'A book is a thief of time', an image is worth a thousand words, without doubt they can change you. The book on Colorado climbing was one of the great influences on my early life, sad really as Colorado life isn't compatible with being an East end of London Boy. 'West end girls and east end boys', the Pet shop Boys song was a bit late in explaing a social faux pas. The fashion of wearing whatever was worn in this book went on for many years, with many a lad trying to look like Bacher for years. Victims of fashion, victims of the often petty rules that formed by drunken osmosis from elitist climbers of these days. I grew up soloing and top roping, and the ethics in-between these two facetes always were a puzzle for me, but hey I tried to fit in, I tried to be one of the tribe.
Here's a book written by my mate Crusher, buy one, because if you buy one your keeping something a live-history. It's not as important as other stories, but it's our story, a climbers story, our sport. With out these books there is no story. Even if the authors get things wrong, or just a bit wrong, it's important to our group that there is a story.
Skip is an icon, my latest Skip joke is that he was so anti-social they named a form of communication after, just to piss him off, Skype!
Skip did early repeat go Midnight Lightning, and was generally always using his feet where others were mindlessly pulling.
I met Pat in Boulder recently, and was able to talk about a few things that happened years and years ago. Many of the older climbers are dying off, so the story, or the song of early stone is dying in the wind. I'ts sometimes forgotten how much we owe to others. We owe our sport to lots of people, my sport was done on the shoulders of many, without them I don't have one! Colorado climbing, along with Chamonix climbing, has a very large part to play in what I am, so thanks.
