Carl van Herreweghe

Nah, you don't want to do that; put my photo on the web page.

Oh boy. You're always doing it to me, aren't you?

Years ago, there was no Web. We climbed all the time instead of staying home playing with computers. Nowadays, that's all you young kids think about, staying at home, watching TV or playing computer games and what have you. There's no sense of adventure any more.

Me, I've been climbing for the past 35 years. I always liked to climb but I really got turned on to climbing when I saw the Atlas mountains during the war. That's World War II now, not World War I.

I thought I was all done in years ago, but after my heart attack I realised it was my diet that was killing me. I've got more energy now than I had ten years ago. I reckon I'll just keep on climbing until I keel over for good, but I sure miss all that ice cream.

I moved to San Diego from Detroit after I married Fran. She used to give me Hell for leaving her at home with the kids on weekends. But I had to get out of the house and go to the Sierra with other members of the RCS.

That's the Rock Climbing Section of the Sierra Club.

Years ago we had some great times. We'd drive up to the Sierra after work on Fridays, climb a peak or two and drive back home on Sunday night, getting home at 4 am on Monday morning. It wasn't easy going to work on Monday but we made it. 'Course, I was younger back then too. I couldn't pull a stunt like that now. Then again, I don't have to since I'm retired already.

The best times were in the winter when we'd go skinny dipping in Hot Creek up by Mammoth. We'd link arms, treading water around a fumarole and pass the wine jug around the circle. Don't go telling Fran this now.

Fran says I should give it up, climbing that is. Naturally, she don't know about Hot Creek. She says I'm too old already but there's still a thing or two she doesn't know about me and I keep hoping you'll lead a winter trip up to Mammoth some day :). Anyway, climbing still beats staying at home and doing my "honey do's".

I used to be an outing leader for the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club until I took a BMC, Basic Mountaineering Course, group out to climb 6582 in the Santa Rosa mountains and I couldn't find the way back to camp on Sunday night. We all spent the night in a motel in Borrego Springs and found the camp on Monday, but the Sierra Club canned me as a leader over that.

Yeah, I guess that does make me the original Lost Alpinista!

So how about a toast to us all?

Have you got your glass of MER-lot ready?

Carl van Herreweghe and friends in front of the Pratt Crack dihedral, Pine Creek, July 4, 1993.

Standing: Richard, Patsy, Mark and Paul
Sitting: Carl and Annick A Los Alpinistas biography and photograph by Richard J. Hughes.