john gill's website

Revised on August 26, 2008

Most Recent Additions/Revisions

Luxembourg Interview
G12 - Victorian on rings

Climbing Magazine (September 2003) Quick Click recommendation of this site

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The Origins of
Bouldering

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." - The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley

B1. Overview, Early British Boulderers
B2. Oscar Eckenstein
B3. Archer Thomson, A. Crowley, O. G. Jones
B4. More Early British Bouldering
B5. Joe Brown Conversation
B5.1 Early Scottish Bouldering
B6. Allain/Fontainebleau, Early Australian Bouldering
B6.1 Early German and Dolomite Bouldering
B7. Early American Bouldering 1
B8. American Bouldering 2

Historical Images of Pioneer Rock Climbers "The great achievements of the past were the adventures of the past . . . Only the adventurous can understand the greatness of the past." - Alfred North Whitehead	Saxony & Elbsandsteingebirge, the Dolomites: H1. Saxony, Oliver Perry Smith H2. O. Perry-Smith, R. Fehrmann. Technique, Difficulty, Ethics H2.1 Early Barbarine Postcard H3. Perry-Smith. Fehrmann. Difficulty & Risk H3.1 Perry-Smith Continued H4. Kreuzturm, Falkenstein, Paul Illmer H4.1 Mönchstein, Teufelsturm H5. Wehlturm, Ernst-Schulze-Stein, Schrammtorwächter H5.1 Vodere Gans, Kleiner Wehlturm, Friction climbing H5.1a Elbridge Herron Photos H5.2 1904 Club, Mystery Climber, Dr. Mabuse, Snake Charmer H5.3 Misc. Images from Elbsandstein/Leipzig - Felix Simon H5.4 Felix Simon in Action H5.5 The Dolomites - Early Years British Isles: H6. Lake Dist. Abraham Bros. H. Smith, Napes Needle, O G. Jone s H6.1 Wasdale Head 1893, Pen-Y-Gwyrd 1897, Sepulchre 1920s H7. Stanage Edge, Brassington, Lliwedd, Barn Door Traverse H8. Bhasteir Tooth, Raeburn, Scafell, S. Herford, M. Dalton H8.1 Claude E. Benson - Words and Photos H8.2 Reverend James Jackson: Patriarch of the Pillarites H9. British Ladies: Pat Kelly, Dorothy Pilley
Bouldering and Modern Bouldering "Progress is the mother of problems"- Lord Chesterton	MB. Bouldering & Modern Bouldering What is "modern" bouldering? How does it relate to historical bouldering? Who Cares?
Early Alpine Images "Up to that time my experience with guides had not been fortunate" - Edward Whymper ca 1860	A1. Mont Blanc 1786 - 1827 A2. Hugi on the Jungfrau 1820s A2.1 Mer de Glace 1870 A2.2 Glacier Parties 1860s A3. Whymper's Matterhorn 1865 A4. Shelters, Canine Mountaineer 1870s
Climbing & Gymnastics "Fundamental progress has to do with the reinterpretation of basic ideas." - Alfred North Whitehead	G1. Introduction G2. Climbing in Early Gymnastics. GutsMuths/Jahn. First Turnplatz G3. Jahn's Apparatus: Einbaum, Zweibaum, Vierbaum, Kimmel G4. Hasenheide Turnplatz. Basel Turnplatz G5. Ladders in Gymnastics & Climbing : 1700s to 2004 and Beyond G6. Masts, Poles, Ropes. Dynamics. Early Women's Gymnastics G7. 19th Century Turnplatz Illustrations G8. 19th Century Military Gymnastics Illustrations G9. Early Climbing Wall. Acrobats of the Early 1800s G10. Late Victorians. Prusik's Gymnastik fur Bergsteiger. G11. Demise of Gymnastic Climbing Events. The Rope Climb G12. Still Rings: History, Ratings, Personal Involvement G13. Several Notable Rock Climbers who were Gymnasts
Competitive Rope Climbing "The history of art is the history of revivals" - Samuel Butler	R1. Historical Antecedents of the Sport R2. Description of the Former Event R3. History of Competitions Prior to 1963 R4. Resurrection / Personal Involvement / Elite USA Female Gymnasts R5. The Rope Climb in the Czech Republic by Jiří Tlamsa R6. Records of 2005 Contests in the Czech Republic
Historical Performances in Chin-ups, Pull-ups, Levers, and Crosses "I think I'll call it 'climber's elbow'"- the author, suffering the injury in 1969	HP. Historical Performances . . . A survey of a number of climbing - related, historical suspended bodyweight feats, beginning in the mid 1800s. One-arm chin-ups and pull-ups, one-finger chin-ups, etc.
Senior Athletes: Climbing and/or Bodyweight Enthusiasts "No wise man ever wished to be younger." - Swift	How - as athletes - do we deal with the infirmities of aging as we pass the "three score & ten" milestone (70)? What do we still enjoy about bodyweight exercises or rock climbing? Let me know about your experiences. S1. Introduction S2. Rob Kelman S3. Charlie Winger S4. Jerry Dodgen S5. Bud Miller S6. John Gill S7. Allen Steck S8. Amy Mullins
Reflections & Commentary "A person is always startled when he hears himself seriously called an old man for the first time." - Oliver Wendell Holmes	C1. Getting started. Gymnastics/Chalk. Stone Mountain. C1.1 Alternatives to Climbing: Bodyweight Feats & Gymnastics. C2. A Golden Age. Bouldering Ratings. Aging Boulderer. Meaning? C3. Bouldering, Kinesthetics, Dynamics. First V8 & V9 C3.1 Ethereal Bouldering . . . No-Hands Problems. Bob Kamps. C4. Bouldering in Photos. Bouldering Companions. C5. Early Attitudes. Pads & Ropes. Buildering. Slacklining. C6. Occasional Hard Problem. Traditional Roots. Climbers Camp. C7. Soloing. Thimble. Injuries & Old Age. C8. Interviews & Profiles. Writings. Links. C9. Academic Career
Mathematicae Varietas "A mathematician is a machine for converting caffeine into theorems" - Paul Erdos	M1. Veil of Spirits . Ripples M2. Complex Dynamics: exp(z), cos(z), z^2+i, z+1/z M3. Infinitesimals. Dirac Delta Function M4. Diagonal Paradox, Short line of infinite length M5. Power Series Graphics M6. Continued Fractions Graphics - analytics 1 M7. Continued Fractions Graphics - analytics 2

Hungarian Pages

Scholar & Climber Kerwin Klein 2008

To avoid rating systems confusion, I shall use the American Decimal System (5.0 - 5.15?) to describe the difficulty of both boulder problems and longer climbs. It will be assumed the rating of a move or sequence of moves are the same if they are 10 feet off the ground or 1,000 feet. I will also use Sherman's V-rating when appropriate. Widely-spread historical benchmarks are easier to compare with the use of only one or two systems.

I would like to thank Kerwin Klein of UC-Berkeley and Colin Wells for information about the history of European bouldering, John Sherman for historical information from his excellent book Stone Crusade , Bob & Bonnie Kamps, Ted Cais, Curt Shannon, and Simon Panton for photos, Michael Fain , John Stannard, Pat Ament ,Phil Gleason, and Ted Cais for contributed articles, Randy Burks for assistance in translation, Karsten Kurz for assistance regarding Saxony climbing, Jiří Tlamsa for an article on rope climbing in the Czech Republic, Predrag Miletic for comments about chinning, Sylvain Jouty for historical information.

Thanks, in addition, to Bridget Burke, ex-Director of the Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library and to Gary Landeck, current Director, and to Yvonne Sibbald of the Alpine Club Library.

The following are links to recent internet interviews:

Climbing.lu
Desnivel.com
seclimbers.org
theshortspan.com palatinum.info
Flash Interview

The author's biography is: John Gill: Master of Rock by Pat Ament

1st ed.(1977)
2nd ed.(1991)
3rd ed.(1998)
Japanese ed.
Italian ed.

Stone Crusade by John Sherman contains additional biographical material.

Art by Pamela Gill

To contact me : address the e-mail to johng at the domain of this website (discard the "www." part)