Ron Kauk
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Ron Kauk (born c. 1958) is a talented American rock climber and Yosemite Camp 4 regular.
Kauk began spending summers in Yosemite in 1974[1], and was soon climbing at the highest standards of the day. In 1975 he free climbed the east face of Washington Column with John Long and John Bachar, renaming the route Astroman (5.11c). One of the first long, hard free climbs, Astroman was years ahead of its time.
Also notable was Separate Reality (5.12a), an intimidating roof crack which Kauk originally climbed in 1978 without camming devices. The same year he put up Midnight Lightning (V8), considered America's most famous bouldering problem because of its standards pushing difficulty and convenient location in the Camp 4 campground.
In the 1980s Kauk spent time in Europe visiting the limestone crags and competing in sport climbing competitions. He saw how European techniques such as red pointing 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[2], John Bachar 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 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 Sportsworld[3], and he repeated his toughest first ascents for Eric Perlman's Masters of Stone videos. Kauk did stunt work for Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible II. In 2000 he 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 songs. Books by Carlos Castaneda are another source of names (e.g. Separate Reality, Tales of Power).
[edit] Bibliography
- ^ Mark Kroese, Fifty Favorite Climbs: The Ultimate North American Tick List, The Mountaineers Books, 2002
- ^ Alexander Huber and Heinz Zak, Yosemite: Half a Century of Dynamic Rock Climbing, Menasha Ridge Press, 2003
- ^ Alan Watts, Climber's Guide to Smith Rock, Chockstone Press, 1992
