Sound & Fury — Boulder Ventures Ltd.

*Mr. Gottlieb, age 70, flawlessly demonstrates the Clune Start to Sound & Fury (5.8) at Skytop, Shawangunks, NY.*

Faulkner’s novel about the decline and dissolution of a once-great Southern family was an epiphany to Rich and me growing up in Atlanta. All the bad choices and bad luck piled up on the Compsons through the generations until their shared, brutal end. As teenagers, Rich and I were surrounded by the same gentry, the same mind-set, the same culture as Faulkner described so vividly fifty years before us. We recognized it for what it was, and we determined not to endure it.

Rich Gottlieb is one of America’s greatest rock climbers, and we’ve been partners since we were children. Rich’s father, William Gottlieb was renowned for his photographic portraits of jazz-era greats, and Rich grew up with the soul of an artist. He was creating sculptures in Atlanta when we first met. I was 14. Rich had a truck and rack, and he wasn’t afraid to use either in scouting out new climbs and new cliffs in Georgia and Alabama.

In the 1970s, these places were remote and scary. Tallulah Gorge, Sandrock, and Jamestown are all well-established crags now, but when we first went there, they were a blank canvas. Rich put up all the best lines first, on sight, on lead, with a collection of partners holding the rope. I had read about climbers of his skill and boldness in books and magazines, but never had I seen one in action. New routing in the South with Gottlieb in the 70s was among the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences of my young life.

*The author, age 16, following Rich Gottlieb’s early ascent of Afternoon Delight at Mt. Yonah in 1975, the first 5.11 in Georgia. Note the period costume.*

As soon as I could, I fled the South for college in the Gunks. In the late 70’s, the hardest rock climbs in the world were there, and so were the best climbers. As the dominant climber of his era in the South and a competitive guy, Rich came to visit me at college and check out the crucible of Gunks climbing.

The social scene at Vassar in those days was pleasant enough, but Rich really embraced the power that the Gunks holds over traditional climbers. Rich is a tall, lanky guy with a positive ape index so the big roofs and long reaches in the Gunks suited him perfectly. In an era when the gear was spicy and falls were painful, Rich was not afraid to stick his neck out and log some airtime. This turned to his advantage in mastering the Gunks.

My guiding ambitions and business career took me to Chamonix and then Boulder, but the Gunks never loosened its hold on Gottlieb. He found a way to settle there, buy into the iconic local store, Rock & Snow, and find his true partner, Teri. Together, they made a child and a life in the Gunks, never missing a day to enjoy its perfect rock and stunning overhangs, the glorious mid-Hudson vistas spread below.

Rich and I still climb together every chance we get. I mostly visit the Gunks on Fall trips when the air is crisp, and temps are pleasant. There’s still a lifetime of climbing there for me, and Rich is always gracious to lead the stout bits, moving on stone he knows so well. My sons go to school on the East Coast now, and the boys relish an invitation from Mr. Gottlieb for a few pitches, especially if it’s in Skytop.

Rich and I have passed on our love of the Gunks to the next generation and have enabled our children to avoid the Sound & Fury.