Groups: Rocktoberfest / Petzl Roc Trip
Six degrees of separation is the concept that everyone is six "steps" away from knowing everyone on earth. You are one "step" away from everybody you know. However, when it comes to rock climbing you are two steps away from knowing every rock climber on earth. This was proven to me many years back at the bar in Moose, Wyoming. One evening one of my climbing friends, Dave Gardner, was in the Moose bar while on a trip to the Tetons. He was enjoying the band and when they took a break he struck up a conversation with the drummer. The drummer asked Dave where he was from. When Dave replied, "Cincinnati, Ohio", the drummer asked, "Do you know Captain Static?" The drummer in the band was Chris Goplerud, one of my climbing partners who I had learned to lead with at Seneca. A few years later when I took a trip out to the Tetons the two step concept was proven to me for well known climbers. After Chris, Exum guide Bill Briggs and I had climbed the Lower Exum Route we stopped in at the Moose bar and Chris introduced me to Yosemite legend Chuck Pratt.
With the growth of the sport and technology the climbing world is becoming smaller at a faster rate. This weekend at the RRGCC Rocktoberfest we are all accelerating to one degree of separation. Now I have met Woodchuck and Gonzobeer from this site. I have also had the opportunity to meet some climbers from outside of th US whom I had only known previously through e-mail. Sponsored athlete and weekend warrior alike we are all enjoying become a closer and bigger family.
 024.thumbnail.jpg "Witches Hill in Athens, OH")
 202.thumbnail.jpg "Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve in Lee County, KY")
 196.thumbnail.jpg "Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve in Lee County, KY")
 134.thumbnail.jpg "Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve in Lee County, KY")
 004.thumbnail.jpg "McConnell's Mill State Park in Portersville, PA")
 049.thumbnail.jpg "Lower COAD Boulders in Athens, OH")
 266.thumbnail.jpg "Pebbles Boulder Area at the Trapps in The Gunks, Gardiner, NY")
 021.thumbnail.jpg "Witches Hill in Athens, OH")
 071.thumbnail.jpg "Lower COAD Boulders in Athens, OH")
woodchuck07 says:
The best part of meeting someone in person is how they end up surprising you as to who they are or how they 'really' look. The Capt.' is actually a person of some great importance to the RRGCC, not just some casual posting member. It was very nice to meet, and share stories and some great brews too. I'm just back home, and will sort out my collection of photos and post up in a couple days.
captain static says:
Some post event follow-up on my blog entry. It was good this weekend to see Mal Daly - http://www.trango.com/mal.php - and crew from Trango again! This is their third year at the RRGCC Rocktoberfest. It was also good to see Brittany Griffith - http://www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=1879 - again. The first time she came to an RRGCC event I found out she knew my best friend from high school. More proof of the small climbing world. After trading e-mails it was nice to actually meet Mike Doyle - http://www.mikedoyle.ca/index.shtml - in person this weekend. After falling in love with Red River Gorge climbing last year Mike has become a great ambassador for the area. Finally it was also very nice to meet Audrey Sniezek - http://audreysniezek.com/ - who graciously allowed the RRGCC to use her photo of Mike for the cover of our 2006 Annual Report. It turns out that Mike and Audrey know former Red River Gorge local Mark Postle. Mark is a second generation climber and I used to climb with his father Frank at Clifton Gorge, Ohio when I was in college. _________________________________________________________________________
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