Kris Solem appreciation....

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Ed Bannister

Mountain climber

Riverside, CA

Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 12, 2009 - 07:18pm PT

Show me someone more cheerful in the face of unanticipated massive difficulty.

and Kris is a nice guy

and he can climb too.

all understatements, share pics. stories, or a little fun.
He deserves all!

Russ Walling

Gym climber

Poofter's Froth, Wyoming

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:22pm PT

Kris is the man! Good guy! I think he hid from Craig Fry and the Sheep Buggerers back in the formative years.... but after meeting him finally, he gets a thumbs up!

Nefarius

Big Wall climber

Fresno

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:31pm PT

"Show me someone more cheerful in the face of unanticipated massive difficulty."

Well said, Ed! Kris is da man! It's always a pleasure to spend time with Kris and Babs! Lookin' forward to working with Kris a bit next month.

Kris on Black President

Goofy Hero pose-down! hahaha

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, Ca.

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:31pm PT

Never met him.

But from what I know of him here and his climbing, he kicks ass!!!

(hey, who has that pic of him on 'The Gold Standard' FA in Courtright?

Cheers, KSolem!

EDIT: thanks, Mike.

climber

Wrung through the paradox, broken into wholeness

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:36pm PT

Met Kris by Trashcan Rock one day...he was walking around with hideously bandaged hands, and I asked him which crack he was gearing up for.

No crack...skiing accident, he replied matter-of-factly. He was so funny. Still remember that.

He's an awesome guy who's lived 20 lifetimes and is still going strong...and as nice as they come.

Cheers for you, Kris!

pip the dog

Mountain climber

planet dogboy

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:45pm PT

ksolem is the NADZ ! . i myself look foward to his posts. smart and funny is a good combo. smart, funny, and modest is a fookin' trifecta.

^,,^

(fwiw: way out here, on planet dogboy, being 'the NADZ' is considered a good thing, a really good thing.)

HandCrack

Trad climber

Joshua Tree, Cal.

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:48pm PT

Kris has always had a smile and a positive attitude to share with me. He shows great respect to all climbers including those, like me, that climb many grades lower than himself.

Kris on Garden Angel, a sandbag 5.10a at Hall of Horrors in Joshua Tree.

Gene

climber

Aug 12, 2009 - 07:59pm PT

Only way I know Kris is through his posts and some email chatting. I look forward to meeting him in person. Kris is the real deal. He also knows how to accessorize with sunglasses.

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:25pm PT

Y'all are too much. I'd be lying if I said it didn't mean a lot though.

Gene, just for accuracy - that is Rob Brown on The Bismark ledge in the glasses. I took the picture. He had kept the glasses hidden away 'til we got to the ledge, then he turned around with them on. I almost fell over laughing.

Gene

climber

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:27pm PT

Kris,

My bad.

Who is this?

gm

Nefarius

Big Wall climber

Fresno

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:29pm PT

Gene came prepared, I guess! hahaha

Gene

climber

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:33pm PT

Shut up, Randy.

Ready. Fire. Aim.

I appreciate Kris. You, on the other hand......

Thanks for breakfast last Saturday.

gm

Ray-J

Social climber

east L.A. vato...

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:37pm PT

Bosch glove user :)

Brian

climber

Cali

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:47pm PT

Nice guy. Puts up hard routes.

Brian

kevsteele

climber

Santa Barbara, CA

Aug 12, 2009 - 08:52pm PT

hear hear! and the powder blue pooftah-mobile he was cruising josh with in the early '90s...

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Aug 12, 2009 - 09:07pm PT

Right Gene. The second one is me.

Rob is the one standing boldly like Indiana Jones with his back to the abyss. I chose to cower in the corner with my bucket on... :-)

Doing Mescalito with Rob was a real highlight for me. He is a great partner!

drljefe

climber

Old Pueblo, AZ

Aug 12, 2009 - 09:21pm PT

Holmes inspires me.
Thanks Kris, and keep on keepin on.

Captain...or Skully

Social climber

Boise....

Aug 12, 2009 - 09:44pm PT

WooHoo, Kris Solem.....!!! Dig it.
You get around, man, fo' sho'.
Yowza!
Thanks for bein', that's all.
Hope to hang witcha sometime.

Loomis

climber

*_*

Aug 12, 2009 - 10:01pm PT

Kris who?
Must be okay if he has his own thread now : )

TGT

Social climber

So Cal

Aug 12, 2009 - 10:38pm PT

Kris cheats!

He's way to skinny.

Anybody that weights next to nothing had a genetically unfair advantage. :-)

What you had to say a while back and your involvement was really appreciated.

Thanks!

pyro

Big Wall climber

Calabasas

Aug 12, 2009 - 10:41pm PT

Kris is Rad!

I am very lucky to have climbed with him.

hope to climb with him in the future.

mooch

Big Wall climber

The Immaculate Conception

Aug 12, 2009 - 10:44pm PT

Anyone seen the photo of Kris working the FA of 'Gold Standard' in the SEKI guide? That was the first time I had seen tights (or were those leotards) worn disrespectfully.

Kris.....you are THE MAN! Thanks for the friendship, the mentoring and your forgiveness!

"Who Dat?"

Kris slavin' for The Chief

rhyang

climber

SJC

Aug 12, 2009 - 11:12pm PT

Hope you are feeling better these days Kris ! I really enjoy hanging out with you :)

TYeary

climber

Aug 12, 2009 - 11:38pm PT

Kris is the best. Big heart and huge climbing ability. Kris was the first to reach out to Al after his accident in which Woody was killed.
I wish you well Kris and I hope you feeling much better than the last time we talked.
Tony

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, Ca.

Aug 12, 2009 - 11:43pm PT

Kris was the first to reach out to Al after his accident in which Woody was killed.

I didn't know that. Doesn't surprise me though. Kris seems like a damn fine human. And, like I said, I never met him.

Just always came off as a decent guy here. Sh#t, I gotta meet him sometime, quality people are always good company.

TYeary

climber

Aug 12, 2009 - 11:49pm PT

That tuesday night(after the accident, I believe) Kris, Barbara, Al and I had dinner at Kris' and we discussed the accident and tried to put Al on the road to "recovery". Kris was very compassionate, offering support and some well heeled advice. A "damm fine human being" indeed.
Tony

colatownkid

climber

South Carolina

Aug 13, 2009 - 12:07am PT

When I was out in California for a few days last October, Kris was the only person willing to show me around Joshua Tree. And it was an awesome time.

Here's to you my friend.

snowey

Trad climber

San Diego

Aug 13, 2009 - 12:44am PT

Me and the whole pullharder crew think pretty highly of Kris Solem. Witty responses and a good level head.

Slater

Trad climber

Central Coast

Aug 13, 2009 - 01:19am PT

Kris pitched in some beta and pics for our newest guidebook and I've never met him. Thanks Kris! Seems like a team player kind of guy, not some selfish hoser. I dig that.

nita

climber

chica from chico, I don't claim to be a daisy

Aug 13, 2009 - 02:03am PT

Three cheers for Ksolem & Uber Babs*** How's your health these days?

Todd Gordon

Trad climber

Joshua Tree, Cal

Aug 13, 2009 - 09:32am PT

Chris looks 20 years younger than he is, and climbs twice as hard as most people I know;......he loves to climb, shares his time, ideas and energy with everyone. Everytime I see him, he's always upbeat, positive, and psyched.....he should write a book and we all should read it! Cheers to you;.....been climbing forever and still going strong....he's simply amazing.

Gary

climber

Desolation Basin, Calif.

Aug 13, 2009 - 10:09am PT

I only know Kris through the Internets. He likes to drop the occasional F bomb on me, but it's all good.

A buddy of mine had a serious accident on Lost Horse Wall. Luckily for him, Kris was nearby and threw in to help right away. What can you say about any climber that's better than that?

OK, now it's back to summitpost. I'm overdo to call him a friggin' idiot! :-)

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Aug 13, 2009 - 12:38pm PT

Gary - I didn't know Steve was a friend of yours.

I'll never forget, when I got up to the ledge where he was and saw how his leg was broken so the bottom of his foot was facing up I kind of winced. He looked right at me, said "Don't do that again!" and kind of chuckled.

He is a really tough guy. The whole rescue took some time, and he was absolutely solid through the whole thing. Calm and collected. I was really impressed. And it wasn't exactly over when the chopper pulled him off, either...

Ed Bannister

Mountain climber

Riverside, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 13, 2009 - 01:53pm PT

Kris does have his weakness though, too much gas pedal on the way to climbing.... beyond the adhesion of tires.

Gary

climber

Desolation Basin, Calif.

Aug 13, 2009 - 02:05pm PT

And it wasn't exactly over when the chopper pulled him off, either...

That's a story in itself!

Steve has an artificial ankle now. He's had a long recovery. He's even gotten up on the rock.

He's got a sense of humor about it. A bunch of folks made a card for him. We wished him a "Swift" recovery!

jfs

Trad climber

Upper Leftish

Aug 13, 2009 - 02:56pm PT

More props for Kris.

I took an extended trip to SoCal last year. Kris didn't know me from Adam. And I'm just a punter of a climber - happy to get up some SoCal granite moderates. Didn't seem to matter to him.

Ended up taking me along on a couple trips - J Tree, Suicide, and a trip to ORG with him, UberBabs, and Guyzo (both rad people too btw). Had a great time working our way around the crags...always stoked, friendly, and humble. And all despite having just been through some of his own scary sh** over the year prior.

Had dinner at their place...shared a few beers. Him and UberBabs even offered my brother a place to stay when some fires were threatening his place last year. Good hearted, stand up, generous folks.

js

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Aug 13, 2009 - 03:00pm PT

Ed, Let me assure you that the fast driving days are long over. No more "powder blue pooftah-mobile," I'm in the Toyota crowd now...

Jonathan - that was a blast. Howz life?

And the Mayor of Josh! Be seeing you soon I'm sure... :-)

G_Gnome

Trad climber

In the mountains... somewhere...

Aug 13, 2009 - 03:34pm PT

Here ya go, Kris on the FA of The Gold Standard.

Kris has been a great climbing partner and friend for many, many years. I can't wait for him to get better so we can go climbing again!

The first time I ever climbed with Kris we did a Tuolumne route called Piece of Grass. I didn't really warn him about the nasty runouts. At any rate, he led the second pitch with only one small complaint about the runout to the anchors (35 feet or so) and then when I was about 90 feet out on the third pitch, with no pro, he quietly tells me that if I fall off he is going to cut the rope cause the crappy quarter inchers he is hanging on are never going to hold me. Quite a partner!

looking sketchy there...

Social climber

Latitute 33

Aug 13, 2009 - 03:54pm PT

In climbing you meet all sorts of great people, but Kris is one the nicest guys I've had the pleasure to meet and with whom to climb. He's tough, smart and interesting too, which makes hanging around him all the more enjoyable.

matty

climber

po-dunk

Aug 13, 2009 - 06:22pm PT

a haiku:

"KRIS"

Knows his audio

And so much else it's scary

He's "The white nigger"

Matt

G_Gnome

Trad climber

In the mountains... somewhere...

Aug 14, 2009 - 01:37am PT

Bump!

rincon

Trad climber

SoCal

Aug 14, 2009 - 09:33am PT

I met Kris at Stoney Point in 1989, and consider him one of my best friends. We've had some great times climbing and I hope we'll have many more!!!!!

Here's Kris climbing in the Kern Canyon, at one of his favorite hangouts..

Reilly

Mountain climber

Monrovia, CA

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:55am PT

I feel very fortunate to have him as a neighbor. He's so nice he even offered to go climbing with me! I told him he'd need to join the Longshoremens' Union but he said the Toyota has a winch.

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, Ca.

Aug 14, 2009 - 11:33am PT

"KRIS"

Knows his audio

Many people who only know him from here don't realize he really knows his way around a recording studio.

I work in the biz and he knows quality pro-audio!

Cheers, Kris! Euphonix is doing well! (no plug intended)

Ben Rumsen

Social climber

No Name City ( and it sure ain't pretty )

Aug 14, 2009 - 11:42am PT

I too hope your feeling better Kris. Come on up and drink some wine again one of these days!

Ed Bannister

Mountain climber

Riverside, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2009 - 07:09pm PT

Kris seems to be much better, hard to tell though as he seems never to complain, and appetite is usually a measure of how well
someone is feeling,he had at least one lunch last week, I saw it!

Crimpergirl

Sport climber

Boulder, Colorado!

Aug 18, 2009 - 01:54pm PT

I've been out of town and out of touch for the last several weeks and missed this originally. Glad to have seen it (even if I'm late to the party) so I can offer a big loving dose of appreciation to Kris. Never climbed with him, but I've enjoyed our friendship immensely! Best to you!