Doug Robinson - Father of clean climbing gives away the dirty secrets 

See part 1 of this interview at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b45OXWG3kzQ.html Check out our new store! hownot2.store/

Man, I want this sort of interview with all the legends. Hell, get some of the modern day greats, if you can. Someday we'll want to be able to look back at a couple hours of Tommy just talking.

Wow it's crazy that this video is an entire hour and is NEVER uninteresting for a second. Guys like Doug are a true treasure of the climbing community. Please more content like this.

This man is a treasure. Huge props to Ryan for an interview that will be valued by climbers for 100 years.

Seeing how excited Doug is to climb 5.8 on Ewall and having to put his shoes on to do it might just be the highlight of the last few years for me. Radical.

I love how you can track the progression of climbing based off of technology used. Hearing this legend talk is the definition of awesome; because I am awestruck. Also can't agree more about the assessment of 5.7; as my name would suggest. Thank you Ryan and the how not to team! This hits in the crossroads of my personal passions; history and climbing.

This is totally golden! What a lovely gentleman! Nice to hear such a nice OG telling what he witnessed as a climber during times when climbing evolved so much! Thank you guys!

I've been subscribed for a hot minute and have always enjoyed all of the content, but this series with Doug definitely ranks at the top of my favorite HowNot2 videos! Thanks everyone involved for making this happen 🙏 👍

Doug is the coolest! I have my fingers crossed for a whole series of these videos. More with Doug but also other guys. I especially like the bit about the testing. I know you're going some new directions with the channel. I hope this interview style is one of them. I'm not saying stop the rest just maybe sprinkle these in.

This is honestly the coolest guy! What a legend!

Legendary content... I reckon this video will be around at least as long as Doug's sand cast stopper

The crown jewel of your videos Ryan. This interview is priceless. We' ve learned lots of kNs of all your other stuff as well 😊 Cool man. Thank you. Keep on the good work. Safety first 😊

I'm 75 and still doing 10s due to bolts, another subject that requires discussion, but I don't like to fall! Indoor gyms also have revolutionized climbing, turned out lots of new climbers who climb hard right away.

I still have my 72 Chouinard catalog. A few years younger than Doug, Doug’s article was my climbing bible.

When I first hit Yosemite with the then new Fires, it seemed like all the cliff faces took a few degrees back from vertical, especially the Apron. It was an odd time, with tech making such a difference even to simple bouldering. Thanks so much for taking the time to get Doug on film and putting it out there.

Man…this brought back memories! My first clean climb was in the Gunks (Bitchy Virgin). I lost my Gunks guide in a flood, but I think it was around ’79 or ’80. My lead just about spit on any pins/bolts as we climbed. He was devoted to “clean.” Ironically, for sentimental reasons, this week I just cleaned all the rust off my old Lost Arrow pitons, my bongs (marked with a diamond and a C inside), some SMC stuff that was half bong, half piton, etc.. Still have my hammer, but it has not been used (for climbing) since that first clean climb in the Gunks. Met Yvonne once in a tiny bar in a little town near the Gunks. He showed us how he could fold a bottle cap from a beer bottle in half between his index and middle finger at the 1st knuckle. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. We stopped at the Roscoe diner on the way back to Ithaca (NY) and lots of climbers were there talking about meeting Chouinard that weekend. I still have my Royal Robbins books (Basic & Advanced Rockcraft and Wheelock’s “Ropes, Knots, and Slings for Climbers” too! Injuries stopped my climbing days. But I can still remember stopping on a 2nd pitch in the Gunks on a gorgeous fall day and looking back over my shoulder at an airplane in the valley flying well below me. It was awesome! Thanks Doug et al!

Haven't finished this video yet and it is by far my favorite RU-vid video of all time!!!!

Best new video(s) I’ve had the pleasure of watching. Such an incredible tour through the history of clean climbing gear and techniques. Thank you to all who made this video happen and most of all a giant thank you to Doug Robinson. You’re a gentleman and a scholar. Really appreciate the trip through time and most of all my sincerest thanks for developing some of the gear that has allowed me to have the most incredible experiences on California’s granite cliffs and Utah’s sandstone canyon walls. As much as cams are the preferred clean protection stoppers will always be the foundation of my rack.

I'm late to the party, but thanks for making this! I still climb with some stoppers and friends I bought in 1977. My #4 friend is a useful size at Indian Creek. Getting in the flow, or *zone* is why I still love to climb. My younger partners laugh at me when I say: *Friends don't let friends climb elevens*...but Doug knows. White haired climbers are thin on the ground, but we're still out there getting after it.

Hearing Doug say that 5.7 is the most fun type of climbing after seeing folks doing 5.14+s that looks miserable and painful makes me feel better. I'll never be at that level, and I don't think I would enjoy it. But I can do a 5.7. And I enjoy it.

What an awesome interview! I can tell by the look on your face throughout that you think this history is as cool as I do. Thanks for the video, and special thanks to Doug.

Good interview, showing all the early kit that I grew up using in the UK with hex nuts and stoppers. No friends etc in those days. To this day I have a crack-n-up on my keyring.

Love this! I first learned climbing in the Boy Scouts in the 70’s from old climbers as troop leaders who would be this guys age or older. Who also predated most gear, or and wide availability of it. Technology and techniques were vastly different. I remember - Smearing in Chuck Taylor’s as a kid - as a new thing - as opposed to hiking boots. Still using real nuts. Rappelling on 3 wraps of rope on the spine of a D-carabiner. Lots of trips go southern New Hampshire from Boston - With guys who saw much of the new gear as unnecessary or expensive. When REI came to Boston is when things started to change - when much of the things change where gear didn’t need to be mail ordered. It was the first time many of these guys had ever been exposed to a lot of the gear of the day that was being used in the west. And “trust” of gear took some time to change. And likely due to this man. And likely those troop leaders reading those articles in National Geographic. THANK YOU FOR INTERVIEWING HIM!

I don't even do any climbing at all, but listening to this legend's tales has me captivated.

This right here just like the first episode is climbing history treasure. Thank you for getting this down in digital. This history needs to be recorded in every way possible. And notice Doug Robinson is so gracious and humble which I believe is because he believes and loves clean climbing so much that the culture/sport is what it is about and not solo credit or ego. I am a better human for watching this :) As an aside I remember the first time I fell on a .5 friend in the 80s and was terrified LOL! That little sucker held like nobody's business in an overhanging crack!!! Just the first of many falls on those things :)

Doug is so cool. Great interview Ryan

Doug is such an awesome guy. Thank you for this :)

I want to still be climbing when I'm his age. The way he describe the flow state is awesome!

These Doug Robinson interviews are the best thing you guys have done. Love the content, keep it up!

What a legend!

I've been following your channel for quite some time now, skipped just a few episodes, and liked most of them. I was halfway through this great episode and I really couldn't find a reason why I just spent 5 bucks on a cup of coffee but wouldn't do the same for whole hour of fun and great climbing knowledge. Felt great to sign up on your patreon page!

This is awesome Thx Doug!!

Thank you for producing such great content…!!! This in-depth sit down with the legendary Doug Robinson is priceless. I have learned so much from your channel “howNOT2” and have applied many of the nuggets of wisdom to my own patented rescue craft invention. Hope to cross paths some day Ryan…🙏🏻

I have that Nat Geo issue! So nice to see doug talk about living and making the clean revolution.

Thank you guys for doing these interviews. Awesome content, I love listening to people like Mr. Robinson who had gathered an amazing amount of experience and also are such great storytellers. Please continue to record everything he has to say.

My last 2 routes in Montserrat have been almost clean scary stuff. When you start doing that you cant stop. Clean!!

Great interview, great guy with great story's.

Amazing interview series guys! loved it!

I feel like I just hung out in the woods with a legend!

This whole interview was just riveting, thanks so much for putting it out there.

Absolutely amazing interview. That was just perfect. Huge thank to Doug for sharing those stories. So much passion in his speech makes it a delight to listen to. I can only hope I'll be that enthusiastic about climbing at his age.

Since he mentioned it in the interview and I'm curious now, have you done any kind of testing on ice pro? I'd imagine testing ice pro would be a bit harder to do, and the limit is the ice and how deep the screw goes as opposed to the actual gear, and the mentality in ice climbing is definitely still "don't fall," but that'd be really cool to see!

awesome interview to sit down and pay attention to, I must say, i have youtube adhd where i listen to most videos at 2x speed and i sat down at enjoyed this video normally from start to finish. I'm glad we got to hear the old school piton sound he was talking about earlier, i was a little worried it had been forgotten about. Also did he ever do the interview with john stannard? i'd love to see that meeting finally take place

Another great interview!

This is super-awesome! Thanks Doug 🤟

What an amazing, inspiring and funny person. Thank you so much for these interview videos!

You’ve put out a ton of great content, Ryan. And although this isn’t your typical video, this one was an absolute treat! Would love to hear more interviews like this from others in the old guard.

Amazing end to an amazing interview

I've been aware of Doug since I started climbing in 1973. But I didn't know how instrumental he was in the development of the gear I used. I purchased my first rack from the Mountain People (or Mountain Affair - Dave and Dennis!) up in Idyllwild. The old days of you and your partner going up the approach trail to Tahquitz, one carrying the 150 foot rope, the other with the gear sling with the single rack of Stoppers and Hexes, clanking together with gentle bell tones. One small teardrop pack with a couple of shirts and a quart of water for the two of us. Once in a while in that first year or two I'd hear a hammer in action, I assume on the remaining aid lines. I miss those simple (but scary!) days, I still have my old rack.

I was living in Tucson in the nineties and was climbing a lot with Scott Ayers who was a cameraman for 'Moving Over Stone'. Scott is a prolific route establisher and has put tons of routes on the East Side Sierra, Owens River and all over Southern AZ. At one point Doug was going to bring some clients from CA to Cochise Stronghold for some climbing. Since he was friends with Scott we all hung out and climbed and camped together. When I went to sleep that night I had a dream that I was Geddy Lee singing in concert. It was a great dream. When I got up the next morning, Doug was like, "did you guys hear someone singing last night?" Several other people said yes I heard it. I was just like, I didn't hear anything.

Excellent hang out guys.❤️🤙

Doug is awesome, greetings from Monterrey, México.

Just awesome, even talked about clean climbing in the Gunks too. Loved every minute of it!

Brilliant!

Awesome video!

Nice Interview, what a genuine and interesting person Doug is. Thanks for great content

Need to interview the other oldies before it's too late. What a treat, thank you so much for this history lesson.

this series with him is so interesting! Thank you so much for doing this!

Loved this. So good to have this sort of information and history passed on for everyone and not just lost to the ages.

This is such an awesome interview. Huge respect guys. THANKS FOR SHARING

This series was soooooo good. Really helpful for developing a respect for the history of this sport.

These young guys don't have a clue about how big National Geographic cover was ,or what a legend this man is ,

Y'all already had my respect for your contributions to our community's safety and technical know-how. Thank you for also capturing incredible pieces of climbing history. Now everyone check out that HowNot2 donation link in the description and shake the nickels out your drawers.

As usual thanks for the contribution to the climbing community and let the trolls try to complain about this kind of action from your channel you guys are the bomb

Much respect

Only video I saw on RU-vid that’s an hour long and I knew it wasn’t long enough

Hexes are greatly underrated but you have to fiddle about with them with your fingertips to get them to seat properly. Love this history stuff and recall living throug a lot of it..

Doug is one special guy Ryan you guys are so lucky would love to hang out and talk with him thank you so much for this video will be around for a long time

this was freaking interesting! thanks so much :)

So cool!

ah bless. Thanks peeps.

Awesome and thank you.

I love this kind of videos, quite interesting to see how they do the things back in the day and to know we're or gear come from

re 1:00:34 Not that it matters now, but my penny-pull (2ft lanyard & 1in snap-hook) allowed me to apply 5-20# extraction pull to the piton while loosening it, which was much faster (2-5 taps), caused much less rock damage, and never dropped a piton when it came free.

This man is cool and smh sweet id love to let him lead me on yosemite! Great show guys!!!

I seem to recall Doug, like many of his generation, at first didn't like cams because they were such an overwhelming technological advance that they dumbed down climbing. I once told a story to one of the Old Dads about being gripped and just managing to throw a piece in to save myself from a big fall and his disdainful response was "was it a cam?" Of course it was. Thinking about it more, after listening to Doug here, these guys must have been really proud of their innovation to save the resource they loved not to mention the bold style it dictated. There was a beautiful purity in the ART of "nut craft" that only really flourished for about a decade before it was usurped by technology. That probably stung a bit at first.

Def the earliest I've made it to a new video lol

We need a 5.7 Flow State T-shirt

Bravo!

This is really good and very interesting though I think a few older UK climbers from around that time can help and add some extra info to the UK scene around that time!

Doug has some great stories and has lived a really fascinating life thank you for sharing this

Very informative, 1/3 more stoppers to petons probably, interesting the origins of clean climbing, Ray Jardine. Maybe living in a van down by the river is a prefered existence

Friends in Monterray Mexico would get aluminum bar stock from scrap aircraft repairs and drill and cut them into wedges.

it's cool having things like this to watch about trad, coming from the uk its a pity that here in Germany its too much about Sport climbing, and some people look at me funny when I get my rack out for a bolted route. tempted to put green dots or something on routes that have been free climbed clean. as to the Red dots to Mark old aid climbs that had been freeclimbed.

so cool

There’s a route here called ‘ my nuts are too small and I haven’t got any friends’, classic 😁

For anyone wondering, I think that's close to a B2 (~123Hz) at 59:08

Great...

I remember Bachar pimping those boots in Camp 4. My climbing jumped a grade when I put on Fires and put away the EB's. Acopas, on the other hand, are really painful to my foot shape so never been a fan.

Great interview! Jealous you got to hang with him.

I still have a Crack ‘N’ Up!

Really cool. However it wasn't Greg Lowe who found logarithmic curve blocks in crack when rotated. It was soviet climber Vitaly Abalakov. He used them like tricams. The same guy who invented V-thread in ice climbing.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE GET TOMMY ON HERE

Now do a video with all his secret tips about ultralight packs! What a goldmine!

The term Doug is looking for is called ‘convergent evolution’.

Faster and faster because the information transfer is so amazing….can it get better (faster)….common sense says “yes” however I can’t imagine it…

wonder if anyone ate a piton that fell when someone lost dropped it climbing I will never hang or climb with finger cracks I like my fingers too much

Grown men having a serious conversation about bashing nuts for over a hour priceless

Keeping comparing highlining to climbing 😅 Have some respect

Clean climbing is what? not drilling into rock?