[petejh]

Let's not go off the rails too much here.

[measles23]

Brilliant interview; didn't disappoint after the suspense of the build-up - thank you Shark and please please thank John from the many ukb'ers who are chuffed to fuck he agreed to it.

He reminded me much of Gill in Masters of Stone - someone naïf to the 'scene' doing very much his own thing in his own way and making that approach succeed.

So people who care about the historical record, need to feed sponsors, are considerate to hard-working guide-book writers, want to share beta or just want to spray a bit, record what they do.
Someone who climbs for himself (and out of a sense of duty to a higher being to maximise his given talent) and isn't motivated by those other factors, has done a piss poor job of proving what he's done..
Sounds like the world is in karma then - the lack of definitive knowledge about historically important ascents may piss many of us off, but John is under no obligation to satisfy our craving for knowledge.

Very happy to hear that his biggest regret was Brandenburg gate, not his failure to provide a clear record - I'm constantly impressed with the clarity and honesty of today's top climbers compared to the fog that was bouldering knowledge in the 80s and 90s, but I'm also glad that some mystery remains - the world would be a cold, clinical place if we knew everything..

Am I a believer? I'm going to try not to care, because JG doesn't care if we do - he's just out there solving problems, some of which might be quite hard, but we'll never know unless he thinks they're 8C or more!

Better get the turkey in the oven - Happy Christmas all!

[rginns]

+1, don't think it could have been put any better.

[Jaspersharpe]

I hate to say this kids, and I realise it's going to shatter a lot of your dreams, but Father Christmas isn't real. I can't prove this obviously (try proving that God doesn't/does exist....oh) but I'm pretty certain I'm right.

Nobody has ever seen him deliver presents in such amazing style (the whole world in a night!) and the times he has been seen giving presents to kids he's always seemed a poor imitation of what he's supposed be. Some trumped up prick with a false beard and bad breath.

Maybe some holds fell off

Merry Christmas.

[masonwoods101]

haven't you seen the Santa tracker? It's possible

[Probes]

Ive just seen santa, unfortunately no broken holds, but she had big tits.

Merry xmas  x

[Lund]

There's not much sense on here sometimes.

People wishing other people would get cancer because they don't like a T-shirt, people banging on about not using the word "gay" in a non-gay-bashing context whilst "cunt" is fine, DFBWGC being canned by the owner of the site despite the users voting to keep it and the users not comprehending that the internet is not a fucking democracy, otherwise sensible people thinking that regular stretching and keeping your anus "soft" improves your climbing, people thinking another film with careless torque in is a good idea, people thinking peak grit is better than yorkshire grit, people searching for and others thinking they can deliver medical advice sans meeting on a forum, people believing things that nobody has seen.

There is no such thing as father christmas.  Fat men in bright red suits and fake beards trying to give your children gifts should not be trusted.

There is no such thing as God.  God is an emotional crutch invented by the human mind wrestling with the problem of finite lifespan and the intractable nature of that problem.

There is no such thing as a man who can climb 9a, run a marathon in 3hrs, solo an alpine route onsight in a record time, win 39 boxing matches.

It is not possible for an untrained individual to fell a horse with a single blow.

If the wind changes your FACE WILL NOT FREEZE IRREVERSIBLY IN THE SAME EXPRESSION FOREVER.

Watching too much television will not make you blind.

Jerkin' and jerkin' to your calendar will not make you blind, although it might make you bleed.

John Gaskin's is unproven to be a liar, but it seems likely that he's either forgetful, stupid, or a liar.  Until someone mans up and asks the right questions, all we have is an untested hypothesis.

Now... after I've managed to get all of that off my chest, why did shark not just man up and ask him outright: lots of people on the internet think you're a lying cock.  What do you say to that?

Apologies if I missed that question in this fucking puff piece.

[shark]

Now... after I've managed to get all of that off my chest, why did shark not just man up and ask him outright: lots of people on the internet think you're a lying cock.  What do you say to that?

Apologies if I missed that question in this fucking puff piece.

If its OK with you why don't you invite me to your house make me a cuppa tea while you are at it and then sit down and let me tell you you are a piece shit and that your life hasn't amounted to anything and BTW whilst Paxman  looks good on the telly what has he got to show for it in admissions of guilt? Sweet FA

[Lund]

Now... after I've managed to get all of that off my chest, why did shark not just man up and ask him outright: lots of people on the internet think you're a lying cock.  What do you say to that?

Apologies if I missed that question in this fucking puff piece.

If its OK with you why don't you invite me to your house make me a cuppa tea while you are at it and then sit down and let me tell you you are a piece shit and that your life has amounted to anything and BTW whilst Paxman  looks good on the telly what has he got to show for it in admissions of guilt? Sweet FA

Then don't do an interview!  This is why paxman doesn't go round someone else's house shark.  Some people might say that you had a duty to ask.  You could have asked it nicely, "sorry old chap, hate to ask you this, but what about the fact that people don't believe you.  What shall we do about that then?  Your name is mud in some parts (e.g. yorkshire, dan varians' house, etc.), I think you're ace, nice tea by the way"

Look, I do get it.  I really do get why you didn't confront him.  I just think it's a fatal flaw in this interviewing being a great piece of climbing journalism and a truly worthwhile contribution.

[shark]

Then don't do an interview!  This is why paxman doesn't go round someone else's house shark.  Some people might say that you had a duty to ask.  You could have asked it nicely, "sorry old chap, hate to ask you this, but what about the fact that people don't believe you.  What shall we do about that then?  Your name is mud in some parts (e.g. yorkshire, dan varians' house, etc.), I think you're ace, nice tea by the way"

Look, I do get it.  I really do get why you didn't confront him.  I just think it's a fatal flaw in this interviewing being a great piece of climbing journalism and a truly worthwhile contribution.

A lot of people suggested JG was the one they wanted me to interview next and I did so with some effort. You are living in la-la land if you expected him to crumble with admissions of guilt or produce unseen footage from his back pocket. Confrontational interviews reveal nothing and only serve to flatter the interviewers ego. There are a few things that offer some insights there - much more is beyond reasonable expectation.

[petejh]

Then don't do an interview!  This is why paxman doesn't go round someone else's house shark.  Some people might say that you had a duty to ask.  You could have asked it nicely, "sorry old chap, hate to ask you this, but what about the fact that people don't believe you.  What shall we do about that then?  Your name is mud in some parts (e.g. yorkshire, dan varians' house, etc.), I think you're ace, nice tea by the way"

Look, I do get it.  I really do get why you didn't confront him.  I just think it's a fatal flaw in this interviewing being a great piece of climbing journalism and a truly worthwhile contribution.

You could have just said that without the rest of the guff, which didn't add anything to your point.

I agree it would have been a better interview if Shark had asked John more directly about the doubts surrounding his hardest stuff, it was weak in that respect but still a brill effort in most other ways. And who's said it's a 'great piece of climbing journalism'? - it's obviously an amateur bloke with a handicam psyched to do something which a lot of people will find interesting. If someone's claiming it's the next 'Games Climbers Play' then that must have passed me by.

[remus]

While it would have been nice if the G man had spilled all the beans and/or provided footage of everything he's ever done realistically this is just a couple of keen climbers getting together and talking about what they did a few years ago. It's understandable that people care about this stuff, but really lighten the fuck up. I would much rather we have this sort of light hearted interview and a little footage of the G man pulling on some dirt undercuts on his board rather than the sweet fuck all we will see if people continue to dole out shit because the interviewer didn't turn the thumb screws.

[Lund]

While it would have been nice if the G man had spilled all the beans and/or provided footage of everything he's ever done realistically this is just a couple of keen climbers getting together and talking about what they did a few years ago. It's understandable that people care about this stuff, but really lighten the fuck up. I would much rather we have this sort of light hearted interview and a little footage of the G man pulling on some dirt undercuts on his board rather than the sweet fuck all we will see if people continue to dole out shit because the interviewer didn't turn the thumb screws.

You are of course right.  This is all bullshit, and not worth any time whatsoever.  I was proud of not responding to the thread, but then Jasper got himself into a right old tizzy over it and it was catching.

Move along, nothing to see here.  How apt.

[Doylo]

There is no such thing as God.  God is an emotional crutch invented by the human mind wrestling with the problem of finite lifespan and the intractable nature of that problem.

You calling Gaskins a liar??

[SEDur]

Every time I come back to this thread, it reminds me more and more of something that could be seen on the other channel.

To everyone who speaks dirt of this man, whom I expect many of you haven't met, maybe you should be man enough to track him down and question him directly.

In fact; if the existence and claims of JG are such a big problem for you, maybe you should be re-thinking your own life/climbing and what is actually important.

Nothing constructive is coming of this thread, and the forum monkeys speak with abandon, about claims and climbs they could but dream to be strong enough to complete.

I would like to put it to a vote, that this thread and the other JG video related thread are locked.

I think this is a good interview, and thank you Simon for your effort in making this happen.
It is just a shame that people like to make huge personal problems, out of such things as makes no difference to their actual lives.

[abarro81]

I can't be arsed to dissect it at this hour, but that's a shit post if ever I saw one Sedur

[Greg C]

So people who care about the historical record, need to feed sponsors, are considerate to hard-working guide-book writers, want to share beta or just want to spray a bit, record what they do.
Someone who climbs for himself (and out of a sense of duty to a higher being to maximise his given talent) and isn't motivated by those other factors, has done a piss poor job of proving what he's done..
Sounds like the world is in karma then - the lack of definitive knowledge about historically important ascents may piss many of us off, but John is under no obligation to satisfy our craving for knowledge.

If someone, whoever they are, goes to the trouble of reporting they've done a first ascent, particularly a significant one, I think they are under some obligation to provide accurate details. We've heard your line before and it just doesn't wash. If you genuinely just  climb for yourself then don't tell people what you've climbed and there's no issue.

In the case of John, it's simply not true to say his only reason for climbing was for himself or as you put it, "out of a sense of duty to a higher being to maximize his given talent". Not meaning this as a slight but merely a statement of fact; but until about 2006 John was just as much a reporter or 'sprayer', as you put it, of his ascents as anyone else. As it has been stated on here, John was sponsored by at least two major brands for the majority of his climbing career, providing regular details and photos of his ascents.

[ianv]

This is now starting to look pretty ugly and smack of sour grapes on the part of certain people who seeming cannot accept that someone from outside of Sheffield might have been better than the schoolroom clique. It reminds me a bit of the shitstorm/whispering campaign over Partheon Shot and I am pretty much 100% sure that was done by the other John as I climbed with him a lot at that time and know how good he was. Way better than the vast majority of wannabees hanging round Sheffield at the time and making accusations.  I am beginning to have sympathy for Gaskins and understand why he might have chosen to keep out of the spotlight. No one knows the truth either way so making blind accusations of cheating is shit unless there is some proof to back them up. There does seem to be some proof that Gaskins was fairly strong though which at least gives some credibility to his claims.

I will admit to have been sceptical about some of the Gaskins stuff, especially the Thorn Crag route where doing a chop route, alone, in the middle of nowhere is beyond my comprehension. I never felt in a position to comment though as I was not on the scene when he was climbing well, I do remember him when he was less good though and he never seemed like a bullshitter.

Yes the interview skirted certain issues but Gaskins came over pretty well I thought and as Shark said, you cannot have expected him to go in guns blazing and said “Jasper thinks you are a liar, I want proof of all your ascents or they didn’t happen!”. He put himself out to get the interview, he is not Jeremy Paxman, he got the best he could in the circumstances, it cost him money and it was because people asked for it. There is no way he should be getting any flak for this. If people reckon they can do better, get on the phone, organise an interview ask the questions face to face and don’t just hide behind keyboard chucking unproven accusations about and slagging off someone who at least made an effort.

[webbo]

Shark.  Given this interview has seemingly sent one or two folk in to melt down,if you are planning to do any more interviews. Maybe you should ditch the physio sponsors and get sponsored by psychotherapist or two.

[Nibile]

I want the video of the board session.

[dontfollowme]

I can't see the board footage being released now.

[tommytwotone]

I can't see anyone else signing up for an interview now!

[fatneck]

Which would be a crying shame...

[rosmat]

There is no such thing as a man who can climb 9a, run a marathon in 3hrs, solo an alpine route onsight in a record time, win 39 boxing matches.

I've done this.

It is not possible for an untrained individual to fell a horse with a single blow.

Reckon I could do this.

[a dense loner]

Ttt why can't you see anyone else signing up for an interview now? I can't remember one disparaging word about Ben's interview. If you put yourself in the public domain without proof of anything people will ask questions.

If John Dunne does an interview people will still ask questions because of no or scant proof of some things, half of this adds/added to his notoriety and selling potential to sponsors. Different people have different ways of going about things.

I thought the gaskins interview, like bens, was very good. It was just question and answer about a small part of a climbers life. Sharks not gone in there to play Columbo. Cheers shark for putting the effort in.

In other words it will be like everything else, if you interview people like Malcolm, Mccloud, Tyler, Bransby everyone will say that was great blah blah blah. If you interview people with a certain notoriety other people will say I don't believe and get shouted down by their peers.

But a big thank you to all those people who keep saying it doesn't matter if this was or was not done and telling people who care to get a life.