Karla and Jared Homecoming

[weber]

As many of you know Jared Hancock and Karla Carandang were the two premier route developers in the early days of Muir Valley. Karla was also the first chair of the Friends of Muir Valley organization. They spent most of their weekends for four years hanging on Muir cliffs bolting many of the stellar routes that we all enjoy today. This was hot, tiring, dirty, and often thankless work. But, in the end, literally thousands of climbers have benefited from their labors. Three years ago, they married and moved to North Carolina.

They are back here for this weekend. If you see them, say hi... and "thank you", if you climb some of their routes. They will be here at Muir Friday and Saturday.

Also congratulate them on their upcoming baby girl due in August!

Rick

[pigsteak]

jared and karla were inspirational in getting me to bolt in Muir. a huge thanks to them!

[Yasmeen]

Enjoy your weekend, guys! Sorry I'll miss seeing you, and congrats on your upcoming baby.

[Jeff]

Hope to cross paths Jared and Karla!

[Isaac McShane]

Wow I spent the afternoon sharing a wall with Jared and Karla…except I had no idea who they were until five minutes before they left. In hindsight there were clues such as when he said he’d just got back from taking a break from climbing after spending a summer climbing some three hundred routes in the valley. When he said that I realized that sounds like the credentials of someone who bolts, and I was curious about the ethics involved in bolting ground up versus rappelling, so I asked and of course he said he has indeed bolted routes. Also, he just climbed ten routes at another wall, and was climbing the same routes I was climbing but as a cool down…my climbing partner just top ropes and cleans the route, and which is what Jared’s partner did also…except she is two thirds pregnant! So we climbed with these really cool, REALLY GOOD climbers, who really were modest. We’d heard them talking with Liz over the two way radio about their plans to visit in the evening, and still I didn’t think much about it except they are people who have come to the Valley for a long time, and who have been good to it. There were some other significant clues that these people are local celebrities, but I suppose I was too absorbed in my own climbing to focus on anything else. Once they’d finished climbing and were leaving, we were saying goodbye while I was lowering my partner. I introduced myself as always after having met cool folks, they casually introduced themselves, and after Jared said his name is Jared, Steve, while being lowered, shouted: “not Jared Hancock?” To which of course he replied “yes”. As they walked away Steve explained to me his name is on numerous routes around the area, both sport and trad. I grabbed my book and started flipping through the pages, shocked to see both Jared and Karla’s name on page after page. That couple has majorly influenced an area which I have come to greatly appreciate. I’m a big fan John Muir the man, and find it appropriately titled Muir Valley. This busy weekend especially, Rick and Liz have done such a tremendous amount of work.

My point isn’t that it’s cool I got to meet some living legends, but that the chain of events leading up to this is:

1) Roadside crag closed due to overcrowding and disregard for environment. It seems obvious Muir will get overflow. It’s fitting the overflow of giant crag would be to a privately owned area named after a legendary conservationist. (note irony).

2) Owners put their own blood, sweat and tears into the maintenance of valley.

3) After having read about Roadside’s closing the night before climbing (and fully agreeing with reasoning), and having recognized Rick and Liz from their picture, decided to thank them.

4) An hour or so later I find myself spending the afternoon with people who turn out to be monumental advocates of the Valley, AND friends of the Webers.

5) The next day I’m exploring RRclimbing.com, bummed I’m not actually climbing, inspired to volunteer, so I make a couple postings, then saw ‘Weber’ as the name appearing under several thread titles in the climbing community section, including the most recent, which says: Karla and Jerrod Homecoming. Naturally I click and read, discovering even more information, such as Karla was the first chair of the Friends of Muir Valley Organization! Forgive my ignorance, I am just blown away!

The pieces seem to have fallen in perfect place, and now more than ever I want to help.

Immediately before finding this posting I made a comment on another thread stating that I’d like to find out how to volunteer. The username that posted it was Climb2Core, which must be someone else that climbs at the Red a lot, because he, along with Pigsteak seem to be two names that reappear most on this website. So it seems all the more coincidental that Pigsteak would be the first to comment on this thread, stating that they’re the reason he was inspired to start bolting.

It’s inevitable haters will post on here why something I said is wrong or who knows what; forums are home to the foremost authorities, but this isn’t written for them so it’s irrelevant. This is written to those who know I’ve serious intentions and well meaning. I’ll keep climbing in the area, continue meeting more in the community, and hopefully I can put back into the area more than I’ve taken out of it.

[Rollo]

Met them at Tectonic Wall... Pleasure to climb around!

Thanks again guys!!!