New and experienced climbers over 50 #37

Colden Darkwrote:

Thanks for that link, Terry E. Nice bit of history. Sounds like Fieldware was bought by A5 which was bought by TNF but some of the designs ended up with BD?  Always impressed by people who see a need for something and are like, I can make that…

Colden, I just looked at the email thread in which I introduced Footy and John M via a mutual friend. This was in 2021, when John was researching and writing about the history of portaledges. Footy moved on into other ventures in the mid ‘80s, worked making products for Caribou Mountaineering, etc. Here’s a quote from him to John, about the continuation of the rigid corners that he innovated for building ledges: “I never technically handed the design off to Fish. We were just friendly acquaintances in the Valley and I quit making them and he continued.”

Footy’s recollection of building these early ledges is very interesting. The 2nd single ledge he built was aluminum and then he switched to chrome-moly, one of the reasons being it was “used in jet airplane frames because it was more lightning resistant”.

He wrote, “Fieldware was born out of a simple excitement for making gear we couldn't find available or afford. I do remember making a few prototypes and the first two were one person ledges before I realized two person ledges were much more efficient.”

I just messaged Footy, who sent me this photo captioned "Brian Conry on one of my first gen ledges, The Shield, 1984". 

And here's Charles "Footy" Field lounging at Red Rock a few years ago:

Photo gig the last two days. yesterday was pretty rough

endurance riders are tough. 

it was pretty darn cold as well as being wet. 

Today was the first nice day in a bit

 I got to do some bouldering at my old crag

the rock was reasonably dry

Footie is not just a great designer.

I started climbing with him in 1987, within a few months of having started my career. I had student loans and very little money.

He wanted to do walls, and back country routes and first ascents. But without much money, I also didn't have enough of the right gear. No problem. Footie spent almost $3,000.00 (in mid 1980s money!) to buy me a ton of stuff so we could do the climbing we wanted to do. All on a handshake that I'd pay him back "when I could."

It took a few years, but of course I paid him back. Meanwhile I'd done some of my first first ascents ever with him and kinda learned how to do winter and ice stuff (I never grew very fond of that though - I was, after all, born and raised in California). Lifetime friends barely covers it.

Over the years I've remembered his generosity and tried very hard to pass it along to younger climbers.

EDIT:

Here's one of his two-person ledges without the fly on (we used it for the belayer first thing in the morning to massively increase comfort on otherwise sling belays):

Another lesson Footie taught me - and he applied it to this ledge: NEVER make a stuff bag that fits the item it holds tightly. His portaledge's oversize, blue stuff bag is visible in this photo. I can't count the (many) number of times I've cursed at (absent) designers who provide tight stuff bags which are always hard to use in the field (for tents, especially - two extra ounces of weight and a tent would be easy to stuff... oh man, don't get me started...).

EDIT TWO:

If I recall correctly, the shot Terry posted of one of Footie's ledges on The Shield made into a 1970s era Black Diamond catalog (or was it Chouinard then - I think it was a Chouinard catalog).

EDIT AGAIN:

Terry, that photo of him makes him look old (yeah I know, but really 73 isn't that old). He said that I could post my favorite shot of him. Doing FAs in Glen Aulin, below Tuolumne Meadows, late 1980s:

Hugi chilling on the boulder in the middle of our stream. I have an underwater stone seat that uses the boulder as a back rest on really hot days I sit there and chill. Hugi came out to visit me and now goes out there most time I go swimming

Its a ridiculous jump for him but he seems to like the challenge and to be part of the game. 

heading home. 

He has close calls where he slips and gets a foot wet.. friday he got both back feet wet on the way out to the boulder.. clean jump going home. 

Footy. I met him in the Tetons in the mid 70’s. We did a few climbs in the Tetons and then went to the Winds where we did an early ascent of the classic Tower One ice couloir on Mt Helen in 1977 and climbed another ice shield route on Mt. Fremont. He went on to climb N Arete of Mt. Ellingwood with another friend that trip too. So long ago..

maybe it’s just me but Footy looks a bit like David Crosby (CSN&Y) in that recent photo. ;)

Edit: I hadn’t seen Footy in years and years and I walked in to the Patagonia store in Dillon,Mt. and there was that photo as a huge poster hanging of the dude on the porta ledge and I looked at the caption and saw his name. Told my wife I climbed with that guy in the 70’s”. Small world, fortunately.

Brad Youngwrote:

Another lesson Footie taught me - and he applied it to this ledge: NEVER make a stuff bag that fits the item it holds tightly. His portaledge's oversize, blue stuff bag is visible in this photo. I can't count the (many) number of times I've cursed at (absent) designers who provide tight stuff bags which are always hard to use in the field (for tents, especially - two extra ounces of weight and a tent would be easy to stuff... oh man, don't get me started...).

In that picture from The Shield it looks like he’s using a stuff sack as a lower body bivy bag?

Colden Dark: Thanks for the inquiry which has put me momentarily back in touch with several dear friends (Terry, Norm, Brad.) You guys have over-honored me with the things you have written. Yes, I'm still trying to stay in shape and climb & ski. I think it's important as we get older even if it is at a greatly diminished level compared to what we used to be able to do. I feel blessed just to be able to get on the rock or fly on skiis and, I hope, spend more time with you guys.  

The Shield photo was in the 1984 Patagonia catalog. Yvon Chouinard has been a lifelong inspiration to me. Yes, Brian did not take a sleeping bag on that climb, he slept in an early Patagonia fleece and a large stuff sack. 

In 1984-5 I may have been the biggest chalk bag manufacturer in the States. I hired some help, but initially, I made them all myself in my girlfriend's garage. The center pull idea was because the top had a stiffener (weed eater cord swaged into a loop with an electrical splicer.) It also provided a sort-of hinge in the middle of the bag which reduced spillage. Anyway, it was kind-of a hit. It kept me busy, but we didn't get rich off of it at all and I was vaguely aware Chouinard was somewhere rolling his eyes.

The Porta-ledge thing grew with my love of big wall climbing. They were way more comfortable than ledges or hammocks. If we didn't make it to the next ledge, you could just set up camp. My first knowledge of the idea was a report in the 1973 AAJ by Greg Lowe and Robert Kiesel about climbing the NW Face of Half Dome in winter through a storm. They had something they called the LURP tent. It just fascinated me.  Little did I know then that 10 years later I would be "playing fort" with my friends through storms on Lurking Fear or Electric Ladyland with homemade hanging cookers and cocktails. (Terry is urging me to tell you about our bottle rockets too.)

The poraledge design was fairly straight forward compared to the storm fly. I spent days and went through a lot of fabric coming up with a design that would stay fairly taught on any angle slope (overhanging to about 60 degrees.) Then, John Dill (YOSAR) insisted that we give it the overnight sprinkler & fan test before we bring it to the Valley. I was aware Mike Graham was making porta ledges and trying to sell them ("Fortresses") and other guys were probably doing so as well, but I was just doing my own thing. I have not fully understood why John Middendorf felt that he needed a heavier fly; must be he just went into much more extreem conditions. I suppose it's too bad I only made a few of those ledge/fly combinations, one is still in storage in my garage.

By 1990, I found that making chalk bags, soft luggage and high end big wall and search and rescue gear was just not profitable. I got a real job. Good enough that now I'm retired. Its just amazing to look back on it all and realize other people are actually interested in it.

Charles (Footie) Field

Thank you Charles for the stories, and welcome 

All these posts on one topic, but I'd like to also come back to Nick's cat. I smiled very broadly seeing the leaps he makes to avoid water. Great photography.

Brad Youngwrote:

All these posts on one topic, but I'd like to also come back to Nick's cat. I smiled very broadly seeing the leaps he makes to avoid water. Great photography.

Same reaction.

Charles Fieldwrote:

Brian did not take a sleeping bag on that climb, he slept in an early Patagonia fleece and a large stuff sack. 

In 1984-5 I may have been the biggest chalk bag manufacturer in the States. I hired some help, but initially, I made them all myself in my girlfriend's garage. The center pull idea was because the top had a stiffener (weed eater cord swaged into a loop with an electrical splicer.) It also provided a sort-of hinge in the middle of the bag which reduced spillage. Anyway, it was kind-of a hit. It kept me busy, but we didn't get rich off of it at all and I was vaguely aware Chouinard was somewhere rolling his eyes.

Thanks so much for your response. Incredible history. I’ll be good with a fleece and a stuff sack. Weed eater cord. Cutting edge innovators. 

Another road trip pic,

Mt Robson 

This is wonderful history and stories!  Thank you Charles! I hope you’ll stay and give us more.

The first climber I ever saw here in Joshua Tree had the swag of and looked a little bit like David Lee Roth.  He was strong AF and beautiful to watch.  Later when I saw a video of John Bachar it looked to me like they had a similar style. (I could be wrong.)

So I don’t have much history on this Dave Griffith, but if I could climb like anyone, it would be like him. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cxqqj4gBbMQ/?igsh=cWdseGYyczlnYWhh

I learned a hard lesson this year – – it’s no fun climbing when you’re not strong enough for your route. It made sense when Bachar said that you want to be stronger than the route you’re trying to climb. So I have now installed a pull up bar and a TRX in a spare bedroom. I pulled out some 10 pound weights for some curls, etc. And I have the full protocol for knees.

I can’t seem to give up my daily hikes, but I have created some way points for wall presses  and hangs. The last route I attempted to climb I got shut out because the last move required grabbing a vertical edge and pulling myself on up. Next year, I hope I can do this route.

Nick—-Hugi has lost weight! He’s a very svelt looking fellow now.    

T Hockingwrote:

Another road trip pic,

Mt Robson 

That's a dangerous photo, Tad!

Gorgeous skies and something about the way Mt Robson looks in it gives a very, very, "oh that looks easy" perspective to it. Makes me wanna run up and just "do it."

But that's not how Mt Robson works, is it?

Vicki and I are looking at an extended van trip to Washington in August. Which hopefully will include some significant PCT time with my favorite 23 year old....

T Hockingwrote:

Another road trip pic,

Mt Robson 

While a beautiful picture of a great mountain on a gorgeous day, I admit to finding it to be very troubling. Not in the 'it looks deceptively easy' way that Brad mentions, but in the fact that it looks much too 'dry' and with comparatively limited snow cover, especially given that it is early June. My only visit to the area---and given the weather at the time and our commitments elsewhere we never got further than the road--was over a month later in the season (mid-July) and I remember a far more extensive snow cover. Perhaps I am mistaken, but in this photo, what I believe historically has been the snowy approach to the Kain Face is currently a huge scree field---and the snow covering on the Face itself appears to be relatively 'thin'. Maybe this is a 'good thing', making the climb easier, but, in agreement with Brad, I believe the reality is the opposite. But, yeah, climate change is just a 'hoax'!!!!

Al, the Kain route is on the other side of Robson and is indeed much snowier of an aspect. This picture is of the South side showing the Wishbone route.
it is alarmingly very low snow though. My 3 attempts on Robson all ended in very soggy failure. A not at all uncommon occurrence on that mountain.

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Nick,

I love this photo...

Now veering of into the  Mountains appearing much too 'dry' and with comparatively limited snow cover category...

If you harbor any doubts about "is global warming real", consider the case of the Anderson glacier in Olympic National Park...

1936

2004 ice cube in a frying pan

2022 Anderson glacierless

Some may say this is an isolated incident and doesn't represent glacier behavior in the pacific northwest as a whole. To which I would say pick any temperate glacier in the world and you will see a similar trend.

Yeah, by the looks of things and from what locals have told me it's been a dry winter and spring temps un-seasonably hot. Was lower 90s at our CG yesterday. 

^^^NE Ridge of Lone Pine Peak?
Looks damn similar…though that’s a helluva jump from Robson…