Who are the Climbing Dudes from Downunder
Are they really from Downunder, are they really climbers and can they be classified as real dudes?
Well, the answer is yes, either fitting the profile in part or encompassing all these attributes ... and much more! This website is a presentation of the adventures of an expatriated Kiwi family ... the Tremaynes, in company with their American and Australian friends.
Peter and Lucy Tremayne live in Nevada at their mountain home, situated at 6,000' between Reno and Lake Tahoe. Jordan and Simone Tremayne live in Portland, Oregon. Christopher, Tanja and Poppy Tremayne currently reside on Christmas Island and Emily, Jessica and Amy Tremayne live in Perth, West Australia. Jeremy, Elizabeth and Ellie Tremayne live in Louisville, Kentucky. Bill and Heidi Tremayne live in Oakland, California.
Mal Hill lives in Alstonville, NSW Australia and has been a climbing buddy of Peter's since 1983 when they first met on a trek around the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. Pat Jenkins, Jeff Warner, Jim Keogh, Jim Slade and Marv Spillman all reside in the USA and have frequently climbed and hiked with Peter in Washington, Nevada and California. Ken and Lee Sampson are Aussie climbing mates of Mal Hill who spent one summer season in Washington climbing the Cascade volcanoes with Peter and Lucy. Mike Fox, another Aussie climbing mate, has hiked the JMT with Peter.
The origin of the term Climbing Dudes from Downunder in part comes from a camcorder audio byte made by Lucy during a difficult alpine ascent of Mount Jefferson, Oregon in 1997. As Peter and Mal, then in their late 50's, staggered up the steep snow with heavy packs, Lucy breaks into song with " there go the mountain goats from downunder". Also, a few days earlier while climbing at Smith Rocks, Oregon on a particularly steep section, a local climbing guide in his 30's (convinced his climbing days were nearly over) incredulously posed the question "how old are you two dudes?" Mal's only response was to state our need to descend soon because Matron expected us back in the Home by 4 pm.
During the debrief of the Jefferson climb, knocking back a few beers, and with Mal recovering from a nasty facial wound from rockfall below the summit, we began referring to ourselves as the climbing dudes from downunder. Now, fourteen years later, we're still in the game.
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Copyright 2011 Peter William Tremayne. All rights reserved. |
