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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Rest In Peace Brother.
As long as we remember, and talk, he's not ever gone for good.
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Mimi
climber
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Gone but not forgotten.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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That's for sure, Mimi.
BOLD
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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I wish I could've met him.
Rest in peace, Walt!
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bachar
Gym climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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RIP bro... see ya' soon enough, jb
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Norwegian
Trad climber
Placerville, California
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at the heights and depths of our domain, a warrior is made from the inside out.
an enchanted warrior hoarding widsoms and genius borne of satisfied wonder.
the warrior's sleep is seasoned with the riches of achievement, and the loving respect of his peers.
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elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
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Walt... you left way too soon Bro... you were surely one of the most interesting, and unique climbers ever to come our way in yosemite.... you left us all with broken hearts that will never heal... thanks for the memories...thanks for the friendship.
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paganmonkeyboy
climber
mars...it's near nevada...
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wish i could have met the man - he sounds like one hell of a guy...
as long as you remember them, no one is truly gone...
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Walt was the real sh#t, how many of us are gonna get a ten yrs after thread with ernest posts?
Live by Walt's best qualities, ignore the the sh#t he hipped you to ignore. We all have flaws, play to your strengths!
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rincon
Trad climber
SoCal
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Never met Walt Shipley myself, but from all accounts, he was a remarkable person. One who was "Bigger than life". No doubt he will be a climbing legend for many years to come. In the ranks with Yabo, Muggs, Dano, et al.
Quote from the American Whitewater accident report:
" ANALYSIS: (Walbridge)
1. Paul's effort to save Walt by jumping into the current above Cherry Bomb falls was courageous and smart. In attempting the rescue the entire group demonstrated impressive teamwork. A less skilled party would have found themselves portaging the falls and chasing the body downstream!
2. Class V whitewater is, by definition, a dangerous place to swim and a tough place to recover a swimmer. That it could kill a man of Walt Shipley’s skill and experience should serve as a warning to everyone who paddles this type of water."
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Gotta meld some threads here, lets take this Walt thread, and point it to the pagan sister thread;
Analysis by a wacked out Jaybro; hug 'em while you got 'em! I don't think Walt was ever much of a physical hugger, but if you had an earnest talk with him, you got more assurance and understanding, than all but the most sincere hugs. If you got time, aim your life at that!
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Russ Walling
Gym climber
Vulva, Wyoming
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Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2009 - 03:34pm PT
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^^^^
Got your back... edited to fix
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east side underground
Trad climber
Hilton crk,ca
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RIP walt - glad I had a chance to crack a few coldies with ya, cheers!
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Only met Walt once. Back in the day, I was hanging out with the Nabolsi on Spring Break and we bumped into Walt while tooling around at the Lodge. He had soloed Tis-sa-ack recently and treated us to a slide show with a borrowed projector set up in front of the stage where they give those rangers talks. Awesome stuff.
He entertained us later that evening hanging out in the entrance to the Four Seasons/Mt. Room Bar. He wore a really tight fleece skull cap (he called it a Polly Dome), bugging out his eyes and hissing at the tourons who walked by.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Ten years? On the real? Whenever I hear Hawkwind--or think of guys in capes--I think of Walt!
Russ, I remember you leaving the rec.climbing notice of the accident on the cutting board like it was yesterday. I think you were shocked but not surprised, if that makes sense. You two were so close, I know it hit hard even if it didn't show.
Your "Shipley Drive" up at Little Egypt is a fitting tribute. For us mortals not up for an OE soloing binge that can get us pretty close to some of that crazy Shipley purity.
(Walt, groping for the familiar on Bad Sign)
Don't be late...
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Miss that guy all the time.
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FTOR
Sport climber
CA
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the thing that alway amazed me about walt was his near photographic memory of any route he had ever done. like, he could tell you the 5th placement on the 13th pitch of such and such route he had climbed 3 years ago like it was yesterday. if only i could recall those days with anything approaching that acuity...
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WBraun
climber
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After they brought Walt's body down to the funeral home from Dinkey creek to Fresno, me and Merry went to see Walt's body before the cremation.
No one was there. We put flowers on him and chanted vedic prayers.
Then the guy who was going to burn him in the fire to ashes came in and said: "Hey, that's Walt Shipley!".
He then said; "Cool, ... I'll burn him good!"
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Dapper Dan
climber
Menlo Park
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were his ashes spread ?
where?
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WBraun
climber
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I don't think so, the last time I heard they're on his moms fireplace mantel .....
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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"a man so true to his own soul can reveal himself in a lucid way in a very short time."
Now we're talking!
If anything, Walt Was a Lucid soul!
Marty,do you remember the slightly 'before' conversation we had on the "no surprise" topic, I believe you contributed the Sabbath.
Werner, that's a twist I hadn't heard, about that account ( the part about the fire guy)...
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Tilting the Olde. Now how proud is that?
Yo still da man, WS.
JL
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quasitrad
Trad climber
Corvallis, OR
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RIP WS. Lest we forget.
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chez
Social climber
chicago ill
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Man i'll never forget that grin!
RIP Walt
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hooblie
climber
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glad that struck a chord jaybro, probably all i should have said,
except that his wildass sincerity could pin the needle on either peg
and in the process carve his very own niche in your heart
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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Yeah, what a guy!
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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wow, 10 years already. i get a constant reminder of walt driving up the merced. there is a rapid just below swinging bridge that swilliam and i call walt's hole. the idea is to miss the thing left or right. but walt would venture straight in just to see what would happen while bill and i watched from the safety of the eddy.
he was a larger than life guy, ridiculously entertaining in a real borderline kind of way. you were a true champion walt. shipoopooi
duece, is that me playing chess in that photo?
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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"May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,"
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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I didn't know Walt, but here is a poem that seems appropriate for him, and perhaps others we've lost.
First Fig
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light.
 Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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That's a Shipley poem.......You know what I mean.
Knott by him, but OF him.
Bastard BAILED on us! Now WE get to HAUL the load.
Sneaky.
Yeah, I'd tell 'im that, too, if I could have the pleasure of railin' at him again. I kinda miss that, too.
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Russ Walling
Gym climber
Vulva, Wyoming
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2009 - 10:24pm PT
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Walleye:
I think it is me and CC3 playing chess in our matching hairdos and shirts. There are some pics form different angles of that same moment in time.
Walleye edit: that patch might be plastidip..... the wonder sauce
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Mimi
climber
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Yeah, that's Mussy and Colon for sure. Those were some fun-filled days. So many times our ribs ached from laughing.
Damn, it hurts to lose friends. Walt was such a special guy. A force to be reckoned with. Wherever he is now is experiencing at least as wild a time as what we had with him. NO doubt! Except he might be complaining that it's not real enough for him. LOL!
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Walt was bigger than life, and somebody (LARGO???) should force-feed a movie script though the System to document him. I mean, if they've made several movies of the life of Neal Cassady, they should make a movie of the life of Walt Shipley.
Or, at the very least, somebody who was close to him should write the definitive biography (RUSS???).
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Dude, none of those bastards will believe it.
Too real to be true.
Too true to be marketable.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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I never saw a photo of Walt and Neal Cassidy together, just sayin'..........
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Jaybro,
Walt and Neal (most likely) never met. My dementhesis is that both were larger than life, in their respective spheres of influence. And both deserve to be written into posterity, for the sake of a valuable historical record.
BTW: the Wikipedia entry for Neal Cassady completely ignores the 1980 film starring Nick Nolte as Neal.
http://www.rooknet.net/beatpage/writers/cassady.html
Cassady's wife Carolyn, wrote about their relationship in "Heart Beat", published in 1976 and later made into a movie starring Nick Nolte as Neal, Sissy Spacek as Carolyn, and John Heard as Jack Kerouac. William Plummer's definitive book on Cassady, "The Holy Goof" was published in 1981.
Carolyn's book, "Off The Road", is a fascinating counter-read to "On The Road".
This sort of veneration of Neal begs a similar effort to record Walt's legacy. Walt was, "On The Wall", and, he was off-the-wall.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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I get it, have read those books and seen those movies, I was just drawing an absurdist comparison, pretty sure Walt Never met Neal, or at least when we talked about him, Walt never let on... My brother met Alen Ginsburg though, and my cousin went to High School with Laurie anderson who knew William Burroughs pretty well who new Keroauc, more than pretty well and prolly met Cowboy Neal through him... just doing that sh#t
Agreed, I think that had some kindred spiritedness about them...
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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This isn't my line, but..
Walt lives in our hearts and he don't pay no rent.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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May 11, 2009 - 06:07pm PT
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Yep, that's the Mussy (Fish) and CC3 (Charles Cole) playing chess, with Stretch looking on. It's one of only about seven pictures I have from my time living in the Yosemite dirt (well, I have many that others took, but only a few of my own).
I think the photo was taken shortly after Walt had his experience breathing fire, which is why he grew the beard (this was pre-Afghan film days, I believe).
Here's the story, probably Russ can tell it with more flavor:
Walt decided he was going to breathe fire, so had found out about how it was done, etc, and then, after a few olde E's most likely, gathered a small audience and pulled it off! Well , of course the gang gathered soon after hearing of the new hyjinks, and goaded Walt into performing the trick again.
The second time, with a much larger audience, did not go well--the fire came back and burned his face. No one saw Walt for a few days after that, apparently the blistering was quite bad. When he reappeared he was often wearing balaclavas even though it was quite warm out.
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fosburg
climber
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May 11, 2009 - 08:32pm PT
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A lot of good times climbing with Walt.
I remember one spring he showed up all psyched because he realized he'd done every route in The Vertical World of Yosemite except two, The Muir Wall and Lost Arrow Chimney. I immediately agreed to get on those with him asap. On the Muir I distinctly remember him jugging up to one of my anchors, looking me in the eye and saying, "I need to be tied into MORE THINGS." On the Lost Arrow Chimney we got the glory of freeing the pitches out of the notch thanks to some good beta from Tucker who'd recently toughed out a frosty bivy in the notch with Brad Huys(sp.).
So many other great adventures: Sentinel Falls, Nevada Falls, Illouete Falls, Half Dome in winter, Fight or Flight, Skindad the Scaler, Nerve Storm. Now my feeling is that I sort of probably took Walt for granted. I thought he'd be around for lots more adventures though the kayaking stories gave me the creeps from day one.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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May 11, 2009 - 10:25pm PT
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"I sort of probably took Walt for granted"
-Bingo!
I always knew, any time I went to the valley, in those years, that this guy, one of the most fascinating I would ever meet, was going to be there to twist my mind and accompany me on any adventure I could suggest and blow my mind with his own suggestions. Thanks, for that shrit, Walt!
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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May 12, 2009 - 12:38am PT
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Coz mamma, you the coolest.
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WBraun
climber
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May 12, 2009 - 01:27am PT
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Nope.
Walt still would have paddled into that hole.
He was humble man at heart.
He went into that hole because he knew we loved him .......
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona, Spain
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May 12, 2009 - 04:05am PT
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Man, this 5 degrees of separation sh#t really works! I met Jaybro one time bouldering under a bridge in Davis CA. Any now though him I get to Jack Kerouac in only a few steps. Imagine all the people Kerouac knew. Holy buckets!
On topic, it was plainly obvious that Walt was often not a happy guy. He had big ups and big downs, and he would be one of the last people to take for granted.
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
Arid-zona
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May 12, 2009 - 04:41am PT
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Man I can't believe it's been that long since I was listening to his stories around the campfire in Tuolumne.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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May 12, 2009 - 06:04am PT
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Deuce beat me to it.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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May 12, 2009 - 06:16am PT
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Jay, you're the coolest too!
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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May 12, 2009 - 06:25am PT
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Loves ya too, John, you too, Scott!
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fosburg
climber
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May 12, 2009 - 11:17am PT
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Another thought about Walt. I don't really feel like he "died young". A friend and I were talking recently about David Foster Wallace, the author who died last year at 47 from an "untimely suicide". Some people live at such an intense level that it's truly remarkable they make it through any given day. Add into that hobbies like white water boating and threshold soloing way on cid and drunk and well, there ya go. Kierkegaard died at the same age as Walt, 43 and in retrospect it's easy to see his life was in no way incomplete. I think the same is true with Walt. Walt was a creative genius who happened to be way into climbing. What a great gift to be acquainted with these people!
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Russ Walling
Gym climber
Vulva, Wyoming
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Topic Author's Reply - May 14, 2009 - 02:35pm PT
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Good link Clint! Read the article and then read the letter posted below.
Walt was a pretty big letter writer and I somehow managed to save a few. This one is about making hammers at the old A5 Factory! Cool stuff! Deuce has some too.... they make for interesting reading.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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May 14, 2009 - 03:06pm PT
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Cool letter, Russ - thanks for sharing. I definitely cracked up with the bit at the top of the 3rd page. :-)
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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May 14, 2009 - 03:06pm PT
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"Who is that guy with the Thorazine Glare?"--great description!!!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 15, 2009 - 07:09pm PT
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Nice stuff, Russ! I hung out with Walt in the Deucy shop with John and Raypole, one afternoon around the time of that letter. That was when he told us 'The Afghanistan story'.
I climbed 'Day in Court' a few years later, definitely the hardest route, I've, done in Sedona. Wonder if that was the second ascent?
Thanks Walt.
Keep those letters, coming in, Russ.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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May 15, 2009 - 07:28pm PT
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I've been waiting for the proper irreverent moment to post this one...
Cripes, it being Friday and all.
And speaking of Solid Gold,
Here's my personally annotated topo (by Shipley) of Shipley's route, "Strike a Bitch".
Ahem, obviously a play on Strike It Rich, never mind that someone, Walt?, thought it might be called the Claim Jumper for starters:
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Apr 24, 2010 - 05:28pm PT
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Pimp shipley bump!
Tons of great stuff here.
Mucci
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Apr 24, 2010 - 11:05pm PT
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Bump for a rad dude. Wish I had a chance to meet him. This description of him by Fat Dad made me laugh so hard.
He entertained us later that evening hanging out in the entrance to the Four Seasons/Mt. Room Bar. He wore a really tight fleece skull cap (he called it a Polly Dome), bugging out his eyes and hissing at the tourons who walked by.
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
suspendedhappynation
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Apr 24, 2010 - 11:40pm PT
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Thanks for posting the letter Russ - priceless.
What a man.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Apr 25, 2010 - 01:28am PT
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walt was a great letter writer. always answered letters. Does anyone remember letters?.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Apr 25, 2010 - 07:42am PT
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And out of his existence came a double-edged sword . . .
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SlipKnot
Social climber
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Apr 25, 2010 - 11:36am PT
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Has anyone noticed this from bachar (post #6)?
RIP bro... see ya' soon enough, jb
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Apr 26, 2010 - 03:32am PT
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Whipley Bump
There have to be more stories and venerations . . . . . . . .
. . . . . post them up, people.
Walt was singular, in every respect.
So, show some respect for THE MAN.
And post up here for Walt's ten-year shiva thing.
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Chief
climber
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Apr 26, 2010 - 09:48am PT
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I recall an early encounter with Walt in Josh in the early to mid 80's.
He looked like a wild man and was immediately and intensely engaging in the nicest, most sincere way. I think I'd been to Josh a few times already and Walt asked me to recommend some good 5.10 cracks and I listed off the few nearby ones that came to mind; Judas, Clean and Jerk, In the Pit, Illusion Dweller and Semi Tough just for starters. I think it was later that day I saw him high up on Semi Tough, no rope and it wasn't looking good.
Walt hollers down, "I thought you said there were good locks up here!"
I hollered back, "No Walt, I said good gear!" He kept it together and finished the route. Turns out he'd on sight third classed all the routes I recommended. What a guy!
Got to hang with Walt a bunch over the years and was deeply saddened by his passing. Pretty much the stuff of legends.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Apr 26, 2010 - 11:02am PT
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'...pretty much the stuff of legends."
Walt burned bright and every year as a legend he burns brighter.
proud to call him my friend.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 26, 2010 - 11:58am PT
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After reading that letter I can see why it was such a joy to know him.
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Chief
climber
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Apr 26, 2010 - 01:51pm PT
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Walleye,
Thanks for the awesome photos.
Looks like Bill Russel and his rig in the last photo.
pb
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Apr 26, 2010 - 02:30pm PT
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Thanks Walleye, maybe almost too poingnant, though.
In my recent forays to Balchc camp I've been crossing Dinkey creek of Walt on a an extra weekly basis.
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Urmas
Social climber
Sierra Eastside
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Apr 26, 2010 - 05:33pm PT
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My favorite Walt story is about the time we were both soloing around on Manurepile. I was just walking back to the base when I saw him up on God's creation. About that time it had started to sprinkle a little rain. I was so much in awe of him that it never occurred to me he might be in trouble. He looked down with that furled brow of his and said "hi Urmas!" His eyes held mine for a long moment, then he proceeded upward.
Later in the deli he chastized me. "Damn" he said, "there I was in the rain...you could have offered to drop me a rope or something!" "I didn't think you needed one," I said. He just shook his head.
I miss him!
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Apr 26, 2010 - 06:21pm PT
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The sixth post in this thread is hauntingly sad.
RIP to both.
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Chute
Trad climber
Mill Valley, CA
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Apr 26, 2010 - 06:39pm PT
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Walt always had great stories "One time in Afganistan..."
or "We had just lowered the bodies..."
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
Arid-zona
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Apr 26, 2010 - 08:51pm PT
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As a noob on the SAR Site when I was 20 it was pretty great to have Walt around drinking beers, being belligerent and telling great stories. It's still hard to believe a river took him after all the crazy things he pulled off in the mountains.
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Rickdawg
Mountain climber
Moraga
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Jan 15, 2015 - 02:00am PT
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I know this post is old but walt was the man. We hired him as a guide in the mid 90's to climb mt. Sill and mt. Humphreys. I was maybe 16 years old at the time but remember walt free soloing a small mountain up the the summit of mt still, such a badass. He had some crazy search and rescue stories about a guy who went over nevada falls at night, chilling. Wish he was still here today.
Rick
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Russ Walling
Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
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Topic Author's Reply - May 10, 2018 - 03:23pm PT
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Damn.... just rolled over to 19 years... and we are still late (well...some of us)
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WBraun
climber
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May 10, 2018 - 05:00pm PT
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Damn.... just rolled over to 19 years... and we are still late (well...some of us)
That means he's reborn 18 years old now in some other gross material body doing only what Shipley knows how to do ...... :-)
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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May 10, 2018 - 10:10pm PT
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seven words: guar goyle lunch eon me at
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 11, 2018 - 06:04am PT
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He could walk up to me today and we could continue a twenty, thirty year old conversation, mid sentence!
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Risk
Mountain climber
Marooned, 855 miles from Tuolumne Meadows
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May 11, 2018 - 11:49am PT
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Ran across this from the link to the Mt. Starr King register over on the Summit Register thread. This made my day.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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May 11, 2018 - 11:56am PT
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Roadie
Trad climber
moab UT
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May 11, 2018 - 12:43pm PT
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Brad Bond and I walking into the parking lot after doing the Steck. It was about 110. Walt was sitting on the back of his truck drinking a dark malt beverage. "Hey buddies, want a beer?"
"Yes." we croaked.
He rooted through his cooler and pulled out two white cans with BEER written in black, block letters. "There my buddy beers, $2.99 a case at Cosco! Have a beer buddies!"
It was the worst beer I ever drank in my life, and somehow the best. He was gone later that week. Or maybe not. Has anyone else been up on a wall or found themselves alone on some bleak alpine face and heard him ranting on the wind?
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| Messages 1 - 85 of total 85 in this topic |
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