Dave HouserDave Houser was a very motivated climber of the 70's who pioneered many of Joshua Tree's greatest climbs. His trademark homemade hangers stamped DPH, seemed to be on many a route. Most have been replaced with 3/8" bolts and sturdy hangers, but there are still a few climbs in the park today that still have the original 1/4" bolts and original homemade hangers.Dave, strangely, preferred to climb in those very inexpensive EB copycat boots, made in Korea. Many of his classic and bolted routes were done in these not-cutting edge boots. He worked at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, which seemed like a very responsible job to a lot of that era's climbing bums. His clean-cut image and shortish, neatly trimmed hair also clashed with the scruffy dirt-bag image of the day, too. His influence on Joshua Tree is legendary and his routes are truly some of Joshua Tree's raw classics! Here are a few: EBGB's 5.10+ (1977), Loose Lady 5.10+ (1977), Run For Your Life 5.10b (1978) |