Discussion Topic |
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Stonyman61
Trad climber
Hartselle, Alabama
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 8, 2009 - 06:58pm PT
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I'm courious...who is the most inspiring climber in history?
Besides Chris Mc.
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Aya K
Trad climber
New York
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FRITZ!!!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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John Gill
Walter Bonatti
Herman Buhl
Layton Kor
Reinhold Messner, and on and on it goes....
Geez, there's waaaay too many!
Some of 'em hang out right at this here venue.
John Long
Peter Hahn
John the Deucie
Kevin Worral
Mark Chapman
John Bachar
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Stonyman61
Trad climber
Hartselle, Alabama
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 8, 2009 - 06:59pm PT
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Yea baby!!
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GhoulweJ
Trad climber
Sacramento, CA
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I doubt his name has ever been uttered in print.
He is just a climber that above all.... climbed
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Peter Terbush
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Ezra
Social climber
WA, NC, Idaho Falls
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Walter Bonatti
Fred Beckey
Layton Korr
Peter Croft
Reinhold Meissner
Conrad Konn
Jim Doninni
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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my personal one, smiles, Dan Boy.
Edit: Thanks, Rich Sims .....
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rich sims
Trad climber
co
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Lynne
Dan brought at smile to a lot of lives
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dogtown
climber
Cheyenne,Wyoming
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John Gill
Darrell Hensel
Mike Graham
Tobin Sorenson
John Bachar
Largo
Bob Gaines
Jaybro
Bob Scarpelli
Doug Robinson
The list! In my history.( not in order )
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Robbins (do it well) and Harding (get it done, stop whining)
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seamus mcshane
climber
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One is too few. But...
Bridwell.
The rest is HISTORY.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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All of the above, and Lynn Hill.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Edward Whymper.
Climbers have been whimpering ever since.
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Robb
Social climber
It's like FoCo in NoCo Daddy-O!
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Luke Stong
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Anastasia
climber
Not here
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John Saleth
Bob Kamps
Walt Shipley
Etc..
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noshoesnoshirt
climber
dangling off a wind turbine in a town near you
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Herman Buhl
Dude rode his bicycle both ways to solo onsight a peak that took the previous strongest suitors days.
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GDavis
Trad climber
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surprised no one put "THE ONE UR CLYMBING WITH NOW LOLOLOL!!"
Cheeseballs must have the day off!
My most inspiring? Croft, probably. And Muir. And robbins. Anyone that changed the way we think things happen. That old hippie JStan. Barber. Gill. Hill. Clyde, of course. And lets not forget harding, pratt and frost. Kor, yup him too. Bachar, he's in the middle of this, sure. Sharma and Dave graham are pretty inspiring. Same with Kinder, in a different way (sorry joe). And honnold. Cedar and Renan keep me pretty psyched with Copp and cordes, of course. Not to mention Potter, ninov, ONiell, the el cap pirate, jose, aaronJ, DaveT, fred nichole and beckey, glen denny, galen rowell, john long, rickA, graham, tobin, wolfgang, harlin, house, twight, tenzing, hillary, rands, moon, jenerick, reardon, segal, caldwell, rodden, florine, hiryama, mccleod, hensel, bridwell, camps, dawson to name a few...
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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GDavis, sweet kaleidoscope of climbing .....incredibly colorful and gifted beyond saying.
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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What about Roper, Rowell, Ullman and other authors? After reading their writings I was really inspired.
Ken
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Chris2
Trad climber
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Catherine the Great.
Reinhold Messner.
Yvon Chouinard.
Peter Croft.
Lynn Hill.
TM Herbert
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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All those Vulgarians and Gunkies of like mind throwing down hard, ill-protected routes with hip belays, EB's, with the scowls of the Appies chasing them from behind.
And probably Royal Robbins for his solo of the Muir Wall in 1969. I still think that was one of the most balls-to-the-wall kind of ascent ever done.
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LuckyPink
climber
the last bivy
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in history?? cmon would hafta be Norman Clyde
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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I think it was that Moses guy. He climbed Mt. Sinai once and after he came back down, people said he had a pretty big pair of stones.
Plus he was famous for freeing a lot of stuff that people thought wouldn't go.
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Rudder
Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
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Can't believe no one mentioned Ron Kauk! :O
Harding & Robbins
John Long & Lynn Hill
Peter Croft & Ron Kauk
Dean Potter & Alex Honnold
If only one... for me...
John Long, of course... a man's man, kicks ass and takes names, "hey ladies!" and all that sorta stuff... hehehe
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pip the dog
Mountain climber
planet dogboy
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me, i'm thinking it would have to be one of the post-war working class brits. think about it: mostly sh!tty rock, heinous winter weather on nevis and environs, piddly gear, absolutely no cash (masters of dirtbaggery) -- and yet look at the standards they set, in their day, most everywhere on the planet (the alps, the himalaya.) who more then they inspired what we do today?
among them, i guess i'd pick joe brown.
^,,^
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Aha! Well put Warbler. I hadn't thought of it in that way.
Very good point indeed...for me...
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Tommy Caldwell for pushing the limits where no man has free climbed before...route after route.
Also, did you notice in the Dosage video where he free climbs The Nose and Freerider in a day, he didn't tape his hands, and at the end they are unmarred. 6000 feet of the burliest crack climbing on the planet and he didn't even scrape his hands up.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Bonatti: Titanium hard and classy. Also smart - he bailed on the Croz Spur something like 7 times before doing it.
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chez
Social climber
chicago ill
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Gdavis,
Good call on Tenzing!
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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The "most influential, inspiring" is a broad and profound distinction.
That distinction could only go to one great genius of ideas and experience and that's Jean Jacque Rousseau the father of the Romantic movement.
He created the very structure that inspired men to the idea that experiencing the sublime, risking death for the purpose of personal fulfillment was a positive pursuit and not just madness.
His greatest pleasure was to climb to a high precipice and lean over into the abyss and absorb the fear. Climbing is the useless pursuit of thrill and experience for its own sake,,, pure Romanticism of which Rousseau was the father.
Rousseau opened the Alps to the world, the world to the idea that climbing a mountain was a pleasurable activity!
Without Rousseau none of the other achievements mentioned on this thread would have ever been accomplished.
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WBraun
climber
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Good one Paul.
This a crude example of a disciplic succession of consciousness.
I'm glad someone here at least goes a little deeper.
And now back to surface, carry on .....
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Harvey T. Carter
Over 5000 first ascents................
(Photo stolen from the internet.....)
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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'Tronc Feuillu', duh
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Anastasia
climber
Not here
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Jeff Lowe & Greg Lowe
Etc..
The list is endless.
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Fletcher
Trad climber
the end of the world as we know it, & I feel fine.
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Awesome jahil! Captain Kirk soloing El Cap... "if you pitch, you sail!"
I can't believe no one has yet mentioned Alex Lowe.
But this is such a subjective question. Most inspiring to whom? Isn't that going to be vastly different for each person? We do share some things in common though...
Eric
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Sioux Juan
Big Wall climber
Costa mesa
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tucker tech ?
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Do we only root for the home team?
Few here besides RP seem to have opened their minds to the fact that climbers are one of the few truly international communities.
Many terms come straight from other languages, and most of the techniques were developed outside the US.
Why should we only feel inspired by our own countrymen?
But much of our perspective is based on what other climbers say.
For example; outside the US the best known American climber is Bridwell.
At least, that is what Jim tells me,..
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Gotta agree with bvb about Tronc Feuillu.
And Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman have always inspired me.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Chris Jones because he wrote "Climbing in North America"
It was my bible in the early years.
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Norman Claude
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lars johansen
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Mountaineering: Messner
Rock: Harding
Honorable Mention: [the real] Aleister Crowley
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Personally, I like the ones that could outclimb all of their peers, nursing a huge hangover.
Whillans
Harding
Pratt
and my local Colorado hangover friends
Newberry
Rosholt
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Andras
climber
Budapest, Hungary
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To keep up the "international atmosphere" of the thread, let me suggest some "most inspiring climbers" from the former Eastern Bloc:
Bernd Arnold, Wojciech "Voytek" Kurtyka & Pavel "Pavouk" Pochylý.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there all, say, yep--i'm just learning still, about all you folks...
and i see some great names that i've learned of, and still more to learn of, that i've never even heard of yet...
but, for the young girls growing up and climbing, i thought this was a well-to-look-up-to name... here is the link, of when i learned about her:
this being, bev:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=457454
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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There's a few Canadian folks that deserve to be on
the list too. . .how about Guy Lacelle and Will Gadd. . .
AWESOME on the ice!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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A pretty subjective subject. Ron rightly notes the importance of not being parochial about it. Until the late 1950s, climbs and climbers from North America were barely on the radar in terms of internationally significant ascents. Notably, many of the best known climbs and climbers in North America to that point had a significant European flavour - Huntingdon (Terray), Cassin Ridge, Salathe, Wiessner, etc etc. Climbers from Canada and the U.S. were doing some quite inspiring things all along, particularly in the form of exploratory mountaineering, and were doing some notable things on the world stage, but it wasn't really until the 1960s that they really began to stand on their own.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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David Knopp
Trad climber
CA
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Alex Lowe-my hero, Steve House, mr. psyched
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Fletcher
Trad climber
the end of the world as we know it, & I feel fine.
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Kitty Calhoun! Plus she tells great mammy-jammy stories.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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The guys who get out and get after it and are dedicated, in spite of not having sponsorship or notoriety...
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Evel
Trad climber
Nederland
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Oh Please. This one's really quite a no-brainer. Layton Kor
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Fletch
You got it!
Alpiniste par extreme!
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mtnkid85
Trad climber
Montucky
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This is a tough question, very subject to the individual as well as the location id say.
Robbins ethics really light me up, T. Caldwells recent free ascents are unarguably amazing. For me Alex Lowe and Conrad Anker are fire starters for sure. I also enjoy seeing/reading about what guys like Erik Decaria and Matt Segal and putting up on gear. The mind control the Honnald must have really is inspiring as well...
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Otzi! How many modern day badasses would tackle an alpine pass in leather and straw parkas and shoes?
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the Fet
Supercaliyosemistic climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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You can't narrow it to one.
I gotta add
Salathé
Inspired Robbins, Harding, et al. who inspired the next generation, who inspired the next generation...
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pk_davidson
Trad climber
Albuquerque, NM
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While I admire the logic of paul roehl
I gotta call BS on the statement:
"Without Rousseau none of the other achievements mentioned on this thread would have ever been accomplished."
To claim that no other inspiration would have or could have come along w.out Rosseau is to make a claim with no data to back it up and no way to logically argue the point since history has come and gone.
To claim that no others would ever have been attracted to the mountains...
PS - How about adding Steck to the list, not sure I've seen his name. And don't forget all of the big fish in the little ponds that inspire the push of the local standard. These guys are everywhere and while they may be inspired by the rag covered big boys, they're out there pushing the local standard and dragging the unwashed masses along.
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Gaston, for me. This after hours and hours of reading through "On Ice and Snow and Rock" in the Poway High School library - mid-70s.
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Aya K
Trad climber
New York
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I will reiterate. It's gotta be Fritz. Everyone else is just a wanna be!!!!!!
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WBraun
climber
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The topic is "Most inspiring climber in history?"
History goes million and billions of years back and all they could come up with is some dudes a few years back.
And nobody can agree on anybody. Everyone's got their own personal demigod to throw in the mix.
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Personally, growing up it was definitely Bill Denz.
If you don't know who he was and what he accomplished shame on you!
Otherwise Messner for Alpine and JB for rock...
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 19, 2012 - 06:05pm PT
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Did I say Dick Cilley yet?
Bump.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 19, 2012 - 07:43pm PT
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Bingo. That was my thought too toadgas.
Also that, looking back just three years ago when this thread was last active, how much things have changed regarding our perception due to Alex Honnold.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Jun 19, 2012 - 07:51pm PT
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Been watching Honnold..Was there on Sunday...An incredible day a completely and truly incredible climbing achievement.
It's still Fritz Weisner by a mile.
And beyond that even.. and by far
Shackleton!
Sorry
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michaeld
Sport climber
Sacramento
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Jun 19, 2012 - 07:57pm PT
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Honnold.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Jun 19, 2012 - 07:58pm PT
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euro: Bonatti
norteamericano: Porter/George Lowe (so indecisive! like some days I'm a "tits man" and others I'm an "ass man")
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Jun 19, 2012 - 08:03pm PT
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Tough question.
I'm going with either Buhl, Weissner, or Underhill.
Honnolds accomplishments are both amazing and very fresh in our minds. Let's not forget the mind blowing ness of the Huber bros, Yuji, Potter,and TC when they upped the bar. The mind reeled then as it does now.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jun 19, 2012 - 08:10pm PT
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Inspiring?
Charlie Fowler
He inspired me as an icon and then much more when I actually started to climb and hang with him.
I liked his energy, imagination and seeming lack of ego.
I'm sure a bunch of those climber types are more inspiring when you actually know them...
I get inspired in previously unlooked for ways every time I hang with Freddie!
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Gene
climber
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Jun 19, 2012 - 08:19pm PT
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I’ve always had great admiration for Polish and other Eastern European climbers of the communist era who would leave home with less than $2 in hard currency, five lbs. of chocolate and a few tins of cheese and somehow manage to finagle their way across Asia trading stuff the whole way, arrive in Katmandu, buy used gear, spend four months putting up hard new routes on big peaks, and still have enough $$$ left over to fly home - if they survived. {How’s that for a run on sentence?} That spirit is alive and well as can be seen in Regan and Yeti’s new line on Polar Sun Spire.
g
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SicMic
climber
two miles from Eldorado
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Jun 19, 2012 - 08:23pm PT
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"Because it is there."
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The Call Of K2 Lou
climber
Squamish
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Jun 19, 2012 - 08:28pm PT
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My list is long and varied, but most have been previously mentioned. So I'll just throw some love out there for Bonatti and Doug Scott.
Among present-day climbers (again, a long and varied list), I just wanna say I've always thought Conrad Anker was cool as sh!t.
And a local shout-out to Sonnie Trotter.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 19, 2012 - 08:43pm PT
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There's a Mount Shand in the Waddington Range.
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Jun 19, 2012 - 09:55pm PT
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Alex Lowe was the most inspirational for me,and not just because of his doings. He was the nicest guy you ever met. I'm just a chuffer and the guy would still talk my ear off every time I ran into him. Also his positivity was completely infectious. The guy never seemed to use the word "scared",instead always used "fun". I know,just like his famous quote.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Jun 19, 2012 - 10:05pm PT
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Let's just say I was Dennis McQuaid in "The Right Stuff"..."you're looking at him."
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Jun 19, 2012 - 10:10pm PT
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Ricardo Cassin or Lionel Terray
Joe Brown and Don Whillans
Tilman
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 20, 2012 - 12:44am PT
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Norman Clyde, the most inspiring in California history. Long life, long list of firsts, several languages, etc., etc. And he touched many of our lives since he isn't gone all that long ago, either.
He's been everywhere, man.
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sac
Trad climber
Sun Coast B.C.
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Jun 20, 2012 - 12:50am PT
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Fred's pretty inspiring... "most in history" I dunno...
But Fred sure inspires a full life of climbing, and good lines.
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paganmonkeyboy
climber
mars...it's near nevada...
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Jun 20, 2012 - 12:54am PT
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Jun 20, 2012 - 12:57am PT
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Hmmm, most inspiring in history might be someone simple like John Muir. At least in the USA, all the dominoes fall forward from him lead up through nearly all great American climbers.
For me personally it has been Robbins and those who followed him in the 1960s golden age. (there are many golden ages including the one going on right now)
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WBraun
climber
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Jun 20, 2012 - 01:03am PT
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It's like tortoise and the hare.
The hare you know it's gonna do it.
But there's these guys that are like tortoises.
Soooo fuking slow it's painful.
But they get up everything they go to.
I'm inspired by their perseverance.
Here's to these bad boys, cheers .....
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ß Î Ř T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Jun 20, 2012 - 01:33am PT
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Most inspiring climber in history Walt.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Jun 20, 2012 - 02:35am PT
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Bonatti
Bridwell
Buhl
Cassin
Comici
Destivelle
Doseth
Edlinger
Güllich
Heckmair
Hill
Kukuczka
Kurtyka
Livanos
Long
Messner
Myrer Lund
Naess
Rebuffat
Rutkiewicz
Zapffe
Just one most inspiring is not an option to me.
Some mainly for their climbing, some more for their life, their legend or their verbal endeavours. Often a combination.
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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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Jun 20, 2012 - 09:56am PT
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don whillians for his great attitude!
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Dos XX
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jun 20, 2012 - 10:07am PT
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Johnny Muir, for sure.
Then Terray, Joe Brown, Don Whillans. All hard men, including Muir. If there was a rock climbing equivalent to someone with Michael Jordan's stature in basketball, I'd have to say Lynn Hill.
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Kenygl
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
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Jun 20, 2012 - 10:46am PT
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I know this will sound weird but I was so impressed at a young age by Hugh Herr. I was in my early 20's when he had his accident and the article was published in Outside mag about the incident. His will and determination to get back on the rock inspired me to dig into this climibing thing a little deeper. I'll be forever grateful for his inspiration.
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all in jim
climber
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Jun 20, 2012 - 11:01am PT
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Jeff Webb
Jim Herson
Scott Burke
Francois LeGrand
Yuji Hiriyama
Shelly Presson
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 20, 2012 - 11:43am PT
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Case emptied and all over the landscape...I'd say! LOL
Fritz is my man!
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GhoulweJ
Trad climber
El Dorado Hills, CA
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Jun 20, 2012 - 11:59am PT
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David Stam
First person I ever tied in with....
That day changed my life.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Jun 20, 2012 - 12:33pm PT
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Lots of folks climb hard. Boulder hard. Snow hard.
The guy that has really impressed me:
Todd Gordon.
Now that there is a Climber Soul who inspires.
Done a kegger of climbs, open-house policy, taught little-uns better than their parents, and keeps ticking.
Hoist!
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Jun 20, 2012 - 10:40pm PT
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That's an easy one. Royal Robbins.
JL
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Stimbo
Trad climber
Crowley Lake
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Jun 20, 2012 - 11:30pm PT
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Fred Becky.... the guy's still going after it.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Jun 21, 2012 - 04:57am PT
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Dr.F.
Interesting. Who will write the next Bridwell biography?
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wbw
Trad climber
'cross the great divide
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Jun 21, 2012 - 10:55am PT
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Alex Lowe . . hands down the most inspiring to me. To perform and explore at that level, and while being an involved and committed father: amazing.
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Gary
climber
"My god - it's full of stars!"
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Jun 21, 2012 - 11:15am PT
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Peter Terbush, really. When they dug him out of those tons of rock that came off the Apron, he still had his leader on belay.
When you say "Belay on," you'd better mean it, and he did.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Jun 21, 2012 - 11:42am PT
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I assume you are refering to his political views, which of course have ZERO to do with his climbing accomplishments...
Climbing accomplishments aren't the things that inspire me. It's more about how folks do what what they do.
There are a bunch of climbers, as mentioned in this thread, that amaze me with their accomplishments. I'm stunned by Croft's solo/down-solo of Tips, and so on.
Sometimes I go to a musical event that inspires me so that when I get home I just have to pick up my guitar and play. Other times I see a great show, and am just wow'ed by the performance.
Somebody who inspires me makes me want get out and get some. Reading about the Nose record amazes, but it's not something that makes me chomp at the bit. I'm actually a bit stunned, and feel less than capable.
So, are we talking inspiration or admiration?
And that's why I listed Todd. I see his pictures of thousands of climbs, his stories, his attitude, and the rest. I read his posts, and I am inspired to go and and do it myself. Cheers to that!
And +1 to JL.
Yeah, that is an easy one.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Jun 21, 2012 - 11:58am PT
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"Go to the Pit and have a talk with Bridwell
then you might want to take him off your list'...
I assume you are refering to his political views, which of course have ZERO to do with his climbing accomplishments...
True that. But the thread does not ask about the most accomplished climber. It asks about the most inspiring climber.
A climber who not only has considerable accomplishments but inspires by force of will or by depth of vision.
Let's see, Stevie Haston? John Bachar? Derek Hersey? Layton Kor? Chuck Pratt?
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Brian
climber
California
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Jun 21, 2012 - 12:09pm PT
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I agree with many of the folks mentioned above, so I won't repeat them. However, here are two real contenders for inspiration:
(1) Craig Demartino. Listen to Episode 11 over at the Enormocast (http://enormocast.com/); and be ready for sweaty palms and teary eyes. Absolutely un-be-fecking-leivable.
(2) Supertopo's own, late Paul Humphries was pretty damn inspiring.
Not to derail the train from folks mentioned above like Rebuffat, Terray, Long, Muir, et al. However, sometimes the below the radar folks are the real inspiration.
Brian
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TwistedCrank
climber
Dingleberry Gulch, Ideeho
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Jun 21, 2012 - 12:20pm PT
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Climbers are more than the sum of their climbs and to be an inspirational climber is to be more that a just climber.
Doug Scott
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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Jun 21, 2012 - 12:26pm PT
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i'm sorry but edlinger pulling through at the world comp in snowbird where heroes had failed, that sent me into delirium extraordinaire. had there been a stadium handy i would have destroyed it gleefully, might have considered self- immolation. i don't know, most other feats i have handled with aplomb ... tip o' the hat to doug scott for the ogre crawl
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Gary
climber
"My god - it's full of stars!"
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Jun 21, 2012 - 12:28pm PT
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What k-man said.
Sometimes you only know a climber by the climbs they establish. I've walked away from many climbs inspired by the thought of what went into doing the first ascent of the climb. After leading a classic, whether it is a famous classic, or something out in the middle of nowhere that never gets climbed, it's great to feel that you're now some small part of that climb.
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Jun 21, 2012 - 12:41pm PT
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Of course, for me, it has always been John Gill,
and then a group of individuals roughly equal in stature,
Chuck Pratt, Tom Higgins, Royal Robbins, Layton Kor. Though
each of these inspired in such a different way.
In a more global sense, I would think of Walter Bonatti
and Buhl.
No one can have such a list of inspirations without including Bachar,
but there are those who are inspirations as people, regardless of
their climbing, such as Rich Goldstone and Jim Perrin....
How about a category for tenacity: Bob Kamps. How about photographer: Tom
Frost. How about boldness: Colorado's David Breashears was the best
free climber of his day in the mid-1970s (I met him in 1974, and
in 1975 he free soloed Perilous Journey, but not too much later he
injured his spine, cracked it, and took up mountaineering... then did
four ascents of Everest).
How about not only raw talent and ability but humility and purity of
spirit: Peter Croft, Alex Lowe, Rick Accomazzo... (I could make a
long list here...)
That this largely California forum always seems to want to leave me out
of these kinds of lists, well, I think some of us know that we
have inspired people through the years and, and we don't get
lifetime achievement awards or win the Best Spirit award at
Telluride, our books aren't sold out, we haven't participated
in rescues and saved lives..., etc., to no effect. Doug Robinson,
you know your writing has reached some hearts. I wish I could
measure what Master of Rock did for world climbing... Who knows?
Whatever we achieve I hope we will not be lost by virtue of
somewhat superficial forum opinion list. I think if we inspire
one person to do better, or we
enrich someone's life by some artistic thing we do, then
we are on the right road and are blessed, as we bless others.
There are countless, endless people who have touched
us in the more important, quiet ways. I just received
a few old classic photos of Tobin
Sorenson, and what a beautiful spirit that little guy was!!
He didn't have to be a grand and
great climber to touch us, though he was. A lot of strength
rolled up into that small, tight frame....
I think almost every individual, if we look deep enough, has
something important and/or beautiful to offer. And the contribution
of a less-known climber is, in my opinion, of no less
importance than the wild exploits of the master climber. Otherwise
the only people seen to be of value are the
super stars, and often it's the modest climbers who are every bit as
valuable spirits... and are not to be compared. This was
the tradition I grew up in. When I was a nobody,
a young aspiring, talentless kid, older wiser mentors took me under
their wing and made me feel important. That was the best place
in the world to be, with a few friends who cared. I was of
value to them. They paid attention and took care of me. They
guided me through experience, so that I might begin to develop
an artist's appreciation of it and become sensitive to it, even
though I had no way yet to conceive of any of that yet and
had no idea of my own value or importance.... I had that same
twinge of gratitude when Jim McCarthy announced at Jeff Lowe's
award ceremony that I was the poet laureate of American climbing.
I felt I was in the company of an individual who knew his way
around the world but cared more about others than himself,
something which might be a measure of its own, were there a way....
So for these various reasons I quite hate these comparative
lists, because the tendency is
to negate everyone else but those on the list. The true spirit
is be large enough to have an open heart to all, to embrace
the weak with the strong and the least with the greatest. I have
been powerfully inspired at times by some young lad or lass I have
taken climbing who has transcended his or her own fear and
limitations, who was filled with the supreme resplendence and
happiness of being in some supernally striking environement,
on some gorgeous climb, with a friend.... That's one of the
profound experiences of climbing, and relative to all levels of
ability, to learn and grow, to expand the mind and exercise
imagination....
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steele
Trad climber
CA
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Jun 21, 2012 - 01:24pm PT
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Meissner or Bonatti in worldwide sense. Robbins for pushing free standards, Bridwell for pushing aid limits, Beckey for 1st ascents, in America. Honnold for his free-solo exploits right now.
My personal favorites:
Peter Croft--Astroman, Rostrum, El Cap, Half Dome, Hulk--all in good style.
Lynn Hill--Nose free in a day!
EC Joe--2nd ascent of Voodoo Chil' @Needles with him, my first multi-pitch.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 21, 2012 - 02:01pm PT
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"It's more about how folks do what they do."
k-man nailed it.
The New York wunderkind, Ashima, has such FUN doing what she's doing.
That is inspiring.
It's about spirit.
Touche, k.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jun 21, 2012 - 02:15pm PT
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I can't answer that historically, so I'll answer it for me: Chuck Pratt. His climbs, and his manner of climbing made him the climber whose climbing I most wanted to emulate. Robbins may have been more influential to me, but Pratt, because he was closer to my height, and had a certain purity of climbing, inspired me more.
I have to add a few bouldering inspirational figures too, though: JoGill, Tom Higgins and Ben Borson. John Gill's article in Summit showed mw how far a skilled practitioner could advance, and it was also the first time I realized that bouldering was an activity unto itself, and Borson and Higgins were my local examples of how it was done well.
John
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OldEric
Trad climber
Westboro, MA
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Jun 21, 2012 - 03:53pm PT
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Since the question more or less asks for a subjective opinion there can be no wrong answer. Inspiration is in the eye of the beholder. Having said that I will add that - for me - an inspirational climber is one who has accomplished something besides just climbing - either a balanced life or greatness in some other field (preferably an intellectual one because - lets admit it - climbing isn't exactly intellectually challenging) as well as made his mark on climbing. That eliminates a lot of the names upstream. Also I want it to be an all rounder if possible - that eliminates more of the usual suspects. I'd respect, admire and be inspired by someone who has arranged his life to be able to support significant climbing time without basically being a bum and/or depending on handouts when things get rough - there go more luminaries.
So who does that leave us with? Fritz, Hans (not Hollywood), Yvon. Many more lesser well knows.
Here's a name that I'm sure no one else will come up with - Shockley. Climbed at a decent standard for the day. Won the freaking Nobel Prize for what is probably the greatest scientific break through of the 20th century (rivaled only by splitting the atom), alienated millions of people with his raciest attitudes... Maybe Lester Germer is a safer choice.
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Matt
Trad climber
it's all turtles, all the way dooowwwwwnn!!!!!
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Jun 21, 2012 - 06:04pm PT
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Bachar
Hill
Harding
Sharma
Honold
In that order
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slodog
Trad climber
ontario canada
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Jun 21, 2012 - 06:56pm PT
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Fred Becky-Peter Croft-Greg Child-Doug Scott-
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Jun 21, 2012 - 09:54pm PT
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I have admired many individuals who climbed at lower
grades but pushed themselves perhaps farther than those
who were at the top grades, individuals who had no
special gift but were driven by love and happiness and
made fine strides relative to their own beginnings and ability.
I should have listed my friend Barry Bates, when I refer
to those who were excellent climbers but especially fine individuals.
So much grace and composure....
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Jun 21, 2012 - 09:56pm PT
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Moses.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Jun 21, 2012 - 10:24pm PT
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Did anybody mention me yet?
BWA HA HA hahahaaaa!
Well, The Brave Little Toaster thinks I'm inspiring, so I'll take it.
I'm going with Joe Brown and Jello. Super bad in their day and technology, humble and down to Earth.
And then there's Guido, who inspires me on a whole completely different level
that has little to do with climbing.
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hoipolloi
climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
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Jun 21, 2012 - 10:31pm PT
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Randy Leavitt - is one guy who has done it all. From hard sport climbing, to hard walls in the biggest mountains in the world. 5.14 + A5
Warren Hollenger + Grant Gardner - those guys put up routes on the Captain that have turned everyone else away. (Warren has also been around the world, putting up wild shit)
Mark Synnott - he has been to every destination I dream of going to...
Alex Honnold - yeah, so he is in the 'now,' but that guy seems to be able to climb anything, and make it look so incredibly easy.
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Dave Davis
Social climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 22, 2012 - 12:21am PT
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Cassin
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ron ray
climber
seattle
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Jun 22, 2012 - 12:40am PT
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Has anyone mentioned Fred Beckey?
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Ol' Skool
Trad climber
Oakhurst, CA
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Jun 22, 2012 - 01:05am PT
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Second the motion for Hugh Herr- for getting off the mat and returning to climbing long before there was a culture which encouraged such things from people in his situation.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Jun 22, 2012 - 01:25am PT
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There are arrowheads on top of these 800 foot Towers in Africa. Thousands(!?) of years old. T'was on the Tube. Easiest way up was modern 5.9
History has been going on for a while....
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Jun 22, 2012 - 05:03am PT
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Obviously they shot a rope over the top.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 22, 2012 - 12:47pm PT
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I took this and paraphrased it from a book.
___ is a climbert of the very highest class, not only on account of the brilliance of his actual achievements, but because of the spirit in which he undertakes them.
___'s physique is superb: his strength is backed by exceptional endurance, and he trains assiduously.
___ is a master of several types of climbing, and of every technique; he constantly tries to improve his own standard.
Everyone who sees him in action agrees that he is a born climber of quite exceptional quality--one of those rare, outstanding figures who emerge from time to time in every sport.
He has a magnificent style, perfect in its simplicity and effectiveness--the style of a conqueror--and his combination of virtuosity and precision inspires one with absolute confidence.
In the moral qualities without which no man can become a great mountaineer he is richly endowed: cool, equable and controlled in the most critical situations, quick in decision and imperturbably brave.
Yet there is nothing fanatical in his approach to climbing; and ready as he is to accept the strenuous moral challenge which mountains offer, he never fails to respond also to their poetry.
___'s characteristic independence is illustrated by the incident in which officials of the Club requested him to break off his climbing partnership with me on political grounds.
___ refused point-blank, saying that he climbs for his own personal pleasure and not in the least for prestige of any political or national origin.
Few climbers identify themselves so completely with their sport, or are willing to run so many risks....
[___ is injured in the approach to an alpine route]
....He reckoned he could go on for a day; in order not to miss the climb, we decided to carry on....He climbed magnificently all the first day, but during the bivouac the cold made the pain much worse. Climbing the final wall, which was thickly coated with verglas, was a struggle of the utmost severity, and for ___ it was an agonizing ordeal, which he came through triumphantly.
Recognize ___?
Does your pick, do your picks, really look that good in comparison to this paragon?
Hint--It's definitely not Piton Ron, and it's not Bridwell.
Erudite individuals, there is no doubt, will know this paragon right off, but you should keep it to yourselves. Let others experience the thrill of finding and reading this passage in the original format and finding out for themselves.
[Capt., is this better, Sir? Thanks for the advice. Seriously.]
edit, good'un, Roy! Closer than u think; he is not hSimpson, either.
edit, MH, in a paraphrase of hSimpson, "Soooooo cloooose. N-n-no cigar." Both you fellas. Broadest of hints: climbing device used for a belay. --snicker--
edit--Randisi, were I from the real Oz, I'd say that's a "bonzer" panel!
edit, 06/24/12, Sunday a.m.--I just ordered my first book online, one by this climbing paragon, albeit the cheapest copy on Abe. His book is that good, IMO, that I broke my rule, which is "Don't shop online."
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Jun 22, 2012 - 01:55pm PT
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Mouse,
Quite honestly, that has to be Ten Master seen through the eyes of Pop Ten choirboys LWM where L is Largo, W is WBraun and M is MikeL.
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David Plotnikoff
Mountain climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Jun 22, 2012 - 02:19pm PT
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Inspiring, you say?
For me, Clarence King.
For my daughter, Lynn Hill.
And let's not forget the team of Mike Corbett and Mark Wellman.
In 1989, with the eyes of the world on El Cap, they made a rather strong statement about what the human spirit can accomplish. Hard men. I remember it very well. The nation held its collective breath like it was one of the Apollo moon missions.
About Mark Wellman:
http://www.nolimitstahoe.com/about/index.htm
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 22, 2012 - 02:58pm PT
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Got ya MOUSE:
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Jun 22, 2012 - 03:57pm PT
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Obviously they shot a rope over the top.
An 800 ft rope?
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jun 22, 2012 - 04:05pm PT
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Anyone just odd enough to tie in to the other end of a rope from me.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 22, 2012 - 04:08pm PT
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Mouse: Paul Preuss?
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splitter
Trad climber
Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
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Jun 22, 2012 - 07:50pm PT
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Regionally:
Yosemite Sam
Bullwinkle
John Muir
John Salathe
Norman Clyde
Warren Harding
Frank Sacherer
Royal Robbins
Chuck Pratt
Jerry Gallwas
TomFrost
Allen Steck
Layton Kor
Pat Ament
Don Goodrich
Don Lauria
Walter Rosenthal
Allen Bard
Bob Locke
Wayne Merry
Don Harder
Dave Anderson
John Gill
Dennis Miller
The Dolt
William Feurer
Bruce Carson
Doug Flanders
Jeff Lowe
Ron Amick
Dave Goedell
Conrad Anker
Anders Ourom
Charlie Porter
Rick Piggott
Dan Osman
Walt Shipley
Chris Mac
Peter Haan
Jim Bridwell
John Bachar
Billy Westbay
Tobin Sorenson
Bev Johnson
Lynn Hill
Kevin Worral
Catherine Freer
John Yablonski
John Long
Bill Antel
Tami Knight
Jim Donini
Dean Fidelman
Werner Braun
Bob Van Belle
Mike Paul
Mike Graham
Dale Bard
Ron Kauk
Alex Lowe
Marti Howe
Todd Skinner
Jack Dorn
Henry Barber
George Meyers
Peter Croft
Conrad Anker
Vern Clevenger
Bob Harrington
Rick Wheeler
Rick Linkert
Chuck Kroger
Mark Hudon
Mark Moore
Hugh Burton
Steve Sutton
Rick Silvester
Greg Cameron
Dave Stutzman
John Stannard
...
...
& many more
etc.
edit:kinda like best guitar player
there more than one...
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Jun 22, 2012 - 07:50pm PT
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Tronc Feuillu, hands down.
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Ol' Skool
Trad climber
Oakhurst, CA
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Jun 22, 2012 - 07:51pm PT
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James T Kirk's El Cap free solo in Star Trek V definitely qualifies him for the list. And consequently, Bob Gaines by proxy.
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Chris Wegener
Trad climber
Los Angeles
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Jun 23, 2012 - 06:55pm PT
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As Conrad Anker said:
The best climber in the world is the one having the most fun.
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splitter
Trad climber
Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
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Jun 23, 2012 - 07:52pm PT
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^^^I think it was Alex Lowe who first said that!
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Jun 23, 2012 - 09:40pm PT
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Love all the answers!
So much passion and so many Yosemite biased answers, not that that is a bad thing.
I'm not ready to list my most insp.
If it goes back to pre 10 yrs. old here are two.
1. my dad
2. see below
I have it on the shelf.
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Scott Thelen
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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Jun 23, 2012 - 11:46pm PT
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conrad is the new alex
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deejay
Trad climber
AV
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Jun 24, 2012 - 01:31am PT
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Spencer West
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Jun 24, 2012 - 06:46am PT
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When I was much younger, and just getting into climbing I idolized the climbers I read about. Today, I realize there are just so many great climbers past and present, who lead the way.
If I had to pick one climber, who is still among us, I would pick Voytek Kurtyka; especially for his stunning achievement; along with Schauer, of the West Face of Gasherbrum 1V.
On a personal note, I will never forget climbing along side of him and getting hit by a ferocious storm, while topping out on the Walker Spur. He got hit in the head, by a lightning strike, and really kept his cool, in the crisis.
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splitter
Trad climber
Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
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Jun 24, 2012 - 09:28am PT
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Randisi,
Perhaps you noticed, put "Regionally" at the top of my list(which started with the epitome of inspiration 'Yosemite Sam' & then kinda snowballed)...i'll get to the Euros lata. Just Sayin...
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 24, 2012 - 10:51am PT
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It's possible, Randisi, I'm just sayin, maybe, the American generally has Americans to read, rather than Europeans, so speaking for a generation who read because there was little else to help form our opinions other than the odd TV special, our inspiration could come from little else. Kids today have vastly more international sources for inspiration than we. I was impressed by Dr. Tom Dooley in the fifties because I read of him, an American who went to Indochina as a missionary doc. Today's kid is watching videos of people whose ordinary, ho-hum lives are still inspiring, though quotidian. It is a very good observation to have made. Perspicacious, even.
There's your ration of two-for-a-dime words for today, Mighty Hiker.
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WBraun
climber
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Jun 24, 2012 - 10:54am PT
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Most inspiring climber in history is the one who makes it to the top of the true summit.
Many have tried and never found ......
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 25, 2012 - 02:16pm PT
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Cheers for aBoukreev, Riley.
The guy's book and the consequent failure of it, in the monetary sense, broke my heart. Here is jKrakauer raking it in, no question, while Anatoli was, in my book, ignored and placed on the back-list (in BN's inventory anyway) so quickly it made my head spin. I read all of his book, cover to cover, in a couple of days (and it shames me I can't recall the title--oh, The Climb, duh). I feel that he was a climber writing for the interests of climbers, while Krakauer, God knows, was a climber writing for the public (money) at best a journalist climbing for a story?
To give jK his due, I can't speak to his motives, honestly, because I have not read any Krakauer books: there was no time, as I had millions of titles I could check out from the bookstore to read at home, so why bother reading a book about the same thing I just finished reading? It's good to switch up if you need to read things in order to sell books better, you should not get stuck in a genre rut, keep an open mind, read a few romance novels, even (a conversation-starter par excellence, if you get my drift).
This perquisite was the best thing about working for "The Men" (as Barnes and Noble is called in certain of their outlets, tongues firmly in cheek). I owe it to myself, I suppose, to read Into the Wild, of course. Only so many days, too many books, and certainly too few women to read to in bed.
Yeah, read:
"What would you say to a paragraph tonight, babe?"
"Oh, let's put a bookmark in it, if you don't mind. I got my period."
etc., etc.
I have a dilemma I have been dealing with while here at my friend Jim's, house-sitting. There are hundreds of books, half of which are classics of the mountaineering genre, and which appear in the list from the other book thread. It's the same, but different from the one I had as a BN seller. I just can't decide. Fortunately, I got hold of the Gervasutti and I am at least savoring it, not devouring it, for it is one of those gold mines, like TM's brain.
Of those hoary old Gollancz titles we sold at TNF, BITD, Tom Patey's One Man's Mountains was my most memorable read, and I just found a quote by him in Classic Rock, compiled by kWilson, which almost made me snort my coffee.
"From here to Sgurr a'Mhadaidh was no more than a walk. That is to say, you could have fallen and escaped with your life."
I realize this could all have gone somewhere else, I suppose it doesn't matter.
I am compiling a list of reads based on what you guys have said you are currently involved with or just finished based on the recent thread of that ilk. I am a bibliophile, just can't afford them, and why bother collecting them, cuz I'm gonna die, and who knows what would happen to them, why trouble my relatives any more than they will be? I would see books handed off to others, myself, and this is what I have done, mostly, though some would call it re-selling, it's not if you turn in books for credit as we do in the used book business. Buying books back is no longer an option for small stores, unfortunately.
I appreciate that a person has a library because it's there, because you will want to read some of the volumes over in the future, or want them to use as reference for whatever, and that it's nice to have a legacy for someone who will appreciate it. I have none of these reasons, so I have few books as I age.
Forgive the rambling, but I try to keep it interesting and informative.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Jun 25, 2012 - 02:57pm PT
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"Most" of my early inspirations were Brits, cuz that was who we were reading about. Bonnington, Patey, Scott, Brown, Fawcett, Livesey, Tasker and of course...Whillans. This might also, in part, be because we were being inspired by British music at the time.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Jun 25, 2012 - 04:24pm PT
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General bad-ass - Ammon
I'd agree with that.
I walked up to him at the Bridge this weekend and told him that I thought he was a full-on whack job but that he was still my hero! He laughed his ass off!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 25, 2012 - 05:26pm PT
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Silver, you may have just trumped everyone. Thanks. Very definition of inspiring.
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little Z
Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
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Jun 25, 2012 - 05:43pm PT
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Hot Henry
and them rock climbers in action in Snowdonia
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 25, 2012 - 10:23pm PT
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I bumped this thread a few days ago while looking for a Tobin Sorensen interview. And I did so by listing Dick Cilley as the most inspiring climber in history; in the moment I was sort of joking ...
But the more I think about it and the more of your contributions I read, he fits just fine. Particularly because he has stuck to his principles and he is still doing it.
In general we are inspired by the all-rounders and those who fix themselves up smartly with longevity.
So many of us are inspired directly by our close friends. Frankly, if we are not then one must ask what is not right with the world? (In fact, we have another thread, which deals with this idea of who influenced us most directly … Must find and bump THAT thread).
For me it was the original Stonemasters, Largo being so inclusive for anyone within earshot. Directly by guys like Kevin Powell, Dave Evans, Erik Eriksson, Hensel: who inspired me by propping my carcass out there on lead. Go back one to splitter’s post at the top of the page and you get that picture. Yep, it's actually this great big list of the entire community from which we were hatched.
I dig Mouse's paraphrased contribution with the climber's name left open for us to discover. Whomever that is, he/she fits the bill. And I take it on faith that we will reveal the undiscovered country of that hero before the thread is done.
Moving forward, for inspiration we also do well to reach beyond for those outside of our circle, for most of us this means super alpinist's and the great movers and shakers of the 8000 meter peaks.
I have to pause and mention Lyle Dean. Salt of the earth guy. Check out his 8000m CV sometime, if you can get him to cough it up. And of course Jeff Lowe, Alex Lowe, Mugs Stump, now, Conrad, and Steve Swenson a great all-rounder who is still at it.
Yes Riley, the Polish dudes are so sincere and so burly. In the end most of us find out about these inspirational human beings through literature, and this thread has taken that slant which is apropos. (Or back stepping a bit, more geographically relevant legends attained through oral history, … when I was young and hitting it in Yosemite, this would've been Frank Sacherer, plus all those Brits on Grit -geographically relevant because we are after all their colonies and spiritual heirs!).
Moving in that literary direction, reading about some of these euros: Christophe Profit, Pierre Beghin, "it was like a piece of existence, cut off from existence itself." (Hautes Altitudes via Alpinist 38), we begin to see these guys express themselves in a sort of narcoleptic-poetic-rapture. ... Entering a state of hyperreality. And they get away with it wonderfully!
So, at the top of my list and with that last bit characterizing the leverage point of my inspiration I'm going to concur with SteveA's assessment and go with: VOYTEK KURTYKA. Read his account of Gasherbrum IV. He pulls it off with panache seemingly inaccessible to us Yanks. Dude is a mythical luminary, really for real, and still alive ... ALIVE.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Jun 26, 2012 - 04:35pm PT
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How could one ever leave out the comic prince of climbing, TM HERBERT!
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Jun 26, 2012 - 05:11pm PT
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While I'm at it, Herbert contends that Mark Powell was probably the best climber in Yosemite until his leg injury. "He would have been better than all of us!!"
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO
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Jun 26, 2012 - 07:26pm PT
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Sir Edmund Hillary.
Inspiring both for the first ascent of Everest which of course inspired countless people to become climbers.
And for what he did with the legacy. Return to Khumbu and build what the Sherpas wanted: schools.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Jun 26, 2012 - 07:50pm PT
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Lauria, I do agree with you on Mark Powell. And of course your point is often made those last fifty years by many! And it is important to point out here Mark is still with us, not too far from Bonnie Kamps who visits them some. Mark is a terrific man.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 26, 2012 - 09:03pm PT
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Lauria:
Looks like Powell on Lembert, any idea which route on that particular day?
We were ruminating on who the proto-Stonemasters were and all roads clearly point to Kamps and then Powell. Were they contemporaries? Does Powell predate Kamps a bit? Would you say Powell trumps Robbins for free climbing, specifically, in the 50s and early 60s?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jun 27, 2012 - 12:40am PT
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Not one vote for George Lowe? Are you kidding me? Badazz plus he found
time to get a PhD. Geez...
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 27, 2012 - 01:50am PT
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Well, I keep that great photo of Leavitating Leavitt on my wall for a reason. He's got to be the most inspiring UPSIDE-DOWN CLIMBER in history!
Roy, I will come clean, because I want to hear you guys howl when you realize how close your guesses were with Paul Preuss (PP) and Tin Tin (TT).
I am probably not the only one who appreciates this Italian from the Carnic Alps. Lucien Devies wrote the forward to the book by
Giusto Gervasutti.
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web07-08w/wfeature-inspirations-simon-richardson-gervasutti/2
GG. Died climbing in 1946 on Mont Blanc du Tacul.
Nicknamed "Il Fortissimo."
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Out_of_bounds
climber
BC
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Jun 27, 2012 - 02:22am PT
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Another Inspiring climber from Canada, David P. Jones and his partner Joie Seagram.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Jun 27, 2012 - 02:35am PT
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Tarbuster,
Yeah, that picture was taken at the top of the Water Cracks. Powell (with Beverly) had taken me up there with my wife for my first exposure to Tuolumne in 1965.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Jun 27, 2012 - 02:45am PT
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Tarbuster,
Kamps and Powell were close friends. Powell did just pre-date him in Yosemite and Robbins probably would agree that Powell was THE supreme Yosemite climber in the late 50s in the Valley.
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lars johansen
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Jun 29, 2012 - 05:31pm PT
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I vote Doug Scott, he crawled down the Ogre on two broken legs!
lars
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10b4me
Ice climber
dingy room at the Happy boulders hotel
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Jul 19, 2012 - 01:30pm PT
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Totally subjective, but given that I vote for:
Alex Lowe
Jeff Lowe
Peter Croft
Galen Rowell
Chris MacNamara
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Handjam Belay
Gym climber
expat from the truth
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Jul 19, 2012 - 03:00pm PT
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I just read "Peter Terbrush"'s name on the first page of this thread.
He was a friend. Like so many, a great energy that the world will miss.
Another friend...Jonny Copp really stretched my perception of climbing.
I remember reading Twight's "extreme Alpinism" in my early 20's and feeling comfort learning this tribe existed within climbing.
So many inspirations.
Nothing to it, but to do it!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 19, 2012 - 07:23pm PT
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Some nice images in that short on Bonatti.
He was looking really good too.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Jul 19, 2012 - 10:14pm PT
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I can only look to the names that inspired me to become a climber: Buhl, Comici, Cassin, Wiessner, Harrer, and as a partner (sometimes), Kor. Lest we forget: Rebuffat, and Terray. For Americans, how about R.L.M. Underhill?
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Jul 26, 2013 - 02:17pm PT
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bump
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Jul 26, 2013 - 03:07pm PT
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Wiessner maybe. Hard rock to alpine adventure. Maybe the greatest feat in climbing history would have been K2 if he had made it. Way ahead of his time.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 26, 2013 - 03:46pm PT
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Weissner - rock, alpine, mountainnering......touched many states and countries
Hill - no need to use first female to qualify many of her accomplishments, the only climber I ever saw at the cliff which caused everyone to stop and watch
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jul 26, 2013 - 04:17pm PT
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Beverley Johnson while she was with us, made Yosemite Climbing sweeter with her loving smiles. SHe was wonderful. Also Bob Kamps what a great guy
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