Since we’ve been on an automobile-smashing trend, it seemed time to introduce these folks.

The Vulgarians, famous for their tough climbs, free-spirits, death defying races, parties, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, are the unofficial keepers of the Shawangunks.

Two copies of the “Vulgarian Digest” featuring Dick Williams, left climbing nude and Elaine Matthews, prominent female Vulgarian, topless on the right.

We interviewed Vulgarian Burt Angrist and Vulgarian and overall climbing legend Jim McCarthy about 2 hours after our car crash.  Jim, Burt, and Anka (Burt’s lovely wife) welcomed us into their home and immediately put us at ease with kindness, cheese and crackers, and Bourbon.

(Yup, proceeded to drink shots of Bourbon with Jim McCarthy as we interviewed him!)

Suffice to say, any lingering worries I had about the smashed up rental car dissipated as I listened to stories of the Vulgarian Grand Prix and stuff like this:

The Vulgarians are often given more publicity for their antics than their climbs, that are equally noteworthy.  The people who made up the Vulgarians throughout the early days of the ‘Gunks scene pushed the limits of climbing and partying, and remain heroes to many a bourbon-drinking, car-crashing, free-spirited climber like myself to this day.

It was an honor to be heckled, the next day, by Jim and Burt as they came across us climbing an ‘easy’ 5.5 Gunks climb called the Horseman.

Get your knees off the rock!

Our first interview of the official production our first day in Golden, Colorado was with none other than the philosophical gentleman, John Gill.  No practice starts or easing into these things, just one hell of a running start with this man:

A complex character, John Gill is tagged as the “Father of Modern Bouldering” — someone who developed what’s now termed “bouldering” almost single handedly starting in the 1950s when the concept of rock climbing, let alone bouldering, was just barely accepted as a pursuit worthy in its own right.

Bouldering: A style of rock climbing which is focused on a short series of very difficult moves (known as a problem) without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs so that a fall will not result in serious injury.

Here are some tidbits. Rich Goldstone and Bob D’Antonio on Gill (and I apologize for the lo quality of youtube):

Suffice to say, Gill has been an enigma to many throughout the years, and his philosophies and practices are only just being examined in relation to their overaching significance in the changing roles of climbing.  Many were influenced and many large trends started, and Gill can be linked to much of the inital concepts for a metaphysical outlook on the kinesthetic act of climbing.  Mr. Gill himself:

It’s no small thing to say that this interview was given about two hours before John recieved the Underhill Award from the American Alpine Club — an award for a lifetime achievement in climbing.  That this award was given to a boulderer was no small gesture; in fact, as both Gill and Jim McCarthy say in their interviews, it was the AAC under the presidency of McCarthy himself that first recognized bouldering as a legitimate pursuit in 1969.  That we were able to be here for this moment and to get Gill’s indelible remarks, was also no small priviledge.

night bouldering at the shawangunks in honor of Mr. Gill

It’s official. We’re headed out across the country!  We have some crucial interviews coming up that we absolutely can’t get any other time.  How are we going to pull this off without having our production money for another 3 months???

Elbow Grease!

Help us grease the wheels (you’ll get some goodies):

For more info on what that is, why, and what do you get, check out the Chipin Page: http://rockadventureguide.chipin.com/send-us-to-new-york