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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

 Page 3 of 4. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 60 | 61 to 72
Author
"Hot" Henry Barber to Tour Australia

BenHev
23-Oct-2007
1:20:04 AM
>If you are intending to go to this event, get your booking
>form (download from the VCC website)

VCC http://www.vicclimb.org.au/Site/index.php

dowload the form http://www.vicclimb.org.au/Site/includes/file.php?id=146
Lyle Closs
1-Nov-2007
8:31:09 AM
Don't want to sound like an arse, and Henry was and is some kind of god, but he didn't introduce 23 to Australia. The first 23 was Albatross at Lowdina in Tassie, put up by Ian Lewis. Henry did the second ascent on his quick but awesome Tassie tour, a day or so after he freed Incipience (22) at Coles bay with me ineptly following. Albatross was probably the route that gave him the most trouble in Aus - he tried it a number of times and almost gave up before giving it one more try and getting up it. Unfortunately it was on a small, relatively unknown cliff and only Stefan Karpiniec was with him on the day - but that's irrelevant because the route was already done free when he got there, and it's still graded 23. He can certainly say he was the first to climb it on the first day he saw it - Ian tried it many times on many days before getting up it - but it was Australia's first 23. As we didn't quite realise 23 was possible back then I don't know if Ian had actually graded it 23, but Henry admitted to Stefan after climbing it that it was probably 23, and it still holds the grade.
Lyle

cruze
1-Nov-2007
8:40:11 AM
On 1/11/2007 Lyle Closs wrote:
>Don't want to sound like an arse

You don't sound like an arse. Good stuff.

Capt_mulch
1-Nov-2007
9:01:39 AM
So does anyone have any details for Canberra? I have 6.00pm at the ANU on the 7th November in my diary, but no other details. BTW - I saw an interview / climbing footage of HB (new and old) on a DVD I have - Common Ground - he is still quite a dude...

oweng
1-Nov-2007
10:09:09 AM
On 1/11/2007 Lyle Closs wrote:
>Don't want to sound like an arse, and Henry was and is some kind of god,
>but he didn't introduce 23 to Australia. The first 23 was Albatross at
>Lowdina in Tassie, put up by Ian Lewis. Henry did the second ascent on
>his quick but awesome Tassie tour, a day or so after he freed Incipience
>(22) at Coles bay with me ineptly following. Albatross was probably the
>route that gave him the most trouble in Aus - he tried it a number of times
>and almost gave up before giving it one more try and getting up it. Unfortunately
>it was on a small, relatively unknown cliff and only Stefan Karpiniec was
>with him on the day - but that's irrelevant because the route was already
>done free when he got there, and it's still graded 23. He can certainly
>say he was the first to climb it on the first day he saw it - Ian tried
>it many times on many days before getting up it - but it was Australia's
>first 23. As we didn't quite realise 23 was possible back then I don't
>know if Ian had actually graded it 23, but Henry admitted to Stefan after
>climbing it that it was probably 23, and it still holds the grade.
>Lyle

Isnt that interesting!

Here is a picture of the route for those interested:

http://www.thesarvo.com/confluence/display/thesarvo/Lowdina+Gallery

wallwombat
1-Nov-2007
10:53:09 AM
On 22/10/2007 kieranl wrote:
>On 9/10/2007 wallwombat wrote:
>>It was basically Barber defending his actions regarding the incident.
>>Seems like Taylor broke his leg on the descent and Barber hoofed it down
>> without assisting with the rescue.
>That's quite incorrect - please be careful when posting comments about
>these sort of events that what you assert as facts are correct. The post
>above is potentially libellous.
>
>From my memory - Taylor broke his leg in a fall from the icicle on the
>final headwall of the Breach wall of Kilimajaro while attempting the first
>ascent with Barber. I believe it was a compound fracture. Barber heped
>Taylor down the face which was prone to stonefall and avalanche danger
>to a point where Taylor could be left safely. Barber then went out to raise
>the alarm but did not return with the rescue team. Taylor never forgave
>Barber for not returning but the fact remains that Barber got Taylor down
>a huge, extremely dangerous face at considerable personal risk.

Sorry. That's what I meant to say. Guess I didn't say it very well.

I doubt , however, that Henry Barber is going to sue me for libel. With the addition of one very short sentence, what I said is correct. If Barber had left him injured , where he fell, I think everyone would know the story and Barber wouldn't be doing lecture tours.

Nevertheless, I apologise for my initial poor wording.

Stefan Karpiniec
2-Nov-2007
3:56:12 PM
OK, as I was the only other person present (apart from Henry) when he repeated Albatross at Lowdina, here's the story as best I remember it.

Henry spent quite an amount of time at about, slightly above and slightly below the spot you can see Roark in if you follow the link in the post two before this one. I was both belaying and taking pictures with Henry's camera (unfortunately I'd run out of film at Coles Bay).

Eventually he "went for it" and took a fall. The conversation between us was (more or less):

Henry: "What did I fall that far for?"
Me: "Do you want me to take pictures or not?"

following which he pulled his rope through, got on with it and got up it.

I asked him if he thought it was 23 and he (somewhat grudgingly it seemed) admitted that it might be. I got the impression that he was a little annoyed at having taken a fall while getting up it.

Stefan

IdratherbeclimbingM9
2-Nov-2007
5:15:00 PM
Magic!

Thanks for the extra detail SK, (& LC for the lead-in post).

Capt_mulch
5-Nov-2007
8:21:15 AM
I've finally found the Canberra details:

Speaker/Host: Hosted by the ANU Mountaineering Club
Venue: Manning Clarke Theatre 1
Date: Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Time: 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Enquiries: Andrew Peters on 0428 888 845, Jack Chenoweth on 0416 818 523

http://billboard.anu.edu.au/event_view.asp?id=20671

Capt_mulch
21-Nov-2007
1:45:24 PM
Don't forget Mr. Barber tonight all you Canberra crew. Hello Caaaanberraaa crew. God dam, everyone here's from Victoria...
kieranl
21-Nov-2007
8:54:21 PM
On 1/11/2007 wallwombat wrote:
>I doubt , however, that Henry Barber is going to sue me for libel. With
>the addition of one very short sentence, what I said is correct. If Barber
>had left him injured , where he fell, I think everyone would know the story
>and Barber wouldn't be doing lecture tours.
>
>Nevertheless, I apologise for my initial poor wording.
Thanks for clearing that up Wallwombat. I didn't know whether your original remark about "hoofing it" was what people generally thought and thought it needed to be made clear.
I would also doubt that Barber would sue for libel but that's not really the reason for being careful with phrasing. Things are libellous if they are hurtful and damaging to someone's reputation and should be avoided for that reason. Bit preachy I know.
cheers, Kieran

Capt_mulch
22-Nov-2007
8:43:34 AM
Great talk by Henry Barber at the ANU last night. Scared us all witless with photos of him doing 1000 foot ropeless solos. He said that he now likes to climb places because of their aesthetic value. One of his greatest climbing tips was his advice to learn to downclimb. He said the way he used to get through the cruxs when climbing solo was to climb the crux half-way, then down climb it, rest, then tackle it. When asked if he'd had any injuries from climbing, he said he dislocated his right shoulder (I think that was 14 times) and dislocated his left shoulder (I think that was 9 times) - nothing a bit of surgery couldn't fix. Hmmm, maybe that's a warning not to crank too hard. He still climbs, and lives a few minutes walk from the base of his favorite crag.


Keith Bell, Henry Barber and me. (Keith dragged my butt up Booroomba last weekend). Henry is saying (of Keith) "This is the guy that I set the record for the fastest climb of The Nose of El Cap with in 1973" Keith and Henry blew everyone away by climbing The Nose in one and half days.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
22-Nov-2007
9:44:59 AM
Thanks for the snippet/s of feedback Captm.

Missing out on this tour due the locations and timings (being mid-week events), is one of the few times I have felt disadvantaged by choosing to live out of a city ...

Ahh, roll on retirement so I can trundle off to these things at short notice!!

Great pic (& commentary), btw!

wallwombat
22-Nov-2007
10:36:11 AM
Sounds like it was a good lecture. Sorry I missed it.

You certainly found someone good to ''drag your arse'' up Booroomba, Mulchy. Keith Bell is a dead set legend. He could probably give a pretty good lecture about his climbing exploits too.

In 1989 Bell and John Fantini went to Buffalo and climbed Ozymandias Direct, Fuhrer Eliminate, Hard Rain and Status Quo in a day. Not a bad day on the rock, eh!

Someone, I think it was Fantini, referred to Bell as ''the most ethical climber'' they had ever met.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Capt_mulch
22-Nov-2007
11:38:05 AM
On 22/11/2007 wallwombat wrote:
> You certainly found someone good to ''drag your arse'' up Booroomba
He was good to climb with - he just gave a few pointers and we climbed. Friendly too with no attitude. When we were climbing Booroomba I mentioned that there wasn't much protection on the climbs (after I noticed his big runouts on lead), and he said "no, it's really fake protection here". It didn't seem to bother him - no wonder.
BTW - I was talking to a friend of Fantini's last night and he said that on his sixtieth birthday a few years ago, Fantini apparently climbed 22 grade 22 climbs in one day. Apparently Fantini is back from Canada in a couple of weeks.

cruze
22-Nov-2007
11:58:57 AM
On 22/11/2007 Capt_mulch wrote:
>BTW - I was talking to a friend of Fantini's last night and he said that
>on his sixtieth birthday a few years ago, Fantini apparently climbed 22
>grade 22 climbs in one day.

Based on the stories I am not surprised. I would be interested in knowing where the 22 grade 22 climbs were though? Were they in Canada?

Post edit: I just realised how stupid that sounded. It probably would have been 22 5.11a's if that were the case and that doesn't sound as good.

Now I am even more interested. 22 grade 22s in one day - they would have to be close to another relatively.
grangrump
22-Nov-2007
12:34:19 PM
> Fantini apparently climbed 22 grade 22 climbs in one day.
This would be off-topic, except that Fantini and Barber were climbing together in Qld on his famous 1975 tour (in fact quite a lot as Barber was stuck there by an airline strike).

evanbb
22-Nov-2007
12:35:24 PM
On 22/11/2007 Capt_mulch wrote:
>Great talk by Henry Barber at the ANU last night....

Yes, thanks for the pics. Also dissappointed to have missed him. I've popped the odd shoulder out as well, maybe I'm destined for greatness as well?

Don't think so though, because apart from anything else Barber has a sensational moustache, one that I can only hope to replicate.

wallwombat
22-Nov-2007
12:51:21 PM
On 22/11/2007 evanbb wrote:
> apart from anything else Barber has a sensational moustache...

Good thing that he came over here in Movember then ;- )

Capt_mulch
22-Nov-2007
12:56:35 PM
On 22/11/2007 cruze wrote:
>I would be interested in knowing where the 22 grade 22 climbs were though
Dunno, I'll see him when he gets here (I rent his house and he still keeps all his stuff, including his car, in the shed/garage).

> except that Fantini and Barber were climbing together in Qld on his famous 1975 tour (in fact quite a lot as Barber was stuck there by an airline strike).
HB mentioned that. He said he was stuck in Brisbane for four or five days due to a domestic airline stike, so they'd go out to the airport, find out that there were no flights, then charge off to Frog Buttress every day until he could leave. (Remember the days of airline strikes?). Maybe HB inspired JF to turn into such a hell hardman.

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