In reply to Blue Straggler:
> I can now claim to have guided Jim Donini :-D
Think you're straight into the hall of fame!
Here's my own - considerably lesser - Jim Donini story. In 1977 (I think - long time ago) he came to the UK on a previous lecture tour. Among other interesting events, he lobbed off the top pitch of Carnage, at Malham. His belayer, John Barker, was pulled up, hit his head off the roof of the cave and was briefly knocked unconscious. Still held the ropes though. John was properly hard.
It was a pretty spectacular fall. The watchers below were suitably bemused. And then one prat muttered, "Oh f*ck, look at that guy soloing!" Although I had a couple of hundred feet of space under my feet, it was all totally under control. But then I would say that, wouldn't I?
Delyth, my girlfriend at the time, was right by aforesaid prat and freaked out completely. Asked me to stop climbing. Blinded by love (or lust?) I did. But, as the weeks slid into months, the longing deepened and deepened. In the end, I needed to go back to it - soloing and all.
The next day we broke up. Just one of those things. Would it have lasted otherwise? Who knows? It wasn't Jim Donini's fault, that's for sure. The next year, he went to Latok...
Mick