Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2003 2:27 pm
I used to climb with a buddy that I'll call Fastidious George (because that's what I called him). He was one of those neat freak climber guys that even in the days of pure trad, he'd go out of his way not to get too dirty (like brushing off his "slacks" at the belay). The worst part was after a long day of climbing, George wouldn't just throw his climbing gear in his pack and go down, but he'd have to carefully lay out each piece in order, straighten all his slings, re-coil his rope to make sure it didn't have any kinks, etc. I'd sometimes have to wait like 15 minutes in the dark with no headlamp just so he could finish packing. Also, he would sometimes tape his fingernails so he wouldn't break them, or climbing with gloves on.
I thought Fastidious George was the worst in this respect until Rhino and I saw some guy at Sunset Rocks, TN who was getting ready to solo a route next to the one we were on. He actually had to rack up his wired stoppers perfectly in order and have them hanging down exactly evenly before he climbed. All the quickdraws had to face the same way and match, etc. When he coiled his rope, each loop was precisely measured to the same length. We could hardly keep from laughing at the guy it was so ridiculous. No wonder he was soloing.
I thought Fastidious George was the worst in this respect until Rhino and I saw some guy at Sunset Rocks, TN who was getting ready to solo a route next to the one we were on. He actually had to rack up his wired stoppers perfectly in order and have them hanging down exactly evenly before he climbed. All the quickdraws had to face the same way and match, etc. When he coiled his rope, each loop was precisely measured to the same length. We could hardly keep from laughing at the guy it was so ridiculous. No wonder he was soloing.
