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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 20, 2009 - 06:20pm PT
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Jay Kerr (alpinista55) has actually dropped in on the SuperTaco.
He has quite a background in the alpine arts. He has done two first ascents on Mt. Huntington. (Correct me if I'm wrong Jay.)
Jay and Keith Royster Stevens have done quite a few things together in the Alaska range, back in the day.
They did the second ascent of the N. Buttress of Rooster Comb together.
Besides being old friends, my only climbing experience with Jay is that we survived a weeklong storm together half way up Mescalito. It was Jay, Robbie Lesher and myself. It was Jay's first time on El Cap.
The wind and the falling ice alone would have shattered many a climber's psyche, but Jay was solid as could be and took it all in stride laughing. He taught me to cook safely inside of a portaledge in a gale, and whipped my ass at Backgammon many times! After a week though, the food, water, liquor and weed ran scarce. We wanted to continue, but Bob Williams told us on our radio that we had a 10-12 hr window of good weather before the storm settled back in. It was time to get the hell out of Dodge.
Down-nailing multiple pitches and dodging falling icebergs was the most difficult retreat of my life. Jay took a huge blow from a falling ice block on his thigh during the descent, and I feared his leg was broken. Luckily it only knocked the hell out of him but didn't seriously injure him. We rapped into waist deep snow and ice at the base with Frank Zappa booming on the tape deck.
So from me to one of my heroes....
WELCOME JAY!!!
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couchmaster
climber
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Jul 20, 2009 - 06:33pm PT
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Wow! Blast from the past, just yesterday I was in a car after climbing and Jays name came up. He was telling me that these days Jay, in addition to being a master at graphic arts and Photoshop, had a 40 foot sailboat and was cruising all over some interesting spots.
Hola Jay!!!! 2nd time in as many days your name has come up. PS, I'm going over to see Jim Opdycke tonight !!!
Regards:
Bill Coe
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jul 20, 2009 - 08:13pm PT
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Down-nailing multiple pitches and dodging falling icebergs was the most difficult retreat of my life.
Did you write a story about this somewhere? Photos of grimness? If there's one thing we
need around here more than another religion or politics thread, it's wild mountain tales
with photos.
Welcome to Jay, and may he bring wild mountain tales as well.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 20, 2009 - 09:37pm PT
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We were at the Molar when the storm started. We were well prepared with storm gear, more than I'd ever been prepared, storm wise.
It paid off. We pulled in all the ropes and coiled them inside of tied off garbage bags. There was a team far below us that didn't do this, ended up with their ropes frozen to the wall.
More on them later.....
Everything inside the haul bags was in sealed garbage bags.
Jay and I were in a two man ledge with a fly and poor Rob was hanging in a hammock with a fly underneath us. We both offered to trade with him numerous times during the storm, but he always declined. It would indeed have been a semi-major undertaking in those conditions to do the swap.
I am hoping that Jay had a camera, I honestly don't remember. Robbie often had the camera in those days, but Jay took a lot of photos too, so I've got my fingers crossed!
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
way, WAY out there....(OMG)
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Jul 20, 2009 - 10:23pm PT
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Whoa.....Mescalito is a tough place to take it on the chin like that...Good on Ya'll.
Howdy Jay Kerr.....Sounds like a good man.Solid partners can make an adventure turn from grim to "not so bad" to downright cool. Depends, I guess.
Anyway, welcome to the campfire of raving & sometimes cool stories.
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couchmaster
climber
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Jul 20, 2009 - 11:10pm PT
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Survival sitting here with 2 guyys who might know or know of you. They remember u as a great kid who later trained rangers or seals how to climb.
did you also do an early ascent of tribal rite?
Edited as I typed that on my Iphone while drinking last night. I'll send a PM or email.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2009 - 12:00am PT
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Hi Couch! Yes, that is me.
Who are the yahoos you're sitting with??
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
way, WAY out there....(OMG)
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Jul 21, 2009 - 01:09am PT
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Calls for a "yahoo-ID" bump, huh?
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2009 - 11:18am PT
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YooHoo, couch...
Who were/are those people you were drinking with last night??
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couchmaster
climber
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Jul 21, 2009 - 11:40am PT
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I just emailed the full meal deal over to you........ps, they don't really do the internet.
Regards
Bill
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jul 21, 2009 - 12:20pm PT
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I am hoping that Jay had a camera, I honestly don't remember. Robbie often had the
camera in those days, but Jay took a lot of photos too, so I've got my fingers crossed!
Sometimes I've been so busy climbing I didn't bother to take photos. Then later think, Damn!
If only I had pictures to remember the wildness.
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 21, 2009 - 04:23pm PT
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Hi Guys --
Thanks for the welcome! I don't climb so much any more, as my back became overly sensitive to the heavy loads after 20 years of heavy construction separated by bouts of expeditioning.
As Bill mentioned (Hi Bill), I've transitioned into blue water cruising aboard my Tartan 37 "Betty Lou". Now I can still get my ass to a really remote location, under some very scary conditions, but I don't need to carry anything on my back and I have a toilet, a full galley and a warm dry bunk along for the ride.
Even though I've backed off the climbing a bit, I still like to tell lies (uhh, I mean stories, yeah, that's it... stories). I DO have a few slides of our mega-epic on Mescalito, so I'll dust off the scanner and see if I can post a few. In the meantime, here's a link to some Alaska photos and one to my sailing blog:
http://raintown.com/kerr/Alaska/Alaska.html
http://tartansailing.blogspot.com
Later!
Jay Kerr
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Les
Trad climber
Bahston
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Jul 21, 2009 - 04:47pm PT
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OMG! Those Alaska pics are so friggin' rad! Real glad you shared those! Looking forward to more!
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
way, WAY out there....(OMG)
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Jul 21, 2009 - 04:53pm PT
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They ARE pretty frickin' cool, huh?
Thanks for sharin' those with us, Jay.....
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 21, 2009 - 05:32pm PT
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BTW, credit to others for some of the photography; Scott Wollums, Scott Shuey.
Jay
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2009 - 05:39pm PT
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Wow! Those remind me of your slideshows back in the day!!
Thanks for coming to the party Jay.
Man, I can't wait to see your Mescalito pics.
Did I ever see them?? I was probably too stoned at the time.....
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couchmaster
climber
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Jul 21, 2009 - 05:43pm PT
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I crewed on a 41' Tartan during a couple of summer racing series in the 80's on the Columbia. Sweet boat although we had a habit of finishing 2nd most of the times. Looks like you are seeing some super areas in the sound. Nice pics Jay thank you for sharing them: I can't wait to see the Mescalito pics once you scan them.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Jul 21, 2009 - 05:48pm PT
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Yo Jay
Welcome! Enjoyed both the sailing and climbing links-great to have you on ST-tell us so Survival stories.
cheers
Joe
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Jul 21, 2009 - 06:03pm PT
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Remarkable Alaskan views! Thanks for sharing.
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 21, 2009 - 06:07pm PT
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Hey, Survival... I think you MIGHT have been too high. Hey I Think I have photos of when you and I and Kieth did Dragontail Peak, too. Remember that wild glissade after we ate 'shrooms on the summit?
Jay
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2009 - 07:00pm PT
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You d*mn right I do.
Post 'em up dawg!!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2009 - 07:23pm PT
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Oooops, see what I mean about my memory?
Edit #1) I was too hasty when I said Mescalito was the only thing I'd done with Jay!!
Edit #2) Things were getting a little tr..embly on the summit of Dragontail when the fungus started to attack...just a little..shakey ...in the brea...thing...kinda..shimm..ery...
So we started the descent.
We walked toward a big drop off and Jay starts jogging and just leaped off this edge. All I saw was him disappear as my nuts went up into my throat!!
I ran over to the edge to see him speed glissading down a big smooth slope...whew! Gulp, here goes!
What a gas that trip was! If only Judy would've let me get a little...bit...closer.....d*mn!
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drljefe
climber
Old Pueblo, AZ
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Jul 22, 2009 - 11:17pm PT
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Hey Now Jay Kerr!
Cool stuff, crazy stories...
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NotIt
Trad climber
Malaga Cove
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Jul 26, 2009 - 02:54pm PT
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It's fun to read (and look at some pics) from people that seem "normal" (posting on SuperTopo is normal?) and getting that giddy/nervous/inadequate feeling that comes over you when you realize that you'll never do something as big and bold as what you're looking at on your little computer screen.
And f-ing A? SCHROOMS on the descent from something like THAT?
Yallz doodz are kewlz. Hats off.
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 26, 2009 - 10:14pm PT
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I just posted a TR on the North Buttress of the Rooster Comb. It is vintage stuff (meaning it was a few years back), but still tells well.
Jay
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 26, 2009 - 10:17pm PT
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Jay,
any photos from Dragontail?? Serpentine Ridge? I seem to recall there were.
Slip some in here, or do a seperate TR for Mescalito and Serpentine!!!
I'm glad you're here bro.
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 26, 2009 - 10:18pm PT
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Found a few, I'm scanning...
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 28, 2009 - 01:25am PT
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OK, Bruce, heres your blast from the past:
Dragontail Peak, circa 1980
Bruce low on Dragontail Peak, Washington
Bruce soloing up the exit cracks to the summit
Bruce, Keith, and Jay on the summit just before the 'schroom attack
Mescalito:
A lot of crap to haul!
Jay looking for just the right thing
Up there!
Bruce on some serious air guitar
The view from the Molar after things got serious
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Jul 28, 2009 - 01:35am PT
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Whoa, badass story and pics!
Thanks for sharing!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2009 - 11:11am PT
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HOLY SHIZZNICK!!!
Was I ever that d*mn young?? Oh man Jay, you just put me
through a serious time portal.
I forgot how absolutely beautiful Serpentine Ridge was.
Soloing near the summit. I guess our GONADS were bigger then too!
Mescalito: Unfreekin'believable how it was no shirt weather at the base to that incredible Cathedral shot. Oh my GAWD!
I'll be looking at these pictures a hundred times and sharing them with everyone I can think of.
MORE!! MORE!! MORE!! MORE!! MORE!! Please Jay, MORE!
I hope I can capture those pix for my computer somehow.
I don't know how to grab an image from someone else's post.
Help?
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jul 28, 2009 - 11:25am PT
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Right click on it and you'll see the copy options Bruce. "Save image as" will get it to your hard disk. You can name it and pic a spot to put it. Try it, easier than some of the routes you did there:-)
I love the "Bruce soloing up the exit cracks to the summit" pic. Looks cold as hell and you're styling.
Jay's probably also unroped and hanging over a nad shrinking void to get the shot. This might be as good as it gets, thanks for sharing it all Jay!!!!
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Alpinista55
Mountain climber
OR
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Jul 28, 2009 - 12:31pm PT
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A little background on the Dragontail Peak story:
Keith and I were just back from 80 days in the Alaska Range, where we skied hundreds of miles, and climbed multiple grade 6 alpine routes. Bruce was on leave from the Air Force, and had just finished a bunch of survival training. Needless to say, we were all pretty fit.
Serpentine Ridge is rated 5.8 or 5.9, but the crux comes in a single pitch just below mid-face. We roped up for that single pitch, and soloed the rest. Most is 4th class with exposure, but the last few hundred feet to the summit are steeper, maybe 5.6.
Most of the last bit we were climbing so close together that I would have to wait for Bruce to take his foot out of my next hand jam. The final 30 feet to the summit is on overhanging jugs, with a couple thousand feet of air under your feet.
We pulled over the top into the midst of a group of amazed club climbers who had come up the easy side, our ropes coiled and tied on our backs, then really freaked them out when the bowl and the 'schrooms came out.
Man, it was great to be young and crazy!
jk
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nita
climber
chica from chico, I don't claim to be a daisy
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Jul 28, 2009 - 12:39pm PT
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Welcome Jay! Cool pics....LOL, babyfaceBruce...;-)
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Jul 28, 2009 - 01:37pm PT
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Welcome, Jay. You sure have an impressive alpine background!
Also like the current activities. Did you know that Guido here (Joe McKeown) and who has posted to this thread, lives on his boat most of the year and is currently in Fiji, normally headquartered in New Zealand? He has been doing the boat thing for more than two decades now; I don't think that this came up in his post.
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Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
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Jul 28, 2009 - 03:00pm PT
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Hi Jay and welcome to the Taco.
You have some catching up to do. We will need to know your views on the following.
-God.
-Guns.
-Drugs.
-Proliferation of guide books.
-Beer.
-Japanese foot binding.
-Rap bolting.
-Eldo Prancers.
-Your experiences ordering Fish gear.
-Prop 8, or is it Prop-hate
-Dogs, cats, birds.
-Health care.
-Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr. all the way back to when you first voted.
-The economy
-Favorite everything IE, movie, book, food, sushi, goofy movie, tv show, type of woman, tyop of man, animal, climbing area, route, drink, sexual position, etc. You will also need to defend all of these positions.
Cheers
Prod.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2009 - 03:27pm PT
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D*mn Prod, That is a great post. You got me spittin' up a lung over here!
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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Jul 28, 2009 - 03:31pm PT
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Welcome Jay Kerr. I haven't met you but if your friends of Bruce and the Cozmic Bandittos then you are good people in my book.
Now that your here in TacoLand you might want to fasten your seat belt it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
And Prod ditto on the crack up over your last post.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jul 28, 2009 - 03:42pm PT
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Love the olde photos. You got that many, there must be a lot more. Should be able to spin that
resource into a lot of entertaining threads on the Taco, even without jumping into any of the gods,
guns & gays geysers.
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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Jul 28, 2009 - 03:44pm PT
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Ha Ha. There is a route name there somewhere Chiloe.
How about Fundies stole my blog.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2009 - 03:47pm PT
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Gods, Guns and Gays sounds good to me!
Now all we gotta do is get off our *sses and put up a route....
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 28, 2009 - 04:38pm PT
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Those shots of Dragontail bring back memories of some fine adventures in the Stuart Range.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jul 28, 2009 - 04:59pm PT
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Jay/Alpinista55, welcome to the taco stand.
More helpings of Mt. Huntington, please!!!!!
And others, including that weeklong storm on the captain.
It's good to have you here--just don't listen to that
Prod guy about us Eldo Prancers. . .
hee hee hee
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Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
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Jul 28, 2009 - 09:50pm PT
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Yo SteveW,
I got my roots in Eldo with Royboy, but I am a far cry from a real Eldo Prancer.
Glad I could entertain a few of the great posters amongst the pack. Sorry Chiloe, I forgot the environment as a hot topic.
I was most proud of “Foot Binding” and “Fish orders”
Prod.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 29, 2009 - 12:27am PT
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SteveW,
See dude, I always aim to please. I haven't been able to get Buggs to finish the Mt. Watkins epic story, so instead I bring Jay Kerr to the party!
I'm still full of surprises, even after all these years.....
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 29, 2009 - 12:58pm PT
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Welcome Jay Kerr.
Thanks for breathing a little climbing life into the forum.
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drljefe
climber
Old Pueblo, AZ
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Jul 30, 2009 - 04:58pm PT
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More please!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 30, 2009 - 06:54pm PT
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Thanks Couchmaster!
I got those pics into my computer and even set the "solo" shot as my new wallpaper!!
Funny how simple these things can be once someone clues you in, and how impossible they can be when you're just thrashing.
Hmmmmm, kinda like rock climbing.....
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Apr 20, 2018 - 04:04am PT
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bumpin'
and just to say F! wow Jay Kerr?! still around ? whats the word ?
all thanks to our sweet neebs a wonder and a wise women whos caring takes this thing this Taco to a whole other level of humanity.
as she has said so much more eloquently,
Chris Cmac, Supertopo mister (ace cat herder and life of the stone)
thanks so much!
As for all the cats ? thanks too, you all have to be just a bit like me
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