DBD California Climber_final.pdf 1 4/3/12 10:13 AM DIRTY SOUL CLEANSING. A podcast dedicated to the dirtbags, weekend warriors, and legends. We share the same passion, harbor the same dreams, California Climber and yet our stories are unique. fall2012 N° 02 free C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Join the digital campfire. Visit www.dirtbagdiaries.com DESTINATIONS Made possible by 29/MOUNT wOOdsON 39/casTle rOck ° 47/MOUNT saiNT heleNa 59/harTleY sPriNGs Photo by Tim Matsui www.timmatsui.com 4 / CaliforNia Climber / / FALL 2012 / 5 California Climber NO. 02 Fall 2012 DEPARTMENTS 07 EditorS Note ON ThE cOvEr: Island in the Sky eric Berghorn on 09 CalIfOrNIA clImbEr Hailstone Arete (5.9+), Dave Nettle hailstone rock, Mount 13 rEvIEw saint helena. Light-weight draws FALL FEATURES IMAGE + Jerry Dodrill 17 creaturE ComfOrts 29 hArD AS NAIlS Stranded in Style: Rope Hammock Mount Woodson, San Diego ThIS pAgE: 19 Stand by Your Van 39 chIN - ScrApErS Patrick Brown after Shrek: A Mobile Mountain Mansion Castle Rock State Park climbing Robbin’s 21 gOlDEN State 47 IN ThE wAKE Of KANA’ mOTA Crack (5.10), Mount Fall Photo Gallery Mount Saint Helena woodson. 65 bedtimE story 59 mODErN mONOlIThS IMAGE + Dean Fleming Love in the Border Country Hartley Springs, Mammoth 6 / CaliforNia Climber / / FALL 2012 / 7 California Climber publIShEr/EDITOr IN chIEf dean Fleming ArT DIrEctor alton richardson DEpArTments Editor Nicholas Miley CA. born SENIOr cONTrIbuTINg phOTOgrAphErS Jerry dodrill, Jim Thornburg SENIOr ContrIbuTINg EditorS Fitz cahall, James lucas cONTrIbuTOrS Jim Thornburg, Jerry dodrill, Greg epperson, chris Brown, Nicholas Miley, James lucas, charlie Barrett CalIfOrNIA clImbEr 22502 colorado river dr. - sonora, ca 93570 Phone: (209) 768-0110 email: [email protected] Most, If not All Of ThE Activities depIcted hErein cArry and present signifIcant risks Of pErsnal injury Or death. rock climbing, bouldering, ice climbing, moutaineering, alpine climbing and any other outdoor activity are inherently danger- ous. The owners, staff and managment of california climber do not recomend that anyone partcipate in these activities unless they are an expert or accompanied by an expert. Please seek CA. raised qualified professional instruction and/or guidance. Understand- ing the risks involved are necesassary and be prepared to assume all responisbilty associated with those risks. adam Thomason gets Ambushed (V9 Fa), hartley springs, Mam- moth. see page 59. IMAGE + Charlie Barrett c o w a b u n g a ! our climbing roots go deep. real climbers real gear real fun! 800 510-2514 adventure 16 inc. I auspient inc. I chico sports I clax inc. I colors unified I dott corporation I eco goods ecotopiia I elevation sierra adventure I freemont house I granite chief I hit park inc. in-transit design inc I la attraction eye I maddy’s market I mammoth mountaineering supply mass field corporation I ocean arrow inc. I one world access I peace surplus I planet granite Bradley Lays Claim - Lembert Dome, Tuolumne Meadows redwood trading post I resorts west I seed peoples market I spiraledge inc. I tahoe sports ltd. 8 / CaliforNia Climber / the earth store I the gear co-op llc. I the treadmill I topwin corporation I valley saw & garden / FALL equipments 2012 / 9 mountain tools . carmel . california . since 1980 west 21 inc. I wilsons eastside sports EDITORS NOTE craggy peak has helped to preserve 5,272 the one hand and Monte Diablo on the other; ISlAND IN ThE SKy acres of helena’s wilderness with the creation to the west and thirty miles away, the open WORDS + Dean Fleming of robert louis stevenson state Park. Below is ocean; eastward, across the corn-lands and an excerpt from the introduction of Silverado thick tule swamps of Sacramento Valley, to Squatters: where the Central Pacific railroad begins to climb the sides of the Sierras; and northward, The scene of this little book is on a high for what I know, the white head of Shasta mountain. There are, indeed, many higher; looking down on Oregon. IN ThE SummEr Of 1880, the there are many of a nobler outline. It is no legendary novelist robert louis stevenson and place of pilgrimage for the summary globe- For this issue’s feature article, sebastopol- his wife Fanny spent their honeymoon at an trotter; but to one who lives upon its sides, based climber, photographer and avid Mount abandoned mining camp high on the flanks of Mount Saint Helena soon becomes a centre saint helena route developer Jerry dodrill, sonoma county’s Mount saint helena. That of interest. It is the Mont Blanc of one section spent countless hours at the public library, flew summer, this author of such legendary novels of the Californian Coast Range, none of its a crash-course in a single-engine experimental including; Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr. near neighbors rising to one-half its altitude. It rV8 aircraft and spent over 20 years fight- Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped, and Mr. Otto, looks down on much green, intricate country. ing his way up helena’s chaparral-covered would find inspiration for his 1883 california It feeds in the spring-time many splashing hillsides. For more on Mount saint helena, one manuscript Silverado Squatters. alongside brooks. From its summit you must have an of the most scenic summit crags in the Golden helena’s vast recreation resources and natural excellent lesson of geography: seeing, to the state, see page 47 for Jerry’s story In the beauty, stevenson’s fascination with the south, San Francisco Bay, with Tamalpais on Wake of Kona’ Mota. 10 / CaliforNia Climber / / FALL 2012 / 11 CALIFORNIA CLIMBER DAvE NETTlE DOB – 12/31/57 YEARS CLIMBING – 40+ CURRENT OCCUPATION – iNdUsTrial rOPe ACCESS TECHNiciaN aNd iNsTrUcTOr FOr crew. i looked up to robbins and chouinard thinking: I want to go to rOPEWORKS Patagonia and the Alps. I want to climb El Cap and Half Dome. I want to spend nights on the wall and hump bone-crushing loads all over the place... The mountaineering experience struck a chord and was right for me. DAvE NettlE has been A DrIving fOrcE When did you decide that you were going to go high and steep forever? in the california climbing community since the 1970s. with more than four decades of sierra climbing under it all came together in ‘75 when i was 17. i was climbing in Joshua Tree his belt, Nettle has taken the skills honed in our back- every weekend and making character-building attempts on el cap. But yard range and used them to push the limits of light and i was also doing long backpacking trips and mountaineering climbs. fast in the greater mountains across the globe. Positive, That’s when i did the Pacific crest Trail solo. it was like “this is who i consistent and full of energy, Nettle is always looking for am.” There’s never been a year where i have taken a break or had to new challenges. despite his notable sierra first ascents on re-think whether the mountain life was right for me. i’ve never had a the citadel, The incredible hulk and Bub’s creek wall – to time where i had to get back into it. everything has always led to the name just a few - Nettle isn’t interested in a compiled tick next step. i suppose you could say my “mid-life crisis,” where you realize list. rather, novel experiences, camaraderie and humor you’d better make the most of life, hit me when i was a teenager. seem to be his main motivation to keep exploring. On snow, ice, rock and all the terrain in between, dave Nettle Has that focus and consistency put you in the leadership role for most has made a life of little compromise in the pursuit of of your bigger trips? adventure. CCMaG caught up with dave in Tahoe city last fall, shortly after he returned from a successful big-wall i think i’ve been in somewhat of a leadership role from the beginning, in free-climbing trip in kyrgyzstan. The following are pieces the sense that i’m always thinking of some next big trip to do. The joke of that conversation. was always: “ah ha! another hair-brained idea from Nettle.” climbing has been the catalyst for a long string of amazing friends in my life. CC: Where did you start climbing and how did you get into it? You’ve worked at mountain shops for a big part of your life. How has that fit in with your lifestyle? dN: i’m originally from southern california, so my first trips were to Joshua Tree, Tahquitz and Yosemite Valley with a couple of friends, i’ve worked at a few climbing shops since 1975 and managed alpenglow blowing out of Orange county Friday afternoons right after school in sports in Tahoe city for 15 years. The mountain shop is the community my ’69 camaro with the 8-track blasting...crazy times. it was more of a conduit. Not just for me to meet everyone, but for everyone to meet self-taught thing. i just bought some hexes and stoppers and a rope and each other. Plus, right off the bat i knew that a full-time job wouldn’t figured it out as we went. i got a hold of Basic Rock Craft by robbins work for the life i wanted to live. i need a work environment that is fun and would thumb through it for hours, usually in class, dreaming. and challenging but allows me the latitude to do what i love; that’s huge.