Bouldering Routes and Names

Wonder who changed the names of the boulders in the "Gate Area group? Is there an area guide for these boulders? I saw some bouldering video yesterday, and noticed "WADEDAVID,
Listed the ole favorites with new / different names.
The ramp, was listed as road rash.

Dave,
I just saw this and you question on the other thread. There is a book out called, "The Bouldering Guide to Utah" and in general, it is a great book covering the best areas in the whole state. It must have been a monumental task.

Sadly, the old areas around the Gate Boulders have many new names to problems. The pinch that you did barefoot is called Hongs Lieback. That thing was done way before Hong came to town. Others that are re-named are "Black Dot", Inferno, Bashie....

All in all its a good book, however, since these were the most popular boulders in the 70's to 80's in Utah, I would have thought that the old names could have been found and used.

You should appreciate this passage, "During the late 70's the bouldering became more popular, and local legend Merill Bitter and the ever casual Dave Reid started bouldering regularly."

Gary

PS - Some day we need to go up there and be ever casual about it, I will need your pointers.

wonder what the climbing community would say about someone changing the names of the established rock routes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Instead of Satans corner, hows bout Angels ascent?!!!hahahahaha
One good thing, they spelled my last name wrong.
Its to bad, the guide dudes changed the names or whatever.
There WERE some really cool names.........
I spent at least 3days a week, bouldering, in that area, and across the road.
Wonder if they changed the one called 1970. Some freek spray painted,
1970, on one of the toughest boulders........( they probably erased it, and painted something else.
MAN!!!!!! THAT IS A SHAME !!!!!
HONGS LIEBACK? WOW !!!!!!!
there were a few I put up, that only merrel could follow. I never told anyone, I put em up, and people, were asking me if I could do merrel's latest bouldering route!!!!!!!!!!hahahahaha
I decided to chill, and never did say anything.The barefoot thing was fun, but, I had an advantage over the general community,BIG GUNS !!!!!
hahahaha
Thanks for the reply "bro-amigo" !!!!!!!

d.reed and g.olsen,
I wrote the guide you are referring to and I sincerely apologize if there were named problems that were renamed. I spoke to many of the local climbers about the bouldering in the canyon, including merrill, dave (I am drawing a blank on his last name right now)who works at REI, John Storm, Rick Wyatt, and several others, and tried the best I could to garner information on the history of bouldering in the canyon. Some of the problems named were just names my friends and I called the problems since we were kids, and I could not find names for them from anyone so I just stuck those in. I think a named problem gives it more legitimacy and an identity, so I tried to shy away from just a description. I certainly did not mean to put anyone off and asked the community for input while writing the guide.
If there is more history to tell and old names to some of the problems in the book I would love to hear it and keep record so that changes can be made to any new editions. Please contact me and give me any info you have, it would be much appreciated and I would love to give credit where it is due. ( I would love to know who did the FA of the Standard Overhang!).
In my defense the bouldering in the canyon when I started climbing (1986) was fairly undeveloped and was seen simply as a way to train for routes. My friends and I have extensively developed the boulders since that period, and bouldering has grown much more than it was into an activity that people pursue for its own end. Additionally, when the guide was written there weren't an extensive internet communities from which one could garner information as there is today.
Again, I sincerely regret any misinformation in the guide and hope anyone with any history of the bouldering in the Wasatch will contact me and share that information so it may be corrected. Respectfully, Mike Beck

ps. the WADEDAVID incident was not from our guide, but from a competing guide written by someone in colorado in which there are numerous mistakes. The ramp? I have always heard that problem referred to as "barn door"
pps. sorry about the mispelling dave, and by "ever casual" I meant no disrespect. You were always just a cool long haired dude I would often see in the boulders cruising everything barefoot. I remember you were/are pretty rad on the slabs up higher as well!

Mike,
no probs here. Sounds like you had the same problem Bush had, Bad Intel. hahaha.

I am amazed by your book. I didnt know too many of the probs and would have thought that the guys you mentioned would have got it right. But there are some that were named wrong. Dave should look at it and send you some corrections.

Take Care,
G

mike b wrote:d.reed and g.olsen, I wrote the guide you are referring to and I sincerely apologize if there were named problems that were renamed. I spoke to many of the local climbers about the bouldering in the canyon, including merrill, dave (I am drawing a blank on his last name right now)who works at REI, John Storm, Rick Wyatt, and several others, and tried the best I could to garner information on the history of bouldering in the canyon. Some of the problems named were just names my friends and I called the problems since we were kids, and I could not find names for them from anyone so I just stuck those in. I think a named problem gives it more legitimacy and an identity, so I tried to shy away from just a description. I certainly did not mean to put anyone off and asked the community for input while writing the guide. If there is more history to tell and old names to some of the problems in the book I would love to hear it and keep record so that changes can be made to any new editions. Please contact me and give me any info you have, it would be much appreciated and I would love to give credit where it is due. ( I would love to know who did the FA of the Standard Overhang!). In my defense the bouldering in the canyon when I started climbing (1986) was fairly undeveloped and was seen simply as a way to train for routes. My friends and I have extensively developed the boulders since that period, and bouldering has grown much more than it was into an activity that people pursue for its own end. Additionally, when the guide was written there weren't an extensive internet communities from which one could garner information as there is today. Again, I sincerely regret any misinformation in the guide and hope anyone with any history of the bouldering in the Wasatch will contact me and share that information so it may be corrected. Respectfully, Mike Beck ps. the WADEDAVID incident was not from our guide, but from a competing guide written by someone in colorado in which there are numerous mistakes. The ramp? I have always heard that problem referred to as "barn door" pps. sorry about the mispelling dave, and by "ever casual" I meant no disrespect. You were always just a cool long haired dude I would often see in the boulders cruising everything barefoot. I remember you were/are pretty rad on the slabs up higher as well!

Mike B.
No appology's required.
It would be an honor to give you the history, that Im aware of during my times in the gate area.1978-1995ish.
I'd like to tell you the original names, us oldsters came up with .
You a beer drinker?

d.reed wrote:Mike B. No appology's required. It would be an honor to give you the history, that Im aware of during my times in the gate area.1978-1995ish. I'd like to tell you the original names, us oldsters came up with . You a beer drinker?

D.reed and G.Olsen,
Thanks for the reply, the last thing I would want to do is step on the toes of those who started the whole thing up there. D.Reed, definitely a beer drinker, though a lightweight! It would be great to see you guys check out some of the new stuff up there, give you a tour, and give you a copy of the book so you could note any changes and give some history. I really looked around but not many people seemed to know much about the history of the bouldering up there. The guy from REI was Dave Smith, and he gave me an old photocopy bouldering guide from the late 70s - early 80s that had some info, including some problems listed that are now gone because of the parking lot at the base of the canyon. Anyway, I am really happy to hear from you guys about this stuff, I am constantly compiling info for an updated guide in a couple of years, in which I will attempt to fix any mistakes from this guide. Also, this guide has about 2000 problems in Little Cottonwood and now there are in between 500 - 1000 new ones. Keep in touch and let me know if you would like to go out. Cheers, mb

Mike, lets do this. I dont know how much history you want to write up in your guide book.I spoke with merrel this morning, and he's pretty cool about it. I suggested, that after you and I meet up, and youre aware of name changes, Merrel wanted to give the list the once over.
Ill make up, for the beer you dont drink, ..trust me!!!
Ill seend you a contact for me on your personal listing here at mountain project.
I'LL BUY THE BEERS /DRINKS

Mike,

I am amazed at your book. Quite the effort. There are so many probs in LCC it is quite amazing. I really know of only a few probs that we use to call other things. But, I started in the 70's and have no idea if others called them different things earlier. A good resource if he is around is Paul Horton. That guy rocks. Well, he used to and I hope he still does.

Gary

Gary/mike
Horton, is chilling in jackson hole. So, that might be tough
Gary....When I started bouldering here in 1978, there were handful of people, that even had the concept of serious, bouldering.
I started in 1970, in Boulder, Co, on Flagstaff mountain. What a blast that was!!! We used to rate the boulders, on a "B" scale.
The "B" (Bouldering)scale started at/above the 5.10 rating?If you were free climbing at 5.9, you were a bad ass.( most everyone owned those fucked up "EB's" shoes.) Any rating above that, was Tarzan power. It was pretty simple, B1 / B2 /B3. That was the extent.
When I moved here in ( 78), The standard overhang,the traverse,up by
1970 boulder,and a few others appeared to be the playground. I believe, I named the "Tower".
There were so many neat lines, but people in salt lake would generally by-pass, the area, and roll up to the corners/green "A"gully, etc. Once and a while someone would stop and give the Standard overhang a pull.
Rick wyatt, ( who I called rick why-not)pointed out the little mushroom boulder, just left of the standard overhang.He's probably the first acentist, of that, and I couldnt say whether he named it or not. I just called it the mushroom.
Just to the right of the standard overhang, is my route, Dave's way. right of that , the Mantle. At that time only rick and I could do that, with out getting off route, and using a heel lock. WhenI bouldered with merrel, one of the MAIN objects, was to follow suit.Heel locks, extra holds outside of the direct line was off route.This is not to say people cant put step ladders, right up against the boulders, and have just as much fun.But, you are off route.
I did alot of gardening, of tree stumps,at the base of some of the routes.Someone busted off the trees at about the 8inch height, making ankle breakers, and spears waiting for those that failed, and fell off the problems. We not only had to figure the problems, but the landings!!!!!!! ( guess we shoulda named some of the landings also)
HEY!!!! theres an idea...I'll write a guide book called
" BOULDER LANDINGS OF THE WASATCH " Huh? Huh? whada guys think??
As far as the RAMP? The reason some of the guys called it the barndoor,was I pointed out to those that gave it a try, to expect, the swinging action, if you came off..( like a door )..but it was" the ramp"
THATS THE PURE FEATURE OF BOULDERING. NO GEAR REQUIRED,EVERYTHING IS FREECLIMBED,GO ANYWHERE.........GENERALLY YOU DONT HAVE BOLTING WARS!!
AHAHAHAHAHAHA..............(opppps, I gotta go, Its beer:30 )

Dave,
I remember those times. I spent countless hours wiring the landings, knowing how to land before sending some of those problems. The Tower was a great boulder. I had quite a few of those wired.

I remember when Gordon Douglas moved to SLC and I met him up there for one of his first bouldering days in LCC. I took him around and showed him some of the probs. I think he was a bit pissed because I had the probs wired and he was struggling since it was his first time. Not only that but he was from Arizona and didnt use chalk then. It didnt take long for him to be schooling me and using chalk.

In the late 70's Stu Ruckman was a skinny kid, must have been all of 11 years old. He bouldered the greased flake and the traverse to the left gracefully in front of some dudes. Those guys looked at eachother and said, "lets do that, it can't be that hard!" Of course they couldnt get off the ground. Bret and I laughed at that one.

Paul Horton was a regular fixture then. I always looked forward to seeing him up there. He always had a beer in one hand and bouldered with his cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was very strong and a hell of a guy.

Another guy I met and climbed with at the boulders was Wheels. Seemed like Wheels always had chalk on his cheek.

Dave, you were quite the boulderer then and were up there a lot. I wont forget seeing you climb the thing to the right of the greased flake with no shoes. That was a killer landing and one of those that I got wired before going for it.

Oh well, you got me reminiscing....

Gary

these are the pre-carpet days huh? stockton shorts, headbands and all. I get scared(trembling,sweating etc) doing these problems with 2 pads and 2 spotters, but I'm a bit of a sis so...

what were your spotting techniques like? any at all?

ever seen anyone on the standard overhang do a bellyflop over the lip, then lay there and call for help with their legs dangling? funny stuff.

The original spot was to protect a head basher. The soloing, for a spotter was to pick out a spot on the ground before and while moving up-ward.PRECARPET? DEFINITELY!!!! I didn't own climbing shoes fora couple years. The "EB"S werent making it.This is why I was climbing barefoot.One time I went up to do MINDBLOW, with Lyn Wheeler. He didn't want to lead, so I said I would. He got his boots on , got the belay ready, and I tied in. I was ready to climb and Wheels, says" hey man where are your boots?" I told him I didn't have any. He got real freaked out. He took me off belay, dumped all my gear outta the pack, then went through all the bushes, in search of my climbing shoes.......He went through my pack again, shaking it violently, and asking where the fuck are your climbing shoes man!!!He went around the general area again, kicking bushes, and the dirt, (raising this incredible dust cloud), lookin under sage brush, raising hell the entire time. He finally gave up the search. He didnt say anything more, he took his harness, shoes,stored them in his pack, and as he was hiking off, he yelled back, " Hey man, yer crazy!!! I was just leaning against the beginning of the climb, wondering when he was gona chill.......hahahaha. Did I ever see the belly flop? Im not sure I'd call it that, but , I do rememeber, alotta people, pulling over the standard overhang, and laying there fora while. I'd call it more like a swimming technique!!
Legs kicking, arms thrashing.
Heres a route I named just for fun. It was called Devins dilemma. I had my son Devin, up there one saturday, morning. I hung a chalk bag off his diaper. He started cruising up the walk off, on the standard
overhang.There werent any kiddie shoes back then, so he did the barefoot trick. When he got to the top, he got scared and wouldnt come down!! hahaha. I hope, just for kicks, Mike B. will list that.
Man........those were the days.
right by the standard, there was/is a patch of wild garlics. I used to dig up a bunch of those, and add them to the evening salad.Sometimes, in july, I'd drive up to the White pine trailhead, and dig for wild potatoes. Man those things are delectable. There's more, but since this is the bouldering forum, I'll quit.

I learned a lot of edible plants from the medicine man, I was chilling with. Whenever I'd take Devin out, I'd quiz him on the plants

Gary, did you ever do one of the late evening, bouldering sessions?
I think I mentioned this before, but I was bummed around fall, because the sunset, was coming earlier everyday. On the way up to the bouldering area, I stopped and purchased a coleman lantern. That way, Merrel, and I could boulder until about 9pm. The top of the problems were blind, but, ya gotta give somethin up to gain something!! haha
I'LL NEVER REMEMBER THE BEST DAYS CLIMBING, JUST THE ADVENTUROUS TIMES
I was at the bolts on the coffin , stomping around real casual like,on the little 6 inch ledge, and the beginner dude I was with ask, me if I shouldn't be tied in!!!! DOH !!!!!!!!!!!I'd forgotten to clip the bolts. Holy shit!!!!!