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tinker b
climber
the commonwealth
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Jan 28, 2010 - 10:52pm PT
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thankyou for a beautiful account. i have always stopped to think about death when it happens to friends or in the area i've been in. since watching it happen myself, i have been trying to understand death and how other people deal when they are a part of it.
i held my partner in august as he breathed his last after taking a fall on the third pillar of dana. it took me a month before i climbed again. i joked a lot that i was taking up sewing as a hobby, but it just didn't cut it.
the first climb i did my whole body felt so good, and i realized i would never be able to stop climbing. it is hard to explain to a lot of people in my life who don't climb. i still see images of jeff every time i climb, but i quiet my mind and climb on, it is the only thing i know to do.
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Jan 28, 2010 - 11:33pm PT
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nd i realized i would never be able to stop climbing. it is hard to explain to a lot of people in my life who don't climb
I know exactly what you meant.
The story though is the oldest one told that survives in written form.
Gilgamesh.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jan 28, 2010 - 11:55pm PT
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Thanks Rick.
Very painful stuff, for everyone.
I don't think I've ever seen such a large, sad event written out in quite that strong yet compact a way.
Very powerful.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 30, 2010 - 12:39pm PT
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I appreciate the recent comments. John Vawter used the term “dichotomy” to describe the two extremes that can result from climbing, elation and death. I was trying to express just that.
Another memory of that night is the difficulty we had in finding the point directly above Sheraton Watkins, so that the long rappel could be rigged. The slabs on top slope down for hundreds of feet to the edge of the vertical face and it was not until Dale had rappelled to the edge on the third try that we set up the big rappel ropes. Dale was perfect in his calculations and hit Sheraton Watkins from 1200 feet above, no mean feat by moonlight.
A discussion of the accident, the memorial route put up by Bridwell,Long, Schmitz and Kauk, and more picures of Bob are in this thread:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/444343/Bob_Locke_Memorial_Buttress_Mt_Watkins_Story
Still a mystery how the lead rope broke when it did not appear to be cut.
I didn’t know Bob Locke and appreciate his friends providing a sense of what he was like. I have read of his pioneering, steep ski descents on three pin gear in the Sierra with Dale’s brother Alan, among others.
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bobo's mom
Trad climber
Santa Rosa ,CA
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Oct 17, 2010 - 05:46pm PT
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It has Bold Textbeen 34 years since we lost our Bobo- I just want all of Bob's friends to know that I thank them from the bottom of my heart for what they did to try to rescue our Bobo. Eight years ago my husband joined Bob in the great beyond. I miss them very much and I love you guys- Carol Locke
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Oct 17, 2010 - 06:23pm PT
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Carol
Bobo was fortunate to have such a great mom, a lucky lad indeed.
RIP Bobo.
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
suspendedhappynation
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Oct 18, 2010 - 12:08am PT
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Carol -
It's Tom Carter here. Thank you so much for letting us know.
I have had some contact with your nephew and have been collecting some photos to share.
I will write you and share some history.
Tom Carter
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 18, 2010 - 01:34am PT
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I always speculated it might have been the yo hammer which was holstered at the waist that cut the rope when he hit the dihedral after his fall?
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rmuir
Social climber
From the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Oct 18, 2010 - 09:29pm PT
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Wow, Rick. So sorry that I missed this one the first (or second or third) go-round. ...a very fine piece of writing about a most sobering event! Nice work.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Oct 18, 2010 - 09:41pm PT
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hey there, say, dear carol locke.... i am very sorry to hear of the loss of your son (far late now, i know) and now of your husband...
god bless in the lost of two very speical men in your life...
also, say, tinkerb... i am very sad, and sorry to hear of the loss of your dear friend.... my you continue your climbing, even as you have, and most bravely---bravely, i say, due to how you kept seeing him---things like this are harder to overcome, as the memories keep "singing out" far too fresh, even when you have placed them in a special 'shelf' of the heart, for safe keeping and honor...
god bless...
:)
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 27, 2010 - 09:42am PT
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Mrs. Locke,
Thanks for posting here. My sincere condolences for the loss of your son and husband. I hope the account of the rescue attempt did not add to your pain.
You may not appreciate the fact that that four of the best climbers of that era -Long, Bridwell, Kauk and Schmitz- climbed a first ascent of a magnificent rock buttress on Mt. Watkins, near where Bobo died. They named the route, "The Bob Locke Memorial." For a Yosemite climber, that is a very high honor.
Rick
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Oct 27, 2010 - 09:46am PT
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Mrs. Locke, thank you for posting to this thread.
I agree with Guido, a lucky lad.
I wonder if someone told you that this thread was running, or if the depth of the lurker pool is really that deep around here?
Either way, it's an honor.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Thanks again for sharing this experience with us here.
Tim Setnika wrote a very long account of this rescue as an introduction to his SAR handbook that provides an interesting additional perspective. I watched the whole show from the 6th pitch bivy on the RNWF of Half Dome in the company of Mark and Dennis Udall which was pretty bracing to say the least.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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This adds more to the epic,
and
Steve - with the Udall(s?) the political family. So good to know the roots,of those in politics are real!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Lots of climbers between Mo and Stuart Udall's sons and I have been out with most of them. My folks were friends and ardent supporters of Mo who transformed Tucson into an oasis of decency and tolerance in an otherwise politically hard-assed state.
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Timber
Mountain climber
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
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The night Bobo passed I woke from a sound sleep in Santa Cruz, 200+ miles from the Valley.
I felt his presence in my room in a truly powerful physical sense. I can remember him telling me
" Don"t worry, everything is going to be all right" as clearly tonight as I did at 3:12 a.m. that night so many years ago. I did not know for two more days.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Back in the mid-90s, while working as an assistant guide with Allan Bard on one of our many excursions in the Sierra, Allan paused to pick a Penny Royal bud and attach it to his hat “What’s that all about Allan?”
“It’s for Bobo, one of my old friends. He always used to have a Penny Royal stuck in his cap.”
He explained that “Bobo” was Bob Locke and that he died in a climbing accident years ago. “Whenever Penny Royal perfume gets my attention, I pick one and add it to my cap. I do it in his memory. Here, put one in your cap.”
Since that day back in the 90s I have always paused to pick a bud for Bobo even though I never met him. Now I do it to remember not only Bob Locke, but also to remember Allan Bard.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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What powerful and poignant remembrances.
It's a privilege to read about this history and the people involved.
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