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RIP Royal Robbins


elkroeger

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I wonder if he ever saw the Mothman,.....since he grew up in Point Pleasant, WV.

 

I was a cliff assault instructor when I was active duty. We'd bring students from Camp LeJeune, NC to WV for training.

 

For instructor training, we'd climb Seneca. Fun stuff.

Edited by Living the Dream
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Dave McReynolds

Odd for me to first read this news on a BMW forum, but thanks for posting it. For many years in my younger, stronger, leaner days, rock climbing was my passion. I never met Royal Robbins, but his mark was on everything I did: my equipment, routes I climbed that he had discovered, and our climbing ethics.

 

Everybody's favorite short climb at Yosemite is the Nutcracker, which is a climb he designed to be done without any permanent anchors in the rock. He was opposed to pitons and bolts, favoring gear, much of which he designed himself to be placed by the lead climber and removed by the following climber without the use of drills or hammers. He had a climbing school at Lover's Leap, a favorite climbing spot for locals in the Sacramento area, and discovered climbing routes probably numbering in the hundreds there.

 

I remember one of his pieces of advice from his short book on climbing technique, which was something like "never pass up a questionable gear placement; it might hold." Seems like odd advice to give someone learning to climb, but logical, if you think about it.

 

I probably missed many opportunities in my life to meet Royal Robbins and Ansel Adams, both of whom were most active in their respective fields years before I got involved in them, and I regret that. But I have enjoyed knowing each of them through their writings and accomplishments.

Edited by Dave McReynolds
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