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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Hot Dam -this thread just popped up and I finally found my scans of the 1958 Dolt Catalog that have been hiding in my computer the past two years!
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Mr. Vader (Don),
Cool Dolt stuff!!! Is there any way that you can shoot us a few closer up photos on whats on both sides of the Dolt tags that are attached to the Dolt hangers?
Marty (Huge Dolt fan!)
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TripL7
Trad climber
san diego
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May 14, 2010 - 09:43pm PT
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Great read!
I had several Dolt products, but remember the hammer holster most vividly. It worked great on walls etc., but was not meant for squeeze chimneys.
Guido, didn't you do a FFA in the Valley with the 'Dolt' in the early 60's?
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
suspendedhappynation
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May 14, 2010 - 10:58pm PT
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wow I missed this entirely. Holy Smokes how cool is this? Thanks to everyone contributing!!!
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skrzyp
Trad climber
CA
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May 14, 2010 - 11:15pm PT
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As a high school kid in the late sixties I worked in a sports store in Connecticut called the Ski Hut and struck up a correspondence with Bill, mainly about gear for the store.
I arranged to stop by his business on a graduation trip out West in the Summer of 1971. Hitched to LA from Yosemite with my best friend, and we showed up at the Dolt "factory" on a weekday afternoon in July, somewhere in the warehouse district of Santa Monica. We spent an hour or so chatting, and looking at his gear and listening to him describe some of his production methods and new offerings. He was a very softspoken and interesting character. The picture is a scan from a photograph taken that day.
I was really sad when I learned about his suicide.
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France.
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May 15, 2010 - 03:12am PT
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skrzyp, thank you very much for sharing this nice story and this splendid photograph with us!
Stephane / Nuts Museum
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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May 15, 2010 - 10:18am PT
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Just re-read this. That is a great piece of writing-it certainly conveyed the loss of hope that Dolt had. Makes you wonder how things get desperate for us sometimes.
Keep writing Don
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Roxy
Trad climber
CA Central Coast
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May 15, 2010 - 10:27am PT
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super cool thread!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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May 15, 2010 - 11:54pm PT
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sk............great photo!
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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May 16, 2010 - 12:22am PT
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Thank you Bonnie, that is one of the most amazing,historic photos!!
For the times, he was pretty ripped, seems to be in really good shape.
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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May 16, 2010 - 12:36am PT
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Anybody remember this?
Ken
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BBA
climber
OF
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May 16, 2010 - 11:36am PT
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The Dolt on Mt. Starr King...
It looks like Bill was feeling good here, "The Dolt strikes again". He was climbing solo, not associated with the other group on the same day (I contacted Grundke). Within seven months after this climb he was gone.
I had a Dolt holster as well as a Dolt hammer. The holster was really nice but has been lost. Still have the hammer.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 12, 2010 - 11:17am PT
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Nice bit of history, Bill.
Any chance that you could post a shot of your hammer?
More Dolt gear from the July/August 1969 Summit.
I really wish that I had bought the exquisite fuscia colored Dolt rope that hung around the Summit Hut in Tucson. As per usual, not the most functional choice but, damn it sure was purdy lookin'.
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scuffy b
climber
Eastern Salinia
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Jun 14, 2010 - 04:37pm PT
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I had forgotten how pretty those welded angles were.
I don't remember if this has been answered before:
were the Blue Boots the same as Gaulies?
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rockjockrob
Boulder climber
Tempe, Arizona
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Here is a recent addition to my Dolt Collection pictured below:This T-Chock was found in a cabin stash in Alaska. It has only seen minor use, and looks brand new. Amazing how well Dolt's stuff seems to outlast most everything else. Looking back upthread at the add that shows this piece makes me wonder how many variations there are. This one is slightly tapered as opposed to the intense cut that Marty's shows and the straight edge shown in the advertisements. Does anyone else out there have one of these? What is the story?
-Rockjockrob
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Very nice score! I was following that auction too...
Thanks for posting up your collection! Dolt was an obsessive design tweaker so several distinct versions of his complex shapes are likely.
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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the blue boot looks ahead of its time, and the pitons are sheer elegance.
we have another prominent climber suicide currently in jeff batten, and i get a bit boggled by these things since my grandpa committed suicide by hanging when i was about 10 years old. i couldn't understand why that kindly, playful, apparently wise old fellow would have done such a thing, and have ever since been returning to the mystery, finding deeper truths in the shadow he cast into the future. my grandpa chose an easter sunday morning, and here the famous "dolt" did the same on christmas--times when most of the known world is intensely into spiritual celebration, not surprising that those feeling left behind should decide to leave the whole world behind.
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