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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:04am PT
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The Trough @ Tahquitz, November 1965. Returning to Humber Park cold and wet Charlie Raymonds wife (gf?) graciously stuffed us into their VW bus with fluffy down bags while we waited in the dark for the rest of the boy scouts of Post 4 Mountaineering to return! Charlie soon came down off of the Vampire, can't remember where I went next other than a life of climbing. Amazing no one died that day, most of the boys never climbed again.
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:07am PT
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Toproped some dogsh1t gulley at boy scout camp in the 'daks in the mid-70's.
My first real, in the guidebook, climb was 'Betty' [5.2+++] in the Gunks, circa 1978. Wore Jox sneakers because they looked like EB's. Used a 120' length of Goldline, 5 or 6 steel biners from the Army surplus store, three Chouinard chocks with 7mm perlon, had 2 pins and a hammer, and no slings. Tied in with a bowline, not on a coil. Wore construction helmets with jury-rigged sling as a chin strap. Even though the hip belay was still common practice, we used the more advanced 'hold-the-rope-in-your-hands' belay. A belay didn't really matter. After finding fixed pins [!!] on what we thought was a first ascent and clipping the first three without slings, rope drag would have saved me. We actually did both pitches.
We knew nothing about a walk-off, so we rappeled with figure 8's. Now 60' of doubled Goldline does not make it back to the ledge at the top of the first pitch of Betty. I ended up 8 feet above the ledge on a relatively blank wall. I didn't even know about ascending a rope. So I jumped. Fortunately I stuck the landing. I told my partner to stop at the bomber 2" tree and rig another rap to the ledge to avoid the jump and probable lost rope and subsequent rescue.
I lowered my partner to the ground using my figure 8 and only sitting on the ledge. Tie-ins were for sissies and smart climbers. After doubling the rope for rappel, my partner said the rope ended up on a ledge 20 feet off the deck. So I rappeled to the ledge, tied off to one end and downclimbed the crux of Betty to the ground.
Could have died a dozen times that day.
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Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:12am PT
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3rd Flatiron Spring of 1989 with Steve, can't remember his last name, a new Outward Bound guide from Breckenridge.
He had to teach me how to rapel at the top just prior to him rapeling away saying "You sure you remember how to hook into the figure 8"
Hooked ever since.
Prod.
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cowpoke
climber
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:18am PT
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I started by scrambling in the rockies...substance-enhanced scrambling on south gateway rock in Garden of the Gods led to my first official climbing route: a down-solo of the practice slab. It is only like 5.2 or something, but the experience terrified me into buying a harness, shoes, and a rope. Then, I made a point of becoming friends with "real climbers."
My first route with a rope was some top-rope chimney problem in Castlewood Canyon.
My first multi-pitch route (and my first lead) was something in Eleven Mile Canyon for which I don't remember the name, but I consider it my first "real" route. Here is a pic of me on the first pitch of that climb...does anybody recognize it?
(when driving into the canyon, it was on a dome, maybe, on the left-hand side...it had a handjam move right off the deck that might have been 5.6ish and then was 5.4ish or easier the rest of the way to the top)
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Srbphoto
Trad climber
Kennewick wa
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:34am PT
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Lincoln Shrimpeye-Glen Park
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Larry
Trad climber
Bisbee
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:37am PT
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I had no specific first "route." Hiking led to scrambling led to soloing in places I had no business being. Even falling off and spraining an ankle.
One of my greatest thrills came when, at age 14, I spotted a fixed piton. I had read about these "piton" things. I stuffed a stone into my pocket, soloed up and bashed it out with the stone. That was my first climbing gear. It was a Cassin vertical pin. I used it as a cleaning tool for years, after getting religion from Frost, Robinson and Robbins.
The first 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8s I did were leads of first ascents on poor-quality rock in the Green River, Wyo. area. It took a long time to get good like that. If I ever was good.
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Phil_B
Social climber
Hercules, CA
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:45am PT
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Gibraltar Rocks, Santa Barbara 1983
One of my friends had been in a climbing class so the three of us bought 3 carabiners and a rope. Our harnesses were tied out of 1" webbing. I think a swami woulda been more comfortable.
My hiking boots really edged well, but didn't have much in the way of feel for the rock.
Caught a couple of toprope falls with a hip belay in those days. Not recommended for use without a shirt on!
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luggi
Trad climber
from the backseat of Jake& Elwood Blues car
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Aug 27, 2009 - 10:59am PT
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I think Swan Slab...I do remember using every body part possible to top rope a little thing there.Hell if that part would support or grab something it was put into use..Like in a job description...that little part at the end "other duties as assigned".
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Aug 27, 2009 - 11:34am PT
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RB, the term is Flaggot...
Do people actually remember this stuff?
Actually,
I do,
a boulder in the old Jenny Lake campground august 63, I can see it right now. Also scrambling on the rocks at Happy Isles shortly before or after my fourth birthday, if that counts; I was confused when Mom and dad were talking about the (Stellers) Jays.
My first roped climb was at Devil's Lake. I can see that one too. My folks were there and so was someone whose name I can't remember. It wasn't Bill Widule though he was around that day ...it will come to me, starts with an H, I think... What I remember was how much confidence the rope gave me. I pulled up on half inch edges that seemed both too tiny and at the same time, more than adequate to my 7 yr old fingers. I had an epiphany, the rope opened a world of possibilities that I didn't know existed until then...
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Aug 27, 2009 - 11:41am PT
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First route, Three Pines in the Gunks.
First lead, Horseman - later the same day.
Spring 1973.
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Porkchop_express
Trad climber
the base of the Shawangunk Ridge
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Aug 27, 2009 - 11:44am PT
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First route: Birdie Party (gunks)
First lead: Frogs Head (gunks)
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MisterE
Trad climber
Canoga Bark! CA
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Aug 27, 2009 - 11:59am PT
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Crap! Larry just reminded me!
Mt. Verstovia in Sitka Alaska on mushrooms in 1984?5?
Me and my buddy Ted were on a break from boatwork and were bored.
"Hiking led to scrambling led to soloing in places I had no business being."
We summited via a 5.4 or 5.5 face and found an easier way down.
Damn - blast from the past! ;)
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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Aug 27, 2009 - 12:08pm PT
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First route was none other than the Tollhouse Traverse. First lead was on Elephant Walk, at Tollhouse, the following weekend.
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JohnRoe
Trad climber
State College, PA
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Aug 27, 2009 - 12:20pm PT
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Some toproping at camp at Kincraig, Scotland, something like 1975.
Hiking boots.
Natural fiber ropes (hemp, maybe - that gear was old).
Tie-in with the rope.
Waist belay from the top of the climb, tied off to some clumps of heather.
Didn't climb again for years!
John
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Aug 27, 2009 - 12:34pm PT
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My first roped climb was up a crack/chimney on Old Rag Mountain in the Blue Ridge of Virginia. Pitons and goldline were all the rage!
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Loomis
climber
*_*
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Aug 27, 2009 - 01:20pm PT
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The down climb on boulder one at Stoney Point. 1975
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Boise....
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Aug 27, 2009 - 02:27pm PT
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Well, since I wouldn't call anything at Indian Joe Rocks a "route", it would be the Nutcracker, in the Valley.
Led 2 pitches of it, too!
WooHoo!!!!!
I didn't die. Whew.
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MH2
climber
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Aug 27, 2009 - 05:44pm PT
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Friction Face, Quincy Quarry
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Aug 31, 2009 - 09:44pm PT
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mucci, incredible, Cliff Drive in KC was the second place I ever went to climb and the first climb I did there was the Open Book. My first climb was some obscure park with about a 15 foot top rope setup. I was actually at Cliff Drive when the big roof was climbed for the first time (on top rope). You would not believe how shiny slick the rock is down there now. It now sports 4 or 5 bolted routes, mostly in the 5.12 range. When were you climbing in KC? I climbed there in the 70's and 80's then took a decade or so off.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Aug 31, 2009 - 09:58pm PT
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Dogfather-
yep the open book, big fun!
Sean burns? does that ring a bell? The guy who taught me also taught Sean. I climbed there around 2000 so Maybe we "Hit the Deck" a few times from the shots! Ha!
I have done the refrigerator block route, the one with the huge boulder 1/2 way up just left of the big roof. 5.10 I think but waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy hard even on TR.
My teacher tore a huge piece of rock off the size of a mini fridge, It rolled to the road right as a cop was rollin by. He stopped and gave us some choice words which included "retarded, white a$$hole, yur gonna die!, got your bullet proof vests? ETC..."
Then pushed the big pieces into the ditch with the squad car!
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