well known climbers from Wisconsin

in reading the post "first wisconsinite to climb 5.14" i started to think who has come out of wisconsin (and the immediate surrounding area) and gone on to do something big in their climbing career. I don't know much history of the area, so please all input is welcome.
to start off;

John Varco is from Park Falls
Rapheal Slawinski is from Chicago
Scott Backes from Minneapolis
Jay Knower,I dont know where your from....
All of those hardmen from the DLFA

This should be good!

Then there's me - I started at the DL and now I'm climbing Epinephrine in 12 hours - I'm a phenom......... Mid-20s prodigy......... The next Lisa Rands.......

Sigh, enough dreaming, back to work, and reality...........

Even though they were living in Chicago and had immigrated there from Europe(Germany or Austria, can't remember), the Stettner Bros did some climbing at DL back in the 20's.

I used to share a top-rope or boulder with Scott Backes at TF circa 1977-82. To the best of my knowledge, he was never a DLFA affiliate.
We never drove to TF together, but often hung out on the same climbs.
Nice guy. Pretty soft spoken back then. He turned me on to The Clash, which he listened to often on his Walkman.
He had a girlfriend back then that looked like Jean from Billy Jack.

Lets see...
AS mentioned above the Stettner Bros
Pete Cleveland,the most infamous but from the east coast originally and forever linked with DL.
Jim Erickison(not sure if originally from Wisco) put in his time at DL and moved on to set high standards of free climbing and ethics.
Steve Hong(not sure wher from originally)climbed at DL a little.
Jay Smith learned to climb at DL I beleive.
Bob Horan pulled down at DL until we dropped him off in Boulder on our way to the valley.
Bill "swilliam" Russell (Madison) climbed at DL until relocating to Yosemite about 25 years ago,infamous guide,drinker,drill sargent(not necessarily in that order)
Scott Backes (as mentioned above)Definitly DLFA
Rich Bechler ,still pullin down in wisco.
Dave Groth ,also still pullin down at a high standard
KEN SAULS ,Undoubtly the hardest climber to ever emerge from DL, cave dweller in "winter" in Telluride,solo ascent of Iron Hawk on EL Cap,2 time Mt. Everest summitter(carrying a heavy ass camera and filming the thing to boot) possible 3 times since this year.

I know there are more that I am missing,please forgive me for anyone I have not mentioned.

Didn't John Gill establish some lines at DL. I didn't see his name mentioned.

Being "from" (most recently) Fort Collins, I had to give my props to the man that just about singlehandedly invented bouldering.

Just to clarify: Raphael Slawinski is definitely NOT from Chicago... He spent about 18 months there while his wife was in grad school but he's from Poland by way of France then South Africa and currently resides in Calgary AB, Canada. It is true that the first time he went Ice climbing was in Munising though!

I can't believe that no one mentioned me yet... or maybe I can. I climb 5.14, er I mean 5.4. Those are close to the same difficulty right?

Yo Jon, I'm from Baraboo, WI. Proud alum of Baraboo High School.

matt feinberg wrote:Didn't John Gill establish some lines at DL. I didn't see his name mentioned. Being "from" (most recently) Fort Collins, I had to give my props to the man that just about singlehandedly invented bouldering.

Hi Matt,
Yes, John Gill established lines at DL.
No, he wasn't even close to being the inventer of bouldering, to which he'll be the first to point out. He just popularized it in the U.S. He was the first to employ the use of gymnastic chalk to keep the tips dry.

My name is Mountain Man Matt. I grew up in the suburbs of Chi-Town. Now in Fo Co, Colorado showing all these scared cats how the Midwest taught me how to climb. I don't like to brag, but most people I climb with, that see me climb, know me, don't know me, girls, or people that look at me when I walk down the street say I am the best. Some people even compare me to Sharma, not the other way around. When they see me at the gym, they say I can do a link-up of K2 and Everest in 24 hours. They say I can climb Realization with one hand tied behind my back. I did not live in Wisconsin, but that is where I climbed outside and learned my shit.

Representing the MidWest
Mountain Man Matt

-Sarcasm

Jim Erickson is a native of Racine, WI.

John (Dave's brother) and his wife Liz who now live in Albuquerque.

Hello Ed Wright,
Might you be the same Ed Wright that climbed Devils Tower with my buddy Mark and I, way back, about fifteen (approx.) years ago.
The Ed that we met had just come out of a bout of cancer and was recovering nicely. You joined us for a route or two up the tower.
We met you at the tower and you joined up with us.

I know this doesn't really count, but Ed Viesturs was born in Rockford, IL , but he says in his book he first learned to climb at Devil's Lake