[Houdini]

who hasn't been "encouraged" etc..

Is that jealousy talking fiend?   

OK OK enough...

[Houdini]

Ray Kay once gave me a lift when i was hitching!

Pah!  One time Ray Kay47 picked up a chair with the intention of cracking it over my head, thought better, threw it the length of a long living room, then shoved me so hard in the chest in some kinda aikido move that I flew (over a sofa) nearly the same distance as the chair.  Hitch?!  Pah!

[andy_e]

I was once re-assured by Ste Mac that it's all about getting the excuses in early in sport climbing. 

[Doylo]

Being in a car crash with three 9a climbers...

Who were they then?

I'm gonna guess at Markus Bendler, Buoux 8c and Killian Fischuber

[webbo]

ok then round two.
watched willians beat my mate at arm wressling at al harris's.
forgot to mention that jim morran and simon horrox were also at my mums with jerry.
skinny dipping with louise shepard and kim carrigan
bouldering i't valley with john long
holding my hand over gabe regans mouth on his 21st to try and stop him puking on sir christian bonnington with little success
having to avoid regular golden showers when climbing with loiuse shepard as her party piece was having a piss on every hanging belay

[grimer]

Wow webbo, that is a good hand.

The time I was barely acknowledged by The Batso, Chounard, Robbins and Frost were there too. Bit they just seemed like millionairre big shots, amazing characters all the same, but Harding looked like somebody just out of a caravan park on the outskirts of Treestump, Nebraska. Outshone the lot of them.

[Adam Lincoln]

Being in a car crash with three 9a climbers...

Who were they then?

I'm gonna guess at Markus Bendler, Buoux 8c and Killian Fischuber

I will go for Markus Bock, Frankenjura 9a, and Dai Koyomada.

[andy popp]

I'd forgotten I met Whillans once, in the climbing shop in Stoke. I remember it as a slightly unnerving experience.

Harding came up with a great line when, in his later years, having struggled on a easy route, he was heard to say that he'd 'have to climb a whole lot more. Or a whole lot less.' I know the feeling. He also called for red wine on his death bed!

I have to say this game is obviously much easier to play if you're an old bastard. 

[SA Chris]

On a similar note but a different plane, at Mammoth Mountain for a day boarding from Bishop. Getting a lift ticket and a guy with multicoloured hair down his back walks past and says Hi and smiles. Penny drops and I turn to my mate who says "Was that Glenn Plake?"  A Legend indeed.

[Huffy]

Good thread. Memorable off top of my head:

1. Doing joes mantel with Joe Brown 
2. Rescuing one of Jacky Godoffes crazy dogs from a slab of death
3. Sitting in bowl of vodka with Miko (the unknown 1-6-10 campus beast from poland)

[andy_e]

Climbing with Martin Boysen and Steve Bancroft at Brownstones on the day I did Pigswill for the first time- and burning off Boysen on his own eliminate!

[Ru]

Me and Stu went to font for the weekend when we were at uni, and stayed in the Real Thing gite ("look Ben, Horses!) with Ben, Jerry and Sean Myles. We had Cauliflower Cheese for tea and watched a film with Killer Bees in it.

Not climbing related but I once nearly killed Steven Hawking on my bike at university. Although it might not have been that bad if I had hit him - he'd done all of his important work by then.

[clm]

Went camping with Hank and Ryan Pasquill when i was 5.
When Noddy asked Martin Boysen during a trip to Utah if he knew a guy called Calum from Manchester with an allotment, Martin replied "Yes". 
I know Martin Dale (do you?)
I shook Al Phizakleas hand once.
I know A Dense Loners real name!!

[clm]

...and i went to Bancrofts house once.

[cofe]

conrad anker bought me a pint.

of fosters.

[grimer]

My trip to Font beats yours Ru. You might have been in the famous gite, but i was with Malcolm, and wile apart from that we were with the same people, I had much much less right to be with them than you.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

2. Rescuing one of Jacky Godoffes crazy dogs from a slab of death

I only met Jacky this afternoon, but only Percy's dog was about. Does JG need his dogs with him for the full tick?

[unclesomebody]

It would be a white lie to say I "met" Jacky Godoffe in the forest but I would say I have ticked him... One day at Isatis, pearson and I weren't climbing so we decided to just prick around and hide from the people we were with and run around stealing things in close proximity from them, whilst remaining under the shadow of ninja like stealth. This required hiding in the tops of trees and digging ourselves into the ground under piles of leaves... anyway, we were running around in our ninja like manner when I happened to see a man walking towards me in the distance with some dogs. I clocked him and immediately (in my best ninja run) ran away and dived into a small hole between the ground and a boulder and buried myself in (with my feet most likely still exposed). Well, Jacky then walked by me whilst I was in this hole and I lay there thinking... what the fuck has just happened. I have just ran away from Jacky Godoffe (one of my hero's) and have hidden in a hole. Who knows what he thought...

[Fj]

I once offered big ron my mat incase he fell off the slap up on dope on a slope. 
i didnt know who he was and was trying to be helpful.

[Carnage]

Got told to just 'try a bit harder' by Ste Mac whilst on one of his probs at the Castle.

Smoked a fattie at the base of El Cap with Scott Burke (although I not sure if he really counts as a wad).

Often have a chat with some of the Aussie wads (Garth Miller, Sharik Walker, Chris Webb etc) when out and about.

And not from me, but my girlfriend elbowed Frank Black in the ribs after the last Pixies gig at Brixton when he tried to push past her to get a drink at the after party.

[saltbeef]

went for a curry with ben moon on sunday night, he copied me and had a chicken tikka jalfrezi.
did a fred nicole problem in rocklands spotted by fred and his girlfriend.
got a belay from dave graham at ceuse.
got made porridge by andy parkin in a mountain hut under cerro torre.
went to font with huffy!

[Fiend]

Anyway, I once met famous climbing author "Niall Grimes" at some grotty quarry near Glasgow 

Not Auchinstarrys in your eyes?

Yup, and stole a young Irish lad off you to go climbing with the next day.

Thing is....living in Sheffield, even uber-punters get to meet or even interact with wads of various waddiness. So it has to be narrowed down a bit to the ones that are most fun:

Meeting Zippy on the Needle at Rivelin, shortly before my approach shoes were stolen and I had to go to the Norfolk Arms in socks.

Grimer at Auchinstarry.

Burning Seb Grieve off on one problem at the Foundry bouldering comp (yes I know it's easy, Seb is weak....well I'm weaker!).

Getting amused encouragement bellowed across at me by Kiwi 18' 6" mutant Seb Thingymajiggy when I was pumped out of my bollox on a sport crag near Christchurch (I did it, but only with the extra psyche).

Getting my hair fondled by a certain diminutive gritstone master.

Sleeping a few nights on Grant Farquar's floor with various uni people.

Chatting to Bob Smith and John Earl at Back Bowden. Casual, but proper wads.

Passing up Keen Youth's toothbrush when he dropped it whilst abbing down Equilibrium, and getting encouraged trying (and failing on) The Knock by unclemullet (neither of whom recognised me as someone who had been in an almighty flaming row with them on UKC...).

Going mushroom picking with a variety of V11 / E7-9 wads, lol.

Surviving meeting Dense.


....it's all good 

[andy_e]

Getting my hair fondled by a certain diminutive gritstone master.

Lies! You have no hair, baldilocks 

[grimer]

Not climbing, but John Savisant, Fred the Butcher off Coronation Street, squeezed both my nipples.

[Carnage]

Another non climbing one, I got shouted at by Janet Street Porter once for pissing on her car on my way home after a night on the lash. I got a bit worried as I thought Normski was come down in his towelling robe and bash me.