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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 3, 2008 - 10:08pm PT
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Anybody know Herb? I got a chance to climb with him many years ago in the City of Rocks, super funny guy. A great climber too.
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2008 - 10:16pm PT
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I think back in the day he did some pretty impressive ascents in the Sawtooths, on the Elephant's Perch, the Tetons, and of course Yosemite.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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I bought his book on photography long before I found out in Downward Bound he was a climber.
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2008 - 10:18pm PT
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Wasn't he a black hat in Downward Bound?
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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" Difficult to rate- could be in zone 2 or zone 3. However, due to the inordinate amount of time he spends on photography, Herb probably deserves the lowly 7 rating...... "wonderfully zany"......latest outlandish rumor has it that he is presently in India under the care of a guru."
Batso
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EP
Social climber
Way Out There
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Herb was working for the Yosemite guides when I decided I wanted to learn to climb. I still remember threading the figure 8 knot over and over and over and over.
Thanks Herb.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Great thread idea, John . Hi folks. Herbie and I were friends back in 70-72. I really liked him. Insanely funny, well-defined character. Bev Johnson liked him too btw. Lived in this camper on a bigger pickup truck; I guess came out from Wyoming I think, seasonally. Had a large revolver in the camper too. Travelled a bunch, a gentleman, actually, made friends everywhere. Had no big mean project that was intended to cause us all pain; he was a real witty and actually sweet guy. Bigtimers tried to trivialize him because he wasn’t “hard” but look at us all now! Back then we did some stuff together, no big whoop, but respected him and always checked in with him as well in camp 4. Reminds me of Chuck Ostin and Higgins. Completely independent person. Again, awfully funny wonderful guy to be around socially. So where IS he now.....
P.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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I met him one afternoon in Camp 4 during the 80's.
He was standing around in oversized EB's and talking about pistols & marksmanship. He seemed an affable & whimsical character with a wry streak. Jane Sievert introduced us and I think she was marginally smitten by the old dandy.
Didn't he make some statement to the effect of "The Black Ice Couloir...I've outlived it!".
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Lower Yosemite Falls, West Side 5.5 A3 II FA 1959 Herb Swedlund Errol Bohannon
Moby Dick, Center 5.10a FA 1963 Herb Swedlund Penny Carr FFA 1963 Frank Sacherer Steve Roper
Lower Watkins Pinnacle A3 II FA 1957 Mark Powell Herb Swedlund Wally Reed George Sessions Merle Alley
Reed's Pinnacle Regular Route 5.9 FA 1957 Wally Reed Herb Swedlund
Remnant, The, Right Side 5.7 FA 1960 Wally Reed Herb Swedlund
Via Aqua 5.7 FA 1960 Dave Rearick Herb Swedlund Glen Denny FFA 1960 Dick McCracken Steve Roper
Dromedary Direct 5.10c FA 1971 Barry Bates Matt Donohoe Herb Swedlund
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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With Ray Jacquot, he made the first ascent of the Black Ice Couloir on the Grand Teton in 1961 - http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs16b.htm
A few days earlier, he climbed the South Buttress Right on Mount Moran, thus bagging the premier rock and ice routes in the range in one week.
Google Herb Swedlund - there's lots. Interesting character.
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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Worked with him teaching skiing at Badger 1985-1986. He did first free ascent of Bishops Terrace before I was born.
Ken
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scuffy b
climber
Stump with a backrest
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When Herb is on, he is one of the funniest guys I've ever known.
I believe he's still living in Jackson.
I wonder if he's started listening to CDs yet.
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PhilG
Trad climber
The Circuit, Tonasket WA
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I remember Herb being involved in an epic rescue in the Tetons. I can't recall all the details, but the victim "lost his mind" and was swinging at his rescuers with an Ice Axe. Anyone know where one can find the complete story?
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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So where IS he now...
He showed some slides at a friends house in Dillon Montana a few years back. I think he might be still up in that neck of the nape, nape of the neck...
Probably somewhere's around where high end fly fishin' poles are made...
-Brian in SLC
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ec
climber
ca
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Ed,
Add this to your list: the FA of the original 1963 route on the South Face of Tehipite Dome with Fred, Ken Weeks and John Ahern.
 ec
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KP Ariza
climber
SCC
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Met Herb briefly in the mid 80's after cleaning and freeing one of his old aid lines(Ten Years After) in the lower falls amphitheater. Reserved, polite dude- class act.
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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Definitely Heroic in my book!
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hhhhhhhhh
climber
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I did my first "real" climbing with Herb on Guides Wall. On the descent he mentioned to be careful. Being young and stupid, I claimed the worse that could happen was that I could die. He said No, the worse that could happen is that you could live. Wish I got to climb with him more. Great guy!
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Jennie
Trad climber
Idaho Falls
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I remember Herb being involved in an epic rescue in the Tetons. I can't recall all the details, but the victim "lost his mind" and was swinging at his rescuers with an Ice Axe. Anyone know where one can find the complete story?
PhilG:
I believe the incident you are refering to happened in July of 1962 during the rescue of several members of the Appalachian Mountain Club on the Otter Body Route of the Grand Teton.
There is a good write up in Pete Sinclair's book We Aspired: The Last Innocent Americans, page 109 to 142. My dad also had two old copies of Sports Illustrated, dating from 1965 that documented the rescue in depth, but I couldn't locate them after he passed away. But I believe they could be found in many libraries with back issues of popular magazines.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Mar 25, 2009 - 09:43pm PT
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Herb is a great guy and very funny. I had the opportunity to spend time with him in the early 60s in Yosemite and later in the Tetons. The following photo was taken at the Pratt Memorial at Climbers Camp in the Tetons. A lady was rambling on and on and on and on about Pratt, and Herb says just loud enough for us to hear,"that is one he should not have fu####ed. We are all trying to hold back the laughter. From left to right Robinson, ? Don Lauria, Myself(Little Joe), Herb, Joe Fitchen (Big Joe) and Jeff Foott. Pratt would have loved it.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Mar 25, 2009 - 10:18pm PT
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Herb is a great guy with a wry wit and a healthy cynicism brought on by numerous but not totally fruitful encounters with the opposite sex. He was the chief guide at Exum in 1971 when I started as a junior guide. Herb took me under his wing and counseled me on numerous things not all having to do with climbing. He was a mathematician and could have been a concert pianist. He is somewhere in Montana entertaining the locals with his acerbic wit.
\
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Scott Cole
Trad climber
Jackson, WY^
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Mar 29, 2009 - 02:11pm PT
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Herb is probably the smartest person I have ever met. When he decides to persue something, he quickly becomes the best. Herb is now living in Twin Bridges, Montana (He's in the phonebook) Still funny as hell.
Scole
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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May 23, 2009 - 06:56pm PT
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The question mark is Dennis Miller.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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May 23, 2009 - 07:39pm PT
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Some memories:
Swedlund was the guy that told me Robbins was looking for me to do the second ascent of the Dawn Wall. We were both skiing at Badger Pass and while sipping a beer out in the sun he mentioned that Robbin's wanted to talk.
I spent the whole summer of 1995 in Andy Carson's backyard sleeping with Allan Bard's dog Moose in a tent. I was working with Allan guiding with JHMG.
I spent a lot of my off time hanging out with Swedlund. We had met back in the 60s in the Valley, but I hadn't seen him for almost 30 years. We spent some quality time at the brewery and Dornan's - one night at Dornan's we managed to get all of us together - Pratt, Swedlund, Bard, and me - a memorable jocular evening.
We climbed at the Guide's Wall one day and when we topped out I heard someone yell "Hooman". Hooman Aprin - don't call me Iranian. I'm Persian - was a manager at West Ridge back in the 70s and I had heard that he moved to Wyoming, but had no idea he was guiding there. I found him with his client. He had lost most of his hair, but otherwise he was still the same very amiable person I had known back at the Ridge. Swedlund had no idea that Hooman had worked for me.
Next day Herb let me follow him while he taught a beginners class. What an experience. A superb teacher and a total riot.
The story of his comment at the Pratt memorial was posted above by Little Joe. Classic Swedlund.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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This photo from 1970-71 has just turned up. Darwin Alonso took it and was a climbing partner of mine from those years. He posted it on the Indian Rock thread just now. This is a great shot of Herbie.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Grat to see a pic of the Black Ice Coulier.
JL
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Bump for Herb.
The ex-wife had him for an instructor at Exum in the mid-70's. (She was single, southern, and 18)
She thought he was fun because: "even though he was an old fart, he flirted with her."
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
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I first met Herb in Jackson Wyo. back in 1973- he was working patrol at Rendezvous. Saw him many a morning for breakfast at the Sojourner in the Village where I was a bus-boy. Very funny. Original.
He described the Wyoming winters as, "BRUTAL". And told me to beware!
Told me that when he would visit the Valley he would drive in and just hike high up to the rocks to sleep and watch. Said he could not take it otherwise.
As I remember, he was a nationally ranked marksman. Maybe top ranked at one time?
In regards to guiding I heard him say, "I could talk a tapeworm up a slack halyard"!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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I remember Swedlund describing his driving technique in the run between Jackson and the Valley in an old VW Bug in the early 60s.
With the hugely underpowered VW, he would draft large semi trucks and ride 15-20 ft off their back in the slip-stream. Believe this did generate a number of tickets but made for a faster trip. Saftey factor? go pucker!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Sep 11, 2009 - 08:46am PT
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I first met Herb Swedland at the University of Colorado in 1963. I'm not sure if he was a student or just hanging out there. He and Jack Turner threw some good parties though, and along with Pete Lev introduced a lot of Coloradoans to Teton Tea. Dick Erb probably remembers him from those days too.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to remember whose house in Boulder I partied at in those days that had a beehive in the back bedroom with the window open in the Colorado winter for the bees to come and go. Anyone?
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scuffy b
climber
Sinatra to Singapore
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Sep 11, 2009 - 12:05pm PT
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Jan,
the fact that you can even ask that question with any
hope at all of getting an answer is just about mind-blowing.
Boil it down to basics: Who had a beehive in his bedroom in
Boulder in 1963?
Could you have conceived of asking that a couple years ago?
Cheers
sm
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Sep 11, 2009 - 12:11pm PT
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Scuff means that it is a feasible question nowadays, given Supertopo's forum community. OH, and Scuff, you forget in "boiling it down to basics": the window was open. That should pinpoint it. SOMEONE here knows, for sure.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Sep 11, 2009 - 12:15pm PT
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Well neither Layton Kor nor Steve Komito can remember (the question came up in regard to Layton's bio that Cam Burns is doing).
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Scootter
Mountain climber
Mill Valley, California
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Nov 14, 2009 - 02:57pm PT
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Seems like eons ago that I met Herb at the Marin Ski Club, Kingvale, CA. The year about 1956, we were at Marin JC, Kentfield, CA and Herb wanted to ski more than eat. We had a great time. We entered UC Berkely at the same time but I passed on the fraternity scene and Herb went on to greater heights. In 1965 we caught up again in St. Anton when he was about to go on a cruise with his in-laws. I could tell he was not too keen on this adventure!!!!. We met again in J/Hole and introduced my wife Phillis to climbing. That was about 1998 or so. No sure of the date, it was long ago. He lived in Jackson - something like 150 Henson Rd. or something like that.
Herb was partially raised in Mill Valley and fished the local streams for steel head. We were in love with the late Sceeter Werner (sp) and loaded bullets in his room over the garage, When I saw him again in Jackson, he still had the bullets on his chest of drawer.
What fun and what fun memories. He also bartended at Sugar Bowl, CA - about mid 1960's.
There is another storey on that episode but I'll end here.
Scotty Watterworth, Mll Valley, CA
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C. Small wall climber.
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Nov 14, 2009 - 03:34pm PT
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Wonderful stories!
Leading to the question, does having a beehive in a bedroom lead to having bees in one's bonnet?
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