RON KAUK “From Yosemite legend to Hollywood it's a moment”

Ron Kauk is one of the legends of Yosemite Valley and not only that, he is a real character!

He has been pushing the limits of climbing around the world for three decades: from the first ascent of Astroman and Midnight Lightning in the late 1970s to the first 8c+ of Yosemite Valley in the 1990s.

Focused and passionate, he is a true minimalist, well grounded in all aspects…

When he's not climbing, Ron works to protect Yosemite from overdevelopment and abuse through his nonprofit Sacred Rok.

The goal is to introduce young people to Yosemite.

“ It's important to me to inspire people to get outside and discover nature ,” he says. “ I like to ask myself: what is affecting them? What will get them out there? This is what interests me. ”

At 14, on a 20-day school backpacking trip, he fell in love with Yosemite.

How can you blame him?!

His companions wanted to go cycling and do the usual activities, but he preferred to abseil. ;)

For fun a gentleman made a bet, he offered a milkshake to anyone who managed to climb to the top of the route, obviously Ron accepted and won.

He was captivated by the beauty of climbing and the values ​​of the valley community.

This experience changed his life so much that at 17 he left conventional education to move to Yosemite, where he still lives permanently.

He chose nature as a school of life.

In 1975 he was the first, together with John Long and John Bachar, to free climb Astroman , the iconic Yosemite route and one of the most famous routes in the world.

It is located on the east face of the Washington Column, directly opposite Half Dome.

Legend has it that until recently, Yosemite climbers were divided into those who had climbed Astroman and all the others .

Those who have repeated the route deserve great respect, we are talking about a true masterpiece of cracks, which has written the history of climbing in this magical valley.

Maurizio Oviglia, after repeating it together with Rolando Larcher, comments by saying:

“ I don't feel like changing the grades given by Kauk, Bachar and Long after the first free ascent, it would be too much responsibility .

Know that the 5.11c given by the first climbers corresponds to our "modest" 6c+ which doesn't give a good idea of ​​what awaits you on this route.

A few years ago a famous French climber told me that if Astroman's Enduro Corner had been in Chamonix, it would probably have been graded like the crux pitch of Divine Providence! (7c)

Well, certainly on the Washington Column you are not at 4000 meters like on Divine Providence, but perhaps it is realistic to think that on Astroman you will encounter several pitches that in our country would be good 7a and 7b. I don't dare say more... "

Kauk was the first to climb Midnight Lightning , at the time thought to be an impossible boulder problem, the second 7B+ in the world V8, “HARD V8” in 1978 .

Just two lines are not enough to describe the most famous block in the world, it deserves an 80's letter, separately!

Also in 1978 he made the first free ascent of Separate Reality, one of the first 7a+ in the world, as well as being a symbolic route of Yosemite.

In 1979 , together with John Roskelley, Kim Schmitz and Bill Forrest, he made the first ascent of the east face , Uli Biaho , in Pakistan.

Ron climbed Yosemite's hardest routes, such as Crossroads 7C+ (5.13a) in 1990 and Magic Line 8C+ (5.14c) in 1997 with pre-placed gear.

At Tuolumne Meadows he finished bolting a route that Bachar started from the ground up, provocatively calling it Peace 8a+/8b (5.13c/d).

You're probably wondering why defiantly?!

You should know that in the 1980s Kauk spent time in Europe visiting major crags and competing in the first sport climbing competitions.

He grasped the potential of European techniques, importing r ed point and the use of the bolt to the USA both for rappels and to take difficulties to the next level.

However, these practices were frowned upon by some local Yosemite climbers.

John Bachar cut the bolts on Punchline 7b+ (5.12c), a route bolted by Kauk in 1988, causing a clash with Mark Chapman in the Camp 4 car park.

Let's face it... Ron has a truly mind-boggling CV, yet that's not all!

Have you ever seen Cliffhanger or Mission Impossible 2 ?

In 1992, Kauk trained Sylvester Stallone alongside the late climber Wolfgang Güllich to record Cliffhanger.

He also worked with Michael Rooker, Leon and actress Janine Turner.

In 1999 Kauk trained Tom Cruise and replaced him as a stuntman for the climbing scenes in Mission Impossible 2, you've surely seen them!

What a crazy character, from Yosemite to Hollywood it's a moment! haha

Before leaving us, here is a quote from him:

“ All things move in cycles or rhythms . Let's discover and rediscover ourselves and the environment around us. We travel ... to broaden our horizons at the rhythm of each step, sharing ideas and dreams .”

That's all for today, in the next 80's letter we will delve deeper into the most famous block in the world and Separate Reality, the iconic Yosemite crack!

Get ready, it's going to be delicious.
If you can't wait, here is the link to our blog , take a look!

See you soon!