some herbs in the car and burned them right then and there then wandered up the road to comtemplate what we'd just done. You know how it is when you're stoned, you get to talking and dreaming and pretty soon we were patting each other on the back and planning out loud what barefoot ascent Mark would do next. Jules Verne, Genisis, Le Toit, Mellow Yellow--they all went down in our minds. Our vision was fogged by that time and we didn't realize that someone had walked up behind us a bit earlier and had listened in to our whole ramble. When we finally acknowledged him he said, "F*cking Boulder climbers. You're all suck-up arrogant azzholes. I'm never climbing here again."

Love it.

Mal

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 12, 2007 - 08:34pm PT

And then I went out to the desert.

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 12, 2007 - 10:00pm PT

Great stories!

Tarbuster, I can't verify Mark did Steck-Salathe barefoot solo, but it sounds like him. And Oli, I was not with Mark on Spinal Tap. If I remember right, it might have been Mammen.

All this talk of Mark's wild driving and other antics is of course true, and he always was a master of unprotected very hard climbing. But climbing with Mark was a calm and controlled affair in my experience. In a nice nonchalant sort of way you could waltz up some pretty hairy stuff with total confidence in a good outcome. Paradoxically, Mark was actually one of the safest climbers I ever got out with. His safety arose out of his skill, strength, committment and vision.

maldaly

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Jun 12, 2007 - 10:02pm PT

Ditto Jello,
Mark is solid, confident and cautious. What he did was crazy to others (climbing not driving) but always well within his abilities. It was always an honor to belay Mark.
Mal

Jello

Social climber

No Ut

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 12, 2007 - 10:19pm PT

I always felt safe with you on the cord, too, Mal. Positive upward vibes; high as kites on climbing. Soaking in the sun, breathing in the rain, living with the stone like Lao Tzu.

-TheTaoOfJello

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 13, 2007 - 02:25pm PT

OK, not funny (or true. I was already there).

badabump

scuffy b

climber

Bates Creek

Jun 13, 2007 - 08:28pm PT

Don't worry, Hank. You can use some of the stories on this thread
and the Skip Guerin thread. Well, maybe not on these threads
themselves, but after things cool off a bit you can trot them out
as yours.
"No Sh#t, there I was...
I'm just a little bit obscured by that guy with the big hat..."

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 13, 2007 - 08:32pm PT

Or you can do what many people here do Hankster.

Just make stuff up.

scuffy b

climber

Bates Creek

Jun 13, 2007 - 08:37pm PT

Hankster, you can use the one about the time I saw Wilford
soloing barefoot on the Diamond with Ron tied to his back,
upside down. You don't have to give me credit at all.

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 13, 2007 - 08:39pm PT

You can tell scuffy's full of it though.
If I was on his back how could Mark be soloing?

scuffy b

climber

Bates Creek

Jun 14, 2007 - 11:06am PT

Well, third-classing anyway. Maybe it wasn't really Ron. Maybe
a big sack full of Egg Salad Sandwiches.
Maybe it wasn't the Diamond.
You better act fast, Hank, get some mileage out of this one
before its credibility starts to deteriorate.

scuffy b

climber

Bates Creek

Jun 14, 2007 - 01:15pm PT

You must be hella Old School to have tales like that, Hank.
How do you stay so young-looking?

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 14, 2007 - 09:17pm PT

I just don't think that Patrick and Mark would ever get into a fight.
C'mon. Really?
Patrick is french. The momemt Mark raised his voice Patrick would surrender.

nick d

Trad climber

Jun 14, 2007 - 09:29pm PT

Come on! Mark wouldn't raise his voice, he would have cracked his skull with the liquor bottle he was drinking from while free soloing, cowboy style!

MS

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Jun 14, 2007 - 09:39pm PT

Or pulled out that .380 that he used to improve his car's ventilation with.

scuffy b

climber

Bates Creek

Jun 15, 2007 - 11:52am PT

Naughty, naughty boys, doubting the veracity of a genuine
Old School tale.
Wut Hankster sez, Goes.
He's the one what was there, y'know?

Maysho

climber

Truckee, CA

Jun 15, 2007 - 12:22pm PT

Late 70's Yosemite, Mark was solidly in the gang of, "just a bit younger than the actual stonemasters" whenever he showed up. Spent some good times with he, and Auggie Klein, Bill Price, Dave Diegleman, Kathy Besio, Kurt Reider, et. al.

Mark was infamous for owning a pair of amazing knobby and knarled feet. A noteworthy ascent he made was of the Steck Salathe, car to car, without shoes!!

He is the real deal, solid on any type of steep terrain.

Peter

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 15, 2007 - 09:10pm PT

Ah,
Now we are getting sumwhere,
So Wilford did in fact climb Steck Salathe without any shoes, but not necesarrily solo, yet definitely probably maybe for certain after imbibing a ham sandwhich and toking some of Edlinger's hashish...