| Interviews
& Profiles Some Writings Links & Citations Early Day Comments Warning |
 German Team: Two Bodies, One Climbing Unit - 1931 |
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Reflections
& Commentary: Page 8
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| Interviews
& Profiles Some Writings Links & Citations Early Day Comments Warning |
German Team: Two Bodies, One Climbing Unit - 1931 |
Interviews, Profiles, Films, Etc.
Magazines
: Climbing,
Rock & Ice,
Mountain,
High,
New Age Journal,
Flash,
Outside,
Iwa To Yuki,
Roc 'n Wall,
Rotpunkt,
Math Horizons
, V-Bouldering,
Escalar,
Summit,
Gory,
Montana,
Klettern
, Outsider,
Alpinist, CampoBase, Hoogtelijn, Climb
 Internet : Climbing.lu Desnivel.com 8a.nu TheShortSpan palatinum.info Flash Interview seclimbers.org Books : John Gill: Master of Rock by Pat Ament [ 1st ed.(1977) , 2nd ed.(1991) , 3rd ed.(1998) , Japanese ed. , Italian ed. ] , Stone Crusade , Eiger Dreams , Roc Starz:The Worlds Best Free Climbers , Escalada en Bloque , Better Bouldering , Flash Training , Wizards of Rock , Climb , Training For Climbing . Films : Silent Climber (1978) , On the Rocks (1980), The Best of Horsetooth Reservoir Bouldering (2000), Friction Addiction - Black Hills Gold (2003). Bachar (2005). CD: Masters of Rock - Interviews with Chris Sharma, Steph Davis, and John Gill (2005) Various Newspapers. |
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Climbing Writings The Art of Bouldering , Journal of the Amer. Alpine Club (1969) Bouldering & Rock Climbing: a Brief Comparison , Summit Magazine (1969) Bouldering in the South , Climbing Magazine Notes on Bouldering - The Vertical Path , Climbing Magazine, No. 59 An Excerpt. . . , The Climbing Art, No. 23 The Quiet Towers , The Climbing Art, No. 2 A Retrospect on Training , The Climbing Art, No. 4 Scrambles in the Tetons , The Climbing Art, No. 18 Reflections of a Middle-Aged Boulderer , [Invited Address, British Mtng Council bi-annual Conf, Buxton, 1986] , and Mountain Magazine No. 110 Reflections of a Boulderer , [Invited Address Annual Meeting of the Amer. Alpine Club (1986)] . Bouldering: A Mystical Art Form , The Mountain Spirit , Tobias & Drasdo, Overlook Press(1979) Introduction , Stone Crusade, J. Sherman, AAC Press Bouldering in the Black Hills , Touch the Sky, P. Piana, AAC Press Various passages, John Gill: Master of Rock, Pat Ament, Stackpole Books (1998) Various passages, Wizards of Rock, Pat Ament, Wilderness Press(2002) Tit for Tat , Alpinist 15 Spring 2006 |
| To correspond with me, send an e-note to johng at the domain of this website (drop the "www.") |
 |
A
Few Citations . . .
“The Father of Modern
Bouldering” ( Stone Crusade
- a Historical Guide to Bouldering in America , Rock
& Ice, Rotpunkt, Climbing, Desnivel.com, rockclimbing.com,
VBouldering, Gory, Training For Climbing ,
seclimbers.org, 8a.nu, Escalada en Bloque ,
Better Bouldering , et al
. . . )
“The Father of Training For Rock Climbing” ( Training For Climbing ) Horsetooth Achievement Award (1995) Climbing [the
Milleneum Special] : Thimble climb
cited as one
of
the
"Eight Top Climbing Achievements
of the Century" .
Climbing [the Milleneum Special] : One of "Ten Stars of American Climbing" . Rock & Ice [December 1999] : One of "Heroes: 26 who Inspired" . Outsider Magazine (Irish) [January 2004] : Welcomed as the first member of the Outsider Hall of Fame . Rock & Ice [June 2005] : one of "Ten Who Inspired" . Mountain [1986] : " . . . Legendary Master of Rock " Summit [1969] : " A supreme virtuoso . . . of boulders and small rock faces " Alpinist #12 [2005] : ". . . his introduction of chalk and dynamic movement marked the beginning of modern climbing in America." Etc . . . |
From the
Early Days . . .
"On Arrival I found a large crowd of natives expecting me; men had come from far and wide in order to show their climbing powers and gain unheard-of wealth" - Oscar Eckenstein, speaking of a bouldering competition he conducted in the Karakorams in 1893 "Two experienced men had struggled with much display of science up a short but difficult cleft, when this gentleman, after watching them critically, called out,'But why don't you chaps do it this way?' and forthwith ran up the cliff after the manner of a cat storming a garden wall, quite heedless of the fact that he ought to have had nails on his boots. This gentleman must be kept out of the Climbers Club at all hazards, for climbing will soon cease to be an art if our pet scrambles are to be massacred in such unceremonious fashion." - E. A Baker in Moors, Crags, and Caves . . . (1903) "By the turn of the century, outcrop climbing was becoming extensive; frowned on, perhaps, by the regular devotees of Wasdale or Pen-Y-Gwryd, much as they in turn were considered slightly retrograde by that distinguished if fading figure, the Victorian Alpinist." - R. W. Clark in Mountaineering in Britain (1957) E. P. Haskett Smith initiated the sport of rock climbing in England in the 1880s. At first he avoided using a rope, thus setting the stage for free soloing. Owen Glynne Jones sometimes top-roped a hard pitch before leading it, incurring angry reprimands by Aleister Crowley (ca.1890-1900). Instead of climbing from bottom to top, Siegfried Herford downclimbed some of his difficult pitches first, belayed from above (ca.1910-1914). J. M. Archer Thomson refrained from either top-roping or downclimbing (ca. 1890-1916). These were four giants - and four climbing styles - in the early history of rock climbing. |
| Warning
: The information on this site is in no way designed to encourage or condone participation in any aspect of climbing, particularly solo climbing. Climbing is a dangerous activity and free-soloing is exceptionally dangerous. Seek competent professional instructionand advice before you even think of stepping off the ground! The material presented here is of a purely biographical & historical nature. |
