Raindrops splashed in muddy puddles in Yosemite Valley the first night of the American Alpine Club's third annual International Climbing Meet. At least six languages accompanied the campfire, and among them I immediately recognized the voice of Tamas "The Machine" Kovacs. He's a Hungarian climber I met last summer at a climbing meet in Siberia.
Tamas -- who can whip out 50 pull-ups in less than a minute -- was one of a dozen foreign climbers who traveled to California for the weeklong International Climbing Meet, America's only nonprofit international climbing event.
At least 10 countries host annual or biannual climbing meets, most of which cater to climbers of all abilities who want a voice in the global community. The meets are a small but definitive step toward peace and universal understanding. Their effect is positive change in a broader sense, one climber at a time.
This is why I've done them before: in Wales four years ago, Utah two years ago and Russia last summer. At Indian Creek, for the American Alpine Club's debut International Climbing Meet, huge parties erupted every night fueled by homemade moonshine that some young Czech climbers smuggled in. It tasted like kerosene, and left one American so drunk that he passed out in a cactus while crawling toward his tent. He slept the entire night in shorts and a T-shirt, just a body-length from his sleeping bag.
Ninety-proof alcohol was thankfully absent at this year's meet, but the camaraderie was palpable as always. Nine American host climbers like myself simply climbed with visiting climbers, often placing our lives in the hands of new friends before we could correctly pronounce each other's names. With less experienced climbers we hosts were informal guides, but more often we climbed with equals, from countries like Denmark, the Philippines, Sweden and Portugal, to name a few.
Eszter Vorhath, a 35-year-old Hungarian who now lives in England, attended this year's meet as a fulfillment of a lifelong goal to climb in Yosemite. It was her first trip to the U.S. Her experience climbing in the valley had already changed her life, she said, because it inspired her to travel, to climb and to prioritize her dreams.
National climbing federations like our American Alpine Club cover the majority of costs (not including travel) per climber, allowing some to attend who otherwise couldn't afford to do so.
Like Calum Muskett from Wales, who had generous support from the British Mountaineering Council, the UK's equivalent of the American Alpine Club. At 17 years old, and well known in Britain for talent and boldness, he was our youngest attendee. Calum's youthful optimism led him up the longest and hardest routes climbed at the meet.
Ex-American Alpine Club president and legendary climber Jim Donini, 67, proved one of the strongest host climbers, and his stories about climbing in Yosemite captivated everyone around the evening campfire.
Back when 5.11 was the realm of the elite, Donini launched up routes with just hexes and nuts for gear. Donini told the story of the first ascent of Overhang Overpass (11c) in 1974 -- the year I was born. Mid-pitch and 10 feet above his protection, he had no idea how hard the climbing would become. "I had two options," he said. "Jump off, or go for it. I was too chicken to jump, so I went for it." By the time he could place a solid nut he was 60 feet above his gear looking at
Tamas "The Machine" Kovacs after accidentally flossing with a cam cable.
a death fall.
The beauty of the International Climbing Meet is that we climb into our own future campfire tales. On day three Tamas was leading Midterm, an infamous offwidth on Arch Rock. He grabbed a No. 5 Camalot from his rack and put it in his mouth to readjust his grip on the trigger -- a common technique. Only, one of the cam cables jammed between his front teeth. When he pulled it out of his mouth to place it in the crack, he ripped off half an incisor.
Naturally, "The Machine" finished the climb without a word. Back at the car he joked, in stunted, monotone English, "Now. I am bald. And toothless." He cracked a wide smile showing off his new look, and I snapped a photo that I'll show him at one of next year's International Climbing Meets.
Chris Weidner/Daily Camera
Post Title
→American Alpine Club's third international meet
Post URL
→https://national-grid-news.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-alpine-club-third.html
Visit National-grid-news for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection
