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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 11, 2007 - 10:13am PT
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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...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 11, 2007 - 10:31am PT
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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.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 11, 2007 - 12:51pm PT
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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?"
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Jun 11, 2007 - 02:04pm PT
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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.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jun 11, 2007 - 02:11pm PT
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He's up to 7 rollovers but now that he's driving an S6 Wagon he's more careful.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 11, 2007 - 02:21pm PT
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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.
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Jun 11, 2007 - 09:19pm PT
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Malcolm! Mark Wilford,"more careful" !!!!!
I'm surprised your hands didn't burst into flame as you typed that! ROTFL!
MS
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 12, 2007 - 12:22pm PT
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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?
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Watusi
Social climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Jun 12, 2007 - 12:30pm PT
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Yeah Mark's a great guy! It's been forever since i've seen him...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 12, 2007 - 01:12pm PT
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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!
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Mr. Southfork
Ice climber
Cody, WY
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Jun 12, 2007 - 01:41pm PT
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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.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jun 12, 2007 - 06:50pm PT
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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.
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Jun 12, 2007 - 08:15pm PT
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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
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jun 12, 2007 - 08:25pm PT
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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
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 12, 2007 - 08:34pm PT
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And then I went out to the desert.
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 12, 2007 - 10:00pm PT
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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.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jun 12, 2007 - 10:02pm PT
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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
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 12, 2007 - 10:19pm PT
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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
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 13, 2007 - 02:25pm PT
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OK, not funny (or true. I was already there).
badabump
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scuffy b
climber
Bates Creek
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Jun 13, 2007 - 08:28pm PT
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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..."
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