Glen Denny

Tuesday February 12, 6:30PM, Eagle Lodge at Mammoth Mountain

Bivouac on the Dihedral Wall, 1962. [Photo] Glen DennyTHE SHEER GRANITE WALLS of Yosemite Valley have drawn many types of visitors over the decades. But they particularly galvanized a dedicated group of rock climbers, who saw the nearly holdless, glacier-polished faces as the purest form of challenge. The awesome faces of Half Dome and El Capitan were first climbed in the late 1950s, ushering in a new era of rock climbing later known as the Golden Age of Yosemite climbing. During this era, the climbers of the sixties developed the techniques, tools, and philosophies that made Yosemite the most important and influential rock climbing arena in the world.

In the spirit of the social changes of the sixties, a small group of committed climbers dropped out of the mainstream of work and society and took up residence in Camp 4, perfecting their skills and developing a unique social scene. This austere, boulder-strewn campground became the epicenter of the climbing world. In between spectacular feats carried out on the walls, it served both as a launching pad for further adventures and a refuge from them. Here plans were made, teams were formed, and the rest of life was lived. The significance of Camp 4 was recently recognized in its placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photographer and filmmaker Glen Denny was one of the denizens of Camp 4 in the sixties. He scaled the big walls of Yosemite Valley with many of the climbing icons of the 1960s, including Warren Harding, Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, Yvon Chouinard, Chuck Pratt, and Layton Kor. Camera in hand, Glen captured both the gritty reality and the sunny optimism of those years on film. This slide lecture, based on his award-winning book, Yosemite in the Sixties, gives an insider's view of the classic ascents and colorful characters of this important era through images, stories, and anecdotes. The show is approximately 70 minutes long, plus Q&A.

Copies of Glen's book are available through Patagonia, or at The Booky Joint in Mammoth for the author to sign. Frame-worthy posters will also be for sale at the event for $15.