Even though I've read the first climb story and the atomic bomb story before..I read them again because they were so entertaining. Fantastic!
CAUTION, THE URL IS NOW ARMED! 55 years later, Rockwell spends another night atop Whitney
BY NATHANIEL LIEDL - Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, May 26, 2007 1:18 AM CDT
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Ridgecrest is home to a legend, but unless you are a hiker, or climber, you might not know his story.
The man, the legend is Bob Rockwell, age 71, and on Wednesday he climbed and slept at Mount Whitney’s summit to mark the 55th anniversary of his first ascent up the mountain. It was well over his 100th trek to the top.
On May 24, 1952, Rockwell climbed Whitney for the first time. He ended up spending the night in the hut at the summit, as he did Wednesday, except on Wednesday he was a little more prepared. Today, the 1952 tale is akin to fabled folklore (It is too lengthy to explain here but take a look at: http://www.high-desert-memories.com/mtwhitney.html).
But Rockwell, its narrator, is much more than just a hiker. He is not really a hiker at all, moreso a climber, having summited several of the world’s highest peaks.
He is one the premier experts on the Sierra Nevada Mountains and furthermore, has been a member of the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group since 1970.
“He’s a legend, literally he is,” said Rick Lovett, friend, climbing partner, and President of the Indian Wells Valley Brewing Company. “He’s a walking encyclopedia of mountain climbing. Whenever I go with him I always make sure he and I are in the same vehicle so I can pick his brain. It doesn’t matter what it is...you can’t drive through any ranges and him not able to pick out every single one of them.”
“He’s a mountain goat warrior,” said Lovett.
Rockwell, or the “mountain goat warrior,” has lived in Ridgecrest since 1950. He attended high school at Burroughs and worked for China Lake Naval Weapons as a physicist. After 36 years with China Lake, Rockwell retired in 1990. He is still involved with China Lake though his passion remains climbing, which he is able to pursue now more than ever since retiring, allowing him to “step into it with both feet instead of one.”
“I don’t go as fast or as far but I”m still out there.”
In 2001, Rockwell suffered a heart attack and underwent open-heart surgery. It slowed him down — for about a month. After five or six weeks, Rockwell said he was back doing very easy climbs. After seven to eight weeks, he was doing mountaineering and climbed Whitney after two months.
“Things like that slow you down but they don’t keep you from doing things,” he said.
It certainly has not slowed him down too much. He might not be retracing his steps up some of his previous international summits like Mount Aconcagua, Mount McKinley, and Communism Peak, to name a few. Rockwell attempted Mount Everest in the Himalayas but he and some of his group got severe food poisoning.
“It’s a different challenge when you go off in a different country,” he said.
Indeed. Of course, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world at over 29,000, but Mount Aconcagua, Mount McKinley, and Communism Peak are no picnic either.
Mount Aconcagua, of the Andes Mountain Range in Argentina, is the highest peak in the Western or Southern Hemisphere at 22,841 feet.
“It’s an easy hike, not technically demanding, just high,” said Rockwell.
When Rockwell climbed Mount McKinley (also known as Denali) in Alaska, in 1992, his expedition scaled the “difficult” side. The group battled the “horrendous conditions” of “an ungodly cold” and were in danger of freezing to death. Temperatures dropped to 50 degrees below zero, said Rockwell. Yet, they reached the 20,320 foot summit.
When Rockwell climbed Communism Peak (24,590 feet) in the Soviet Union during the Cold War — now Ismoili Somoni Peak in Tajikstan, it was with a group of Russians.
“That just speaks volumes of his international name,” said Lovett. “Anybody who’s a climber I’ve never mentioned Rockwell’s name and not have these people know who he is.”
Despite his international expeditions, Rockwell’s passion remains in the Sierra Nevadas. Ridgecrest’s proximity is ideal for reaching the range, where the “weather is near perfect year round.”
Rockwell’s scientific background — he has a bachelor’s degree in Physics from UC-Berkeley, and a PhD in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University — combined with his “well over a 1,000 ascents of hundreds of individual Sierra Nevada mountains,” made him the ideal candidate to challenge the assumed belief that the water in the mountains was unsafe to drink.
In 2003, Rockwell published a research paper claiming that climbers in the Sierras need not worry about Giardia lamblia in the water. According to Rockwell’s paper, Giardia lamblia “is the most commonly diagnosed intestinal parasite in North America.” The parasite is a “flagellated protozoan” that can cause giardiasis if contracted through: “contaminated water, contaminated food, and direct fecal-oral.”
“Characteristic symptoms, when they occur, are mild to moderate abdominal discomfort, abdominal distention due to increased intestinal gas, sulfurous or ‘rotten egg’ burps, horrific flatulence, and mild to moderate diarrhea,” said Rockwell’s paper.
But Rockwell has drank the water in the Sierras since his first visits there in the early 1950s, has never treated the water, and has never acquired any symptoms of giardiasis. His friends and acquaintances also the drink the water, he said, without any ill effects. However, Rockwell does caution people to “drink smart.”
“You can indeed contract giardiasis on visits to the high mountains of Sierra Nevada, but it almost certainly won’t be from the water,” said the research paper. “So drink freely and confidently. Proper personal hygiene is far more important in avoiding giardiasis than treating the water.”
Rockwell said his paper is now used as a resource at the University of Oregon in a wildnerness survival class, on Boy Scout Web sites, and by the Yosemite Association (The paper can be found online at: http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/pcs/articles/giardia.asp).
A man of many talents, the part physicist, part “walking encyclopedia of mountain climbing,” and part “mountain goat warrior,” Rockwell might be the Sierra Nevadas unofficial renaissance man.
While out climbing Wotan’s Throne last Sunday with Rockwell, Lovett found his foot stuck between rocks on a Class 3 climb. When climbing a Class 3 mountain, “a rope can be carried but is usually not required,” according to the climbing textbook, Mountaineering. Fortunately, for Lovett’s sake, he had Rockwell underneath him.
“Bob told me exactly what to do, without Bob’s expertise, who knows?” said Lovett.
When they reached the peak at Wotan’s Throne and signed the “can” at the top — the summit register, Lovett went to sign his name. Rockwell did too, for the 35th time.
