Joshua Tree Climbing History

Hi!

I was wondering where I could find more about the climbing history in Joshua tree. Specifically on the development of the area post-National Park designation. Anyone have a lead on archived pages of Todd Gordon's website? 

Thanks for the help!

Elias

Hobo didn't fall!

Lots of old dirt bag climbers around here.  What are planning doing with the information?  Have looked at the old guidebooks and some of the newer ones?

Tradman Man wrote:

Lots of old dirt bag climbers around here.  What are planning doing with the information?  Have looked at the old guidebooks and some of the newer ones?

^^ What he said/asked. 

there's a little bit of stuff from steve edward's climbing magazine. It's worth a read, but the Josh stuff begins around page 9

http://www.king-dino.com/allez3.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12fg5BLANTE

I have a fair amount of historical climbing in both pre and post National Park Status (Oct 31, 1994). This info was to be serialized in Central Joshua Tree and Joshua Tree East - projects that have stalled, but Central Joshua Tree is basically complete. Joshua Tree West has a pretty comprehensive history of climbing up through the early 70s. The post 1994 climbing generally involved development of hard sport routes and the increased development of significant routes deep in the Wonderland, Queen Mt, and other more remote areas. The history of bouldering in the Park (while spanning the entire history of climbing in the Park), has seen a huge increase in development in the last 15 years particularly.

The first scouting of Joshua Tree as a climbing area was in 1936 about the time it was designated as a National Monument.

The first recorded and documented ascents took place in 1949.

By the time Royal Robbins may have free soloed Right Ski Track, there were dozens of established climbs and Josh saw regular, but infrequent, visits from mostly Southern California climbers.

Joshua Tree West has a well researched and documented history of the earlier days of climbing. Wolfe's 1970 (and later editions) documents the Desert Rats era, which often involved aid ascents of routes that had been climbed free a decade earlier. 

Randy when is Joshua Tree central coming out?  The West book is my favorite 

joshuatreeclimb.com is still alive...but it is now joshuatreeclimb.net.....(domain name got too expensive.....the net one is cheaper..)..

Anyone know a man named Rod Smith? Met him last weekend. He’s 84 and have me a copy of a photograph of him, his father and a friend climbing what he claimed was a first ascent of pencil rock in 1950s? 

Check out mojaveproject.org 

good article written by Jenny Kane