Ron Kauk
Encyclopedia
Camp 4 (Yosemite)
Camp 4 is a campground in Yosemite National Park. It became notable after World War II as the hangout for rock climbers with many spending months there . It is located near Yosemite Falls, on the north side of the valley. There is a single parking lot at the campground, and no driveways connecting...
regular.
Kauk began spending summers in Yosemite in 1974. In 1975, he made the first free ascent
Free climbing
Free climbing is a type of rock climbing in which the climber uses only hands, feet and other parts of the body to ascend, employing ropes and forms of climbing protection to prevent falls only....
of the east face of Washington Column with John Long
John Long (climber)
John Long is an acclaimed American rock climber and author whose stories, ranging from adventure yarns to literary fiction, have been translated into many languages. He has more than forty titles and two million books in print...
and John Bachar
John Bachar
John Bachar was an American rock climber noted for his skill at free soloing. A fitness fanatic, he is the father of the climbing training device known as the Bachar ladder.- Biography :...
, renaming the route Astroman (5.11c
Grade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
). Astroman held title as the hardest long free route in Yosemite Valley for over 10 years.
Also notable was Separate Reality
Separate Reality (climbing route)
Separate Reality is a 20 metre long climbing route in Yosemite National Park in California, USA. The famous route is well known for its exposed crux and six metre long crack in its roof through which the sky is visible. The route's access is about 200 metres above the Merced River, but is better...
(5.12a), an intimidating roof crack which Kauk originally climbed in 1978 without camming devices
Spring loaded camming device
A spring-loaded camming device is a piece of rock climbing or mountaineering protection equipment. It consists of three or four cams mounted on a common axle or two adjacent axles, so that pulling on the axle forces the cams to spread farther apart...
. The same year he put up Midnight Lightning (V8), one of America's best known bouldering
Bouldering
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
problems because of its difficulty and convenient location in the Camp 4
Camp 4 (Yosemite)
Camp 4 is a campground in Yosemite National Park. It became notable after World War II as the hangout for rock climbers with many spending months there . It is located near Yosemite Falls, on the north side of the valley. There is a single parking lot at the campground, and no driveways connecting...
campground.
In the 1980s Kauk spent time in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
visiting the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
crags
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
and competing in sport climbing
Sport climbing
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection,...
competitions. He saw how European techniques such as red point
Red point
In sport climbing, the term redpointing refers to free-climbing a route, while lead climbing, after having practiced the route beforehand...
ing and bolting on rappel could lead to a higher level of climbing difficulty. However, these practices were frowned upon by Yosemite regulars. According to one account, John Bachar
John Bachar
John Bachar was an American rock climber noted for his skill at free soloing. A fitness fanatic, he is the father of the climbing training device known as the Bachar ladder.- Biography :...
chopped the bolts on Punchline (5.12c) which Kauk installed in 1988, causing a fight between the two in the Camp 4 parking lot.
Kauk went on to put up the hardest routes in Yosemite, such as the rap-bolted Crossroads (5.13a) in 1990 and Magic Line (5.14b) which he climbed in 1997 on pre-placed gear. In Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded sub-alpine meadowy section of the Tuolumne River, in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. Its approximate location is . Its approximate elevation is 8619 feet .-Natural History:...
he rap-bolted a route that Bachar had started in a ground-up style, provocatively naming the route Peace (5.13c/d).
Many of Kauk's exploits have been caught on film. In 1989 he climbed a five pitch route called Backbone (5.13a) at Smith Rock for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Sportsworld, and he repeated his toughest first ascents for Eric Perlman's Masters of Stone videos. In 1992, Kauk trained and doubled Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
along with late climber Wolfgang Güllich
Wolfgang Güllich
Wolfgang Güllich , was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and is widely considered to be one of the best sport climbers in history.He first started climbing on the Sandstone-rocks of the 'Südpfalz'...
for Cliffhanger. He also doubled Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
, Leon
Leon Robinson
Leon Preston Robinson IV usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor and singer, who began his professional career as an actor in 1981.-Personal life:...
, and actress Janine Turner
Janine Turner
Janine Turner is an American actress who starred on the prime time television show Northern Exposure from 1990 to 1995. From 2000 to 2002, she appeared on the Lifetime original series Strong Medicine...
. In 1999 Kauk trained Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
for Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer...
's climbing scenes.
In 2000 Kauk produced Yosemite: Ascending Rhythms, a climbing video highlighting the scenic splendor of his favorite crag.
Kauk named some of his first ascents (e.g. Astroman, Midnight Lightning) after Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
songs. Books by Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American anthropologist and author....
are another source of names (e.g. Separate Reality, Tales of Power).
Notable ascents
- 1979 East Face, Uli BiahoUli BiahoUli Biaho is a peak near Trango Towers and Baltoro Glacier in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It consists of two main peaks, Uli Biaho Tower ; and Uli Biaho Peak , which as of 2006 was unclimbed.Uli Biaho Tower was climbed alpine-style via the direct East Face by John Roskelley et al...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. FA of route and mountain with John RoskelleyJohn RoskelleyJohn Roskelley is a noted mountain climber and author from Spokane, Washington, and is known for his first ascents and notable ascents of 7000 and 8000 meter peaks in Nepal, India, and Pakistan.-Notable ascents:...
, Kim Schimtz, and Bill Forrest. All four climbers reached the summit on July 3, 1979.
External links
- http://www.climbandmore.com/climbing,182,0,1,climbers.html