Trip Report
A walk on the wild slide with Johnny Dawes!
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Tuesday November 28, 2017 2:58am
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Warm greetings SuperTopoists from a cold sunny day in the UK!
It was an absolute blast to film the legendary climber and all round nice guy Johnny Dawes on Lundy Island at the BMC Climbing Festival in late August. On his first ever visit to the Puffin Isle, he wanted to attempt a hands free "walk" up the island's classic climb called "The Devil's Slide" which a few of you folks may have climbed.
Johnny came up with this fantastically outrageous idea the night before we sailed whilst "bivvying" in Bideford long stay car park of all places! Fortunately I had some filming gear with me so a plan was soon formulated. All we needed was a couple of mates to help out with the logistics and the weather to play ball. So on a bluebird but blustery Friday September 1st and the wind getting ever stronger just to add to the excitement, Johnny started his walk up the Devil's Slide...
Anyway here's a wee video of the day with a bit of aerial footage of one of the UK's greatest ever climbers to lace up a pair of rock shoes on his attempt to "walk" up Lundy's most iconic natural feature on the classic climb of the island. I have seen a one or two things in 25 years of climbing but this was something else...
[ Click to View YouTube Video]
All constructive feedback welcome and please feel free to share it to your Facebook friends so sit back and take a walk on the wild slide with Johnny Dawes! :-)
Bald Eagle
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About the Author
Bald Eagle is a trad climber from the UK who likes to boldly go where quite a few people have been before... :-) |
Comments
clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Nov 28, 2017 - 06:02am PT
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EBs! Cool!
Munge, go onsight it. Does watching a video of a climb prior to climbing it change the designation of onsight to non-virtual onsight?
Thanks guys for posting this up!
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7SacredPools
Trad climber
Ontario, Canada
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Nov 28, 2017 - 06:06am PT
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Sweet little film, interesting that he wore EB's...
So glad he placed gear!
GR
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Nov 28, 2017 - 12:44pm PT
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Rock climbing with no hands. What an absurd and pointless thing to do with one's time. I love it!
Great footage and music selection. Nice tight editing. You could have ruined that thing by making it 20 minutes long and choosing bad music but I was captivated and really enjoyed it. What a fun little project. Thanks for sharing!
Scott
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Nov 28, 2017 - 01:10pm PT
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Coolness incorporated. He has still got extraordinary balance and nimble feet. And now also the advantage of a progressively lower point of gravity ^^^^
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 28, 2017 - 03:31pm PT
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No hesitation in that lad! Looked like he was going for groceries. Thanks for posting.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Nov 28, 2017 - 03:38pm PT
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As they say Brilliant!
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 28, 2017 - 08:33pm PT
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Inspiring and awesome. Most of us have bouldered out no-hands routes, but 4 pitches!? Thanks.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Nov 28, 2017 - 10:11pm PT
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HS 4a.
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Nov 28, 2017 - 10:55pm PT
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Thanks for the TR!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Nov 28, 2017 - 11:19pm PT
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Skip to my Lou, my darling.
Dy-no-mite!
T Hocking, the climb he's on is supposed to be 5.7 with hands.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 29, 2017 - 01:33am PT
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Your videos always have such a great stoke in them. Thanks !
Wow thanks a million Tami, clinker, 7SacredPools, Dingus, T Hocking, xCon, Marlow, Munge, donini, Darwin, Merced and mcreel for all your kind comments as it is muchly appreciated! Happy Wednesday! :-)
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 29, 2017 - 01:20am PT
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HS 4a
At the risk of being a pedant the Devil's Slide is HS 4b using hands for aid! I would not want to deprive Johnny of a technical grade and speaking to him afterwards he thought the "walk" may have been E6 6b without hands! However he may have had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek... ;-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 29, 2017 - 01:33am PT
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Rock climbing with no hands. What an absurd and pointless thing to do with one's time. I love it!
Great footage and music selection. Nice tight editing. You could have ruined that thing by making it 20 minutes long and choosing bad music but I was captivated and really enjoyed it. What a fun little project. Thanks for sharing!
Hi micronut and as you say a fantastically pointless and absurd thing to do! Many thansk for the positive feedback and glad you enjoyed my wee video! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Nov 29, 2017 - 07:59am PT
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Really fun video to watch! Thanks
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G Murphy
Trad climber
Oakland CA
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Nov 29, 2017 - 04:01pm PT
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EBs!?
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 29, 2017 - 07:47pm PT
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^Greg has a point.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Nov 29, 2017 - 08:07pm PT
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Wonderful.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Nov 29, 2017 - 11:16pm PT
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Too cool.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 30, 2017 - 07:50am PT
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Really fun video to watch! Thanks
Many thanks once again steveA, G Murphy, Darwin and Ghost for taking the time to post some nice feedback as it is muchly appreciated! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Nov 30, 2017 - 07:51am PT
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Too cool.
Too cool for school phylp! :-) Cheers Dave
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bit'er ol' guy
climber
the past
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Nov 30, 2017 - 11:16am PT
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I bet JD never left a turd-in-a-bag at a crag
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Dec 1, 2017 - 12:54am PT
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I bet JD never left a turd-in-a-bag at a crag
I'm sure you are correct! He certainly never left one by the Devil's Slide... :-)
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Beautifully done film and good fun!
And it jogged some memories for me.
In the mid seventies we had several no- hands bouldering problems in the local areas. One day, Mike Graham and I, for laughs, tried one of the slab climbs at Suicide Rock (Surprise, three pitches, 5.8) and managed to get up it without using hands.
Knees were ok,, and it turned out that standing up actually increases traction because the weight is right over your feet.
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Rollover
climber
Gross Vegas
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Great video!!!
Anybody hang around long enough to see the whipper
@ 6:45??
😳😬
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Dec 5, 2017 - 12:47am PT
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Beautifully done film and good fun!
And it jogged some memories for me.
In the mid seventies we had several no- hands bouldering problems in the local areas. One day, Mike Graham and I, for laughs, tried one of the slab climbs at Suicide Rock (Surprise, three pitches, 5.8) and managed to get up it without using hands.
Knees were ok,, and it turned out that standing up actually increases traction because the weight is right over your feet.
Many thanks for your positive comments Rick and I really appreciate your appreciation! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Dec 5, 2017 - 12:55am PT
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Great video!!!
Anybody hang around long enough to see the whipper
@ 6:45??
Thanks a million Rollover and the out-take of the whipper at the end, due to strong gusts of wind affecting Johnny's balance, was probably as impressive as the walk what with him running down the slab like Wile E. Coyote chasing after Roadrunner! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Dec 14, 2017 - 12:23pm PT
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Bald, you always deliver the goods with your videos - I just really love them. Outstanding job by J.D. on this slab, although it did make my knees hurt to look at some of his moves.
cheers, and thanks so much for posting up another outstanding video.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Dec 14, 2017 - 01:19pm PT
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Anything with the Johnny Dawes name attached is worth a look!
Thanks for putting the video together: it's both novel and entertaining.
When Jerry Moffatt visited the states in '82, he told fun stories about Dawes' raw power and go-for-it spirit. Met Johnny briefly in Yosemite during the 90s. He's an all-around bon vivant with a great sense of humor. With his innovative nature, intelligence and talent, Dawes really is a gift to world climbing!
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Dec 17, 2017 - 01:39pm PT
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Bald, you always deliver the goods with your videos - I just really love them. Outstanding job by J.D. on this slab, although it did make my knees hurt to look at some of his moves.
cheers, and thanks so much for posting up another outstanding video.
Hey Mr Danger many thanks for taking the time to post some kind feedback and I really appreciate your appreciation! Yeah Johnny was a star, great fun to hang out with and displayed some serious Jedi skills! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Dec 17, 2017 - 01:41pm PT
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Anything with the Johnny Dawes name attached is worth a look!
Thanks for putting the video together: it's both novel and entertaining.
When Jerry Moffatt visited the states in '82, he told fun stories about Dawes' raw power and go-for-it spirit. Met Johnny briefly in Yosemite during the 90s. He's an all-around bon vivant with a great sense of humor. With his innovative nature, intelligence and talent, Dawes really is a gift to world climbing!
Many thanks for the positive feedback Tarbuster and indeed Mr Dawes is a great gift to climbing! :-)
Cheers
Dave
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Dec 24, 2017 - 05:31am PT
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Merry Christmas Baldy,
I guess Johnny didn't want to over protect the route?
Lol
Thanks for your wonderful videos!
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Apr 11, 2018 - 03:36am PT
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Merry Christmas Baldy,
I guess Johnny didn't want to over protect the route?
Lol
Thanks for your wonderful videos!
Hey Ezra I'm very sorry but only just stumbled across your kind words so thanks a million for posting your positive feedback!
And for anyone interested hopefully I should be teaming up with Johnny in the next few months to film another one of his inimitable and madcap "walks" so watch this space... :-)
Happy climbing!
Dave
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Apr 11, 2018 - 06:31am PT
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Fun video. Thanks for posting. Just got me reading up on the history of Lundy Island for the past 1/2 hour BTW. Fascinating place.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Apr 12, 2018 - 02:11am PT
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Fun video. Thanks for posting. Just got me reading up on the history of Lundy Island for the past 1/2 hour BTW. Fascinating place.
Thanks a million justthemaid for your positive words and I'm glad you enjoyed my wee vid. For a small island which is about 5km long and 1km wide Lundy is an amazing place with some of the best sea cliff climbing in the UK. From the moment you step on the ferry (the MS Old n' Buggered) it's like stepping back in time a few decades with no TV's, e-mails, limited mobile phone reception and completely getting away from the rat race. Well worth a visit for anyone if they are over this side of the pond! :-) Cheers Dave
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Apr 12, 2018 - 06:30am PT
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Never heard of the place a week ago- now its definitely on the bucket-list.
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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Apr 12, 2018 - 07:48am PT
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well done fun
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Apr 12, 2018 - 10:25am PT
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Loved it! What a great gag my one of the great climbers and characters in our tribe.
BAd
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Apr 12, 2018 - 11:15am PT
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A fine demonstration of superior vestibular balance. I'll bet he can pass a field sobriety test in just about any condition... ;-)
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 12, 2018 - 11:21am PT
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Hey, Baldy, you gonna be in London 22-24 June? You could film me getting a couple
of pints no-handed! That should top the charts, eh?
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johntp
Trad climber
Punter, Little Rock
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Apr 12, 2018 - 01:47pm PT
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When Jerry Moffatt visited the states in '82
Was that his only trip stateside? I remember seeing him at Big Rock near Riverside, CA once BITD. He soloed English Hanging Gardens (basically a .11 highball boulder problem) looking casual.
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Apr 13, 2018 - 12:35am PT
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well done fun
Many thanks hooblie the whole day filming with Johnny and my mates was a barrel of laughs! :-) Cheers Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Apr 13, 2018 - 12:40am PT
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Loved it! What a great gag my one of the great climbers and characters in our tribe.
Hey Ksolem and BAd thanks a million for your kind words as it is muchly appreciated! Anyway I should be filming Johnny on another one of his inimitable "walks" in the next few months so watch this space... :-)
Cheers Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Apr 13, 2018 - 12:46am PT
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Hey, Baldy, you gonna be in London 22-24 June? You could film me getting a couple of pints no-handed! That should top the charts, eh?
Yo Reilly sadly not as I'm running a trip to the Roaches in the Peak District! Have a great trip and a no-handed pint or 3 for me... :-)
Cheers Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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Apr 13, 2018 - 01:04am PT
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For anyone interested Johnny had a trial run or "walk" a few days prior to this filmed ascent on the Devils Slide.
Due to the flat, grey light and the slab was busy with lots of climbers clambering up the various classic routes we decided to forget about filming and just go climbing and have a laugh!
So Johnny had a go at "walking" up the E1 classic (about 5.9 in American money) called Satan's Slip with a rope above his head...
In a way this "walk" was even more impressive than the Devil's Slide being a few grades harder. Johnny did have 3 dabs on the crux pitch but this was largely due to my belaying mate not being able top take in the ropes quick enough!
Serious ninja skills... :-)
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 13, 2018 - 07:48am PT
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John TP asked about Moffatt, stateside in 1982:
Was that his only trip stateside?
No. Not sure how many trips in total.
Circa ~ 1984 or 1985, he was filmed climbing the Lost Arrow tip free with Ron Kauk.
Somewhere in there, maybe the mid-80s trip, Moffatt was involved in some bad boy partying with me, the Fish, Skip Guerin, Largo and one of Largo's henchmen. We all did a lot of compulsive talking, and Moffatt almost chewed his mustache off that night, ha ha, if that gives you any indication of the proceedings. Good thing we didn't have video of that!
I saw him at Smith Rock, fall of 1988, working Scarface, belayed by his cute blonde German friend or girlfriend, Chrissy.
We exchanged a few words at the base of that route, and that was the last I saw him, unless maybe he was at the Snowbird World Cup, 1989, or the World Cup Championships, Greek Theater, Berkeley in 1990, both of which I worked for Jeff Lowe, but I don't recall at the moment whether Jerry was present.
Just read Moffatt's biography recently, where he talks some about these visits, certainly the 1982 trip. That's a great read, BTW!
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Searching for this film brought me here, so I thought I'd give this fun little film a bump. I saw it in the Banff Mtn Film Festival tour and really enjoyed it, wanted to share it with a friend.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Baldy, I’ll be in London for business 15-20 May. Can I buy you a pint before they find out I’m there and set the tipstaffs on me?
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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May 8, 2019 - 07:33am PT
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Searching for this film brought me here, so I thought I'd give this fun little film a bump. I saw it in the Banff Mtn Film Festival tour and really enjoyed it, wanted to share it with a friend.
Heya Off White many thanks for your positive vibes and I'm glad you enjoyed my wee video! Hopefully I'm teaming up with the inimitable and original Stone Monkey for another climbing film project in the next month or two so watch this space... :-) Cheers Dave
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Bald Eagle
Trad climber
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Author's Reply
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May 8, 2019 - 07:38am PT
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Baldy, I’ll be in London for business 15-20 May. Can I buy you a pint before they find out I’m there and set the tipstaffs on me?
Hey Reilly it would be a blast to hook up for a cheeky beer or 3 in London village but alas I'm working during the week and away filming over that weekend. Have a great trip across the pond! :-) Cheers Baldy
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