Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 48 of total 48 in this topic |
pimp daddy wayne
climber
The Bat Caves
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 1, 2007 - 10:21am PT
|
Let it rip..............
|
|
pud
climber
Sportbikeville
|
|
I read a draft of "the bible" in the bathroom at camp 4.
|
|
dirtbagger
Ice climber
Australia
|
|
Pud how long were you on the dunnies then? I still haven't read all 20 pages on crabs, let alone the whole 8cm thick book!
|
|
nature
climber
Flagstaff, AZ
|
|
Early 1990's in JTree over New Years (91/92 maybe). A whole bunch of us had mushrooms. So we tossed them in a pot one night and made tea. We ended up with a gallon of high strength stuff and another gallon of diluted (for the ones that didn't contribute). Both were strong.
Well Chonga somehow gets the strong stuff and proceeds to guzzle. As there was more than enough that didn't bother anyone. He then proceeds to turn into a puddle sitting around the fire. It was classic Chongo in action - totally dimented. I don't think he got up from that spot until morning.
|
|
pud
climber
Sportbikeville
|
|
even 5 minutes in there seems like forever...
|
|
James
climber
A tent in the redwoods
|
|
Earlier this year, Drew and I were sitting at a random campfire outside Smith Rocks. There was more liquor than people, and a thirty-year old ex-DNC employee had been getting heavy with the spirits.
"You guys know Chongo?" He slurred. Drew and I nodded, poking the fire. I know Chuck pretty well and Drew had met him a couple dozen times.
"Well, I hang in the Valley a lot. I know Chongo." We let our eyes somersault. "Last year, when Chongo was still living in the Valley, he had a camp at the top of El Cap. The rangers found out about it, went up there and hunted him down. But you know what Chongo did?"
"Nope."
"Chongo outran the rangers. They chased him from Lurking Fear to the East Buttress. And Chongo, well Chongo was too fast for them. Outran the pickle-suited, ufo-hat wearing, green gestapo. Left those suckers in the dust."
"Unbelievable." I never knew Chuck was a track star.
|
|
elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
|
|
well I dont believe that one... Chongo did live at the BASE of elcap for a while but it is difficult to believe that he would hike up to the top and stay there... the free food would have been too far away and the isolation is very unchongo like as he depended on friends who wouldnt have been found there...
|
|
that girl
Boulder climber
Sacramento, Ca
|
|
I love this thread already
|
|
K. Fosburg
Sport climber
park city, ut
|
|
Once a few years back in the valley Chongo was telling us stories about being down in Mexico. Apparently some of his business associates were way into huffing gas which Chongo assured them was not a good idea. "No, no", they replied, "you just have to try it". So Chongo relented and summed it up, "O.K., you're right, it's bitchin but I still dont think its a good idea."
|
|
Mimi
climber
|
|
Christian, you are wise to Chongo.
Edit: I mean Tom. Where is Christian by the way?
|
|
Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
|
|
any super-cool gritty Chongo pics out there?
|
|
Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
|
|
Chongo lived at my house in Joshua Tree many many many winters;....he probably has spent more time at my house than I have...(I go to work and go climbing/travel/visit, and he wouldn't leave the Gordon Ranch for weeks/months on end...year after year..). One season he did only one climb;.....Loose Lady......His hitch-hiking on El Cap is legendary , and he DOES have the record, I believe, for the longest time spent on the Steck -Salathe. He's unique in time and space.
|
|
nature
climber
Flagstaff, AZ
|
|
His hitch-hiking on El Cap is legendary
I gotta ask - which hitch-hike? Eagles Way? (back in around '95?).
If so I was on Lunar during a part of the time it happened. Hell, even if it ain't the one than it means there were more. Classic sh#t. We thought it was a major epic going on but the reality it was simply a chongo adventure. Those poor saps that caught up to him... Oh the pity. We could spy from Lunar Chongo in his hammock with a dozen or so boxes of wine littering his haul ensemble.
At one point YOSAR rolled to the base with bullhorn in hand and "shouted up" - "attention climbers on El Cap, do you need a rescue?" (twice). After the second time Floatin' Fred and I returned "No!, but we need more BEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeer!". (sorry about that, werner).
is there another hitch-hike story?
|
|
that girl
Boulder climber
Sacramento, Ca
|
|
I laughed so hard just now when I read this......
"At one point YOSAR rolled to the base with bullhorn in hand and "shouted up" - "attention climbers on El Cap, do you need a rescue?""
Chongo and I have had many great adventures together over the last year and hes doing fantastic!
|
|
orange crush
Boulder climber
ca
|
|
so a couple weeks ago I was watching top chef on tv with chongo and he got really frusterated when this guy howie didnt get sent home like he wanted him too.
|
|
sween345
climber
back east
|
|
So, a couple a months ago I was reading Alpinist, and come upon a story about Chongo. Seems he used to lead a late night lights out tour in Joshua Tree in the 80's, complete with a squeeze through point called the Cookie Oven(where you couldn't get through if you've had too many cookies). Great story.
Wish I could find the issue, but I'm not cleaning out the storage bin on a nice day like today!
|
|
Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
|
|
The first time I meet Chongo, he's in the Mountain Room, tucked into a corner, close to an electrical outlet. There are a few other people there, and one of them proceeds to read an excerpt from the Physics Book aloud. After about ten words, he stops, and says, "Does that make sense to you?" And then he reads the same ten words again, and asks, "What does that mean? That doesn't make any sense to me." And then he rereads the same passage again. And again. And again. And again.
He then tries to hand the book to me, but I politely decline to make sense of Chongo's metatheoretical physics.
Meanwhile, Chongo is typing like crazy into the laptop, explaining what the excerpt means, carrying on two or three different conversations with other people, hailing the waitress, drinking coffee, etc., etc., all at the same time. It was like some sort of street theater, or performance art.
The funniest story I heard was the one about the cops arresting him for taking too long to climb the Sea of Dreams, and then the judge dismissing the whole thing because the cops couldn't say, for sure, that the fixed ropes weren't pulled each night.
|
|
deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
|
|
Now going way back, early 80's or so, I seem to recall through the haze of those days, that there were two brothers, the "Chongo Brothers", who were fixtures in Joshua Tree (usually in one of the back-loop campsites). You could always count on them for a stash or a good lead in any case. The current hero, *the* Chongo, came on the scene a bit later, and was reputedly a third brother? I never really understood the link...
|
|
elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
|
|
I think it was in 95.. I was still teaching HS so I was in the valley in the summer.. I knew who Chongo was but we didnt hang out like we later did, managing the safety committee meetings. Anyway I was hiking the falls trail in the middle of the day to get toughened up a little before going on Zodiac... I was resting at the "gate" which is closed in winter and when conditions are bad... I looked up the trail and here came Chongo just coming down from some slacklining on the spire and carrying a large pack... he was limping along favoring his right leg and pulled up and sat down next to me... we exchanged pleasantries and I commented on his limp and he told me he was really struggling along with the pack and all... I gave him some water and, as I was not planning on going higher than I was on the trail, said that I would carry his pack down to the valley as I could use the exercise...so I took it from him and put my smaller one inside and headed down while he was to rest a bit longer. We met later and he got his pack.
10 years later I was sitting in the climbers corner in the cafe and chongo was holding court like he enjoyed doing. Everyone was having a good time laughing at his stories and comments in general... then he launched into the story of how he tricked some stupid guy into carrying his big pack down the Yosemite falls trail by faking a leg injury and limping along hoping for sympathy!! After the laughing died down I called over to him... "Hey Chongo, you SOB I was the guy you conned into carrying your pack down the trail!!" You can imagine the laughter that brought... I dont think anyone laughed harder than the two of us!!
|
|
JLP
Social climber
The internet
|
|
I recall 95-ish a bit as well. "Chongo Nation", with those hats he would stitch for people. Dozens were wearing them. It was funny. He was a little more active then, with the slacklining thing. Maybe 96 or so he was out there working on the contents of his book, crazy knots, etc. I'll never forget the gleen in his eyes describing the Sentinal thing. He was sitting there saying how all us speed climbers were totally missing it all, as he just sat there shaking his head, staring into space, recalling these two women he had dragged along for the adventure, the bivies, the stars. I think it was the climb of his life. I can't contemplate a bivy even today without recalling that conversation and the look in his eyes.
JLP
|
|
Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
|
|
the haze surrounding Chongo was think - he sewed on a creaky treddle machine in camp at JTree, Chongo wear - we hung out, hazy - he helped me get a flat fixed, hazy there too - I think he crashed at my place - one big haze -
the pics T2 has of him out there are the best - Chongo seems a bit of a hard core mystery at times, I admire him but like Bukowski I know, I could never be like him.
|
|
Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
|
|
Chongo Bump.
As a point of history, this thread MUST have more staying power.
The Really GOOD Stories have not yet been told . . .. .
I hafta bump the topic, to make sure anybody On The Wall gets back to the Grid, the McTopo, and tells a good story.
Hate or love him, he's ours: Chongo.
|
|
malabarista
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
|
|
I was just happy to hang out with the guy a few times. The best was one day in C4 when I was standing around juggling four clubs with another one balanced on my nose and then dropping it down into a five club juggling. He came by and said "Man, you are as good at that juggling stuff as I am at slacklining!". That compliment made my day. I learned to slackline and practiced the Chongo mount. I can juggle on the line now and am working on a show combining different juggling moves with slacklining. It's too bad he's no longer around in the valley.
|
|
theLoop
climber
Northwest Montana
|
|
"Unbelievable." I never knew Chuck was a track star.
Nope.. he wasn't. In fact he was always saying he was like an old car: "Slow on the uphills but rolls as quick down them."
And, speaking of his venture into the clothing industry, remember those pants he made for everyone? Baggy enough to fit two people in them and the "piece de resistance" being the hidden inside pocket in the front center? You could carry a few coins there but to reach in and retrieve them in public could cause quite the stir.
|
|
mooch
Big Wall climber
The Immaculate Conception
|
|
I seem to recall a moment in time when Chongo had this huge crush on Half Dome, but then Werner stole those dreams away when he....
|
|
Ammon
Big Wall climber
El Cap
|
|
There’s a really good slacklining article in Alpinist #21 that Dean wrote. It tells the tale of when Dean first met Chongo and how he lured him into the provocative art of balancing on stretched webbing.
I first saw Chongo at the base of El Cap near South Seas in ’97. He was surrounded by eager eyes as he passed rope through folds, showing them knots and better/easier ways of accomplishing their tasks. I gave the group a nod and continued with my journey to the base of the NA wall.
A few hours later I was at the top of the first pitch and began “trying” to haul my enormous pig, using a Z pulley system I had read in one of the rags. After thirty minutes of work my haulbag was a couple of inches off the ground. I rappelled in total frustration.
I went back looking for the guru who was teaching the circle of young bucks and found the scrappy looking instructor alone, fiddling with some odd looking gear.
“Hey man, do you know anything about hauling”, I asked.
A boisterous laugh belted out of the man. “Do I know ANYTHING about hauling?” He repeated the question a coule more times before continuing. “Son, you’ve come to the right man, how much time do you have?”
“As much time as it takes for you to teach me how to haul”, I replied.
An hour and half later I thanked my instructor and headed back to the fixed line to give it a try. I nearly cried with joy when the bags came slowly, but easily towards the belay. “I’m MOBILE”, I yelled at the top of my lungs.
A few days later Chongo was grillin’ me about my gear as he eyeballed the jeans I was wearing. “You’re not going to climb in THOSE are ya?”, he asked.
“Um… yeah, why not?” He then schooled me on proper climbing attire. He lent me a pair of fleece pants and jacket, a bivy sack because I had a down sleeping bag and then asked me what kind of portaledge I was bringing.
“Um, I’m just going to climb from ledge to ledge”, I told him. He laughed and handed me a two-point hammock. “Here you’re going to NEED this”, he said with authority.
“What’s your pin rack lookin’ like?”, he asked next.
“Um… I thought it went clean. I just read about in the magazines”, I stammered.
“Haa haa haa, yeah, ONCE... by some BADASSES”, he laughed. “Are you rich?” he asked.
“No, not even close”, I told him.
“Well, here’s a hammer, you better go to the Mountain Shop and spend EVERYTHING you have on pitons if you even want a chance at making the summit.”
I took all the gear he lent me and went to the shop and bought, 2 BA’s, 2, LA’s and 1 KB. On the way back up I was psyched to find another baby angle in the talus. I saw Chongo dangling over on South Seas and tried to yell up at him to tell him I was launching but he had his headphones on and couldn’t hear me.
After nine days of trying to learn and figure things out I made it to the top and was back at the base. I was late for work so I ran up to return all the gear Chongo had lent me, which I would have never succeeded without them.
The next year my son Austin came to the Valley for his first time (he was eight) and Chongo and Dean taught us both how to slackline. I’ll never forget the brotherhood I felt in those early days. They taught me a LOT but the best lesson was to keep the cycle flowing… and now I get a kick out of watching the young bucks I’ve taken under my wing, give back to the climbing community, by teaching others.
|
|
pimp daddy wayne
climber
The Bat Caves
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 6, 2007 - 11:04am PT
|
Thats what i'm talkin about
|
|
pimp daddy wayne
climber
The Bat Caves
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 7, 2007 - 08:49am PT
|
|
|
mdavid
Big Wall climber
CA, CO, TX
|
|
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
Chongo is my Wall Doctor, and I miss him as I haven't seen him for several years since he was kicked out of the Valley.
I've got so many Chongo stories, and not enough time [nor space] to write them in a single post, so maybe I'll start at the beginning, and write as I remember them.
I first met Chongo in the fall of '95 on my Post-Divorce Renaissance trip to Yosemite. My mom had scored me a GO Vacations camper van at a nickel on the dollar, so it cost me about six bucks a day to bivi in luxury in the Centre of the Universe, now the Train Wreck parking lot. Chongo would appear at the door most mornings with a cool idea.
"Hey Pete, check this out - a new way of self-belaying with an adjustable clove hitch. You pull out on this sling and the rope feeds one-handed. Just make sure that metal touches metal when you set it up."
Before long, Chongo started showing up every morning [was it the food?] and sporting his Chongo Big Wall Tip of the Day. As a novice wall climber with only a half-dozen or so El Cap routes under my belt, I was eager to devour any information I could get.
"You know, Pete, I should write a book."
Chongo helped Neal and me get tooled up for a couple of our walls, showing us such basics as how to connect our aiders and daisies and fifis, which carabiners to use for which application [especially lockers] and how to manage the top of our pigs. I found the transition from easier walls like The Nose and Salathe - with ledge bivis - to full-on hanging portaledge bivis difficult. My first few attempts were rather clusterfrigged to say the least!
I'll confess I spent less time with Chongo over the years, because he was fully absorbed in his physics book. Despite me having a degree in engineering, and having somehow managed to [barely] pass a bunch of pretty hard physics courses, I'll confess I have no idea what he is talking about most of the time. Plus I can't understand his English!
I am forever amused by the takes of various legit physicists on Chongo's physics book - fully half of them say there is some pretty cool stuff going on. However the converse is also true.
I always liked Chongo's ideas - some have become standard big wall practice, while others have faded into oblivion. I have always found Chongo Technology to be like a smorgassbord - put what you like on your plate, and leave what you don't like in the bowls.
|
|
Mike Eadington
Boulder climber
CA
|
|
Great Thread,
I first met Chongo hanging out in Joshua Tree in the early nineties. He taught me how to campfire surf when I was a wild eyed nineteen year old actively chasing my dream of becoming a dirt bag climber. He would stop by my camp-sight on the back loop around twilight. We would share my last beer and venture out into the campground looking for some weekend warriors with a large campfire and a larger ice chest full of weekend goodies. Chongo would walk up to the fire and with a big smile would say hello and ask permission to get warm by the fire. This was the time of year that five gallon jugs of water freeze solid overnight and as soon as the sun went down the desert chill sets in. Almost as if by program we would be welcomed to the fire and offered an alcoholic beverage and sometimes even more. After a couple campfire stories and a beer or three Chongo would tap me on the side and we would say good good-by and move on to the next campfire. In a way it was taking advantage of the weekend warriors. But it was also an experience that the weekenders would appreciate. A glimpse into the life of dirt bag climbers and a couple good stories for some warmth and a beer. Anyway thats haw we rationalized it.
I with a ran into him for the first time in years right before he got kicked out of the valley. He did not remember me, but I will never forget many of the memories that he left me. Any body out there still have any "Chongo Wear". It would have given Patagonia a run for it's money if Chongo had gone to mass production. He led the best tours through the Grand Chasm. Mr. Keefer in full claustrophobic freak-out. The cookie machine is a squeeze though a couple boulders that is about ten feet long with a super tight hip squeeze in the end. It is in a spot where even with a full moon out is still pitch black. A skinny person goes though first. Chongo probably never fit through squeeze, but somehow would always end up on the other side laughing with the skinny people as larger framed people tried to force their hips though the slot. I remember the two poor Brits that we went through with. Neither would fit, but their want to continue drove them to attempt it again and again. We laughed for probably an hour as they cursed the width of their hips. On the way out of the chasm Chongo would stop at a slightly overhung flaring inch and three quarter flaring crack that went up for about twenty feet in a slot. He would point at it and say "All the greatest minds of climbing have tried this and no one has succeeded." He was probably full of sh#t, but I was impressed. The story of the when his buddy told a lady at a bar that he had been in prison for ten years and had not been with a woman since he had been released. I'll leave the rest of the story to your dirty imaginations and still you will come up short of reality(or at least short of Chongo's version of the story). Probably the best Chongo story I know is when he got stuck in Mexico City with no money and no way home. As the story goes he set up a slack line and like any great street performer went on to wow the crowds gracefully balancing and twirling his pear shaped body on the slack-line like some kind of ballerina. Peso by paso Chongo earned his way out of Mexico City and escaped back to the safe confines of Yosemite Valley and Joshua tree.
|
|
Wack
climber
Dazevue
|
|
|
Sep 11, 2007 - 08:44am PT
|
Chongo like the Cahuilla not only knew how to eke out a living in the desert but how to appreciate it's intrinsic beauty. A decade before Ammon's tale, I was on the State sponsored climbing team at JT as winter slowly morphed into spring. The Twins arrived at the Chongo Brothers (Chongo, Dave & Richard) camp bringing sunny weather and a violin case containing "Big Red" a formidable saxophone like instrument. They pointed to a summit across from the Pleasure Palace and announced that tonight there would be a concert where all were invited to play a solo on BR. That afternoon Chongo borrowed my Mtn bike to troll for resoles at Jumbo and Ryan. As daylight dwindled, the revelers warmed up around the campfire in preparation for a chilly onsight ascent with headlights. I slipped away and donned my Chongo resoled EB's. Stuffing a brew (courage in a rucksack?) into my chalkbag I was ready to solo with the honed locals, casually wearing Tevas or the then new Lavadomes. The climb turned out to be more of a chaotic -V0 stampede start, following various easy 5th class scrambles to the summit. Under absolutely clear desert skies the Twins conducted their concert with the sand backlighting the Joshua Trees under brilliant stars. In reverent silence we enjoyed the other worldly landscape reflecting upon our days adventures. As if on cue Chongo materialized with a date from a woman's outdoor adventure group. After the concert concluded we granted the couple some privacy and walked off the route Chongo provided, thankful having avoided the down climb. Safely on the ground like a legion of Zombies we stumbled through the night in search of our sites.
Warm in our bags we contentedly drifted off to sleep only to be awakened by a wild cacophony of amorous noise, all too scarce back in the day. Water is the second most precious quantity in the desert. More fortunate then most of the residents of HVCG I was able to close the door of my panel truck and return to sleep. The tent or cave bound were a captive audience to his dates opera, which seemed as interminably long as his wall ascents. The next morning all Chongo had to say was "I locked your bike up at Jumbo, it's cool". While we 'batched it cooking our mac and cheese he was scoring a free meal, partying with a bevy of women and most importantly avoided the cold bike ride back to camp.
|
|
that girl
Boulder climber
Sacramento, Ca
|
|
|
Sep 11, 2007 - 11:19pm PT
|
It was really cool to see those old 80s pictures of him in the new Alpinist. I had him sign my copy. I see Chongo almost every day so almost every day is a new Chongo story for me.
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Sep 12, 2007 - 04:12pm PT
|
In the spring of 1997, I had done eight El Cap routes up to A3, and Chongo told me that it was now time for me to join The Club, meaning to solo El Cap.
"Now Pete," said Chongo, "you can solo El Cap by an easy route, but if you wanna be bitchin' - and I know you wanna be bitchin' {chuckle} - you have to solo it by a route that is longer and harder than one you have ever done. It is a very select few who have stood on top of El Cap having climbed it entirely by themselves."
Warren Hollinger told me he had climbed Iron Hawk, and that it was a pretty good route. I knew nothing more about it than what appeared in the Reid guidebook, but it is certainly longer and harder than anything I had yet climbed. It also traverses a lot, which I figured would be a good exercise in rope management and hauling skills.
So I went home to my local crags, and figured out how to solo. I practised hauling a bag of rocks, and set up a belay in the middle of the one-pitch routes we have here. I also traversed all over the place, making a difficult route to follow on purpose. That was about all the solo training I had, there wasn't really much literature available then.
When I arrived at the base of El Cap, Chongo helped me go over all my gear and rig up a bunch of stuff. He showed me how to make a Solo Tag Rack, which I really love and continue to use to this day. I started out on the El Cap Tree route start, and Chongo was able to watch me from below and offer advice. "Don't you have a bag for your haul line?"
"Nah," I said, "I just flake it carefully and it comes out no problem."
"Wow, Pete," said Chongo, "that's impressive. You have to have a real skill to properly flake a rope with each coil a bit smaller than the last, otherwise it will hang up for sure."
Needless to say, I had no idea how to do it properly, if it can even be done at all. What seemed to work so well in theory at home came to a crushing halt on the first few pitches of El Cap. I immediately got a haul line bag. Each night when I came down after fixing, Chongo and I held a debriefing, where he helped me solve my many wall problems.
The next day, I shouted down, "Chuck! I'm goin' too slowly! This is taking forever!"
"Why do you care, Pete? Just take extra food and water with you. In fact, the only thing you have to do today is climb and fix half a pitch. Do that, and you can blast and haul tomorrow."
Man, that really took a lot of pressure off! Knowing I didn't have to hurry. I assembled my huge load beneath El Cap Tree, jugged my fixed line, and got ready to haul. I didn't know exactly how to make a 2:1 Hauling Ratchet, as Chongo had drawn it for me on a paper napkin in the caf a few months earlier. So I had a zed-cord that was about forty feet long.
Chongo later told me the story of the Euro climbers who walked past my huge load and declared, "He vill nevah lift zat load off ze ground, it is too heavy."
About that time I hopped on the zed-cord, and as Chongo describes it, "Suddenly your load went rocketing up through the canopy! Funniest damn thing I ever saw, Pete!"
Having a big wall coach at the base would later prove handy when I met up with my first-ever expanding flake. I had no idea what to do, and was pretty scared. Chongo walked all the way over to the Alcove where the acoustics are good, and shouted up instructions to me on how to climb it.
After I got down, we had our final debriefing out in the parking lot. I had made a number of systemic errors, and what Chongo taught me in twenty minutes could have reduced my overall work on the wall by about 25%, so grievous and repetitious were my mistakes.
|
|
Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
|
|
|
Sep 12, 2007 - 06:50pm PT
|
chongo chongo chongo...
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 10:20am PT
|
Cheers, mate. But c'mon, guys - most everyone has a Chongo story, so let's hear 'em! I'm just warming up here.....
|
|
that girl
Boulder climber
Sacramento, Ca
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 12:14pm PT
|
We were on our way to go camping and we stopped at this grocery store in Sonora. Chongo and 3 others went inside, but I was kind of beat from driving so stayed in the car. There were a bunch of teenage looking kids running around in the parking lot and all the activity seemed to be centered around this silver car. Then I noticed an unmarked police car slowly roll into the parking lot and circle around to light up the people silver car. Then about 10 other police cars jammed into the parking lot. I was so entertained that I didnt see Chongo run out of the store and back to my car. "everyone in the car! Get in the car! Get in! Get in!" he yelled. The cops wern't even paying us any attention, probably because we were parked a couple of rows away from all the action, but Chongo was still yelling for us to get outta there. The whole time I was trying to navigate out of the chaos Chongo was in the back seat yelling "Go this way! No, go that way! No, No, No, go back the other way!" I guess after so many years of trying to avoid "the man", you just get use to it. Old habits die hard.
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 12:34pm PT
|
Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!! Too funny!
It reminds me of the time Chongo told me he received a warning from a Ranger, something the cops rarely do:
"Chongo, if you don't stop then we will have to arrest you."
"That was mighty kind of those rangers, Pete," Chongo repeated many times in amazement.
But that's the kind of guy Chongo is, and while he has his detractors, his friends are certainly loyal. That Chongo could essentially LIVE in the Lodge cafeteria unmolested for what - a decade? - is testament to his people skills. While we were working on his book, I used to ...
Well, I'll save that for another post.
|
|
Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno, CA
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 01:00pm PT
|
I spent a couple of Chuck's last nights in Yos with him. He was really uncomfortable about sleeping in the park those last days and when he heard I was heading out of the park to bivy he asked if he could come along. I've always liked Chuck and enjoyed the many nights I've spent hanging with him, hearing his stories and even listening to him talk about physics. Regardless of your take on his physics, you can't deny it's amusing to hear him tell a tale.
The first night, we headed out of the park and found a nice bivy. Chuck had a sleeping bag, a blanket and a pad but was still a little cold, so I made us a fire. We sat around the fire exchanging stories, drinking something (although I don't remember what now, probably wine, knowing me) and Chuck had some smoke. Of course, Chuck being Chuck, he insisted on sharing. He even offered me some of his food, a number of times, thinking that my telling him that I'd already eaten and wasn't hungry was just me being polite. I finally had to take a little something to make him happy. Anyone who knows Chuck knows that he was always very giving. I've seen Chuck give to people so many times. Even when you know he didn't have anything, or much, to give.
He told me about the bust, his plans to head to Mexico and shared a lot of his frustrations. I felt pretty bad for the guy as it was a fairly cold time of year at night in the Valley and the tools had seized most of his stuff, and pretty much all of his clothes. I tried to get him to take one of the many offers of employment he'd gotten in the Valley, so that he could stay in his home. He wasn't really fond of the idea and preferred to move on, away from Yosemite. I was of the frame of mind that the park, and even the tools, shared equal responsibility in Chongo's stay there. They enabled him all along the way. I thought he should take one of the jobs and make a go of it in court.
I woke the next morning to the well known sounds of Chongo hacking. We gathered our gear and headed back into the park. As I approached the entrance kiosk, I wondered if they were going to call out "the man" when they saw Chuck in the front seat of my car! I envisioned tools hanging from the trees with automatic weapons, swarming my car from all directions. Just barely eluding capture, I dropped Chuck at "the caf" then went and climbed a bit, then shot some photos. Thinking a lot about the cold and Chuck's lack of clothing, I drove home to Fresno and went through my closet. I was able to find quite a pile of stuff for Chuck. Mainly old long sleeve synthetics and fleeces, which I hadn't worn in a while.
That evening, when I found Chuck, he wanted to run over to Huff for something. After that, we went back out to our bivy spot, for pretty much the same evening as before. Chuck was pretty touched and shocked when I gave him the clothing and some canned foods I had in the garage for wall climbing. His reaction and expression touched me, as I know he'd been touched and was appreciative.
That was the last time I saw Chongo. I typically know where he is and how he is doing through mutual friends and keep saying that I need to make some time to go and see him. Kinda like calling Grandma or a friend from school though, it gets put off too often and next thing you know, it's been a few months, then a year. I don't worry about him, It would just be good to see him. Chuck's a survivor, but I miss my friend.
|
|
Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 01:10pm PT
|
"I guess after so many years of trying to avoid "the man", you just get use to it."
I do miss seeing Chongo, but I can't imagine him running from cops just b/c they were cops. His style in the Valley wasn't really low profile from what I saw. There was one parking lot cop who made it his mission to get Chongo kicked out, and Chongo befriended the guy...tried to bring him over to his side, IIRC.
thatgirl...pls send him a hello from Melissa and J if you're seeing him regularly.
|
|
marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 04:24pm PT
|
Can't vouch for the validity, but wasn't there a Chongo Bros/shooting Mexican cough syrup connection?
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 09:15pm PT
|
Nice story, Randy, and thanks for your kindnesses. Did the tools not return his clothes and stuff? How could they keep it? It's not like it has any value. Sheesh.
|
|
Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno, CA
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2007 - 10:34pm PT
|
Pete, it hadn't been that long since the whole thing went down and they were holding all his stuff as "evidence"... You know how that goes - pigs do whatever they please.
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Sep 14, 2007 - 12:49pm PT
|
Did he eventually get his stuff back?
|
|
Ammon
Big Wall climber
El Cap
|
|
|
Sep 23, 2007 - 04:23am PT
|
A few years rolled by and I kept charging the walls and became fast friends with Chongo. I had done a few push ascents and was psyched to try one solo, I chose Lunar Eclipse. As I got my bags ready I saw a couple of good friends in the parking lot, Jose and Pablo, they insisted they helped carry loads to the base with me.
At the base Jose told me with a huge smile, “If I see you on the Valley floor before you send, I’M coming with you”. It was like he knew something that nobody could foresee.
The next day I awoke and climbed the first pitch at a quick pace. I got to the belay, fixed my line and rapped. By the time I cleaned the pitch and started to haul, I noticed a core-shot in my lead line. “Damn IT”, I yelled into the blowing wind.
I descended my ropes and ran down the talus for another rope I could use for the ascent. As I was leaving my car I saw a bunch of frieneds gathered at the bridge, I waved and continued on my way.
“Ammon, I told you if I see you again, I was coming with you”, I heard a voice yelling. It was Jose. “BUT, we need Chongo to come with us, that will make a true adventure”.
I argued with Jose telling him Chongo would slow us down and if he was serious about the ascent I wanted to go for the record, just me and him.
“Ammon, you and I would have no problem shaving the time… but with Chongo… THAT is a challenge”.
He was right and Jose talked Chongo into the adventure, but not without a struggle from Chuck.
We started up and it was good to be with two really good bros. Chongo would only get a short rest when he arrived at the belay before we would fix the rope and get him going again… no rest for the weary.
Some time in the middle of the night Jose yelled down to me, “Ammon, me envía encima de algunas hondas”.
“What, Jose it’s Ammon down here, I don’t understand spanish”.
Laughter above followed by, “Sorry Ammon, I need some slings”.
A few minutes would go by and I heard, “Necesito carabiners y las levas”.
This went on for hours and Chongo would start translating for me, “Ammon, he needs carabiners and gear”, I would hear from below… as Chongo was ascending the rope.
The proudest moment of the ascent was when Jose and I were on the summit and I was looking at my watch, Chongo was still at the belay.
“Hurry up Chongo, the time is ticking”, I yelled down at him.
About three minutes later he was there at the rim and Jose and I pulled him over the edge. I stopped my watch, we made a record ascent climbing the routh in 19 hours and 58 minutes, WITH CHONGO.
Jose and I packed our gear and got ready for a late night/ early morning descent.
“You guys aren't going down are you?”, Chuck asked.
“Yeah, we don’t have bivy gear Chongo, we’re going down”, Jose replied.
We ended up stuffing Chongo in my haulbag and left him at the summit. As we left I kept hearing, “That was bitchn’, I can’t believe how fast you guys climb, that was bitchn’, that was bitchn’…. that was SO bitchn'!
|
|
| Messages 1 - 48 of total 48 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!